Marketing plane Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Marketing plane - Research Paper Example The paper will critically look at the marketing plan which has been adopted by BioGood to enable it change the perception of consumers towards the use of biodegradable plastic products, the company mission and vision considered to attain the objective of the firm. The paper still is going to discuss the market situations such as addressing SWOT analysis, marketing mix and marketing segmentation. Further, the paper will discuss the financial objectives of the firm for the first three years, objectives and issues of BioGood will be looked upon and discussed in length so as to understand the firm well and the products it is going to offer. Additionally, the paper will discuss the metrics that are used in marketing plan and their implementation. Marketing plan Internal situation Internal situation of BioGood include the management like finance, development slot, purchasing, operations and accounting. The departments must work together to achieve the goals of the firm, for example the acc ounting will have to approve any budget the firm considers of help to make the customers satisfied. The marketing managers must ensure that BioGood Company provides the necessary resources that will facilitate the use of biodegradable plastic to be of help to the consumers. ... not been doing well in the market due to the competitive nature of other firms like American Plastic Manufacturing, ECM Biofilms, and Clear Choice HouseWares among others. BioGood will involve customer markets like consumer markets who buy the biodegradable plastic for their own consumption, business markets that are going to buy the brand for selling to other retailers. The government market will buy in bulky to transfer the brands to those people who are needy. External situation BioGood will consider human population in terms of density, age, gender, race, and occupation, thus the market segment and market targets will not be a problem to the firm since it targets all type of customers. PESTEL analysis Political effect The political situation in the market will have to face the law and government agencies and other groups that are going to criticize the firm in production of biodegradable brands. For example, the competitors may petition the firm of false deceptive biodegradable p lastic claims. The claim may be focused at making BioGood lower sales or cease working completely. Economic BioGood will enhance the purchasing power of customers, through provision of prices that will be prudent and takes into consideration the inflation rates of the economy. Social The firm will have to invest a lot in advertisements since from the beginning the society together with the competitors has bad perception of biodegradable brands which are perceived to have negative effect to the environment and later to the society. This culture has passed from culture to culture. Technology The technological environment is the fastest media that can lead to changes and creativity in the firm, making the company to be innovative. The technology used by BioGood is perhaps best since the

How Martin Luther King developed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How Martin Luther King developed - Essay Example The letter was written in protest to the law that segregated people on racial bases. The letter was intended to persuade his audience on the need for a nonviolent but direct action to eliminate the unjust laws. The intended audience was the critiques who were opposed to his activities in down town Birmingham, Alabama. This essay focuses on why Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's Letter from a Birmingham Jail stands out as a model of how to write a powerful argument. The essay will demonstrate what Martin Luther does to make his writing so persuasive even in the contemporary readers. Writing persuasively is not easy since it requires one to be able to coerce an audience that could be partial or impartial towards your ideas. It requires one to make the audience trust you and perceive your arguments, proclamations, or judgments as truthful (Jacobus 210-213). In case Martin Luther’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, he had to convince his audience that racism is evil and should be elimin ated for the good of all. He starts his letter with the words â€Å"My dear fellow clergymen† (King 115). This enables him establish a connection with the intended audience. Luther manages to earn the readers trust and induces them to view him and his ideas as intelligent. The Letter to the clergymen is precise but clearly addresses different aspects of racism expressed towards African-American people, particularly in Birmingham during the time of the writing. The letter is realistic and unbiased. Dr. Martin wrote this letter on Aprils 16, 1963 while he was imprisoned. Leading Martin Luther’s letter evoked a sense of patriotism even in me. The letter was addressed to eight clergymen who were opposed to Luther’s work on civil rights. Martin Luther employs Aristotle’s persuasion appeals, which include ethos, pathos, and logos. In his writing, Luther appeals his own reputation, arouses emotions in the readers mind, and supports his claims using credible cita tions from influential thinkers. By making use of pathos, Luther is able to connect and invoke emotions such as anger, sympathy, patriotism, love, and empathy from the readers (Jacobus 225). The readers sympathize with him when he says, â€Å"I am in Birmingham because injustice is here† (King 116). This clearly addresses the question of his intentions, which had been posed by his critics. Additionally, he establishes his role as the right person to promote civil rights when he claims, â€Å"I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference† (King 117). He reminds his opponents, who were clergymen that he is entitled to promote the rights of his community and is not any lesser than the eight clergymen are. Additionally, this demonstrates use of ethos to establish his credibility. He builds his credibility when he repeatedly compares himself to biblical characters who had suffered for telling the truth (Jacobus 213-217). By so doin g, the reader understands and appreciates Luther’s grounds as truthful. This is depicted when he states â€Å"Just as the eight-century prophets left their little villages and carried their ‘thus saith the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their home towns† (King 115-116). This statement convinces the readers that his course is genuine. He continues to claim that â€Å"Just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Graeci-Roman world,

Critical Analysis Of Ted Hughes The Wind English Literature Essay

Critical Analysis Of Ted Hughes The Wind English Literature Essay Ted Hughes wrote his poem The Wind in 1966, like many of his works it is a poem largely focussed on nature. In particular, this poem represents the violence in the natural world and leaves the reader feeling somewhat disturbed by its imagery and the meaning that it may imply. In The Wind Ted Hughes is describing a storm, through the strength of the imagery that he creates, he gives a sense that the weather is alive and therefore the storm has a personality of its own. There is a large contrast between the weather and the people sheltering in the house in The Wind, this contrast passes the perhaps larger message that Hughes is trying to portray. The people seem defenceless and small in comparison to the force of The Wind and moreover the natural world. That being said, The Wind is centrally a poem about relationships; the relationship between people and the natural world. The poem begins with the disturbing metaphor This house has been far out at sea all night, giving the impression that the house is like a boat lost at sea. After the initial storm, the feeling of destruction continues Rang like some fine green goblet this immediately gives the impression that the storm is alive, and leaves the reader picturing it as monstrous. The people Now deep in chairs appear fragile in comparison to this force and grip their hearts conveying the image that they are frightened of the natural world. Moreover, the metaphors describing The woods crashing through darkness, the booming hills gives the idea that even the house has been attacked all night, as if by powerful waves of this metaphorical sea on which it is forcefully being sailed through. The personification on The woods crashing and winds stampeding also continues the imagery that the woods and winds are alive and have a personality. The later, That any second would shatter it portrays the idea that the ho use is threatened by nature, and therefore the people cannot defend themselves from its powerful force. This idea is further enforced by the people seeing the window tremble to come in in the sense that the house wants to surrender to the storm, and therefore the nature is a force far more powerful than humans, this sets the image of the wind being like a giant in comparison to the people. Furthermore, the disturbing imagery becomes more apparent when even the dawn does not bring peace and the storm continues Till day rose. Personification on the word rose here also gives the feeling that nature is alive, as though it is getting out of bed. The further use of alliteration of wind wielded echoes the sound of the wind, and the simile of it Flexing like the lens of a mad eye carries on the continuing personification that wind has a personality; the wind is wild as though it is mad. The idea of the wind being angry is again highlighted Through the brunt wind that dented, giving the image that it is a threat to the narrator and could destroy them. Even the hills are no match for the wind as The tent of the hills drummed and strained its guyrope, this description of the hills being like a tent makes them appear weak, having the potential to be blown away by the strength of this storm. Hughes continues to personify the surroundings with The fields quivering, the skyline a gri mace, making a stronger sense of fear as if the wind is a monster in which the world cannot take on. The ongoing idea that the wind is alive is extended once again when The wind flung a magpie away making the imagery become more disturbing, in the sense that the wind intentionally threw the bird and therefore its personality becomes even more evil. The Wind is structured in six stanzas of four line couplets; each stanza continues the personification of the wind being alive. However, with every stanza we read this theme becomes more apparent through the use of strong imagery, and therefore more disturbing as the poem unfolds. Although this poem appears to be centrally about the relationship between people and the natural world being portrayed as negative, Hughes also uses a metaphor of the people watching the fire blazing, And feel the roots of the house move, in this instance the people are clinging to natural things, perhaps in an attempt to save themselves from the force. Furthermore, the fact that the people are using the house and fire as comfort from the wind could convey the idea that the world is being brought together under the power of the storm. Ted Hughes was married to the American poet Sylvia Plath, Sylvia gassed herself in her kitchen following his affair with another woman.. [1]. Hughes confessed that Plaths death was complicated and inevitable, she had been on that track most of her life.[2]. That being said, The Wind has been described as an extended metaphor about Hughes relationship with his wife [3] if she was on that track most of her life, then the weakness of the people and the house could in fact represent her lack of emotional stability. In this sense, the recurrence of the colour green could represent envy or jealousy that may have been existent in their relationship. Moreover the fragility of the hills, the house and the windows could be a metaphor for how fragile their relationship was. This idea continues with the theme of nature, however, in this case it would refer more to human nature. Ted Hughes The Wind uses a lot of strong imagery and through its continuous personification of the wind being alive we become more disturbed by the nature of the storm in the poem. This poem appears on surface to be a description of the violence of the natural world and its relationship with humans. However if we look into its meaning in more depth, although we will never fully know this without verification from the poet himself, The Wind could in fact be a metaphor for the relationship between Hughes and his late wife Plath. Like nature cannot be altered, human nature cannot be prevented.

King Lear: Lear The Tragic Hero Essay -- essays research papers

King Lear: Lear The Tragic Hero The definition of tragedy in the Oxford dictionary is, "drama of elevated theme and diction and with unhappy ending; sad event, serious accident, calamity." However, the application of this terminology in Shakespearean Tragedy is more expressive. Tragedy does not only mean death or calamity, but in fact, it refers to a series of steps which leads to the downfall of the tragic hero and eventually to his tragic death. Lear, the main character in King Lear was affirmed as the tragic hero because the play meets all the requirements of a tragedy. In order for a character to be qualified as a tragic hero, he must be in a high status on the social chain and the hero also possesses a tragic flaw which initiates the tragedy. The fall of the hero is not felt by him alone but creates a chain reaction which affects everyone around him. Besides, the hero must experience suffering and calamity slowly which would contrast his happier times. The suffering and calamity instantaneously caused chaos in his life and eventually leads to his death. Finally, the sense of fear and pity to the tragic hero must appear in the play as well. This makes men scared of blindness to truths which prevents them from knowing when fortune or something else would happen on them. Lear, the king of England would be the tragic hero because he held the highest position in the social chain at the very beginning of the play. His social position gave him pride as he remarked himself as "Jupiter" and "Apollo". Lear out of pride and anger has banished Cordelia and Kent and divided his Kingdom in halves to Goneril and Regan. Lear's hamartia which is his obstinate pride and anger overrides his judgment, thus, prevents him to see the true faces of people. As in Act One, although Cordelia said "nothing", she really means everything she loves to his father. However, Lear only believed in the beautiful words said by Regan and Goneril. Although Kent, his loyal advisor begged Lear to see closer to the true faces of his daughters, he ignored him and became even more angry because Kent hurt Lear's pride by disobeying his order to stay out of his and Cordelia's way Lear had already warned him, "The bow is bent and drawn, make from the shaft." ( I, I, 145). Kent still disob... ...our horrible please..." ( Lear, III, ii, 15-20) Here, the feeling of fear appears as well because in a short period of time, Lear fell from the position of King to a normal peasant. His weak, unconfident and mad mind overrules his strong, prideful and sane character. However, in looking deep down, the real fear implied here is, no matter how great things appear now; men do not hold them long and you can sink to the very bottom just as fast as Lear fell from the top of the chain to the lowest. In Shakespeare's tragic play King Lear, Lear the main character demonstrated all the necessary requirements of being a tragic hero. His high social status nourishes his hamartia which is hubris, and the tragedy is initiated by the banishment of Kent and Cordelia. Lear's pride not only altered his live alone, instead, it affected everyone around him down to the bottom of the social chain. Moreover, the realization of his true quality, pains and sufferings eventually leads to his tragic death which the most obvious element in a tragedy. Because Lear fulfills the "formula" of Shakespearean Tragedy, he could be firmly proven as tragic hero in the play.

Recruitment and Selection Strategies Essay

Over the past five weeks, work was completed on an employment compliance plan, compensation, and benefits strategies plan, performance management strategies suggested, advise given on training plans, and this week, we will provide recommendations on recruitment and selection strategies. Within these suggested strategies, the importance of implementing the following will be highlighted, the goals for Bollman Hotels, anticipated demographic changes, analysis of projected workforce needs, objectives of workforce diversity, branding of the organization, methods for recruiting, screening, and selecting candidates. Organizational Goals Bollman Hotels has net revenue of $100,000,000 with a 15% growth expected within the first year. A workforce of 25,000 employees with plans to increase by 20% with the expansion to India and the current employee turnover is 5%. Based on this information and the stage of their business development, they will need to enter the Indian market fiercely, but with as little interruption to the tourism industry as possible. Therefore, Bollman will have to be competitive and establish a premier hotel chain that will lure international travelers seeking the exotic, heterogeneous, and lavish experience by offering elitism while on business or pleasure (Incredible India, n. . ). It is recommended that the goal of Bollman Hotel’s in India is to open and operate at a five star deluxe status and be competitive with hotels such as Taj Falaknuma Palace, ITC Hotel Kakatiya, Park Hyatt, Hderabad, and The Ashok, just, to name a few (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, 2013). Therefore, Bollman Hotels will be a premier chain while aligning itself with the Government of India’s to urism and hotel requirements (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, 2013). Forecasted Demographic Changes Bollman Hotel’s entrance into the Indian market also means a shift in the demographics. Affluent international clients visiting Bollman hotels will bring notoriety to the region that they are located resulting in an economic boost. A thriving emerging economy means Indian Nationals (both men and women) experience a socio-economic change with an increase in jobs and income in that region. Additionally, with the increase in birthrates, the candidate pool has increased and Bollman will help to provide these well needed jobs (Chua, 2012). Five-Year Workforce Plan Based on the organizational goals and demographic changes, it is recommended that Bollman adopt a three-step plan to analyze its present workforce. This will help to identify the needs over the next five years (Analyzing Your Workforce, n. d. ). First step includes a supply analysis – evaluating current resources and includes the number of persons performing specific job functions in Minnesota, how many are supervised by one person and is it sufficient. What is the current pay rate in Minnesota and what will work best in India and what are the areas that contribute the most to the current 5% turnover rate and what will decrease it (Analyzing Your Workforce, n. d. ). Second step recommended is a demand analysis that will evaluate the future needs of Bollman Hotels. This analysis will determine the jobs necessary for optimum service, the jobs that can be combined or eliminated, the possible technological changes to operate best and the areas that can be performed more economically and effectively (Analyzing Your Workforce, n. d. ). The final recommended step is a gap analysis that will identify a projected need that has not been met or an excess. This is done by comparing the supply and demand results. Based on the results received from the gap analysis, solutions such as additional training, increased staff, and more efficient recruitment and hiring processes can be done over the next five years (Analyzing Your Workforce, n. d. ). Workforce Diversity Objectives Diversity is the variations that exist in an organizations based on age, gender, educational background, ethnic groups, culture, and working customs (Lai, 2013). Workforce diversity helps to manage the change that has taken place in the workforce from a manufacturing to a service industry that Bollman Hotels provides (Cascio, 2013). Second, market globalization is another factor and with Bollman’s move into an international market, it is important that they understand their internal market its customers to operate best (Cascio, 2013). Third, many businesses are requiring increased teamwork (Cascio, 2013). Bollman has experience with this demand in Minnesota with peak operating seasons and have had to increase the number of personnel that work at once. The same will apply in India. Fourth, there are increased mergers and strategic international alliances (Cascio, 2013) and with Bollman’s international move, there will be a difference in the corporate culture. Therefore, it is recommended that diversity training is provided. Finally, India is an evolving economy and with an expected increase in diverse workers such as women it is imperative that Bollman Hotel workers understand that the aim is to provide quality service to everyone (Cascio, 2013). Organizational Branding Organizational branding is essential at this point of the recommendations to Bollman Hotels. With a goal to be known as a five start deluxe hotel, it is important to put the name Bollman Hotels in the Indian market and among the local areas in the United States and Europe known for international business travel. It is recommended that this is done through traditional advertisements in local papers in the language of each country and most important and relevant to these recommendations, through hiring diverse employees (Cascio, 2013). This will ensure that Bollman is known to help create a boost in the Indian economy and the demographics as previously mentioned, hence, causing more word-of-mouth marketing internationally. Also, the service standards and five star statuses will also be something to rave about. Methods for Screening Candidates It is important that Bollman Hotels has a process for screening candidates; therefore, recommendations will be made for interview methods, testing procedures, and interview process considerations, all of which will cover the screening process. Interview Methods Employment interviews allow organizations to have an idea of the skills and personality traits that a candidate possesses (Cascio, 2013). It is therefore recommended that Bollman Hotels interview team have interview questions built on-the-job analysis done. Create general questions for all candidates, use thorough rating scales with descriptions of desired behaviors as scale points and recording notes focused on the behavior of the candidate. It is also recommended that several interviewers are used with a diverse number of them and that vast training is provided on how to conduct interviews. Interviewers are also encouraged to wait until all interviews are complete prior to discussing any candidates and finally, use statistical information and overall views of the candidates to decide (Cascio, 2013). Interview Process Considerations To ensure that the interview is a fair process, it is recommended that the panel focuses on-the-job competencies, assess resumes and applications by concentrating on specifics in line with the job requirements. Consider things that identifies if a candidate meets the requirements and skills that they possess from precious employment that are applicable (Cascio, 2013). Use open-ended questions to stimulate elaboration on topics and use questionnaires that will highlight how well someone will perform and overall fit. It is also recommended that scenario type questions are used as this will give an idea of how they will handle specific situations (Cascio, 2013). Finally, given this is a US company going into India, it is recommended that interviews are done in relaxed environments. This will allow candidate to be more open and relaxed with their responses also giving the interviewer a chance to note both verbal and non-verbal responses (Cascio, 2013). Testing Procedures Employment testing is necessary for Bollman hotels, not only based on the location, but also to protect them and to ensure they are hiring suitable employees. The tests recommended are work-sample tests, leaderless-group discussions, personality measures, and integrity test. Bollman Hotel’s goal in India is to be a premier chain; hence, service delivery is important. So, job fit is important and an integrity test will help to outline the attitudes of prospects toward stealing, dishonest behavior, violence, and drug abuse. This it done through overt integrity test – clear purpose esting and personality-based measures – disguised -purpose test (Cascio, 2013). Employees will have access to guest rooms and information, so ensuring that Bollman has an idea of their tendencies, could help with selection. Another testing method is the work-sample tests used to analyze an applicant’s ability to perform a job task (Casco, 2013). Placing an employ ee in a hotel room or situation based on the job they applied for will show the interviewer if he or she can perform this task, such as spreading a bed according to Bollman Hotel standards for example. Leaderless-group discussion is another method and entails placing several candidates at a round table and giving them a job related topic to discuss. Each person will naturally approach this based on his or her abilities and personalities. This is recommended for Bollman as it will help to determine persons suitable for supervisory roles or otherwise. Finally, the personality measure test is recommended as it will help to identify personality characteristics such as neuroticism that is the level at which an individual is insecure, anxious emotional or calm, and self-confident. Extroversion looks at how an individual is gregarious, assertive, and sociable. Openness to experience looks at how an individual is cooperative, and warm, and conscientiousness looks at how hardworking, organized, and dependable someone is (Cascio, 2013). Personality measure is recommended because it will give an idea of persons most suited for jobs where they will interact with guest the least or the most based on their personalities. Methods for Selecting Candidates The candidates chosen for the jobs at Bollman Hotels in India will have to be in tuned with the culture of prestige and superb customer service. To do this, it is recommended that all the persons involved in the interview process are gathers and each will give their thoughts on each candidate and narrow the candidate pool. The process can be repeated until the desired number of employees has been reached (McNamara, n. d. ). The interview results and subsequent selections can be coupled with test results to make decisions as well. Job Offer The job offer is another important step in the employment process. The following are recommended when presenting the job offer to a successful candidate. Prepare a letter stating how thrilled the company is to offer them the job, outline the exact compensation offered, and outline the benefits him or her is entitled to. The letter should have a signature line for them to indicate their acceptance of the job within a specified time and the contact information for the Bollman Hotel’s personnel office if the need arises (McNamara, n. d. ). A three – month probation period is recommended in addition to orientation for one week and on-the-job training for four weeks. This should also be outlined in the letter in addition to a copy of the job description (McNamara, n. d. ). Impact of Organizational Diversity on Organizations Diversity caused organizations to grow and operate more efficiently in global markets as they understand the need to relate to their customers. This also creates a competitive advantage when customers see an active effort to embrace diversity. Diversity also effects an organization by building brand equity for companies that choose to invest in multicultural advertising. They become known globally (Cascio, 2013). Organizations are also seeing that diverse employees need to be embraced to retain productive talent. Corporate image is also a factor and is increased as organizations known to employ diverse employees are more attractive to job seekers and companies seeing alliances (Cascio, 2013). It is recommended that Bollman capitalizes on the impacts of diversity as they are entering into a diverse and global market-place. Laws to Consider for Recruitment Selection It is important that Bollman Hotels remembers that employee and future employees have specific rights under specific laws. Consent is needed for background checks to be done on applicants, and this is covered under the Fair Credit Report Act and is necessary for checks done by a third party. Also, if references are provided on an applicant, they have the right to petition to see this reference under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Cascio, 2013). Conclusion In this final recommendation prepared for Bollman Hotels, the following were effectively addressed. The organizational goals, forecasted demographic changes, five-year workforce plan, workforce diversity objectives, organizational branding, methods for screening candidates using highlighting the interview methods, interview process considerations and testing procedures. Recommendations were also made for methods for selecting candidates, the job offer, impact of organizational diversity on organizations and recruitment selection laws to consider.

Corporate Governance Essay

ABSTRACT This paper examines whether the remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer position in Hong Kong public firms is affected by board composition, given the influence of family control on the boards of many Hong Kong companies. It is hypothesized that I) in family-controlled boards, Chief Executive Officers receiver higher compensation and II) Chief Executive Officers in family-controlled boards serve as Chief Executive Officer positions longer. In family-controlled boards, corporate governance is of very high importance as the independent non-executive directors can exert less influence over the board, compared to non-family-controlled boards (â€Å"dispersed boards†). Keywords: Board composition, Remuneration, Corporate Governance. 1.INTRODUCTION The economic turmoil in Asia in 1997 has led to a wider recognition of the importance of corporate governance. In line with global trends towards higher standards of corporate governance, the duties and liabilities of the directors of the listed companies have therefore become more stringent. It follows that many corporate governance mechanisms designed to monitor board members may be less effective for family-owned and family-controlled firms. However, to attract outside investors, family-owned and family-controlled firms tend to encourage greater independence and monitoring from the board. For the purposes of the study, family-owned and family-controlled are used interchangeably. The reason is that actual family ownership is difficult to ascertain due to various shareholdings and special purpose vehicles that are used, and cannot be deduced from annual reports. Thus, in this study we classify family-control and family-ownership when the board is made of a majority of related family members as a â€Å"family-controlled board†. When it is not, we classify it as a â€Å"dispersed board†. In practice, there are instances where the family owns the majority of a company but comprise of a minority of the board, and it is possible that the family is able to exert influence via other avenues, however, this study will not be examining such. Family-owned firms are common throughout Asia. Studies show that, family-owned firms hold more than 20 percent of the equity of listed companies in Asia, and more than 60 percent of the listed companies have connections with family-owned groups (Bebchuk & Fried, 2006). Family-owned businesses represent the predominant form of listed companies in Hong Kong (Standard & Poor’s, 2002). Such family ownership structure implies the strong influence of dominant shareholders and provides limited voice for minority shareholders. Compared to the Anglo-American environment, where ownership blocks are less concentrated but institutional investors are more prevalent, in Hong Kong, there is less of a culture for non-executive directors or minority shareholder activists to challenge. Variations in ownership structure may lead to differences in the nature of agency conflicts, the roles of directors may vary in accordance to the ownership structure. For family-owned firms, Shleifer and Vishny (1997) argue that the primary agency conflict is between a family owner and non-family owners. Meanwhile, for widely held firms, Berle and Means (1932), and, Jensen and Meckling (1976) argue that the primary agency conflict is between executives and shareholders. As a consequence, tying remuneration to performance of executives may prove the most efficient way to mitigate this agency conflict. To date, a vast of literatures published in recent years show the growing recognition of influences of family-owned firms and executive remuneration on corporate governance. Many studies have tended to focus on the use of remuneration contracts to align interests of executives with owners in family-owned firms. The rise in executive remuneration in recent years has been the subject of public criticism, which further intensified corporate governance scandals. Therefore, the question whether a correlation exists between remuneration and family-control in board composition at Hong Kong-listed companies. 2.OBJECTIVES In 1994, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited introduced rules that require listed firms to disclose the remuneration of directors. Before 2004, there was no requirement to disclose the names and remuneration of directors (Cheng & Firth, 2005). The Disclosure of Financial Information rule under Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited’s Listing Rules was amended on 31 March 2004 to require full disclosure, on an individual and named basis, of directors’ fees and any other reimbursement or emolument payable to a director. In addition, Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standard 2 requires listed firms to disclose directors’ share-based remuneration. The Code on Corporate Governance Practices forms part of the Listing Rules and came into effect on 1 January 2005. According to the Code on Corporate Governance Practices, Hong Kong’s listed firms should be overseen by an effective board, which should assume responsibility for the leadership and control of the listed firm, and the members of which should be collectively responsible for promoting the success of the firm by directing and supervising its affairs. Directors should make decisions objectively in the best interests of the firm. In regards of remuneration policy for firms’ directors, the Code on Corporate Governance Practices requires the disclosure of information related to the firm’s directors’ remuneration policy and other remuneration-related matters. There should be a formal and transparent procedure for setting policy on executive directors’ remuneration. The Chief Executive Officer, a director in the board of company, will hence have his/her full remuneration disclosed. It is recommended that remuneration should be set at a level sufficient to attract and retain directors of the caliber required to run the company successfully, but companies should avoid paying more than is necessary. However, it is argued that many corporate governance mechanisms designed to monitor board members may be less effective for family-owned firms. However, to attract outside investors, family-owned firms tend to encourage greater independence and monitoring from the board. In Hong Kong, there are quite a number of listed companies have a high concentration of family ownership. It is common for the top executives of family-owned firms in Hong Kong to be family members. The rise of remuneration of family executives in family-owned firms has been the subject of public criticism. Recognizing this, the purpose of this research is to find out whether there is any relationship between family-board-control of firms and remuneration of Chief Executive Officers. To summarize, this study revolves around the following major objectives. †¢ To test whether there are significant differences in Chief Executive Officers’ remuneration for family-controlled and non-family-controlled firms (specifically firms with family-controlled boards and firms without family-controlled boards); †¢ To find out whether â€Å"Family Chief Executive Offices† (cases where the Chief Executive Officer are family members of the family-controlled boards) are awarded excessive compensation, compromising standards of corporate governance; †¢ To examine the tenure of Chief Executive Officers for family-controlled firms vs non-family-controlled firms, given that there may be differences in the board’s ongoing approval and demand of the results delivered by the Chief Executive Office; and †¢ To test whether there are significant differences in corporate governance structure of family-controlled and non-family-controlled firms. 3.LITERATURES REVIEW, HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT 3.1 Agency theory It is commonly acknowledged that ownership structure, the basis of corporate governance, is important to the overall performance of firms. While there are a large number of literatures discussing ownership structure, agency theory is frequently cited as a foundation. In modern corporations, the separation of ownership and control leads to agency conflicts that can be alleviated through various corporate governance mechanisms (Fama and Jensen, 1983). As one such mechanism, compensation schemes are designed to provide incentives that align the behavior of agents to act on behalf of principles (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). This relationship between executive compensation and firm performance has received considerable attention from the general public and academics. One of the issues in the field of management is the impact of family influence (Mishra et. al., 2001; McConaughy et. al., 1998) and corporate governance on the value of a firm (Khatri et al., 2001; Kwak, 2003; Black et al., 2003). There are various studies in diverse areas like accounting, economics, finance, law and management have been conducted to study such impact (Mishra et al., 2001; Kwak, 2003; Blacket al., 2003; Andersen and Reeb, 2003). These studies have resulted in interesting and useful observations. According to Alchian and Demsetz (1972), the principal agent problem comes from hidden action due to asymmetric information. The essence of a firm is that, it permits people to work as a team. It is the cooperation of a team that leads to a firm’s output. Thus, the agency problem inevitably arises in corporate governance. According to Jensen and Meckling (1976), agent problem arises from the conflict of interests between shareholders as the principals and the executives as the agents. Consequently, residual control rights fall into the hands of management instead of the residual cash flow claimants. As a result, the sum of monitoring expenditures be incurred by the principal, bonding expenditures incurred by the agent, and the value of the lost residual borne by the principal are included as the cost of agency. In general, when ownership of a firm becomes more dispersed, the agency problem will be deteriorated due to the inability of the relatively small shareholders to monitor the behavior of management. The monitoring of managers by shareholders is also weakened by free-rider problem. To mitigate the problem of agency, Ang (2000) and Denis and Sarin (1999) suggested the shareholding of management to be increased in order to make the executive a significant claimant. An inverse correlation exists between the dispersed ownership and firm performance (Berle and Means, 1932), because executives’ interests do not coincide with the interest of shareholders so that corporate resources are not used for the maximization of shareholders’ wealth. This view has been supported by many scholars. Shleifer and Vishny (1986), McConnell and Servaes (1990), and Zingales (1995) found a strong positive relationship between ownership concentration and corporate performance. In transitional economies, Xu and Wang (1999) and Chen (2001) found a positive relationship between actual firm performance and ownership concentration for a sample of listed Chinese companies. 3.2Ownership Structure It is common in Hong Kong, that ownership structure is characterized by single dominant owners (Chau & Leung, 2006). A report of the Corporate Governance Working Group of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants in 1995 indicated that a high concentration on family-controlled listed firms is highly entrepreneurial and opportunistic in their business strategies, however, the report also indicate that these firms with single dominant owners lack resources and corporate culture to maintain strong internal corporate control. The 2001 Review on Corporate Governance by the Hong Kong Standing Committee for Corporate Law Reform, as well as a report from Standard & Poor’s, indicated that family ownership structures present particular challenges. Theoretically, there is a major puzzle regarding the role of family in large firms (Bertrand & Schoar, 2006; Villalonga & Amit, 2006). In family-controlled firms, threatening factors may negatively influence the firms’ value (Demstez, 1983; Demstez and Lehn, 1985). Table 1 as below lists positive and negative factors affecting the relationship between family control and firm value. It shows that there is still difference of opinion among researchers on this topic of importance. 3.3â€Å"Family† Chief Executive Officers In this study, whether a person belonging to the family acts as a Chief Executive Officer is taken into account. We classify family-control and family-ownership when the board is made of a majority of related family members (â€Å"family-controlled board†). When it is not, we classify it as a â€Å"dispersed board†. Family Chief Executive Officers have substantial stockholdings of 5 percent or more (Daily & Dollinger, 1993), with such given bargaining power, can be expected to influence the size and structure of their remuneration packages to their own benefit. Thus, for the purposes of this study, Chief Executive Officers with stockholdings of less than 5 percent are not counted as â€Å"Family Chief Executive Officers†. There are differing opinions on whether such Family Chief Executive Officers have higher or lower remunerations at such family-controlled firms. Some believe that such Family Chief Executive Officers are receiving above-average compensation due to the family-controlled board, as well as their strong ability to influence remuneration committee. Oh the other hand, others take the opposite view and see that Family Chief Executive Officers should be receiving below-average compensation. There is several reasons for this expectation. First of all, both anecdotal (Applegate, 1994; Kets de Vries, 1993) and empirical (Allen & Pamian, 1982; Gomez-Mejia et al., 2001; Schulze et al., 2001) evidence suggest that incumbents with family ties to owners enjoy high employment security. As argued by Beehr (1997), the Family Chief Executive Officer inherently plays two overlapping and interdependent roles: a work role as steward of the company, and a non-work role as fulfillment of family obligations. In reciprocity for this role duality, the Family Chief Executive Officer is rewarded with a relatively assured job (Allen & Pamian, 1982; Kets de Vries, 1993; Gomez-Mejia et al., 2001). Moreover, some literatures suggested that evaluators are more likely to make positive performance attributions to employees when there are emotional ties between monitoring and those being judged (Cardy & Dobbins, 1993). It is expected that in family-controlled firms, board members in their role as monitors may be less inclined to attribute disappointing results to the Family Chief Executive Officer, giving the benefit of the doubt to the incumbent when interpreting ambiguous performance data. Agency theory suggests that there are inherent conflicts between shareholders and executives. Applying agency theory’s logic, the above scenario suggests that in family-controlled firms, risk adverse agents would trade higher job security for lower earnings if they are related to principals. Family Chief Executive Officers mitigate usual agency costs because of their aligned interests with the owners (Anderson & Reeb, 2003). The information asymmetry problem in agency relationships may also be reduced given the close ties between Family Chief Executive Officers and the owners. Since they hold high ownership stakes, Family Chief Executive Officers have sufficient incentives to place family welfare ahead of personal interests, thus may perform better than firms with non-family Chief Executive Officers. Barney (2001) suggested that appointing family members as Chief Executive Officers may be beneficial. Tradition, loyalty, and bonding relationships determine how resources are deployed in family firms. Family Chief Executive Officers build common interests and identities (Habbershon & Williams, 1999) and play a dual role by being both owners and executives (Chang, 2003; Yiu, Bruton, & Lu, 2005). Through social relationships with managers and employees, Family Chief Executive Officers may help to obtain intangible resources such as goal congruence, trust, and social interactions, providing valuable, unique, and hard-to-imitate competitive advantage (Chu, 2011; Liu et al., 2011; Luo & Chung, 2005). The Code on Corporate Governance Practices recommends remuneration committee to seek advice from the Chief Executive Officer on the matter of directors’ remuneration. Executives in firms controlled by a large shareholder receive more compensation for performance, than executives in firms lacking a controlling owner (Gomez-Mejia et al., 1987). Mehran (1995) examined the relationship between executive remuneration, ownership structure and firm performance. The results indicate that firms, which have more outside directors, have a higher percentage of executive remuneration in equity-based form. Moreover, the percentage of equity-based remuneration is inversely related to the outside directors’ equity ownership, i.e., the executive’s equity-based remuneration rose if the outside directors’ owned less of the company, and vice-versa. Next, Mehran (1995) turned to firm performance, and its relationship to executive remuneration and ownership structure. He used Tobin’s Q and return on assets as measures of firm performance. He found firm performance to be positively related to the percentage of executive remuneration that is equity-based. However, Mehran (1995) no relationship between firm performance and ownership structure. He concluded that the results support the notion that executive remuneration should be tied to firm performance. There is a vast amount of literature on turnover of the Chief Executive Officer position (Furtado and Karan, 1990; Kesner and Sebora, 1994; Finkelstein and Hambrick, 1996; Pitcher et al., 2000). However, according to Finkelstein and Hambrick (1996), the relationship between remuneration and turnover has not been subjected to rigorous empirical examination, even given the emphasis on retention as a justification for high remuneration of Chief Executive Officer. The following hypotheses are framed: Hypothesis 1: In family-controlled boards, Chief Executive Officers receive higher compensation. Hypothesis 2: Chief Executive Officers in family-controlled boards serve as Chief Executive Officer positions longer. 3.4Board Composition The role of the board is expected to represent shareholders, provide strategic guidance to and effective oversight of management, foster a culture of good governance, and promote a safe and healthy working environment within the company. In accordance to Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Rule 3.10, the board of directors is required to have at least three independent non-executive directors. The presence of â€Å"truly† independent non-executive directors in the corporate governance regime is seen as one way of mitigating agency problem associated with concentrated family ownership. In family-owned firms, given the influence of family control on the remuneration and performance relationships exists, where the majority of shares are in the hands of family members, under this circumstance, the executive and risk-bearer functions are merged and more of the wealth consequences of the executives’ decisions are internalized. In other words, there is less separation of ownership and control and thus lowering agency costs, which in turn leads to less cost for monitoring by outside directors. Therefore, firms closely controlled and managed by family members are expected to use lower proportion of outside directors compared with firms with disperse ownership. In widely held firms, with ownership dispersed among many investors, investors are often small and poorly informed to exercise even the control rights they actually have. Moreover, the free-rider problem faced by individual investors makes them uninterested in expending effort to learn about the firms they have financed, or even to participate in the governance (Shleifer and Vishny, 1997). As a result, the larger degree of separation of ownership and control in widely held firms leads to greater conflicts. The use of outside directors by widely held firms is expected to be more. 3.5Remuneration Committee In 1999, remuneration committees were uncommon in Hong Kong, with only few firms reporting their existence (Cheng & Firth, 2005). Since 2006, Hong Kong Stock Exchange proposes a rule to require issuers to set up a remuneration committee, with the committee chairman and a majority of the members being Independent Non-executive Directors. In family-owned firms, the positions of the Chief Executive Officer are usually held by family members, who can influence the level of remuneration paid to directors. The Code on Corporate Governance Practices recommends remuneration committee to seek advice from the Chief Executive Officer on the matter of directors’ remuneration. The Code on Corporate Governance Practices recommends that the majority of remuneration committee members be Independent Non-executive Directors. The presence of Independent Non-executive Directors on the remuneration committee is supposed to be used as monitoring mechanism that prevents excessive remuneration for executive directors (Basu et al., 2007), including that of the Chief Executive Officer. The role of independent non-executive directors and large institutional shareholders becomes crucial to curtailing the possible self-serving behavior of top managers (HKSA, 2001). Studies of firms in other countries show conflicting results on the relationship between remuneration and remuneration committee. Some findings show that remuneration committees tend to reduce remuneration, whereas others report the opposite (Conyon & Peck, 1998; Ezzamel & Watson, 1998). However, in practice it is highly likely that the Chief Executive Officer has some influence over the compensation decision (Murphy, 1999). An important question relating to the composition of remuneration committee concerns the ideal combination of outsiders and insiders. Insiders may face distorted incentives due to their lack of independence from the Family Chief Executive Officer (Bushman et al., 2004). 3.6 Components of Remuneration The basic components of remuneration of Chief Executive Officer are similar, however, the relative level and weights on the components differ (Abowd and Kaplan, 1999, and Bryan et al., 2006). Generally, remuneration of Chief Executive Officer can be divided into four basic parts: a base salary, an annual bonus which is tied to some accounting measure of company performance, stock options, and long-term incentive plans, such as restricted stock plans and multi-year accounting-based performance plans. †¢ Base salary: is the fixed part of remuneration of Chief Executive Officer, causing risk-averse executives to prefer an increase in base salary rather than an increase in bonuses. Most components of remuneration are specified relative to base salary. †¢ Bonus: in addition to the base salary, most companies offer their executives an annual bonus plan based on a single year’s performance. The purpose of such bonuses, as well as options, is to align the incentives of the Chief Executive Officer with that of the shareholders. †¢ Stock options: are contracts, which give the owner the right to buy shares at a pre-specified exercise price. Stock options reward stock price appreciation, not total shareholder return, which includes dividends. In this study, stock options are excluded, as full details of such information would not be retrievable from annual reports. †¢ Other forms of compensation: restricted stock to be received by executives, it is restricted in the sense that shares are forfeited under certain conditions, which usually have to do with the longevity of employment. Many companies also have long-term incentive plans in addition to the bonus plans, which are based on annual performance. Top executives routinely participate in supplemental executive retirement plans in addition to the company-wide retirement plans. Most executives have some sort of severance arrangement. Finally, executives often receive benefits in the form of free use of company cars, housing, etc. Based on the various conceptual and empirical evidences presented above, this study aims to understand whether the remuneration of a Family Chief Executive Officer is influenced by the board composition, i.e. whether it is family-controlled or not. This ties into the original Hypothesis 1, thus, the further hypotheses is framed as follows: Hypothesis 3: The higher the proportion of independent non-executive members on the board of directors at family-board-controlled firms, the lower the Chief Executive Officer remuneration.

4 pieces of career advice no one will give you

4 pieces of career advice no one will give you You’ve heard all the classics before (including from us!): never stop revamping your resume. Practice your body language. Keep your network evergreen, because you never know when you’ll need it. These are all important and useful tips for anyone’s career, no matter what the industry. But if you’re just starting out, there are some more†¦off-the-record things that everyone learns the hard way, but people don’t really talk about. Let’s look at some of the things that happen to most of us, but aren’t necessarily in the career guides. 1. You’re going to fail (sometimes)That sounds super harsh and pessimistic, right? But it’s also true. You’re not gonna fail all the time, or most of the time- don’t worry. But sometimes, things will go badly, and you will run into the big â€Å"F.† It happens to all of us- the straight-A overachievers, the guy who doesn’t care, the seasoned professional. Sometim es things just aren’t going to go well. And while it can be upsetting, especially if it leads to negative feedback or professional consequences, you have to be able to absorb it, take what lessons you can, and move on. And when it happens, remember that you’re not alone, and that some of the most important lessons come from falling on your face once in a while.2. Set work-life boundaries earlyAt the start of any new job or career path, you want to set a great first impression. The one who starts early (or is impeccably on time every day), stays late, deftly responds to an after-hours email. Here’s the problem with that approach: it can turn into the status quo very quickly, as people start to expect that your hard-charging ways are just the way you operate and what they can expect from you. This is not to say you should slack off, or try to set expectations low. Rather, make sure you’re staking out personal boundaries and that you have personal outlets th at balance out the job. If you don’t have a workout routine, or de-stressing activity, or something that keeps you happy and fulfilled outside of work, that’s a fast-track to burnout.3. Don’t take everything so seriouslyYes, your career is important. Yes, you should be a strong advocate for yourself and not take crap from anyone. But if you’ve got your Game Face on all the time at work, you run the risk of alienating coworkers, bosses, anyone on the receiving end of your â€Å"don’t mess with me† vibe. Being flexible (and willing to take a step back and chill out) when necessary will help you keep a kind of equilibrium at work.4. It’s okay to have imposter syndromeYou’ve probably heard about â€Å"imposter syndrome,† where people feel like they’re inadequate at their jobs and that everyone else is on the cusp of figuring out that they don’t belong there. Turns out, a little insecurity can go a long way towa rd helping your career. If you feel an overwhelming sense of inferiority, that could mean that you need more training or guidance. But if you feel more like you could take that feeling and direct it into professional development, or working more efficiently, then it can be a boon to your career.No matter who you are, no matter what job you do, the most important career advice of all is â€Å"don’t worry.† As long as you’re working hard to improve yourself at every step of your career, you don’t always have to worry about whether you’re following the proper advice- it just has to be proper for you and your goals.

Evaluation of Milgrams study into obedience Essays

Evaluation of Milgrams study into obedience Essays Evaluation of Milgrams study into obedience Essay Evaluation of Milgrams study into obedience Essay I am writing to you regarding your research into obedience. After carefully analysing your study, I have concluded that, while it is very interesting to read, your case has many ethical and theoretical flaws. Primarily, you deceived your participants by using confederates that were thought to have been given real shocks when, in fact, they were not. This clearly is not a good way to start an experiment. You also revoked their right to withdraw, often saying things that would make them feel intimidated, such as, ‘You have no choice, you must go on. ’ The participants should have been able to say comfortably that they did not want to continue. I read your statement on the topic of the participants’ protection, where you claimed that you had no way of knowing how much stress the study would cause. However, I would have to disagree. As a psychologist, I would have thought it instantaneous for you to consider the psychological effect the study would have on your volunteers. Honestly, I just cannot see how you could not predict these reactions (if you need me to refresh your memory – anxiety, horror, disgust, trauma). It is not irrational to feel horrified that you had ‘administered’ a fatal dose of shocks several times, and then ashamed when you were told that it wasn’t real, or disgust at the fact that you are capable of killing someone in the first place. Could you not have created a scenario in your head in order to see a potential outcome? Your study lacked ecological validity, as nobody would actually be put in that situation in real life. It is also possible the volunteers acted the way they did because it was an experiment, and so they presumed it was not real, and they would not actually do that in real life. Finally, you only used male participants, therefore the study lacked representativeness, as it is possible that women would have been more unsettled by the shocks and would have dissented both verbally and physically, so you cannot generalise the findings. I hope you take these criticisms into consideration the next time you decide to carry out an experiment.

How to Punctuate Descriptions of Colors

How to Punctuate Descriptions of Colors How to Punctuate Descriptions of Colors How to Punctuate Descriptions of Colors By Mark Nichol Use of hyphens and commas in phrases that include names of colors is the cause of some confusion among writers. Here’s a discussion of when to insert or omit these punctuation marks when referring to colors. As with most other phrasal adjectives, pairs of words that together describe the color of an object should be hyphenated: A suit that is dark blue (referring to degree of saturation) is a dark-blue suit, and a suit that is blue gray (identifying a combination of colors) is a blue-gray suit. (Note, too, that a modifying phrase referring to color, like most phrasal adjectives, is not hyphenated when it follows rather than precedes the noun it modifies.) The previous rule applies not only to combinations of colors but to degrees (â€Å"greenish-blue dress,† â€Å"a dress that is greenish blue†) or comparisons (â€Å"snow-white fabric,† â€Å"fabric that is snow white†) of color. Remember, too, that light has two distinct meanings: A light green package is a green package that doesn’t weigh much; a light-green package is a package that is a light shade of green. When the adjective or phrasal adjective follows the noun or noun phrase, and no hyphenation occurs, the distinction is still clear: The first description is of a green package that is light, and the second is of a package that is light green. When the name of a color is one of two or more adjectives preceding a noun, whether and which of the adjectives are separated by commas depends on whether they are coordinate adjectives or not whether they each modify the noun, rather than one modifying a phrase consisting of an adjective and a noun. For example, in â€Å"a tall, green pole,† a comma separates the two adjectives because they are coordinate, or equivalent. To test this fact, either replace the comma with and (â€Å"a tall and green pole†) or reverse the order of the adjectives (â€Å"a green, tall pole†). If these changes make sense (even though the original syntax is better), the adjectives are coordinate, meaning that they both refer to the pole, and the comma is required. In â€Å"a weathered green pole,† by contrast, the adjectives are noncoordinate: Weathered and green do not each modify pole; weathered modifies â€Å"green pole,† so no comma is necessary. Various references to combinations of two or more colors are also distinguished by the use or omission of hyphens. For example, â€Å"She has only black and white shoes† means that all of the person’s shoes are either black or white, but â€Å"She has only black-and-white shoes† means that the person’s shoe collection consists only of shoes in which each pair is black and white. â€Å"Yellow, pink, and red flowers† refers to flowers colored yellow, pink, or red, whereas â€Å"yellow-pink-and-red flowers† denotes tricolored flowers. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Slang Terms for MoneyWhenever vs. When Ever50 Musical Terms Used in Nonmusical Senses

Discussion of Chinese women Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion of Chinese women - Coursework Example The Chinese government has identified the need to equip women with skills to engage in economic development and leadership. The website explores the challenges faced by women in their efforts to be liberated. It clearly displays the role of education on involving women in development (Hinsch 97). Education gives women a chance to engagement in various professions such medical, journalism, teaching and many others. Educated women can be influence in ensuring justice for all. For instance, Shi Liang, a renowned lawyer and Chinese first justice minister in the 1930s pushed equal rights for both women and men. Going by history, leadership in China has assumed the aspect of masculinity. The cultural constructions limit the participation of women in leadership. Liberation of women from these cultural chains is an issue of concern. The few women who have been apportioned leadership responsibilities in government have display outstanding performances. This has raised an alarm for the government to rethink on women and leadership. The website display’s the communists’ party efforts to deal with women’s issues as aggressive. For instance, Women’s reproductive freedom remains abused under the china’s family planning regulation, heavy fines are imposed on those who go against the rule. In the traditional Chinese culture women had little or no priority in healthcare, healthcare was designed to focus on men. Despite the aggressiveness, the government has endorsed polices that give equal healthcare to men and women. Women receive scholarships to study medicine outside china. For example in the 1980s a batch of female Chinese students went to study in America. The communist government has raised employment of women in good paying labor force. Of the total working population, 43% is women. The increased participation of women in the labor force has increased the women contribution to family income. Women form a

INTERPRETING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

INTERPRETING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Essay Example (b) Chieftain has a large volume of cash balance which can be helpful for the company to pay off its current obligations easily. It improves the liquidity position of the company. However, it can be disadvantageous for the company too because idle cash would not earn any return for the company and would limit the company’s growth in future. (c) Chieftain has $4.6 million as accounts payable instead of having so much cash balance. It is so because the company might be finding difficulties to generate sufficient cash from its operations or might have higher inventory levels. (a) According to Kranhold (2007), the employees of General Electric (GE) were engaged in the practice of using improper accounting methods to record the revenues generated by the company during the years 2000 to 2003. (b) The possible reasons behind these activities being conducted by the employees of GE can be some personal incentives for the managers if they are able to generate higher revenues for the company. Another possibility can be that the employees might have been instructed by the top level managers of the company to conduct such activities so that it can mislead its investors by showing a better financial position of the organization. (d) Restating the financial results mean reviewing the previously published financial statements of the company to make adjustments for any kinds of errors that might be present in the disclosed financial information or may be due to some changes in accounting policies made by the company. GE did not restate its financial results in order to rectify its reported locomotive sales because the related changes were not that significant as compared to the total revenues generated by GE or the income generated by them. Restating the financial results would have resulted in only 0.2% change in its reported

Internet Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Internet Security - Essay Example For this reason, there are those small business entrepreneurs that resort to online help provisions. IT has been considered that online help provisions are much practical, more informative and more up building for those who are still starting as novice online business operators. Within the discussion that follows, presenting the different readings that might be able to support the need to understand what network security is and how free online training could help in proceeding with its application shall be better presented herein. The world of online business networking is indeed a very much inviting new arena for business owners who have both large and small scale entities which are designed to particularly generate profit for better income returns. This is especially true for small scale businesses. This is the reason why there are many individual network business establishers who are best able to consider the different possibilities of earning through online connections. How is this particularly done Through the systems of online networking, business owners are able to maintain proper contact with their clients, their possible outsourced workers and their partners from the different parts of the world. Do not be misled, yes, the business scales considered herein are those that of the small ones. Small as they are though, functioning through the internet involves several considerations upon the capability of each element of the business to perform well for its success is essential. The book of Rick Segel (2006) on The essential online solution: the five step formula for small business success mentions of the five most important considerations that online business owners should give particular attention to. According to Segel, these five steps enable even small scale business operators to gain the best out of the online networking systems that are expected to further fuel small time profit organizations towards the success that they all deserve to have (43). This is further supported by Edward Firegold (2001) as he writes about the Internet Infrastructure: a blueprint for success, the ultimate guide to understanding and delivering open source system online. Through this analysis, Firegold tries to point out the importance of using a well enabled system that would be able to support the functions of modern networking operations when it comes to business deals and transactions made and verified online. He further notes that there are certain transactions over the internet that might cause a small scale business to fail in the process of getting its clients' loyalty and trust (65). To avoid this particular matter from happening, the utilization of a user-friendly online operating system is essential (112). Surely, through adapting to a well-adjustable online operating system, even small scale business operators would be able to manage their online resources effectively. Meanwhile, Susan Payton (2009) discussed safety on online marketing procedures as she writes about the Internet marketing for entrepreneurs: using web 2.0 strategies for success [the small business management collection]. In this writing, Payton intends to show small scale busin

The Red Scare and The Second Red Scare Research Paper

The Red Scare and The Second Red Scare - Research Paper Example The first Red Scare The first main manifestation of strong anti-communism in the US occurred in 1919 and 1920 following the 1917 Bolshevick Revolution in Russia. It also came as a result of strong patriotic years of the First World War in which social agitation and left-wing political violence worsened the national political and social tensions. According to Murray (1971), the Red Scare can be described as a nation-wide anti-radical hysterical which was triggered by increasing anxiety and fear that the Bolshevick revolution was going to occur in America. This revolution was to change home, marriage, Church, civility and the American way of life1. During this time, newspapers increased the existing political fears into xenophobia because different radical anarchism was seen as the answers to poverty. At the same time the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) had supported many labor strikes in the period of 1916-1917. The press portrayed this as a radical threat which was inspired by the left-wing to work against the American society. However, this was a misinterpretation of the legitimate labor strikes by the press as plots to establish communism, crimes against society and crimes against the society2. In 1919, a plan to mail 36 bombs to popular members of the US economic and political establishment and immigration officers was discovered by the authorities. On 2nd June 1919, eight bombs exploded simultaneously in eight cities and the house of the Alexander Mitchell Palmer, the US Attorney General in Washington DC was one of the targets. Twelve famous lawyers and Felix Frankfurter, a Justice in the Supreme Court, criticized Palmer raids as unconstitutionally illegal3. Felix Frankfurter published a report concerning the US Department of Justice and the illegal practices in it. The report documented the violation of the 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th Amendments to the US constitution through the wanton violence and illegal acts which he states as Palmer-authorized. Palmer responded defensively by warning that left-wing revolution that was government-deposing would begin on 1st May, 1920. However, it failed to take place denoting that there was a shift in public opinion concerning communism. There were legal criticisms against Palmer’s claims for example that less than 600 deportations out of the thousands of resident foreigners were substantiated with evidence. The resident foreigners had been illegally arrested and deported back to their home countries. As a result to the shift in public opinion during first the Red Scare, left-wing and communist organizations for example the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and the IWW lost many members. During the first Red Scare period, the ‘criminal syndicalism’ laws were enacted by many US states4. These laws outlawed the campaign for violence in as a tool for affecting and achieving social change. The passage of the ‘criminal syndicalism’ laws triggered aggressive police investigat ions of individuals accused of advocating for such type of violence, their arrest and deportation. The individuals were being arrested and deported because they were suspected to be either communist or left-wing members. The wave of arrests, trials and deportation by the government became the characteristic events of the first Red Scare. The second Red Scare

Critique epidemiologic research articles Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critique epidemiologic articles - Research Paper Example The control group included people selected randomly in the Boston area who filled the questionnaires with their dietary intake for 2 weeks. The group is appropriate because they have different lifestyle from the health professionals and their knowledge of the healthy diets and cancer differs from that of health professionals, in short they are complete opposites. B. Was the method of classification or of measurement consistent for all the subjects relevant to the objectives of the investigation? Are there possible biases in measurement? If so, what provisions were made to deal with them? The methods of measurement were different for the study group as well as the control group. The researchers administered the diet questionnaires to the control group which were strict n the amount of calories on each specific diet record on a weekly basis for the 2 weeks but none of that was done to the control group. This was made through carrying out a follow-up to the study group after every two years. The observations of the study group are reproducible as the research team carried out a follow-up of its study group for 6 years and hence in the end they achieved their conclusive results. They can also be said to be valid as they were carried out in a scientific manner. On whether they are reliable or not, the subject is up for discussion because of the lack of a control group to compare results with for the 6 years. Yes the data requires statistical analysis because they involve quantity in numbers of fat and energy. The analysis used is multivariate which is appropriate considering there are several sets of data being analyzed. The analysis and interpretation even though longer is correct. The conclusion justified is that which supports the hypothesis. The conclusion about red meat absorption and the acid content has not been analyzed in the data and hence is not appropriate to be made without research. The first

Podcasts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Podcasts - Essay Example In this scenario, subscribers are able to listen to podcasts using their computers, rather than sending them to a portable audio player. In fact, it is expected that coming editions of podcasting will include video signal. In this scenario, the cell phones with video potential will be capable of playing video podcasts. Actually, Adam Curry presented the idea of Podcasting. The application of this idea rose extensively with the emergence of networks and radio making material available for podcast fans. According to a research conducted by â€Å"USA Today† in February 2005 stated that over 3,300 podcast applications were available, immediately few months after its opening (Egger; Kayne; Lesinski, Walker and Leveque). Moreover, innovative technology based media has often replaced older media. However, it immediately does not take place that way. In fact, there are various aspects that turn out to be strictly out-of-date and have been replaced because of harsh boundaries they had (smoke signals are not that well-known any longer) however by and large, latest and innovative technology based media immediately supplements older media. Though, gestures did not turn out to be out of date for the reason that of speech. Additionally, the speech did not move away for the reason that of writing. In the same way, books did not put back the trend of letters. In addition, radio did not make books go absent, and neither did TV replace radio. On the other hand, the media backdrop is developing and the various kinds of media are affecting each other. Since people usually like to watch the Super Bowl on TV in place of listening to it on the radio. However, that is not equivalent "replacement". Additionally, radio certainly had to alter when TVs turned out to be well-known, however on the alternately, the number of radio stations almost certainly has augmented in those days (Egger; Kayne; Lesinski, Walker and Leveque). In this scenario, we have

Critique epidemiologic research articles Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critique epidemiologic articles - Research Paper Example The control group included people selected randomly in the Boston area who filled the questionnaires with their dietary intake for 2 weeks. The group is appropriate because they have different lifestyle from the health professionals and their knowledge of the healthy diets and cancer differs from that of health professionals, in short they are complete opposites. B. Was the method of classification or of measurement consistent for all the subjects relevant to the objectives of the investigation? Are there possible biases in measurement? If so, what provisions were made to deal with them? The methods of measurement were different for the study group as well as the control group. The researchers administered the diet questionnaires to the control group which were strict n the amount of calories on each specific diet record on a weekly basis for the 2 weeks but none of that was done to the control group. This was made through carrying out a follow-up to the study group after every two years. The observations of the study group are reproducible as the research team carried out a follow-up of its study group for 6 years and hence in the end they achieved their conclusive results. They can also be said to be valid as they were carried out in a scientific manner. On whether they are reliable or not, the subject is up for discussion because of the lack of a control group to compare results with for the 6 years. Yes the data requires statistical analysis because they involve quantity in numbers of fat and energy. The analysis used is multivariate which is appropriate considering there are several sets of data being analyzed. The analysis and interpretation even though longer is correct. The conclusion justified is that which supports the hypothesis. The conclusion about red meat absorption and the acid content has not been analyzed in the data and hence is not appropriate to be made without research. The first

International Financial Reporting Standards Essay Example for Free

International Financial Reporting Standards Essay 1. Introduction: With the announced adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for publicly accountable starting 2011 by the Canadian’s Accounting Standards Board (AcSB), issues about the effect on the usefulness of financial statement need serious attention starting on knowing the similarities and differences between Canadian GAAP and IFRS.   Some critics have argued that IFRS will   give up too much reliability in order to achieve relevance, while others have argued that the increased relevance and comparability will promote usefulness of the financial statements.    This paper attempts to address some of these issues as is seeks to analyze the potential effects of Canada Adoption of IFRS by making an opinion as to whether the change will result in more or less decision useful information, thus making securities markets either more or less efficient. 2. Analysis and Discussion 2.1 What is IFRS and its advantages if adopted? IFRS is being promoted by its supporters as a â€Å"single set of globally accepted, high quality accounting standards† (KMPG Canada, 2007), that is adopted by over a hundred countries, including five of the G8 countries (KMPG Canada, 2007).   It appears to have gained the support of a number of countries and with announced adoption in Canada, starting 2011 by AcSB, there is good ground to believed about the benefits of the said set of international accounting standards in Canada compared staying on with the present Canada GAAP.   To cite names of countries, it could be asserted that as early as 2005, publicly listed companies in European Union member countries , Australia, Hong Kong,   and South Africa and have used IFRS (KMPG Canada, 2007).   In the absence of these countries’ plan or indication of returning to where they came from, with more reason and interest it is to know about the improvement from IFRS adoption in the financial statements of Canadian comp anies. Given therefore the similarities of the two standards under Canadian GAAP and IFRS, there is basis to state that Canada has had considerable input and influence in the development of IFRS over the years (KMPG Canada, 2007).   Therefore, Canada’s decision to join the many countries in adopting IFRS carries with it the intention to benefit enterprises in Canada.   That it would provide better access to international capital, funding and investment opportunities should not come as a big surprise.   The realities of samurai bonds or Eurobonds (Hill, 2009) could be asserted to have strong support from the presence of IAS or IFRS in the countries where bonds are floated as companies seek cheaper sources of capital as finding the same outside each homo country   helps in minimization of cost of capital as an objective (Brigham and Houston, 2002).   The improved information in terms of comparability of financial reports across countries could just be easy to accept as many c ompanies pursue international business. Another advantage of using the IFRS is the belief that it   should also more cost effective for the accounting information compared with maintaining a separate and isolated set of Canadian accounting standards (KMPG Canada, 2007).   This could be the same reason for the move by the US to eventually adopt harmonization of its accounting standards with the IFRS since non-US companies, which want to list their stocks in the US stock exchanges, are required still to make translation of IFRS based financial statements into US GAAP based.   From the practical sense of view, it would be easy to see the added cost for companies making still translations in the same way that non-Canadian companies may be required to make the translation   when they go to Canadian stock exchanges. Another advantage of adoption is to make financial results more transparent and consistent for user globally, which will mean using more judgment and providing more disclosure in the short term (KMPG Canada, 2007).   For this reason,   persons involved in the public company financial reporting of Canada will have to   expect to pass under   a steep learning curve (KMPG Canada, 2007).   IFRS and Canadian GAAP compare in just few important lines   but since IFRS standards are comprehensive and principles-based, it is expected that its application would require greater use of professional judgment than Canadian GAAP.   The availability of more accounting policy choices under   IFRS would take companies longer time now to evaluate these choices for each organization and is expected to result in valuable outcomes in the long-term (KMPG Canada, 2007). 2.2 The impact of the IFRS adoption It is believed that the first and most obvious impact of IFRS adoption would be in the effect on the presentation of the financial position of an entity as set out in its financial statements   (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   Since IFRS represents a statement of principles that must be applied based on judgment and assumptions given the facts at hand, it is expected that many principles will change including possibly modifying the many rigid prohibitions or rules that have become part of Canadian GAAP over time   via either practice or prescription (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   To illustrate since IFRS allows for more fair value accounting policy choices, this would open to a greater degree of interpretation and professional judgment.   The new principles underlying the presentation of financial measures will change both the way in which things are measured and what is included in the measurement as wells timing of measurement and needed disclosure (Romano and Grewal, 2009). The impact of the adoption of the IFRS would be in the allowing greater freedom to exercise professional judgment on which will make the financial statements to have greater relevance that will enhance the usefulness of the accounting information.   It may be recalled that the qualitative characteristics of accounting include both reliability and relevance of the accounting information for decision-making (Meigs and Meigs, 1995). A financial information may therefore be too reliable as to approximate a high a degree of objectivity but may no longer be of significance to decision makers since the decision is already done. To illustrate,   a person buying a car   or any typical product may be interested to know what is the estimated cost of production for a car that he or she wants to buy for the buyer for comparing it with the actual price of the product. On the other hand, another buyer may not really know what is the actual cost but he or she has information that the production possess so much value that is it relevant and unique about the product being sold and could be used for commercial production. The second buyer may not have the actual objective cost of production for the product but he or she has a good and businesslike assessment of the situation because of familiarity of relevant information which can generates value and could make a reasonable estimate of the values of possible input cost of the product.   He is therefore more strategically positioned than the first buyer is.   Thus, relevance at this point may be more advantageous than having greater reliability of information.   Adoption of IFRS is however not expected to amount of total loss of reliability of information. The adoption of IFRS is criticized by the fact that it would provide too much management flexibility or the freedom of interpretation that may be adopted with the concurrence of the independent auditors, thus it would reduce the quality of financial reporting.   There is however, no strong evidence to believe that feared consequence of the adoption on these ground.   In fact, this feared consequence remains to be seen (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   On the hand, one great inducement of adoption is for greater international comparability due from a perspective of globalized-investment market place.   There is now movement towards the implementation of the adoption and there are now plans to effect a successful transition (Romano and Grewal, 2009). 2.3 Sample Partial Application of IAS or IFRS to Business about Fair value Accounting One sample interesting effect of adoption of IFRS is the eventual effect International Accounting Standard (IAS) 39.   It is asserted that IAS 39   is   partial application of fair value accounting since the said standard gives institutions the possibility of irrevocably applying fair value valuations to any financial instrument starting from the concept of â€Å"fair value option† (Enria, et al, 2004). It is argued that one fundamental building block of   developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB),   the present makers of standards under the IFRS based in UK, is to bring the financial statements up to day with market developments hence, a working group on the issue has proposed the use of Full Fair Value Accounting (FFVA) for all financial instruments.   (Enria, et al, 2004).   While adoption of the IFRS by Canada would not immediately result to adoption of fair value accounting, it will open the great possibility because as stated earlier, the use of international accounting standard would give more flexibility to company’s management and accounting professionals and fair value accounting is part of the IFRS. If it feared that FFVA could produce effects on financial stability of banks, the same arguments could be made applicable to the Canadian companies, which are just to co-exist with other international and global companies in the use of IFRS.   The analysis of authors found confirmation about concerns on the potential wider application of fair value in unduly increasing the volatility of banks’ balance sheets, which could reduce possibly ability of companies to react to adverse shocks.   The adoption of fair value could also result to the pro-cyclicality of the bank lending especially if the application of fair value happens simultaneously with other developments under a new accord.   Thus, one of possible consequence is for encouraging banks to react if values change by use of FFVA through panic selling and tightening lending standard (Enria, et al, 2004).   The effect could be far reaching as it could bring a possible financial crisis at the worst case possibly. From deeper tests, however, the researchers have found no significant impact on volatility by the introduction of FFVA standards for companies studied in the 1980s and 1990w.   However, they cautioned about the need to be interpret the result with caution for several reasons and call for further research citing as one reason the lack of clear-cut choice of the cut-off dates on which banks change from one accounting standard to the other (Enria, et al, 2004). 3. Conclusion To conclude, this researcher   believes that the adoption   by the Canadian Accounting Standard Board of IFRS for companies   concerned starting in 2011 will result to   more useful information that would make securities markets either more or less efficient than not adopting the said international; accounting standard.   The adoption, while could result to possibly losing some reliability,   is expected bring   greater relevance of the financial statements and increased comparability which would then it more useful for Canadian companies and the users of these information.   The possibility of losing some reliability may possibly be counter checked by user still requiring from these companies from which they would like to deal with the production of financial statements prepared under the present Canadian GAAP but they could run the risk of losing the benefit of a decision that would be based on relevant grounds.   The mere fact that CASB has announced the adoption should signal there the advantages could outweigh the disadvantages of IFRS adoption.

Causes of the Crisis of Democracy

Causes of the Crisis of Democracy Twenty-five years ago, Michel J. Crozier, Samuel P. Huntington, and Joji Watanuki identified a crisis of democracy† which painted the â€Å"bleak future for government Twenty-five years ago, Michel J. Crozier, Samuel P. Huntington, and Joji Watanuki identified a crisis of democracy† which painted the â€Å"bleak future for †¦ government as an image of the disintegration of civil order, the breakdown of social discipline, the debility of leaders, and the alienation of citizens† (Crozier 2). While this vision of the demise of democracy appears extreme, there has been a dramatic drop in the public’s trust in politicians and political parties in recent years which has resulted in a public disenchantment with the government.   A growing scepticism among the British public has reversed the traditional deference to political elites, and voters are quick to voice their opinions on policy and politicians alike.   The growing discontent with the negativity of political discourse, and a lack of confidence in the efficacy of the government suggests that voter disengagement and disenchantment is a threat to the stability of the gove rnment, and politicians must take note and reconnect with their public. Although many are quick to blame the apathy of voters or the sensationalist media on voter scepticism, research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has found that charges of misconduct against individual politicians are responsible for the decline in trust in the government and politicians (Denholm).   Voter apathy is a result of the growing perceptions of scandal amongst the elite members of all the main political parties, resulting in a disinterest in politics in general and a negative estimation of politicians themselves.   In response to this growing mistrust, a series of Parliamentary committees in the 1990s examined issues of political corruption, ethics, and abuse of campaign finance regulations.   The committees found that perceptions of politicians as untrustworthy and self-interested derive in part from gossip regarding individual members of the elite, which raises public uneasiness about the standards of behaviour of the political elite.   The Committee on Standards in Public Life, established by the Prime Minister in 1994, is evidence itself of the mounting concerns of the public. The introduction to the Committee’s first report states: We can say that conduct in public life is more rigorously scrutinised than it was in the past, that the standards which the public demands remains high, and that the great majority of people in public life meet those high standards.   But there are weaknesses in the procedures for maintaining and enforcing those standards.   As a result people in public life are not always as clear as they should be about where the boundaries of acceptable conduct lie. This we regards as the principle reason for public disquiet (Whetnall). The decline in trust and the corresponding drop in voter activity is not due to long-term social forces, but to recent political affairs such as allegations of sleaze in the early Nineties. However, it is impossible to pinpoint recent political scandals as the sole cause of the drop in the public’s trust of politicians. There is the perceived lack of difference in the major political parties after the general election of 1997, which contributed to lower voter turnout and general apathy.   Giddens (1998) has argued that contemporary Britain requires a politics free from sharp ideological division and adversarial conflict as a response to global trends such as globalisation, detraditionalisation, increased reflexivity, and a new individualism (368).   This ‘politics without adversary’ is an attempt to appeal to a broader range of voting public, but in reality has alienated much of the public and raises doubts regarding the genuineness of the party and politician ideology.   In an interview conducted by Weltman and Billig (2001), a Conservative councillor suggests that the left/right distinction is not longer capable of mapping the social and poli tical world because the contours of modern society have altered. Asked whether he generally thinks of other members of the council in terms of ‘left’ or ‘right’, he says that he ‘could have used those words with more sense ten years ago, both in terms of individual people, councillors, and in terms of attitudes’ (Weltman and Billig 373). One can infer from this interview that contemporary politics are breaking down into a non-adversarial form of politics, one with which the public cannot identify and cannot trust to enact significant change. Through an examination of the social and political events which have shaped the current public mistrust of politicians and political parties, one can deduce that much of the current disenchantment in politics and politicians is rooted in the absence of available political spaces for the public.   There are few practices or institutions which are able to respond to issues of public interest and political disagreement, and to channel the public opinion in an effective and meaningful way. Currently, Britain is facing public disquiet over the prospect of joining the European Union and the coinciding single market economy, along with the protests against the involvement of Britain in the war in Iraaq.   Whatever the reasons behind the drop in public confidence in the government, what is clear is that the British government needs to re-evaluate its relationship with the public in the light of an invasive media, new technology, a better educated public, and a pervasive culture of cynici sm.   New technology, such as the internet, offers politicians the opportunity to make a connection with out-of-touch voters and offers new ways of mobilising and recording popular opinion, an opportunity which few politicians have taken.   We are entering a new era of politics, in which the old ideologies of ‘left’ and ‘right’, public and private, moral and immoral, are breaking down.   The public, alienated from this new ‘politics without adversaries’ and incensed at the unethical behaviour of individual politicians, has expressed their loss of trust in the government.   It remains up to the politicians themselves to win back the confidence of the public. Bibliography Crozier, M., A. Huntington, and J. Watanuki (1975) The crisis of democracy, New York: New York University Press Denholm, A. (2004) Public trust in politicians hit by sleaze claims, The Scotsman, Tuesday 25 May. Giddens, A. (1998) The third way: The renewal of social democracy. Cambridge: Polity. Pharr, S. (2000) A quarter century of declining confidence, Journal of Democracy   vol. 11, no. 2, April: pp. 5-25. Weltman, D. and M. Billig (2001) The political psychology of contemporary anti-politics: A discursive approach to the end-of-ideology era, Political Psychology vol. 22, no. 2: 367- 382. Whetnall, A. (1995) The management of ethics and conduct in the public service [online]. Case Study released by the Cabinet Officer, Office of Public Service, United Kingdom. Available from: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/30/21/2731894.htm [Accessed 15 March 2005]