Canadas Sovereignty and Its Dependence on US Markets Essay

Canadas Sovereignty and Its Dependence on US Markets - Essay Example But there are number of exceptions in WTO which allow trade restrictions to continue including: Anti-dumping duties to offset countries/companies selling unfairly at a low Price. Countervailing duties to offset government subsidies Emergency trade restrictions designed to "safeguard" domestic industries. In May 1992 DOC ruled that both Canadian stumpages and log export restraints (LER) in British Columbia1 represented countervailable subsidies and set the countervailing duty (CVD) at 6.51% i.e., 2.91% for stumpage and 3.6% for LER (Hoberg, Howe, p.4).In September 1993 DOC ruled again that both stumpage rates and LER conferred subsidies and increased CVD to 11.54% based on adjustments on certain technical calculations.Both the governments signed the Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) that came into effect from April 1, 1996 to March 31, 2001 (Ragosta and Clark, 2000). According to this agreement an export fee of $50 per thousand board feet (MBF) on softwood lumber exports in excess of 14.7 billion board feet (BBF), $100/MBF on exports in excess of 15.35 BBF (Howard, 2000). It seemed all right with the settlement but behind the scene both the governments were not satisfied. After the expiration of SLA Bush government imposed 12.58% anti-dumping duty (ADD) in October 2001 (Ying, Baek, 2002). Canadian government decided to take the legal and political battle with the US. The US side is represented by Coalition for Fair Canadian Lumber Imports (CFCLI). In Canada two associations, British Columbia Lumber Trade Council (BCLTC) and Free Trade Lumber Council (FTLC) decided to fight the legal battle with the... As the discussion stresses political sovereignty means protecting the country’s political and diplomatic rights by taking appropriate decisions in the country’s best interests. The softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the US is a test to the Canadian sovereignty. From decades Canadian industries were dependent on the US market. Most of the Canada’s products were exported to the US markets. The US also depends on Canada for oil and natural gas. This paper declares that Canadian industries were very much dependent on the US markets in case of export of softwood lumber. This reliance on US markets of Canadian industries is becoming a biggest threat to Canadian sovereignty. The reason for the above condition is Canada is heavily dependent on US. Thus Canada is becoming vulnerable to trade actions taken by the US industry. Due to this dependency US made the laws that will result in their favor. To solve export of softwood lumber dispute both the countries formed binational panels. In this panel half of them represents the US and the remaining half represents Canada. There would be no creation or application of new laws, but apply the importing country’s law. Here the importing country is the US. The trade actions taken by the US predated Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (CUSTA). Under the influence of these actions by the US softwood lumber industry and US federal government the price on crown timber was decided. Though th e decision of this dispute went in favor of Canada, it was overpowered by legislative changes in the US.

Critics of consequentialism Essay Example for Free

Critics of consequentialism Essay The paper discusses moral consequentialism and evaluates its criticisms. Critics of consequentialism argue that the latter doctrine requires us, under certain conditions, to do what seems intuitively to be the morally wrong act. The nature of this criticism originates from the widely accepted vision of consequentialism as too permissive and too demanding. The detailed analysis of the philosophic and moral assumptions renders a conclusion that both the permissiveness and demandingness of moral consequentialism are easy to argue and even deny. Whether moral consequentialism requires individuals to do what seems to be the morally wrong act depends on how they interpret these acts and in what conditions these acts are to take place. Briefly, this paper turns moral consequentialism into a conjunction of highly relative and subjective norms/ standards which change their meaning and leave no room for objective judgments. Keywords: moral consequentialism, permissiveness, demandingness, moral, philosophy. Moral Consequentialism Throughout its history, philosophy was always centered on the two major sides of the moral argument: deontological and utilitarian. Most of the time, philosophers found themselves torn between the need to follow the basic rules of the moral conduct and the need to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Today, deontology and utilitarianism/ consequentialism represent the two distinct lines of philosophic thinking and create a vision of continuous philosophic disintegration. Moral consequentialism is, probably, the major topic of the philosophic discussion and the principal object of philosophic criticism. Critics of consequentialism argue that the latter doctrine requires us, under certain conditions, to do what seems intuitively to be the morally wrong act. This criticism grows from the two most important philosophic assumptions about the permissiveness and excessive (almost extremist) demandingness of moral consequentialism. However, the detailed analysis of these arguments renders a conclusion that both assumptions are easy to deny: as a result, whether moral consequentialism requires individuals to perform acts that are intuitively wrong depends on how they themselves judge their actions and conditions in which these actions take place. Moral Consequentialism: A Flawed Theory of the Greatest Good Moral consequentialism argues that the need to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people is the only moral factor that counts in the decisions, which individuals will take for or against particular acts (Kagan, 1998). The consequences of each particular action serve the basic criterion for judging its moral appropriateness. Contrary to deontology, which promotes and emphasizes the importance of rules and norms/ standards an individual is to follow, consequentialism seems to disregard these rules and sacrifices them for the sake of consequences. For this reason, moral consequentialism often becomes the primary object of philosophic criticism. Despite the relevance and importance of moral consequentialism in philosophy, its principles and assumptions are not without their flaws. More often than not, moral consequentialism is being criticized for the lack of adequate moral reasoning and the growing relativity of moral norms and standards, which individuals use to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. McLean and Ellrod (1992) argue that â€Å"consequentialism is hardly a workable form of practical reasoning and calls into question the moral significance of its results† (p. 171). The problem with consequentialism is in that the need to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people by all possible means fails to do full justice to the personal character of the moral duty (McLean Ellrod, 1992). Consequentialism often makes no difference who is to produce the maximum good and who is to become its beneficiary, while this difference is increasingly important and must count in any kind of moral judgments (McLean Ellrod, 1992). In this sense, consequentialism seems to operate in the atmosphere of the misplaced emphases and distorted views regarding morality, because morality is inherently personal and must focus on one’s moral identity. Consequentialism, however, denies the relevance of personal morality against the importance of the public good. The second problem with consequentialism is its functionality and its ability to lead individuals to the best moral conclusions. That consequentialism makes it difficult to arrive to objectively practical judgments is often considered as one of its major flaws (McLean Ellrod, 1992). Here, the two basic problems become obvious. First, the growing relativity of the moral norms and standards deny us an opportunity to judge what the maximum good for the greatest majority is and how we are to achieve it. Second, this very relativity of norms creates a number of conflicts in the process of choosing between several permissible alternatives: whether individuals are to choose the greatest good or the least evil is another point of philosophic argument (McLead Ellrod, 1992). However, even if these flaws are important and deserve attention, they only shape the basis for the profound philosophic analysis of consequentialism and its philosophic criticisms. Critics of consequentialism argue that the latter doctrine requires us, under certain conditions, to do what seems intuitively to be the morally wrong act. In this sense, two essential elements of moral consequentialism require attention: its overall permissiveness and moral demandingness. Critics of moral consequentialism claim the latter doctrine to be too permissive with regard to the acts and judgments individuals can make to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Others are confident that moral consequentialism imposes extreme (and even extremist) moral requirements on people, and they have but to comply with these requirements to maximize good for the greatest number of people. Moral consequentialism implies that individuals will have to overstep their moral convictions and perform acts that are intuitively wrong. The following sections analyze these two assumptions in more detail. Moral Consequentialism: Permissiveness and the Subjectivity of Judgments Critics of moral consequentialism claim that the latter doctrine may require individuals to do what seems the intuitively immoral act. In other words, moral consequentialism provides individuals with the absolute freedom to choose between acts which, although morally inacceptable, still lead them to achieve or to maximize the public good. â€Å"Because moral consequentialism accepts an inappropriately short list of normative factors, it permits acts that are not in fact morally permissible. [†¦] In short, consequentialism permits too much† (Kagan, 1984). For example, individuals may choose between killing a person and letting a person die simply because a murder or a death will save the lives of ten other people. Always immoral and intuitively wrong, the act of murder here is an excellent example of the permissiveness which moral consequentialism promotes and defends. To make the case more comprehensible, it is interesting to refer to the case of Chuck which Kagan (1998) describes in his book Normative Ethics. Kagan (1998) describes the case of the five patients, each of whom faces equal chances to die unless he can timely obtain an organ transplant. According to Kagan (1998), one patient needs a heart, two other patients need kidneys, one patient needs new lungs, and the fifth patient is in need for a new liver. Because of medical problems and because their tissues are incompatible, these five patients can hardly become donors for each other (Kagan, 1998). Yet, there is Chuck, a young man who comes to the hospital for a regular medical observation and has all organs necessary for the five patients to survive (Kagan, 1998). A surgeon thus faces a dilemma: to kill Chuck and to use his organs or to leave Chuck alive and to let the five patients die. This is the case which emphasizes the inherent permissiveness of moral consequentialism. Moral consequentialism justifies the decision to kill Chuck for the sake of saving the lives of the five patients. In case of killing Chuck, the surgeon will, most likely, achieve the maximum good for the greatest number of people: one does not need sophisticated knowledge of mathematics to understand that five lives are more than one. Regardless of the immoral character of murder, the holy goal of saving five lives will overweigh the terrible act of murdering one single person. This is where consequentialism justifies an act which seems to be intuitively wrong but which, nevertheless, helps individuals to achieve the maximum benefit for the greatest number of people. The question is, however, in whether moral consequentialism is always permissible and morally blind and whether the assumption about the moral permissiveness of consequentialism is always objective and justified. It appears that whenever individuals engage in activities that seem intuitively wrong but help them to achieve the maximum good for the greatest number of people, all they need is to reconsider and reframe the conditions in which these actions take place, to make them meet the basic requirements of morality. For example, the surgeon may find out that all Chuck’s organs are perfectly healthy and fit all five patients – in this way, he will meet the maximum benefit requirement (Kagan, 1998). The surgeon may kill Chuck secretly, to make his death look like the result of medical complications – in this way, he will avoid difficulties associated with the fact of murder (Kagan, 1998). Finally, the surgeon may pretend that the results of Chuck’s routine medical examination require immediate surgical intervention and that the life of Chuck is under threat – Chuck’s murder will thus look like a moral obligation the surgeon had to fulfill to save Chuck from physical suffering. If that is the case, the surgeon’s decision to kill Chuck will no longer seem intuitively wrong, and moral consequentialism will no longer look too permissive. The question is in whether it is worth killing one healthy person to save the lives of the five patients who, due to their health condition, will still die very soon. What are the chances that the value of their five lives will overweigh the value of Chuck’s life? These are the questions which one can answer only in particular circumstances and conditions. As a result, whether moral consequentialism requires that individuals perform acts that seem to be morally wrong depends on how they themselves judge their actions and in what particular conditions these actions take place. Moral Consequentialism, Demandingness, and the Value of Denial Critics argue that in particular conditions, moral consequentialism requires that individuals perform acts which seem to be morally wrong. This criticism originates from the assumption that moral consequentialism is inherently demanding and imposes too many moral obligations on individuals, even if the former go against the basic moral principles and individual convictions. Actually, moral demandingness of consequentialism is the notorious topic of discussion. Critics of consequentialism assume that moral consequentialism obligates people to make sacrifices that go beyond the limits of commonsense morality (Baier, 1958). For example, societies tend to believe that rich and better off society members are morally obliged to give up a share of their wealth to support those in need. Others are confident that, under the influence of consequentialism, individuals must make the largest possible contribution to the overall good regardless of the sacrifice such a contribution may incur (Kagan, 1984). Kagan (1984) even claims that â€Å"there is no limit to the sacrifices that morality can require; and agents are never permitted to favor their own interests at the expense of the greater good† (p. 239). Mulgan (2001) calls these claims as extremist and admits that at times the overall demandingness of moral consequentialism will make individuals perform acts that seem morally wrong. In his book The Demands of Consequentialism, Tim Mulgan (2001) provides a short tale: Clare, Amy, and Bob are sitting in the living room when a space alien enters their apartment in the striving to devour Clare (p. 154). The only way the company can save Clare from the tragedy is to cut away Amy’s arm and to throw it into the alien (Mulgan, 2001). The act will distract the alien and will give Clare more time to escape; meanwhile, Bob will find his weapons and will vaporize the newcomer (Mulgan, 2001). For Amy, who is to sacrifice her arm to save the lives of her friends, the decision will, naturally, seem inacceptable and intuitively wrong. However, because this is the only way for her to save the life of Clare and to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people, Amy will be pressured by the moral requirement to sacrifice her arm. The moral unacceptability of the decision to chop off Amy’s arm will become even more obvious in case Bob is the one to make it for her. If Amy is not obliged to sacrifice her arm but is only permitted to do so, Bob can readily become the one responsible for the mission of cutting off Amy’s arm and saving his company from the alien. Mulgan (2001) recognizes that in this case, Bob is allowed to chop Amy’s arm, to save his own and the life of Clare, even if this act seems morally wrong to him. In this case, the demandingness of moral consequentialism will reach the point, where individuals have the right to force other individuals to make sacrifices if they decide to refrain from such actions (Mulgan, 2001). Here, moral consequentialism becomes both permissive and demanding, and makes individuals engage in actions which seem to be intuitively wrong. Again, the extent to which this sacrifice is suboptimal is difficult to define. Whether the decision to chop off Amy’s arm is intuitively wrong will depend on a number of circumstances. It will depend on how the person himself judges his own actions and decisions. For example, there is always a distinction between subjective expectations and objective probabilities that particular actions will lead to specific consequences (Mulgan, 2001). Bob may believe that his decision to chop off Amy’s arm will cause her unbearable pain and will thus refrain from cutting off her arm. In reality, however, Amy may accept the need to get rid of her arm for the sake of saving the lives of her friends. In a similar vein, Bob may choose to interpret the decision to chop off Amy’s arm as the action with the lowest probability to cause harm to Clare and which also causes the least evil compared with other alternatives. Based on whether Bob views his decisions as the greatest good or the least evil, moral consequentialism will look more or less demanding. As a result, whether moral consequentialism requires that individuals engage in actions that are intuitively wrong depends on how they themselves judge their actions and in what conditions these actions are to take place. Conclusion In broad terms, moral consequentialism claims that the need to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people is the only moral factor that counts in judging the righteousness and moral acceptability of each particular action. Critics often argue that moral consequentialism requires that individuals engage in actions which are morally wrong. The nature of this criticism originates from the assumptions about the excessive permissiveness and demandingness of moral consequentialism. However, the current analysis confirms that whether moral consequentialism pushes individuals to perform actions that are intuitively wrong depends on how they themselves judge their actions and in what conditions these actions are to take place. Despite relative demandingness and permissiveness, moral consequentialism always leaves much room for subjectivity and provides individuals with an opportunity to change their opinions and the opinions of others about the moral character of their actions and decisions. References Baier, K. (1958). The moral point of view: A rational basis of ethics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Kagan, S. (1984). Does consequentialism demand too much? Recent work on the limits of obligation. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 13(3), 239-254. Kagan, S. (1998). Normative ethics. Colorado: Westview Press. McLean, G. F. Ellrod, F. E. (1992). Philosophical foundations for moral education and character development: Act and agent. CRVP. Mulgan, T. (2001). The demands of consequentialism. Oxford University Press.

Essay --

Walter Cronkite: One of America’s most beloved and well-known television personalities left a lasting impact on the presentation of news on television. (wrong use of a colon.. did you mean to have this sentence as a title?) As Cronkite grew with his network, so did his power and influence over the minds of the American public. (awkward transition between your intro, whichi is too brief to begin with, and the next part) Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, and later during his high school years, shared his first taste of journalism by working on the local high school newspaper. (Barron) Later accepted into the University of Texas at Austin, Cronkite participated in more newspaper organizations and fraternities until he decided to drop out of school late in his junior year. After being offered several reporting jobs covering news and sports, Cronkite began his broadcasting career as a radio announcer for WKY in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma before switching over to a sports an nouncer for KCMO in Kansas City, Missouri. (Barnhart) World War II soon broke out and Cronkite was chosen as one of eight journalists to cover the stories going on in the rampaging Europe. Gaining a reputation as a big-time journalist, Cronkite continued to expand on his credibility by covering the Nuremberg Trials, a series of cases that prosecuted the leaders of Nazi Germany. As several years passes, the tides of war finally grew to a close and Cronkite returned home where he soon himself a job at CBS News in 1950. (No real focus here. What are you trying to accomplish here? Are you going with a chronological coverage of his life? If so, prep the reader for it. I thought this was still the introductory paragraph at first) â€Å"Television became a powerful medi... ...rrow who encouraged voicing one’s opinion, Cronkite refused to share his own beliefs in his broadcasts. But even if he was objective, Cronkite was not afraid to smile or show enthusiasm and emotions during the show. He gave off this warm and fuzzy personality that brought in many viewers and his signature sign-off, â€Å"That’s the way it is,† became popular for its folksy charm. â€Å"Before long, viewers were calling him Uncle Walter.† (Ritchie) The actual use of Water’s name was a new change brought as well. Before this time, radio stations at the time did not want people to use their real names for fear of taking their listeners with them if they left. For example, the news stations did not want the audience to become too attached to a certain reporter or host, such as Cronkite, since of that reporter left, then many fans would follow suit and drop the station’s ratings.

How much sympathy does the reader feel

Curlers wife is a character in the novel â€Å"Of mice and men† set in California and written in 1937 by John Steinbeck. She is the only woman on a ranch of itinerant working men, and because of this she gets treated by each man in a different manner. Most of the men treat her in a negative way, therefore causing different degrees of sympathy from the reader. Sympathy implies that the reader feels an emotional connection towards the character. Her unhappy marriage to the boss's son causes her great loneliness and unhappiness as she tries, in vain, to find someone to talk to on the ranch.The reader may feel certain degrees of sympathy for Curleys wife due to the fact that the ranch workers are always talking behind her back. This is shown when Candy is talking about her to George and Lennie in the bunkhouse when they arrive. He states that he thinks â€Å"Curleys married†¦ a tart†. This quotation could cause very strong feelings against Curlers wife, as she seems to have a reputation amongst the men for being flirtatious. The noun â€Å"tart† might infer that Curleys wife is a promiscuous character who flirts with all of the ranch workers.It could also imply that she is lways tarted up' and making an effort to look attractive in front of the men. Candy's opinion seems harsh, which could portray the ranch worker's extremely negative feelings towards Curlers wife, as they assume she is a flirtatious attention seeker. However, the reader may feel sympathetic towards Curlers wife because she is labelled as a â€Å"tart† and so the ranch workers don't look past her appearance to get to know her personality.In this quotation, Candy pauses before completing the phrase, which could suggest that he is apprehensive towards voicing his opinion about Curleys wife. This would be understandable, as most of the ranch workers seem intimidated by Curley and insulting his wife may result in a fght or losing their Job. Some might think that this qu otation reveals that Curlers wife is incredibly lonely, as the ranch workers are prejudiced against her from the minute they get to the ranch, so this implies that it must be hard for her to make friends.She is the only woman on the ranch and seems to have trouble fitting in. She may be seen as very glamorous and sne could like to get dressed up tor tun, as it would make ner teel like a movie star, which is her dream. Overall, I think this quotation causes a high level of sympathy from the reader towards Curleys wife, because the ranch workers Judge her and don't try to get to know her personality. The Judgement as to whether Curlers wife is malicious or kind lies with the reader's perception of her character's description and actions in the novella.When Curlers wife first appears in the novel in the bunkhouse scene, the reader is presented with an in-depth description of her appearance with multiple references to the colour red. This is expressed through quotations like â€Å"she had full rouged lips† and â€Å"her fingernails were painted red†. These declarative phrases could imply that she is an evil temptress who is not to be trusted and attracts lots of attention, which could be either wanted or unwanted on her part. Contrary to this, the colour â€Å"red† is a passionate, loving colour which could present her as a kind, affectionate character.The adjective â€Å"red† is however sometimes associated with the devil and malice, which links to the bible, as evil was introduced into the world when Eve was tempted by the snake, so by dressing in red Curleys wife could be presenting herself as a temptation to the male ranch workers throughout the novella. Also, Curleys wife has some aspects of her personality that imply softness, for example â€Å"little bouquets of red ostrich feathers†. These â€Å"feathers† are a significant part of Curleys wife's appearance, because the reader knows of Lennie's fascination and admir ation of soft objects.This feature of her appearance could portray a more attractive personality because the â€Å"ostrich feathers† create a gentle, toned-down persona for her character, which may cause a higher level of sympathy from the reader because the ranch workers treat her as if she is repulsive and manipulative, which could be a prejudice based on her appearance. Towards the end of her initial introduction, Curleys wife addresses George â€Å"playfully, with could portray her as an intentionally promiscuous character. She is known around the ranch for teasing the male ranch workers and being apparently disloyal to Curley.The adjective â€Å"playfully' could cause the reader to feel unsympathetic towards Curleys wife, because she may give the men false hope by flirting and acting in a promiscuous way when she is around them. On the other hand, Curleys wife flirting could be interpreted as unintentional, harmless conversations and friendships between her and the ran chworkers. This would be understandable ecause as she mentions later in the novella in Crooks' room, she gets â€Å"awful lonely on the ranch. Curleys wife is seen by everyone on the ranch as a sexual object, due to her makeup and clothes.Whenever she tries to interact with any of the workers, they assume she is flirting and spread rumours about her, however she may Just be a lonely woman on a ranch full of men. Curley regards her as an item that he possesses ownership over, and so he is always looking for her to make sure she isn't with any of the other men. This shows that Curley doesn't trust his wife, and so their relationship and marriage isn't a happy one. In chapter tour, the ranch workers go out to a brothel in the local town, leaving Lennie, Crooks, Candy and Curlers wife at the ranch.In Crooks' room, where the men are talking, Curleys wife comes in and states that â€Å"They left all the weak ones here†, which shows the hierarchy of the ranch and highlights the fac t that nobody wants to be with the â€Å"weak ones† at the bottom of the hierarchy. The reader may feel highly unsympathetic towards Curlers wife because she says cruel, cutting things when she can. She says that â€Å"they left all the weak ones here†, but it isn't clear whether she is including herself in that group or not. If she meant to include herself, the reader may feel sympathetic towards her because she feels that she is a weak person at the bottom of the hierarchy.This reflects the way she is treated by the male population on the ranch because she is constantly put down and distrusted when she Just wants to make friends. On the other hand, if she was leaving herself out of â€Å"the weak ones† group, this may cause the reader to feel unsympathetic towards her because she is offending Candy, Crooks and Lennie, when they haven't purposely done anything to offend or anger her. This quotation could also cause the reader to feel unsympathetic owards Curley s wife because she has two different personalities.When she is around Curley and other people who are higher in the hierarchy, she lets them disrespect her and treat her in a negative manner, however when she is around people who are lower in the hierarchy than her, she brings out a side to her that is evil and cutting, and so would make the reader feel unsympathetic towards her. However, this may make the reader feel sympathetic towards her because she never gets the chance to look down on anyone, she is always treated like she is the lowest of the low, therefore she makes the most of being higher while she can.

God and His Mission

Eileen Paulino One of seven virtues of ancient Greek times was faith. Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Regardless of where we are in our lives we always maintain faith that we will either advance in life or things will simply get better. I myself didn’t always have faith I didn’t think that if I wanted something bad enough it would happen for me. I always looked around at my surroundings and saw myself as a Hispanic female with goals and ambition who no matter how hard she worked wouldn’t amount to much because to most of the world around me I was simply that a Hispanic female from the Bronx.There was definitely a time when I lost all faith in myself my world seemed to be crashing down right before my eyes. On August 11th of 2009 I lost someone who was very important to me, my uncle. We were so much alike sthrong personalities and two people who wanted more in life and had faith that somehow or some way we would provide better for ou r families. I was much younger but losing him caused me to want to give up I didn’t understand why it was that he had been taken from me he was one of a couple of people of who had faith in me and how far I could go in life see I’ve always had a passion for fashion.For along as I can remember it has been a great part of me. When I lost my uncle I felt as though I hadn’t done enough while he was around and that now I was being punished with having to deal with his lost and a family who was devastated. My mother had lost her brother and my grandmother her eldest son for so long their faces had no idea as to what a smile was and seeing my mother and grandmother so down caused great change in me.I no longer was doing well in school and for the first time in my life I stopped drawing and fashion wasn’t as important to me anymore. As time progressed I wasn’t getting any better I had tried to make myself believe that my uncle was still on vacation in the Dominican Republic and that he would be back but these unrealistic hopes as time went by became just that I was being faced with the fact that he was gone. My mother soon enough began to see me giving up on my dream and that I was not doing well in school anymore and it started to tear her apart.My mother was and still is my biggest cheerleader when I didn’t have faith in myself she did so why was I letting her down? At some point it hit me that everything happens for a reason and that my uncle was in a better place he as no longer suffering and regardless he was looking down on me and he wouldn’t have liked for me to give on my dream so I needed to have faith in myself that I could go on and that regardless of how the rest of the world perceives me I can become someone.There’s no reason to lose faith because life handed me a tough time I realized this should motivate me to have more faith in myself and who I believed I was destined to be. I began to do better i n school and started to draw again, fashion is my calling and I should’ve never lost faith my myself. Till this day although I’m still very young have so much more to learn and I haven’t accomplished my dream I don’t lose faith in that one day I will and that’s all thanks to my mother.My mother was born and raised in the Dominican republic and she always had faith that her life will someday turn around and when she had her family she would provide them with a better life then she was given and till this day she hasn’t failed us, she’s been the best mother anyone could ever ask for and for my lifetime I’ll be grateful she never lost faith in me because thanks to her I didn’t lose faith in myself and I’m still fighting for my dream.The first reading I came across with my professor this semester was â€Å"Sherman Alexie The Joy of Reading and Writing : Superman and me†, this is a short story about a Spokane In dian who’s will to be better and great faith in himself allowed for great success to come his was regardless of the challenges he faced in his earlier life.

Video and Activity Domestic Workers Essays

Video and Activity Domestic Workers Essays Video and Activity Domestic Workers Essay Video and Activity Domestic Workers Essay Video and Activity Domestic Workers It is through work that we find to fulfill our purpose here on earth. According to John Paul II, work is a fundamental aspect of the existence of humankind. Work is indeed an important element of transforming the earth as well as adapting the earth to suit the needs. There are many forms and nature of work, in all these forms work should be dignified, and in this way, all workers should enjoy their full rights. The role of women in domestic work should be viewed more closely with dignity as many of them have faced a lot of injustices in the past, present and could still perpetuate. The rights of workers are very imperative and must be observed at all costs. Many governments do not consider domestic workers as relevant employees, and this should not be the case. The entire labor process has to be organized to meet the needs of women and men at work. The rights of all workers should be safeguarded by their direct employers as well as indirect employers. Domestic workers in many countries face torture, oppression, sexual harassment and other forms of abuse with poor working conditions. John Paul II view work in a spiritual manner. He believes that by sharing in work human being contributes to the creation process since Jesus is happy with those who work as he was also a laborer. In conclusion, dignity is an important aspect of domestic labor and employers should work towards ensuring all their workers are treated with respect. Domestic work is not an easy task and should also be considered a form of labor that should be remunerated well with good working condition s.

Tips for Life essays

Tips for Life essays Ann Landers gives several tips for leading a good life in her newspaper column but are these tips for everyone? Most of the points in the article are actually quite good, most people live by these tips and they dont even realize it. The article Tips for Life should be read by everyone although it should be made clear that they have the right to rephrase several of the tips to better suit themselves. Most of the points made in Tips for Life are very valid but, some points are a persons own particular choice and should not be determined by anyone else. The tip Be engaged six months before you get married. Is a persons own choice not an elderly newspaper columnists. Another tip that seems a little questionable is Marry someone you love to talk to. As you get older, conversation will be one of the principal elements of your relationship. I honestly believe that a couple should get married if they have undying love and affection for each other, not because your possible spouse is a good conversationalist, thats preposterous. Despite a few of Ann Landers tips, the article sets good morals for a person to live by and look at for guidance. Ann discusses and makes points ranging from deep mental thoughts to merely calling your own mother. To make her article perfect she would have to be willing to see that not everyone thinks the same way and that there is always more than one way to say or do something. ...

3 Ways Your Resume Should Differ From Your LinkedIn Resume

3 Ways Your Resume Should Differ From Your LinkedIn Resume It used to be totally standard to make your LinkedIn profile more or less a verbatim copy of your resume. Those days are over, given the incredible amount of recruiting traffic on LinkedIn and how most recruiters are looking at attractive candidates before even requesting resumes. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you’ll have to have some unique content on your LinkedIn profile. Here are three key ways to make your LinkedIn profile pop- and differentiate it from your resume itself.1. Beef Up Your LinkedIn HeadlineRather than making your default headline your current job title, put up something more general that is chock full of the kinds of keywords hiring managers would be most likely to search for. Remember to tailor your resume headline to whichever job you’re applying for (and try not to be too industry specific- you’ll be more immediately appealing to a broader range of recruiters).2.  Change up Your Tone for Each FormatYour resume should  have a fairly formal tone, with clean language and  clear, brief, to-the-point information. Avoid using â€Å"I† when possible. By contrast, your LinkedIn profile should be a bit more conversational- as though you were having a chat with your readers. Try and mimic the way you speak as you write your profile.3.  Pare Down Your Resume SummaryYour resume summary should be as brief as possible- as efficiently worded as a newspaper lead: no more than three or four sentences and packing a sweet punch. Your LinkedIn profile summary, on the other hand, gives you a whopping 2,000 characters to work with. Max that space out to really converse with your reader. You could even consider adding a list of skimmable skills, a few career highlights, or your contact information.Remember, the different and broader space in LinkedIn gives you a great opportunity to help you to stand out- and to help you look like a fuller, better package- even when your resume gets around. Maximize what you are gi ven and beat the competition!

Puritan thinking and eighteenth-century deist thinking Essay

Puritan thinking and eighteenth-century deist thinking - Essay Example The puritan philosophy emphasize on individual freedom and liberties of the common man (Vaughan, 1). The protests of the puritans against the influential power of the Pope exerted a spirit of liberty in other aspects besides theology. The demand for educated clergy brought about encouragement both in politics and intellectual life. Throughout history it has been suggested that the â€Å"Puritan concentration of attention upon the Bible had a remarkable educative effect on many minds† (Stimson, 323). The puritans believe that religion must have the ability to have both intellectual and emotional influence on people. Their demand for reasoning called for a higher intellectual life and activity (Stimson, 323). The most commonly known philosophy of the eighteenth-century deism is that it is God who created the world but thereafter He has not exercised any control over worldly events. In other words, a deist is someone who believes that there is a divine creator but at the same time rejects any divine intervention. According to deism philosophy, â€Å"human reason alone can give us everything we need to know to live a correct moral and religious life† (Craig, 853). There is however one group of deists who believe that God or the divine creator has a future world that stores rewards and punishments for human deeds in the current world. However, the other group rejects this philosophy. There is one common agreement between both groups that claim that only human reasoning can provide answers to questions of life and death, and there is no divine power to provide answer to religious questions that cannot be discovered by human reasoning. Deism emerged during the seventeenth and eighteent h centuries mostly in England, France and America (Craig, 853). Both puritans and deists believe in the God as creator of this world, but the difference lies in

MFRD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MFRD - Essay Example Further NB has earned 12. 88% on capital employed as against industry average of 18.5%. According the profitability performance of the company is quite inefficient when compared with industry averages. Liquidity is the strong point of NB and it can be said that the company is in a position to meet it current obligations as and when those become due. The current ratio of NB is 2.14: 1 and that is quite strong when compared with industry average of 1.9: 1. Similarly the company’s quick ratio of NB is 1.52 as against industry average of 1.27. It has established that current ratio of 2:1 and quick ratio of 1:1 is considered optimum for any industry, and in case of NB both the ratios are above the required standard. Therefore NB can be considered as a solvent company that will meet its current liabilities as and when those become due. For analyzing the efficiency of the company four ratios are considered in this assessment. Total asset turnover that analyzes the effective utilization of total assets in generation of sales is 3.13 times and that is marginally behind the industry average of 3.91. Stock turnover ratio reflects liquidity of the stocks of the company. The company has rotated its stocks during 2008 for 13.93 times as against industry average of 18.3 times. Therefore company lacks efficiency on the aspect of rotating its stocks to meet cost of sales as per industry standards. As far as credit period is concerned, the company takes 40.43 days in collection of credit sales as against industry average of 52 days. On the other hand suppliers provide 36.9 days of credit for purchases and the industry average is 49 days. In other words company is managing credit sales collection and credit purchase payments quite effectively, and probably that is the reason for its sound liquidity. Above all 44.55 % of total assets have been financed by debt capital. The industry average is lower than this of

Local landfills and their effect on the environment Research Paper

Local landfills and their effect on the environment - Research Paper Example The City mainly handles its waste management by contracting them out to Local Waste Services. There are some local waste services in the city that operate some landfills, but Grove City majorly allowed SWACO to handle its waste management procedures, which involves the collection and disposal of solid waste at the Franklin County Landfill (Grove City 2011). Apart from SWACO, other waste management companies that are used by people in Grove City 2 include Tri-County Industries, Inc., and Franklin Road Recycling Solution, both of which also operate landfills. Studies have shown that one of the problems of the 21st century in the United States is waste—the country is going through a phase of mountainous waste-production, which is estimated to be millions of tons of waste yearly (Rahm 1-2). As a result of this, city administrators often find themselves at the crossroads to design a functional process for collecting and disposing of these waste materials. For many years now, landfi lls have been the appropriate systems for the disposal of waste in the United States. ... the positive effects of SWACO landfill admired by the Grove City administration are highlighted in the remaining part of this paper, comparing them with that of other local waste services. Tri-County Industries handle the waste materials for residential, industrial and commercial clients located in Grove City, Ohio. The company utilizes its big size and years of experience to help clients cut the cost of disposing of their waste in landfill (Tri-County Industries, Inc. 2011). But Tri-County Industries Landfill has some negative impacts on 3 Grove City residents: according to a recent court case against Tr-County, its landfills located at Pine and Liberty have strong bad odor, lighting issues and noises could be heard at night (Allied News 2011). Similarly, Frank Road Recycling Solutions, for over 75 years, has provided its customers in Grove City, Ohio with good waste-disposal and recycling solutions. These solutions were aimed at helping them do away with their operational waste and protect the environment (Frank Road Recycling Solutions 2011). But Frank Road Recycling Solutions Landfill does not provide the green opportunities offered by SWACO Landfill. Therefore, both Tri-County Industries, Inc., and Frank Road Recycling Solutions do not match the positive effects of SWACO as described below. Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) was created as a waste-management agency with other 51 solid waste districts by Ohio General Assembly in 1989. SWACO was specifically established to help Ohio residents proactively dispose of their waste materials (SWACO 2011). And SWACO landfill provides the following positive effects in Grove City, Ohio. Solid waste materials are disposed of at SWACO landfill while customers are strongly encouraged to recycle some recyclable

Personal financial planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Personal financial planning - Essay Example Briefly explain what options are available to Jack with respect to the payment he will receive upon termination of his employment, including his superannuation balance. Calculate the resultant tax treatment of the payment with respect to those options.One of the best options jack could plan is to pay a small amount of future pre-tax salary to the investments. The plan for such investments would also help to pay for personal insurance to protect the family income.During this period Jack would have return of deposits amounting to $ 8000 and the return from superannuation as $ 1350. This could be deposited on long term basis and as the seven years are completed the amount could be added with the Marions return to meet their living expenses.At the present rates both Joe and Marion would require $ 55,000 to lead a very comfortable life. If this is the amount that the couples expect after their retirement then the they must have accumulated saving of $137500 at 4 % interest per annum. Thei r total savings is estimated as 4,36,000/- which doesn't include the superannuating benefits of both Joe and Morion.Even if these aspects are accounted the current position would be enough if they expect to support in the same manner in future. The cost of living certainly would enhance and hence the gaps that exist between the current estimate and actual expense in future would be very huge.The major benefit of transition to retirement provision is to receive a part of superannuation as pension while being involved with it. It would help to sail smooth into the retirement period while enjoying some tax related concessions available to pensions. The guideline for opting the transition to retirement varies from one scheme to another. As an example, some of them specify that one's preservation age must be below 65 years and continues to be in workforce. And the government might not have specified the minimum or maximum hours that you might be working. One could collect the super as 'non-commutable account based pension". In some situations, the account holder is allowed to take a maximum of 10 percent only while being in a transition period. A minimum account balance, say $ 25,000/-, is to purchase some of the products designed for transition to retirement. Also, certain stipulations like minimum account balance of $ 1000/- is required in the account. Part D Describe two current legally accepted strategies that could be employed by the couple to enable them to maximise any Centrelink benefits in their final retirement. The important areas that could be employed by the couple for planning the post retired life are Age pension : This can chosen based on the qualifying age and also on certain test conditions like asset and income test. Allowances are related to the people who are not presently in the workforce. Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card is anothet option for those who fail to qualify for the senior health care card. Part E Identify the two methods of nominating a beneficiary for superannuation members and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Outline the tax treatment of superannuation lump sum death benefits

LPN to RN Role Transitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

LPN to RN Role Transitions - Essay Example Harrington& Terry(2009) define role transition as â€Å"the passage or shifts from one role to another and involves changing the way one thinks and acts† (p. 54). Role transition from LPN to RN role is a unique experience as it changes and broaden the LPN’s responsibilities, thinking, practice and experience, and the overall view of the nursing world. The decision to become a registered nurse uprooted to the two of the most important goals I have at the moment: one of them is to continue my nursing education and explore a vast array of knowledge, skills, and experiences apart from being an LPN, and the other one is to pursue this long-time dream of being a registered nurse that helps people as well as the increase in income. The road to become a registered is not easy and requires understanding of the differences between the LPN and RN roles, the management of conflicts, application of classroom discussion to role transition and, knowing and understanding the exisiting facts and standards of the state board of nursing. The LPN transitioning to become an RN faces variations in the roles they perform. Often times, distinguishing the differences between the roles they perform becomes difficult as they are bombarded with several role variations. However, there are two specific role changes differences between an LPN and an RN. One of the first specific role changes is the difference in the nature of client care. LPNs focus on the â€Å"how to† of client care.

Personal financial planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Personal financial planning - Essay Example Briefly explain what options are available to Jack with respect to the payment he will receive upon termination of his employment, including his superannuation balance. Calculate the resultant tax treatment of the payment with respect to those options.One of the best options jack could plan is to pay a small amount of future pre-tax salary to the investments. The plan for such investments would also help to pay for personal insurance to protect the family income.During this period Jack would have return of deposits amounting to $ 8000 and the return from superannuation as $ 1350. This could be deposited on long term basis and as the seven years are completed the amount could be added with the Marions return to meet their living expenses.At the present rates both Joe and Marion would require $ 55,000 to lead a very comfortable life. If this is the amount that the couples expect after their retirement then the they must have accumulated saving of $137500 at 4 % interest per annum. Thei r total savings is estimated as 4,36,000/- which doesn't include the superannuating benefits of both Joe and Morion.Even if these aspects are accounted the current position would be enough if they expect to support in the same manner in future. The cost of living certainly would enhance and hence the gaps that exist between the current estimate and actual expense in future would be very huge.The major benefit of transition to retirement provision is to receive a part of superannuation as pension while being involved with it. It would help to sail smooth into the retirement period while enjoying some tax related concessions available to pensions. The guideline for opting the transition to retirement varies from one scheme to another. As an example, some of them specify that one's preservation age must be below 65 years and continues to be in workforce. And the government might not have specified the minimum or maximum hours that you might be working. One could collect the super as 'non-commutable account based pension". In some situations, the account holder is allowed to take a maximum of 10 percent only while being in a transition period. A minimum account balance, say $ 25,000/-, is to purchase some of the products designed for transition to retirement. Also, certain stipulations like minimum account balance of $ 1000/- is required in the account. Part D Describe two current legally accepted strategies that could be employed by the couple to enable them to maximise any Centrelink benefits in their final retirement. The important areas that could be employed by the couple for planning the post retired life are Age pension : This can chosen based on the qualifying age and also on certain test conditions like asset and income test. Allowances are related to the people who are not presently in the workforce. Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card is anothet option for those who fail to qualify for the senior health care card. Part E Identify the two methods of nominating a beneficiary for superannuation members and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Outline the tax treatment of superannuation lump sum death benefits

International Monetary Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Monetary Economics - Essay Example One of the main fields of research which has attracted the attention of the researchers worldwide is the exchange rate and the trade balance relationship (Liew, Lim & Hussain, 2003, p.1). The elasticity model which is one of the most important models of balance of trade throws light on the prevalence of theoretical relationship between trade balance and rates of exchange of a nation (Stucka, 2004, p.22). There are a number of ways in which exchange rates can influence the trade balance of nations which provides valuable inputs to the nation’s policy makers to undertake exchange rate policies like devaluation policies etc in order to being about balance in the nation’s foreign trade. Devaluation increases the prices of foreign currencies making imports more expensive in the home nation till the foreign suppliers reduce their prices in order to compensate (International monetary economics-a, n.d., p.4). The reason why countries devaluates is to attain a competitive positi on in comparison to its competitors through the reduction of prices of goods produced domestically below the level which is compatible with the purchasing power parity (International monetary economics-b, n.d., p.5). ... This would be followed by a critical analysis through the presentation of a critical literature on the above aspects through which it tries to present the impacts of exchange rates adjustments on the balance of payments of nations. The monetary approach This approach is based on the fact that the disequilibrium in the balance of payments is based on the monetary disequilibrium which is the difference between the amount of money that individuals want to hold and the amount of money that the monetary authorities supply. In case the people want to hold more money, which exceeds the amount supplied by the Central Bank, then this would be met by a greater money inflow from abroad (Malik, 2006, p.2). The elasticity approach As per the views of Marshall, trade deficits lead to devaluation. Exports become more attractive in other nations. On the other hand the imports are made costlier in the domestic nation and this leads to the squeezing of the import bills. Trade deficits are thus elimina ted in the process (Sharan, 2011, p.121). The traditional approach The traditional approach deals more with the current account or the trade balance of nations. However, the approach does not consider the other components of the international accounts other than the current account. The balance of payments goes up along with the current account. However, since 1960s and the 1970s the traditional views have changed after studies emphasizing on factors determining the capital account flows (Arize, 2000, p.35). Critical Analysis Previous research reveals the importance of exchange rate fluctuations as a tool for international monetary regime. The comparison for seven of the largest non

The Strategic Role of HR in a State Government Essay Example for Free

The Strategic Role of HR in a State Government Essay In a growing number of organizations human resources are now viewed as a source of competitive advantage (Human Links, 2007). For human resource to be competitive, it entails competencies that are â€Å"obtained through highly developed employee skills, distinctive organizational cultures, management processes and systems† (Human Links, 2007). The presence of these distinctive competencies marks most of the high-performance organizations. But the need for such organizations is not limited only to the private sector. Government organizations, particularly state and local governments, â€Å"are becoming increasingly accountable for results and the cost-effective use of taxpayer money spent on programs and services† (TechRepublic, 2007). Government organizations are like businesses; businesses that may not be run for profit but rather are organized to meet a social goal in an effective and efficient manner (Mathys, 2006). Such said, â€Å"Government organizations must be responsive, use their resources well, and provide good value to the user and account ­ability to the taxpayer† (Mathys, 2006).   It is in this context that strategic human resource management has become just as important in the public sector. Strategic human resource management has been defined as ‘linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation and flexibility’ (Human Links, 2007). The whole process of strategic human resource management includes the measurement of the impact of actions and decisions.   Pressures on governments around the world have contributed to the rising adoption of â€Å"performance management and measurement† – a focus on program and service outputs and outcomes, and on â€Å"managing for results† (TechRepublic, 2007). One method that has had significant demonstrated success to improve process efficiency, timeliness, and customer satisfaction in business is the balanced scorecard (Mathys, 2006). The Balanced Scorecard is a â€Å"performance measurement that seeks to combine strategic planning with performance measurement† (Rogers, 2007). Robert Kaplan and David Norton published works on the Balanced Scorecard in 1991 and considered four areas in assessing the effectiveness of an organization in meeting its vision and strategy. These four areas or â€Å"perspectives† include: Financial, Customer, Internal Business Processes, and Learning and Growth. According to Mathys, Kaplan and Norton’s model explains that visions and strategies are translated into objectives, measures, targets, and initiatives that answer the questions in each of the four categories: Financial, the main question is: â€Å"To succeed financially, how should we appear to our shareholders?† Customer, the focus is: â€Å"To achieve our vision, how should we appear to our customers?† Internal business process focuses on the question: â€Å"To satisfy our shareholders and customers, what business processes must we excel at?† Learning and growth category focuses on answering the question: â€Å"To achieve our vision, how will we sustain our ability to change and improve?† Essentially, this framework â€Å"balances the value of strategic inputs (leading indicators) with financial outputs (lagging indicators) to enable an organization to improve the way it plans, measures and communicates success† (Strategic Management Partners, 2007). It is now being applied by hundreds of successful organizations, in the public and private sectors, to align people, strategy and performance (Strategic Management Partners, 2007). In 1999, the State of Illinois embarked on a strategic planning initiative (SPI) to initiate change using the balanced scorecard (BSC).   The initial goals were performance management and public accountability, which required viewing the Illinois public as a customer whose opinion of government performance was of paramount importance (Lang, 2007). The State of Illinois translated its goals and strategy into different measures of success Financial, Customer, Internal Business Processes, Human Resources Systems Development (learning and growth). In this context, the Human Resources (HR) Department has a critical role in facilitating the whole process of instituting a comprehensive public governance system using this measurement system. People management is an important function of the HR Department and can play an important role in an organizations financial performance as well as the service it offers its customers (Yahoo! Answers, 2007). People management includes managing recruitment selection, turnover issues, employee benefits, and acting as an information resource in HR issues for the organization (Yahoo! Answers, 2007). First, it is important that the HR department views the state government as well as its constituency as its customer. The HR Department ensures that loyalty among employees towards the organization is intact and also that the final constituents or the general population of the state government therefore are benefited. Second, the HR department looks into the other departments within the state government and assesses their goals and strategies as well in contributing to the achievement of the primary goal of the state government. This can be viewed particularly on learning and growth concerns such as how the various capabilities of various employees can be built up and enhanced so they can very well respond to the goals of the organizations, among others. This entails for example employing a Training Needs Assessment (TNA) tool so that employee capabilities may be surveyed, consolidated and aptly tapped. Knowledge of employee skills, abilities and aptitude could save the organization from investing on capability building trainings that do not address the real needs of employees. Third, in terms of internal business process, the role of the HR Department is to â€Å"indicate how much each employee contributes to the organization such as revenue generated minus the cost of salary, benefits and training† (Yahoo! Answers, 2007). This basically looks into the productivity of the individual employee as well as the consolidated output of such individual productivity levels with which the HR Department also has that function to design a merit and rewards system to increase again such productivity. This is vital to keep the bureaucracy lean. Fourthly, in financial terms, the HR Department shall be able to perform a rationalized system of recruitment because it sees fit which employees to hire based on the scope of work and job specifications. Aside from recruitment, HR also could do regular employee performance evaluations so as to determine which employee has actually continually met the specifications of the job. Again, this saves the state government from unnecessary hiring of staff and checking of redundancy, among others, since the staffing needs of the organization has been streamlined. With the HR Department using these four perspectives, it helps the government administration to keep â€Å"track the value of activities (e.g. human resource development) which previously had not been audited effectively and had not been regarded as contributors to the bottom line (Strategic Management Partners, 2007). As in many private corporations, HR Departments of state governments shall have to use hard data in measuring performance. This can be done by linking â€Å"employee competencies with behavioral objectives to align job specifications, recruitment, promotion, appraisal, and reward systems† (Strategic Management Partners, 2007). A number of HR measures or benchmarks can be employed to check on performance and these include: â€Å"Applications per vacancy, Internal promotions, Hours training, Peer group reviewing, Cross-functional projects, Knowledge sharing, Employee turnover, Cost per hire, Employee satisfaction,† among others (Strategic Management Partners, 2007). The HR Department can also assist the various departments of the state government in targeting and developing milestones that keep its focus on the goals.   The goals of the state government must be cascaded to every department with the help of the HR Department. In the end, some of the following questions may serve to measure the four perspectives: Customer/Constituency. What services have been delivered to the constituents in order to secure their welfare and how do these relate to people’s expectations towards the state government? Learning and Growth. Have the skills and competencies of officers and staff have been upgraded and in what manner? Internal Business Processes. What desirable levels of effectiveness and efficiency have been achieved in serving the constituents? Financial Resources. What revenue generating options have been tapped and which government services have already been provided at a reasonable price? In all these, the role of HR should be to facilitate rather than dictate the targets and outcomes. Keeping the measurements simple allows it to be more understandable and adaptable. If it is not seen to be fully integrated with the business imperatives of the Chief Executive it will not be given the attention it deserves by operational managers (Strategic Management Partners, 2007). List of References Chaturvedi, Siddharth. October 2007. Strategic Human Resource Management. Retrieved October 2007 from http://www.humanlinks.com/manres/articles/shrm/htm. Lang, Sandra S.   January 2007. The CPA Journal. â€Å"Balanced Scorecard and Government Entities Moving Forward at the Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 2007 from http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2004/604/essentials/p48.htm. Mathys, Nicholas. February 2006. Managing for Performance Results Series 2006. â€Å"Using the Balanced Scorecard: Lessons Learned from the U.S. Postal Service and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.† Retrieved October 2007 from http://www.businessofgovernment.org/pdfs/MathysReport.pdf Rogers, Martha. June 2007. â€Å"Balanced Score Card Usage in Local Government Audit Shops.† Retrieved October 2007 from http://www.governmentauditors.org/content/view/311/123/. Strategic Management Partners. January 2007. Briefing Papers: Using the HR Balanced Scorecard. Retrieved October 2007 from http://www.consult-smp.com/archives/2005/02/using_the_hr_ba_html. TechRepublic. October 2007. Whitepapers: Using the Balanced Scorecard to Improve State and Local Government Performance. Retrieved October 2007 from http://whitepapers.techrepublic.com.com/webcast.aspx. Yahoo! Answers. October 2007. What is Balanced Score Card in HR?. Retrieved   October 2007 from http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070927202545AAwkQix.

Marketing Report Virgin Media Marketing Essay

Marketing Report Virgin Media Marketing Essay The aim of this research is to disclose the challenges and progress being made by Virgin and the marketing process and other crucial means leading to their progress. In order to complete this analysis, the adoption of strategic planning and marketing tool is crucial. Additional research for this report was completed through visiting Virgins online resources, which include historical archives, annual reports, strategies, operations etc. The aforementioned sources or documents provide background information, which acts as the basis for Virgins current position and against strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats analysis (SWOT analysis). Further analysis includes market segmentation, environmental analysis, target market and launching strategies. The first phase of this marketing report is to conduct a situation analysis that reveals the present state of the organization and its opportunities in the market. However, disclosing the history of the organization in view is crucial. The focus of the report thus would be on virgin media groups especially the mobile or telephony sector alongside the HD-TV or (3d TV) and broadband connection in the United Kingdom. Introduction Kotler and Kevin (2006) defined marketing as the science and art of selecting the right market, and then attracting and retaining customers making use of different techniques and making the customers happy. The marketing is not an easy concept of management. People believe it just as selling of goods, but it has the important role of satisfying the customers by giving them their needs and wants (Drysdale, 1999). This suggests that marketing is a tool, which involves the process of identifying the need of the product/ service in the market, and designing the product accordingly to fit into the market, using different strategies of sales and promotions. Successful marketing strategy is one, which makes increased returns from existing customers (Wilson et al., 2002). Marketing Process It is the process of marketing that makes the success or failure of the business. For below figure describes important characteristics associated with the marketing. Virgin media focuses on characteristics such as social, technological, political, and demographic factors for its marketing and promotional activities. Virgin also targets customers based on products in an appreciable manner by introducing 3D TVs into the market. This might act as the USP for the organization. Source: Kotler and Kevin (2006) Figure: Important factors of marketing strategy Company Background /Mission Statement The history of Virgin dates back to 1970 when Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Company started with a student magazine and then the company expanded to several sectors; ranging from music labels, travel, drinks, financial services, media, music, transportation, telephony, media and services and fitness (virgin.com). Virgin has developed more than 300 branded companies globally. Global branded revenues as of 2009 accrued to around  £11.5 billion. A merger between Richard Bransons Virgin Mobile in 1993, and cable operator NTL, which metamorphosed into Virgin Media Inc on February 6, 2007, established media. External Marketing Audit Macro environment -Virgin Media Marketing is depicted by Brassington Pettit (2003, p.8-9) and Brassington Pettit (2007,p.2-3) as composed of conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas , goods and services. Brassington Pettit (2007, p.2-3; Armstrong 2009,p.7-9) specifically submitted that marketing involves; identifying, planning, anticipating, and satisfying customer demands or specification with profit in mind. It thus involves exchanging or stimulating of ideas and the processing of such ideas. It could also be depicted as the creation of awareness for products, which stems from designing products, conducting market research, launching strategies, ensuring availability and service. Marketing thus can be depicted as a demand management activity. The marketing scope however takes place in an environment which takes into consideration basic themes in marketing and customer relationship management (Brassington Pettit 2003, p.9-11). The macro environment audit examines ranges of issues that affect the organization from the environmental perspective. This is represented by PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological analysis (Drummond et al 1999, p.24). Despite the global economic recession, the innovation and launch of products have remained constant. The particular segment of Virgin media; the television and telephony sector which provides distribution of television programming , broadband and fixed line telephone services to consumers on Virgin Medias cable network accounted for over 84.5% of total revenue in the first half of 2010. Micro Environment Market Analysis With the new development of TV 3D and the proposed increase of the network offering a downstream speed of 100Mbps and an upstream speed of probably 10Mbps by the end of 2010. The cable TV, telephony and broadband sector however of Virgin media is envisaging spending up to 30% of  £40mthan last year as compared to  £170m this year. Appendix 1 further explains the current position of Virgin Media. The launching of 3D by Virgin media ahead of other major competitors like BSkyB which is available for domestic use demonstrates the innovative intent of the company. In this era of globalization, technologies become the particular part in our life. One of the significant parts of people daily-life is communication. That makes telecommunication infiltrate into customer lifestyle. Virgin Media, despite the so many innovative and early market entry cases with its product remains a loss prone company. Competitors such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4,BT Group and Talk Talk through their collaboration which seeks to deliver internet access and video on demand programming accessible to the Freeview digital TV box. Competitor Analysis The present position of Virgin Media in the market, as an innovative and early launcher of products .In 2010 , Virgin media has successfully completed a portfolio of voice, data and internet solutions to leading businesses alongside public organizations and service providers in the United Kingdom (Barnet 2010). The focus of this report however would be on the 3D revolution. With the new converged TV and broadband set -top box gaining more demand, Virgin Media would launch TiVo at the end of the year. From this perspective, Virgin media submits that in the first three months of the year and recorded around 200 views million views of video- on -demand content. TV channels have benefitted from this video-on- demand strategy, for instance, Channel 4s 4oD realized up to 19 million views through Virgin Media (Guardian.co.uk). The BBC iPlayer however stands as another medium through which more than 50 million views of content in the first quarter. The competitive advantage of BSkyB cannot be ignored. The battle for the 3D market is on, as Virgin Media has beaten BSkyB to launch the first commercial 3D Television service to the United Kingdom customers and further to other European companies starting from 1st October, 2010 (Virgin Media press release, 2010). The latest of strategies employed by BSkyB is the unveiling of the service known as 3D Movies on Demand, which allows customers access to 3D versions of films with a loop of preview programming. The positive of all this submission is that over 1.2 million households that have a V plus or V HD receiver and 3D glasses would be able to benefit from the 3D rental services. Customer Analysis The number of subscribers in the United Kingdom is increasing continually especially with the introduction of internet, broadband and lately 3D TV video on demand. Cable Products and Services Virgin media offers cable broadband internet, television and fixed line telephone services to residential customers in the United Kingdom. Virgin media offers its customers several packages and multiple services (Virgin media annual report 2009). Broadband Internet Virgin media has over 3.8 million subscribers, with several upgrades made to the network in the first half of 2010. As the first provider to offer download speeds of up to 50Mbps to over 12 million homes across the United Kingdom, with the current upgrade of up to 100 Mbps, Virgin media ranks one of the first companies in the United Kingdom to provide a further download speeds up to 200 Mbps (Halliday 2010). The broadband internet service has been credited as one of the successful sectors of Virgin Media with intense marketing and customer relationship management services (Virgin media annual report 2009). Television Virgin media operates in different aspects from the TV; Cable Television, Free TV service, Virgin TV on Demand (VOD) , High Definition Television, and Digital Video Recorders. The new 3D TV revolution leads to the examination of the internal market and the position of the media sector of the company. Internal Marketing Audit Operating results Virgin media has held a solid presence in the market with a combination of different sectors as disclosed above. From the perspective of Gilligan Wilson, (2009, p. 73-75) is concerned with strengths and weaknesses , organizational performance and structure, operations and resources , marketing objectives ,marketing strategy, information systems , control systems, functional efficiency, inter functional efficiency, cost effectiveness analysis. Fig 1 : The place of the marketing auditing in the overall management auditing Source: Gilligan Wilson, 2009, p. 79 Internal auditing assesses the extent to which an organization, its structure, and resources interact with the environment and they have the means of operating efficiently within certain constraints that the environment presents Gilligan Wilson, (2009, p.80). Five stages of auditing as disclosed by Gilligan Wilson, (2009, p.82) involves; defining the market, determining the performance, determining differences in competitive programmes, profile the strategies of the competitors and determining the strategic planning structure. Strategic Issue Analysis Investing in a particular business, demands a marketing research or audit. Following the corporations aim, which is to be the leader in entertainment communication, according to Virgin Media website, it provides a wide range of products to serve consumers wants and needs by focusing on entertainment and 3D technology with design and suitable for customers lifestyle. There are main three category of product, which is divided by usage and customers lifestyle as following: Daily life tool, Communication Entertainment, and Style Statement. Firstly, daily life tool is the mobile phone which is produced for customers who want just only basis of communication which could be linked with the mobile telephony business. The strategic concern here is the launch of the 3D TV, which is supposed to boost the Virgin Media Inc. Considering the modernity, and new customer or coverage of this new product. Certain things need to be taken into consideration; segmentation process which covers the consumer behaviour, social influences, personal influences and psychological influences (Drummond et al, 1999, p.51-59). SWOT Analysis Strengths Wide-range of products Environmentally friendly Strong partnership Reasonable price Early launcher or early market entry Weaknesses Accumulated deficit Wide range of Media products without any specialization Weak Brand identity Limited expansion of coverage Opportunities Christmas and New Year/Seasonal period sales Expanding of signal, broadband coverage with the TV. Increasing in On-line purchase Technology flood trend Threats More entrants into the market Strong competitors Negative media reports Marketing / Strategic Objective With the new 3D TV on demand in place, the entire marketing objective of Virgin Media is to consolidate its profit in the market through innovation and launching of new products (Virgin Media). At the beginning of this strategy, the strategic objective is to stimulate existing customers and potential customers to purchase the product (3D TV on demand). This plan takes issues such as services, after service, customer relations management and promotion, quality products and service delivery are crucial. However, it is crucial to drive total sales unit by attracting customer with a great deal. This can be achieved by applying Ansoffs Growth Strategies (Wood, 2007), to decide which area might be suitable for this plan, the decision is made by choosing market penetration. This penetration strategy of Virgin may help it in the long-term. The company will be able to penetrate well into the market segments left untouched. This will lead the organization towards a better position in the market. The company uses its different segment of products to penetrate simultaneously into the different market segments. Virgin strictly follows the marketing concept to sell its products all acros s. Their focus is on branding the products for increased sales. Furthermore, customer relationship management has become an important factor for Virgin, as the performance outcomes are categorized as customer loyalty, profitability, customer satisfaction and the market share (George A. Day Robin Wensley, 1988). Marketing Strategies Virgin should make use of segmentation strategy of market, based on the 4Ps of marketing (Kotler, 2006). They should select their two products 3D TVs for entertainment and the TV for transfer of information etc. Firstly, the 3D TV shall be sold to users who want just the comfort of the 3D entertainment. While the second type of TVs are for those looking for different applications on their TV for the transfer of information or use of the internet (Style Statement). Those who make purchase just for entertainment include children and homemakers, shall be targeted for the first type of product. Some people, who are professional by nature, and are more involved in the information transfer, shall be targeted for second type of product. The product chosen for discussion in the below sections is TV. Product Virgin Media produces a variety of products to serve any market segmentation with wide-range of prices depending on what features fit in customers needs. The customers have many choices to purchase other HD TVs or TVs with multimedia benefits, which are suitable for their lifestyle. According to the Product/segment analysis grid, Wood (2007), there are three categories for Virgin media TV. Their product (TV) is aimed to wide range of market segment. Thus, the company can achieve economies of scale by selling its products all across. Considering the products by using Product Life-Cycle Marketing Strategies, Kotler et al (2009), it has some products extinct from the market but it has also the products which resurrection to the market as well. Price The impact of the economy crisis, slow down the purchasing power and customer spending behaviour, during gift-giving holiday as Christmas and New Year are the special occasions for European. However, the pricing of their TVs is fit to the market today. The products range from HD TVs to the simple TVs for wide range of genera. Thus, the company here focuses on earning revenues from low involvement TVs by achieving economies of scale, while good margin on high involvement TVs. The information from Mintel mention that the average amount spent on gift for family and friends this Christmas was 370 pounds (Mintel 2007). This simply implies that for a product such as the 3D TV videos on demand, the price would be much affordable for subscribers and it would focus on a particular class of the society at first, which are the high earners and early technology adopters. (See Appendix 2). Place One of the marketing mix elements that would be the key success factor for any business is distribution channel. The channel, which could approach to the customer directly, should be the suitable way to increase profit in short term. Virgin thus makes use of the retailers distributed worldwide, to sell its products. From this fact, it leads the marketing department to choose direct marketing in term of e-marketing to be the channel and also using the existing channel that distribute product to retailer and the retailer sells to customers which means the company is using dual distribution for this marketing plan and selective distribution. The competitive advantage of online marketing is lower costs and prices. According to the accumulated deficit of the company, the department desire to lighten the load of companys expenditure by developing the website to sell the product. Promotion Just like the place, there should be multiple ways of communicating the benefits and awareness of the new product. Promotion could be through the following ways; Internet marketing, magazine, television to mention but a few (Appendix 3). The company uses promotion strategy as advertisements and various promotional plans randomly for selling its TVs. Virgin gains competitive advantage against its competitors due to its wide range of quality products. Continuous research and development by the company helps it to introduce new products into the market. These products, with big brand attached to it, sells in the market to gain revenues. Additionally, the long lasting existence of the company shows its expertise and experience in the industry. The company thus has linked with large number of retailers indirectly, to distribute the products directly to its end consumers. The company does not stand up with high pricing. Their pricing strategy is worth the brand value they have achieved. They stand well in the market with strong base. Thus, it suggests their pricing fit for upper-middle class of people. Marketing- An approach to success Marketing in itself is not an easy phenomenon. It varies from one geographic location to the other. For Virgin, the company analyses well the different approaches for selling its products at different places. For example, for selling its products in US, the products should be trendy and luxurious. The products shall be sold showing their fade. However, for countries such as India, China and Malaysia, the company shall use promotional strategies using the local cultural approach. The company offers huge discounts during cultural timings in these countries. This raises the sales of their products. Company also uses traditional means of representing their products as cost effective and as value to price. For this, Virgin promotes its products to grab the attention of both, end consumers and organizations. Selling to end consumer focuses on the benefits attached with the product for home use. However, for organizations, benefits on bulk purchase, benefits on using various range of products etc. is laid. This increases the probability of Virgins products acceptable all across. References Armstrong,G, Kotler, P,Harker, M,Brennan,R. (2009) Marketing and Introduction, Pearson Education Limited. Barnet, E. (2010) Virgin beats Sky to 3D service launch; accessed 29th September, 2010 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8029425/Virgin-beats-Sky-to-3D-service-launch.html Drummond, G , Ensor, J Ashford, R.(1999) Strategic Marketing :planning and control; Oxford:Elsevier. Drysdale, L. (1999) Marketing or Market Orientation: Whats the Difference, Prime Focus The Professional Journal for Australian Primary School Leaders April pp28-29 George A. Day Robin Wensley (1988), Assessing Advantage: A Framework for Diagnosing Competitive Superiority. A Journal of Marketing, Vol. 52, pp. 1-20. Giligan, C Wilson,M.S .(2009) Strategic Marketing Planning, Oxford ,UK: Elsevier. Halliday, J . (2010) Virgin Media steps up battle over broadband speed advertising, accessed 1st October ,2010 ; http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/02/virgin-media-broadband-speed-advertising Kotler, P. et al (2009) Marketing Management, London: Pearson Education Limited. Mintel, (2007), Christmas Shopping Habits 2009 report, Accessed 29th September, 2010: http://www.academic.mintel.com Philip Kotler, Kevin lane Keller (2006), Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, 12th edition, ISBN 0-13-145757-8, p. 6 Virgin Media press release (2010) accessed 1st October, 2010; http://pressoffice.virginmedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=205406p=irol-newsArticleID=1449279highlight= Virgin Media First Quarter 2010 Results ( 2010) accessed 1st October, 2010; http://pressoffice.virginmedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=205406p=irol-newsArticleID=1418909highlight= Virgin Media on Demand , accessed 1st October, 2010; http://www.virginmedia.com/tvradio/ondemand/ Virgin Media brings 3D TV to UK living rooms ; accessed 1st October, 2010; http://www.virginmedia.com/movies/features/virgin-media-3d.php Virgin media annual report 2009; accessed 30th September, 2010 ; http://investors.virginmedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=135485p=irol-reportsAnnualVirginMedia Wilson, H., Daniel, E., MacDonald, M. (2002), Factors for success in CRM systems. Journal of Marketing Management. Vol. 18, No.1, pp. 193-219 Wood, M.B. (2007), Essential Guide to Marketing Planning, London, Prentice Hall. Zack Investment research online archive ; accessed 1st October, 2010, http://www.stockresearchwiki.com/Ticker/VMED/ Appendix A

The Iliad of Homer Essay -- essays research papers

The Iliad of Homer Honor is something men and women have fought for century after century. Even now, thousands of American and British men are fighting in Iraq, near to where the Trojan War was to have taken place. These men fight for the greater good. They fight for those in Iraq who are unable to fight for or otherwise defend themselves. They fight for honor. The characters in the Iliad are motivated by their own form of honor, or arete, known similarly as the Homeric Code. And it is because of this code that the Trojan War began. The characters in this story are shown to possess arete, but some have different ideas as to how vastly and to what rate it should be respected. And because of this, many a man’s honor is disturbed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Homeric Code can be defined as â€Å"unwritten rules that guide the conduct of the Homeric Heroes.† For the Homeric Heroes, success means survival and greater honor; failure means death and removal from the struggle for honor. What the Heroic code means is that honor is more important than life itself. It is obvious throughout the books that the characters of high honor are the ones that ignore warnings to stay away from danger, battles, and the like. Courage, physical abilities, and social status are also important contributions to the Homeric code. To truly understand this code and the true dedication to it as told by Homer, means becoming accustom to the values kept by those in this story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ...

Corporate Governance Is The System By Which Companies Are Directed And Controlled Accounting Essay

The first version of the UK Code on Corporate Governance was produced in 1992 by the Cadbury Committee. The authoritative definition of Corporate Governance in the context of the Code: ‘Corporate administration is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. Boardss of managers are responsible for the administration of their companies. The stockholders ‘ function in administration is to name the managers and the hearers and to fulfill themselves that an appropriate administration construction is in topographic point. The duties of the board include puting the company ‘s strategic purposes, supplying the leading to set them into consequence, oversing the direction of the concern and coverage to stockholders on their stewardship. The board ‘s actions are capable to Torahs, ordinances and the stockholders in general meeting. ‘ The board of managers leads and controls a company and hence an effectual board is the cardinal to the success of the company. The Department of Trade and Industry ( 2004 ) agreed that effectual boards are as much concerned with public presentation as with conformity in run intoing the demands of company jurisprudence and using the rules and commissariats of the Combined Code. However, the UK Corporate Governance Code ( 2008 ) concluded a similar standard as Combined Code ( 2004 ) on board effectivity. ‘Firstly, there should be a formal, strict and crystalline process for the assignment of new managers to the board. Second, all managers should be able to apportion sufficient clip to the company to dispatch their duties efficaciously. Third, all managers should have initiation on fall ining the board and should regularly update and review their accomplishments and cognition. The board should be supplied in a timely mode with information in a signifier and of a quality appropriate to enable it to dispatch its responsibilities. Fourthly, the board should set about a formal and strict one-year rating of its ain public presentation and that of its commissions and single managers. Last, all managers should be submitted for re-election at regular intervals, capable to continued satisfactory performance. ‘ The UK Code on Corporate Governance ( 2010 ) besides stated that the intent of corporate administration is to ease effectual, entrepreneurial and prudent direction that can present the long-run success of the company. Good Administration has ever association with success companies and would assist companies pull investing capital. The apprehension of corporate administration that the work of Cadbury Committee insisted: ‘The state ‘s economic system depends on the thrust and efficiency of its companies. Therefore the effectivity with which boards discharge their duties determines Britain ‘s competitory place. ‘ ( Cadbury, 1992 ) Furthermore, the Cadbury Committee emphasized the freedom driven within a model of effectual answerability, which is the kernel of any system of good corporate administration ( Cadbury, 1992 ) . There is an increasing realisation the higher criterions of corporate administration are non merely necessary to guarantee answerability, but b esides to positively better corporate public presentation ( Clarke, 2007 ) . More sophisticated methodological analysiss are now being applied with more promising consequences, with ‘an increasing organic structure of finance literature proposing companies with superior administration offer better comparative investing public presentation or lower investing hazard ‘ ( Clarke, 2007 ) . Clarke ( 2007 ) found that the board of managers is the fulcrum of corporate administration: the critical link in which the lucks of the company are decided. Stiles and Taylor indicated the same point of view in 2001: ‘The board is the nexus between the stockholders of the steadfast to-day operations of the organisation ‘ .The effectivity of non-executive managersCorporate administration has become a heated-discussed subject in developed economic systems late as a consequence of widespread failures of the planetary fiscal system ( Shleifer and Vishny, 1997 ) . There is small uncertainty about the primacy of this status as it is normally accepted that a ‘lack of monitoring by independent, disinterested non-executive managers has been a major cause for the assorted corporate dirts that we have witnessed ‘ ( High degree Group of Company Law Experts, 2002 ) . Kakabadse et Al. ( 2010 ) observed that ‘the struggle of involvement that occurs by holding a board dwelling about wholly of insider executive managers means that independent rating of company determinations is earnestly compromised ‘ . In the point of position, lawfully, the foreigner non-executive managers, who are expected to dispatch the responsibilities of trueness, attention and good concern judgement, are every bit responsible for the direction of the corporation ( Lorsch and Maclver, 1989 ) . On the other manus, practically, Weimer and Pape ( 1999 ) suggest that the non-executive managers advise the inside executive managers on a major policy determinations while bearing the involvements of stockholders. In the facet of Agency theory, it assumes that the presence of independent non-executive managers on the company boards should assist to supervise direction on behalf of stockholders by presenting an independent voice in the council chamber ( Solomon, 2010 ) . It would cut down the ill-famed struggles of involvement between stockholders and direction. So, an independ ent board needed to be created both competent and free from prejudice. Harmonizing to Firth et Al ‘s research findings in 2007, boards with a big proportion of non-executive managers are more likely to implement performance-related wage strategies. They conclude that the independent non-executive managers help to aline the involvements of stockholders and the CEO via the compensation of CEO. However, the non-executive managers have non escaped unfavorable judgment during the planetary fiscal crisis. Burgess ( 2009 ) observed that ‘the quality of former non-executive managers in RBS has been questioned as many of them had limited banking experience and could barely be regarded as independent, peculiarly when the bank had a really powerful CEO doing it hard for the non-executive managers to stand up to him ‘ . In the recent research findings, Lawler and Finegold ( 2005 ) revealed that there are no important relationships between board effectivity and the pattern of holding a non-executive chair or that of holding an independent individual functioning as a leader. It indicates that a good functioning corporate administration system is more than merely seting a construction in topographic point. Although the jurisprudence puting the regulations of board responsibilities, it still have a big portion of the existent administration and control of corporations occurs that non written into Torahs. It would be utile to hold an equal apprehension of agent or direction motive and behavior within a corporate scene ( Marnet, 2007 ) . It is reported in the 6th International Conference on Corporate Governance and Board Leadership ( 2003 ) that on the footing of in-depth interviews with 60 board members of Belgian listed companies, the managers were asked to sum up what they believe are elements of a good board of managers. The quality of the board meetings and board composings are two most important elements of a good board of managers. A good manager must fix the information good including the information and format before the meeting. Besides managers must demo involvement in what the company and its concern units are making. Furthermore, the quality of treatments or arguments is important for an effectual board meeting. Each manager should hold an chance to talk up freely and lend in the meeting. Berghe and Levrau ( 2005 ) said that the board of managers must be critical but to continue a comfy and constructive clime during the board meeting. The study besides emphasizes the determinations made by board of manag ers may non be dominated by direction or stockholders. It should be considered good and might look on the board agenda more than one time. On the other manus, the function of board of managers is, as one manager explained, â€Å" We need to be able to see the present, whilst maintaining an oculus on the hereafter † . An effectual board of managers must hold the bravery to take hazards. Furthermore, supervising and control is a 2nd function of boards. They should purely supervise the development of the results, and confront these with the fiscal programs. Most of the recent codifications strengthen the independency of board. On the one manus, they adopt an addition in the proportion of independent managers on the board. On the other manus, they advocate a more extended and restrictive definition of independency. That is to state, most of concerns express a strong belief of independency that has potency to forestall future dirts. However, manager ‘s independency is non plenty. In-depth analysis of the corporate dirts at Enron, WorldCom and others has revealed that the happening of struggles of involvement throughout the concatenation of monitoring was one of the cardinal issues in those prostrations. ‘Not merely at board or corporate degree, but besides at the degree of the external proctors struggles of involvement seemed to hold flourished, taking to state of affairss wherein the personal involvements of the parties involved prevailed over corporate and societal involvements ‘ ( Van den Berghe and Baelden, 2003 ) . The dirts have demonstrated that good administration will non come by composing codifications of best pattern and supervising the formal application of these recommendations. Some of these companies complied with all the necessary ordinances, but yet, it went incorrect. In fact, there are a batch of corporate administration advocators who province the sentiment that an independent manager should non merely happen himself officially in the right place, but needs besides †something more † than the features determined in the corporate administration codifications and recommendations ( Berghe and Baelden, 2005 ) .Director ‘s TrainingThe Tyson Report on the Recruitment and Development of non-executive Directors in 2003 provinces that as non-executive managers ‘ duties and liabilities addition, companies should put more in preparation. Companies that score high Markss on studies of good corporate administration normally devote considerable clip to developing their non-executive managers. The Combined Code ( 2008 ) considered the information and professional development as an indispensable requirement for managers. The chief rule observed that ‘all managers should have initiation on fall ining the board and should regularly update and review their accomplishments and cognition ‘ . It is suggested in the Combined Code ( 2008 ) that ‘the managers should continually update their accomplishments the cognition and acquaintance with the company required to carry through their function both on the board and on board commissions ‘ . On the other manus, the company should supply the necessary resources for developing and updating the manager ‘s cognition and capablenesss. In the Code Provisions, it is suggested that the president should supply the new managers a ‘full formal and tailored ‘ initiation when they join the board. The company still needs to offer an chance for major stockholders to run into the new non-executive manager. The Institute of Directors ( 2009 ) discovered that the effectivity of freshly appointed non-executive managers should be improved by rapidly constructing their cognition of the organisation. The organisation should supply an initiation for those non-executive managers help them cognize where they can utilize the accomplishments and experience they have gained elsewhere for the benefit of the company. In the Review of the Role and Responsibilities of Non-Executive Directors, Derek Higgs ( 2003 ) recommends that a comprehensive, formal and trim initiation should ever be provided to new non-executive managers to guarantee an early part to the board. Basically, non-executive managers will already hold relevant accomplishments, cognition, experience and abilities. However, widening and reviewing their cognition and accomplishments will add to their credibleness and effectivity in the council chamber ( IoD, 2009 ) . The David Walker ‘s 2nd study with fiscal recommendation in December 2009 recognized the importance of larning lesA ­sons from the prostration of the Bankss, while at the same clip admiting the deficiency of grounds presently available as to the overall effectivity of non-executive managers on boards. The study is much made of the demand for behavioral alteration with an accent on the civilization within the council chamber and the importance of constructive challenge of the manageA ­ment. One of the of import proposals concerned with the initiation, preparation and the development of non-executive managers. However, the function of a manager peculiarly that independent non-executive manager is fundamenA ­tally different to that of a senior operational director from whose ranks most non-executives are recruited. The function requires a holistic position of the organisation, non merely one specific functional country. Edward Walker-Arnott ( 2010 ) observed ‘non-execu tives require an expressed grasp of their typical function as administration histrions, including their responsibility to rigorously challenge and measure the competency of the executive squad on behalf of stockholders ‘ . This position may non come of course to many managers as they make the passage from executive to non-executive functions. Walker-Arnott ( 2010 ) besides implied that independent non-executive managers as a distinguishable professional grouping could benA ­efit from specifying themselves. The peculiar group of managers would integrate approA ­priate director-level preparation. It would besides advance values of independency, challenge, and public service amongst its practicians. It is possible to hold an external initiation procedure that non-execA ­utive managers were to the full acknowledged of their administration duties, including their legal responsibilities and the outlooks of stockholders and other stakeholders. For new reachings, the quality of the initiation procedure is critical. It needs to give managers an ‘early feel ‘ for the concern and an apprehension of the issues they are likely to be covering with whilst, in the interim, giving them an early chance to do a positive part and add value to the board ( DTI, 2004 ) . A high quality executive squad will non digest the managers for a long clip in footings of board kineticss therefore it is important for new non-executives to catch up the measure every bit rapidly as possible. ICI ‘s attack gives us an illustration of the successful application on initiation procedure. Peter Ellwood, Chairman of ICI, believes that a proper initiation procedure for new managers makes sound commercial sense: ‘The Board is jointly responsible for the success of the Company. The relentless hunt for universe category public presentation must get down within the Boardroom. To work optimally, non-executive managers need to truly understa nd non merely the concern but besides their personal and corporate duties. They have to hold a feel for the company, non merely turn up to meetings. We are looking for them to hold an apprehension of what drives the concern and how they personally can do an effectual part ‘ . In pattern, at ICI, the procedure of initiation is designed to suit for both single and the specific spreads in their cognition or experience. For illustration, the initiation arranges new managers to run into as many people in the company as they can, across the sections such HR, Finance every bit good as out in the field. They are advised to hold a travel to admit to the concern and will go on to make this throughout their clip on the board. The ICI thought it is of import for new managers whether they are maintaining up to rush. ‘Each new manager has a formal initiation session led by the Company Secretary, augmented by the Assistant Secretary and person at a senior degree with a good trade of co mpany experience, explicating the issues for ICI ‘ ( DTI, 2004 ) . The Sessionss chiefly covered such as Risk, Regulation and Practice, including fiducial responsibilities, responsibilities of attention and diligence, how the board is managed, what makes an effectual board, the Combined Code and other ordinances. New managers become more effectual as subscribers more rapidly. The experience is valuable for new managers. Peter Ellwood is undoubted of the benefits to the concern: ‘It ‘s bottom line common sense to give new managers a thorough initiation. It ‘s non rocket scientific discipline but good pattern, because it means that the people fall ining the board will be more effectual. ‘ He still emphasized the initiation will add new manager ‘s value and do them effectual much more rapidly and use their endowment for benefit of the concern and its stockholders at the beginning. The Boardroom late carried out a study of taking institutional stockho lders in order to inform the development of its personalized development programmes for managers and senior executives ( DTI, 2004 ) . The responses from the stockholders perspective highlight one of the importance is that an effectual initiation procedure with strong support for doing initiation preparation compulsory for new managers.Director ‘s Skills and QualificationsBy and large talking, concern experience is of import for a non-executive manager. However, an effectual board is necessary formed by a assortment of backgrounds. The Higgs Report assumed that ‘the interplay of varied and complementary positions amongst different members of the board can significantly profit board public presentation ‘ . Harmonizing to the premise, non-executive managers would be chosen by different genders, nationality, expertness and experience. The responses from research and audience indicate the grounds that there is a deficit of good people to take on non-executive functions . In some fortunes, the board seems to hold sufficient supply of endowment nevertheless the job is non being good dealt with. It has been suggested that campaigners for non-executive managers is narrow. It is clearly that the company is interested in enrolling the best people for this place. However, it is hard for board to separate the virtues of them without prejudice and subjective judgement. The Higgs research shows that ‘Non-executive managers are typically white males approaching retirement age with old public limited company manager experience. There are less than 20 non-executive managers on FTSE 100 boards under the age of 45. In the telephone study for the Review, seven per cent of non-executive managers were non British, and one per cent was from black and cultural minority groups ‘ . The study still mentioned the proportion of genders in non-executive managers: ‘The really low figure of female non-executive managers is striking in comparing with other professions and with the population of directors in UK companies overall. The labour force study investigates that across the corporate sector as a whole, around 30 per cent of directors overall are female. Merely six per cent of non-executive stations are held by adult females, and there are merely two female presidents in the FTSE 350. However, the diverseness and mix of experience and gender would beneficial for the board in playing an consultative function in determination devising and puting scheme program. With the similar backgrounds non-executive frequently tend to believe in a similar but narrow facet. In add-on, it is reported that in some countries adult females managers tend to be more strongly represented in functions such as human resources, alteration direction and client attention which are non regarded as traditional paths to the board. The enlisting or replacing of the non-executive managers is non merely sing the basic accomplishments and making of single but besides the diverseness and mix background to do board effectivity. On other manus, as the Higgs Review observed, ‘Currently, few executive managers or talented persons merely below board degree sit as non-executive managers in other companies. Of more than 5,000 executive managers in UK listed companies, presently 282 hold a non-executive manager station in a UK listed company. There are many benefits of making so. The company that employs the person on a full-time footing will profit from the single gaining a broader position and developing accomplishments and attributes relevant to any future function as a manager. Conversely, the board of the company having the single benefits from executive experience elsewhere. This encourages the sharing and airing of best pattern. ‘ ( Higgs, 2003 ) In the Tyson Report ( 2003 ) , it is said that main executives of big companies appointed qualified directors to actively nurture non-executive managers ‘ endowment from their â€Å" marzipan † direction ranks to function on their divisional, regional or subordinate boards. The study besides states that head executives besides are willing to promote such persons to accept non-executive managers ‘ places on the boards of non-competitor companies. However, as the duties and liabilities required on non-executive managers addition, the commitment clip of non-executive managers ‘ places augments. Therefore, the main executives are hence likely to go more loath to let their most promising directors to presume them ( Tyson, 2003 ) . In the yesteryear, the directors ‘ endowment has non been traditional beginning of non-executive manager campaigners, whilst the companies on a regular basis claim that people are their valuable plus. It is besides agreed by Higgs ( 2003 ) that the issues dealt with in such countries are of import 1s for the board and that direction roles in such countries encourage accomplishments and property that is extremely relevant to the council chamber. It is reported that merely 20 of the FTSE 250 presently have the human resource map on the board. Afterwards, when the Higgs Review was published, Geoff Armstrong, Director General of the Chartered Institute for Personnel & A ; Development ( CIPD ) said: ‘There is a huge pool of endowment within the human resource profession. Such persons would convey a new dimension to the non-executive function and guarantee that an organisation ‘s cardinal driver of value – viz. its people – is taken earnestly at board degree . They would convey a fresh and much-needed position to the decision-making procedure. ‘ The CIPD believes that human resources professionals could besides convey critical expertness to the wage commission. The Armstrong Institutes observed that ‘Pay and wages is their stock-in-trade – it would do a batch of sense. Equally, choice, initiation, preparation and public presentation direction are countries of expertness which could be applied with value to both executive and non-executive managers ‘ . The Tyson study ( 2003 ) discovered that ‘lawyers and advisers working in consultative functions to concern are another beginning of non-executive manager ‘s endowments as are those who have retired from accounting houses and are no longer restricted from keeping non-executive managers places ‘ . It should be encouraged by professional service houses to allow their senior people accept non-executive assignments. The probe indicates that presently merely 14 per centum of FTSE 100 non-executive managers have accountancy makings and less than three per centum have jurisprudence makings. Furthermore, since adult females are better represented in professional se rvices than in top direction places in the corporate sector, an addition in non-executive managers ‘ assignments from such houses is likely to intend an addition in adult females functioning in non-executive managers places. In a word, the accomplishments and experience of non-executive managers is a valuable plus on companies, which could non merely go more effectiveness through preparation and initiation but besides take a professional consultative function in another companies.DrumheadThe thesis is what makes board effectual. After the dirts at Enron Corp. , Tyco International Ltd, Adelphia Communications Corp. , and WorldCom Inc. before this decennary ( Solomon, 2007 ) , there is a turning involvement in the corporate administration systems of developing and transitional economic systems. The Combined Code ( 2008 ) emphasized that ‘all managers should have initiation on fall ining the board and should regularly update and review their accomplishments and cognition â €˜ which represent one of most important parts of the board effectivity. However, many surveies focus on non-executive managers ‘ independency and pay strategies but non on the initiation programme and accomplishments and making update. Although much of the literature ignores the being of manager initiation programme there is grounds to propose corporate should take more attending on it. In the Higgs study about reappraisal of the function and effectivity of non-executive managers ( 2003 ) , there is an initiation checklist which provides a counsel of initiation. As a standard, the research will look into the initiation programme presenting in the corporate administration of the one-year study. Therefore, the thesis will bridge the spread in the literature by following the Combined Code and other study to analyze whether each company have an eligible initiation programme harmonizing to the standards and been disclosed suitably in the one-year study.