Leadership in the NHS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Administration in the NHS - Essay Example It is in such manner that use of the viable administration quality is important to overhaul the operational aptitudes of the representatives and to accomplish the ideal goals. Underlining comparable worth characteristics concerning its positions of authority, the Local’s Children’s Center has an intelligent meeting as for the advancement of wean process as a measure to lessen corpulence rates among youngsters. This activity has been embraced by the NHS to make mindfulness in the midst of the general public as for youngster heftiness and its unpleasant ramifications. The investigation means to examine about the different measures embraced by National Health Services (NHS) to guarantee about the wholesome advantages to the general public, particularly the youngsters (Bevan, 2012). What's more, the NHS medicinal services administration association endeavors to rehearse different initiative characteristics so as to deal with the change concerning the wean procedure that outcomes in youth stoutness. In like manner, the investigation talks about the different activities been embraced by NHS to make mindfulness inside the general public regarding th e wholesome advantages. NHS needs to relieve different changes, liable to happen while changing the customary procedures relating to weaning into dynamic for inferring better dietary advantages for diminishing the dangers of youth stoutness. All in all, the ‘weaning’ procedure passes on about the way toward including the wholesome, biochemical and immunological modifications by giving corresponding food things in the child’s diet. Logically, it has been noticed that the bosom milk has been generally seen as the most fundamental as healthful food diet for babies. Customarily, the youngsters in their initial years were given just bosom milk. Taking care of bosom milk to the youngsters has consistently been considered as the best wellspring of giving nourishment. In any case, changes saw in the way of life decisions in late situation have evidently impacted the

Managing in Mix Economy National Rail in the United Kingdom Essay

Overseeing in Mix Economy National Rail in the United Kingdom - Essay Example The association has the obligation of the wellbeing and prosperity of in excess of 6,000,000 individuals going by railroads from one piece of the nation to the next. The organization basically targets keeping travelers sheltered and secure in their excursion. This is additionally considered as the strategic the organization. It endeavors hard to offer most ideal types of assistance to the individuals of the United Kingdom who travel via train. It has been seen that the organization has the vision of giving policing greatness in the nation by doing the most ideal work in their breaking point. It further accepts that it is crucial to have a more secure condition so individuals can move around openly with no dread (British Transport Company, 2013[2]). In such manner, the organization connects exceptionally prepared authorities who work for it 24X7 for the railroad network and the a huge number of travelers all over the nation. Additionally, the organization likewise has certain qualitie s that it gives a lot of significance. It has been discovered that all the travelers just as the staff of the organization are treated with high regard and furnished equivalent open door with insignificant favoritism. The laborers or the officials are given an extensively decent workplace where they can perform to the most extreme degree of their capacities (British Transport Company, 2013[3]). Aside from this angle, the organization is additionally very severe to any sort of provocation, tormenting or exploitation among their staffs and officials. It regards all networks and manufactures solid associations with individuals of all sort independent of their birthplace and network. This empowers it to get regard and trust from the individuals of all sides of the British society. The association means to build up a workforce that can have the option to delineate the network they serve. It has been seen that transparency and genuineness are the key parts of the organization and it caref ully holds fast to it (British Transport Company, 2013[4]). English Transport Police has certain key plans so as to guarantee that it conveys the most ideal administrations to the individuals of the nation. The destinations of the association change after like clockwork of its activities. For the year extending from 2011 to 2014, the target of the organization is centered around helping the rail arrangement of the nation to run easily and in the most secure conceivable condition. Constant improvement in their activities is likewise among the significant targets of the organization for the coming years. Aside from these, there are additionally sure arrangement plans of it that is built up each year. These strategies portray its methodology on how it would adjust both the national just as the neighborhood needs of the nation. It has been noticed that both the key and the arrangement plans of the association are its structure obstructs whereupon it makes progress toward its prosperity. The workforce of the association involves officials of various assignments which incorporate boss officials, experts units and behind the scene bolster staff among others. Inside and out the association has 2909 proficient officials who continually give viable execution to it

Photo Manipulation free essay sample

Picture control is wherever on are day by day life. It is a kind of computerized workmanship. It is a novel method to portray altering photographs and adding channels and enhancements to photos so as to make a fantasy or characterize through computerized implies. Photograph control has been generally used to bamboozle or persuade watchers. It tends to be just a photograph which hues have been changed over, or a photograph that has been covered up, generally they use photoshop, yet there are different virtual products what would we be able to use for controlling pictures, picture control is a craftsmanship too. Photograph control is accomplished for various purposes. All the more scandalously, it is for political or shocking purposes. In any case, photograph control is likewise a work of art in its own right (www. brightclub. com). The photos have been controlled in darkrooms for decade. Prior to PCs, photograph control was accomplished by correcting with ink, paint, twofold introduction, sorting photographs or negatives out in the darkroom, or scratching Polaroids. We will compose a custom article test on Photograph Manipulation or on the other hand any comparable point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Enhances with Photoshop were likewise utilized, whence the term â€Å"airbrushing† for control. The principal recorded instance of photograph control was in the mid 1860s, when a photograph of Abraham was modified utilizing the body from a picture of John C. Calhoun. The 1980s saw the coming of advanced correcting with Quantel PCs running Paintbox, and Scitex imaging workstations being utilized expertly Silicon Graphics PCs running Barco Creator opened up in the late 1980s which, close by other contemporary bundles, were successfully supplanted in the market by Adobe Photoshop (wikipedia).

Understanding the Factors Affecting the Unemployment Rate

Understanding the Factors Affecting The Unemployment Rate Through Regression Analysis An Individual Report Presented to The Faculty of Economics Department In Partial Fulfillment To The Requirements for ECONMET C31 Submitted to: Dr. Cesar Rufino Submitted by: Aaron John Dee 10933557 April 8, 2011 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Presentation A. Foundation of the Study B. Proclamation of the Problem C. Target II. Hypothetical FRAMEWORK AND RELATED LITERATURE A. Gross domestic product B. Normal Years in School C. Populace D. Education Rate III. OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK A. Model Specification B. Rundown and Description of Variables C.A-priori Expectations IV. System V. Experimental RESULTS AND INTERPRETATIONS A. Relapse of the Original Model 4 5 6 7 9 10 12 13 2 B. Rundown Statistics C. Testing for Misspecification in the Model D. Testing for Multicollinearity E. Testing for Heteroscedasticity VI. End VII. Reference index 15 16 17 18 21 22 3 I. Presentation A. Foundation of the Study When we were st ill children, we long for what we need to be later on. More seasoned individuals will as a rule inquire as to whether what we need to be later on. The majority of us will say, they need to be a specialist, legal advisor or designer to name some.We contemplate our vocation, yet once we are now in the school level, we currently dream to get effective throughout everyday life and have a steady activity. However, with the pace of joblessness here in nation keep on expanding, there are no assurance that once we graduated we will have a vocation right away. Tragically, many despite everything neglect to have stable occupations. Some even can’t get a new line of work despite the fact that they moved on from top schools. At that point we wound up closure in the pool of joblessness. Joblessness is to be sure a significant issue everywhere throughout the world. Individuals are getting laid off, some can't get a new line of work, and the number is increasing.Government needs to accompli sh full business yet we as a whole realize that it will never happen just on the grounds that there are a large number of individuals in nation and the administration or even the private parts can accommodate that gigantic number of workers. The administration can't simply grow and build all out yield with the goal that it will give openings for work to the jobless in light of the fact that there additionally negative effect on the economy. I am mindful that our nation is experiencing high joblessness rate, since certain specialists are just on a legally binding premise. Sure they can work however for the most part it is just for a half year in addition to there are no advantages included.After the range of a half year, they will get themselves jobless again and they will make some troublesome memories particularly on the off chance that they didn't get done with tutoring. Organizations now daily are increasingly modern and serious, they don’t simply recruit school 4 alumni u nderstudies regardless of whether you moved on from top schools. Having a master’s certificate will without a doubt be of help in getting a new line of work for organizations search just generally advantageous. A few people participate in work that they are not slanted with like for past year, individuals function as call focus operators despite the fact that their higher education isn't mass correspondences or anything that has an association of being a call community agent.They do this since they don’t need to be jobless and fail to help an all-encompassing timeframe. B. Articulation of the Problem Unemployment is significant issue, here in our nation as well as for the remainder of the world. This paper will look to answer whether the education rate, normal years in school, GDP and all out populace have a relationship with the complete joblessness. Can these exogenous factors clarify the joblessness that is going on everywhere throughout the world? C. Objective The goal of this paper is to (1) discover what are the determinants of unemployment.For this examination, education rate, normal years in school, GDP and all out populace will be considered as a determinant of joblessness. (2) Create an econometric model that will clarify joblessness and (3) to give the perusers thought what ought to be done to mitigate joblessness 5 II. Survey ON RELATED LITERATURE A. Gross domestic product Gross residential item or GDP is considered as a pointer of the way of life in a specific nation. The higher the GDP the higher is the country’s ways of life and the lower the GDP the lower is the country’s standard of living.According to (Abuqamar, Coomans, and Louckx, 2011), joblessness is a significant factor in estimating country’s financial quality like GDP per capita. On the off chance that the joblessness level is high, at that point monetary development is extremely low since they have a negative relationship. A maintainable development joined by macroeconomic arrangements that advances business will in the long run chop down the degree of joblessness in the economy and development is considered as an answer for decline joblessness (Hussain, Siddiqi, and Iqbal, 2010). This is genuine on the grounds that when government needs to expand yield by building foundations and the like.They make openings for work for the individuals who are jobless hence, reducing joblessness in the economy. More individuals will land positions and win to support their way of life or even increment their way of life relying upon their compensations. B. Normal Years in School Education is significant in everyone’s lives. It is our establishment of information which will reflect us. Despite the fact that going to class and doing schoolwork are exhausting, we will even now profit by it since we learn and by learning we become full grown and responsible.According to (Weisberg and Meltz), the higher the degree of instruction or the years in school of an individual, the 6 lower will be the joblessness rate. Which bode well since individuals are instructed, they will have not too bad occupations and they can even make their own firm or business accordingly advancing work. C. Populace Population in a nation is continually expanding and that is unavoidable. Populace is additionally a determinant of joblessness. In light of the exploration paper of (Rafiq, Iftikhar, Asmat, and Zahoor) entitled Determinants of Unemployment: A Case Study of Pakistan Economy (19982008), populace development negatively affects unemployment.The aftereffects of their tests show that when the populace is expanding, joblessness additionally builds which is terrible for each economy. Quick development in populace is terrible on the grounds that it will just expand joblessness further. There will be pressure in work since numerous individuals don’t have any activity, joblessness will increment. Moen (1999) contends that in the opposition fo r occupations, laborers will like to have higher degree fulfillment with the goal that they will have an edge over different specialists. With the inclination of expanding a person’s instructive achievement, the pace of joblessness will diminish. Nickell, 1979; Moen, 1999). D. Proficiency Rate Literacy is significant simply like training. Individuals must be educated so as to fit in the standard. As indicated by the article Literacy and Unemployment, individuals who are uneducated have hindrances since they can't peruse and right, hence they will be bound to be 7 jobless. It is likewise expressed in the article that once individuals get some portion of the joblessness cycle, it will be hard for them to break it and in view of long haul of being jobless they will feel debilitate and accordingly will need fearlessness. 8 III. OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORKA. Model Specification totunem = ? 1 + ? 2litrate + ? 3yearisnch + ? 4gdp + ? 5totpop + ? B. Rundown and Description of Variables Bef ore we continue to the from the earlier desires for each exogenous variable to the endogenous variable and the conversation of the outcomes, we should depict first the parts of the model. The model is included both the exogenous factors and the endogenous variable. The exogenous factors or the autonomous factors are not influenced or controlled by some other factors in the model dissimilar to the endogenous variable which relies upon the exogenous variable.Table 1 will discloses to us a concise portrayal of the factors utilized in the model Table 1. Names of Variables Used and Descriptions Description This quantitative variable relates to the all out joblessness pace of the considerable number of nations on the planet for the year 2000. lirate This quantitative variable relates to the education pace of the considerable number of nations on the planet for the year 2000. yearinsch This quantitative variable relates to the normal year in school of a grown-up ages 15 and up of the consi derable number of nations on the planet for the year 2000. dp This quantitative variable relates to the total national output of the considerable number of nations on the planet for the year 2000. Factors totunem 9 totpop This quantitative variable relates to the absolute populace of the considerable number of nations on the planet for the year 2000. C. From the earlier Expectations The from the earlier desires catch the impact of an expansion in the exogenous factors to the endogenous variable which in out model is totunem. The from the earlier desire are taken from the survey on related writing some time ago.Note anyway that the from the earlier desire doesn't cover the size of their relationship. It just tells the heading of their relationship. A positive sign infers that the exogenous variable has a positive relationship with the endogenous variable and a negative sign infers in any case. The greatness of their relationship will be examined later on. Table 2 shows the relationsh ip if the factors, their signs and the instinct behind it. Table 2. Factors, Sign and Intuition Exogenous Variable: totunem Signs Intuition + Literacy is imperative to everybody since it is a social norm.Therefore it positively affects joblessness in light of the fact that when education expands, it suggests that individuals learned and went to class. Organizations will enlist them so there will be an abatement in the joblessness rate. Factors lirate 10 yearinsch +/ - An expansion in yearinsch doesn’t essentially imply that you completed each level effectively. It can likewise imply that your year in school increments since you generally bomb in school. In the event that the expansion in normal years in school is

The Snapper essays

The Snapper expositions The Snapper. In Barrytown, Dublin, where the Rabbitte family lives, they consider a little infant a snapper. This book is for the most part about Sharon whos pregnant, so that is the reason the book is known as the snapper. It is a novel of habits. The book is about a regular workers family in Barrytown, a suburb of the Irish capital. It is one of those common laborers rural areas with little houses, a great deal of kids in the lanes, joblessness and overwhelming drinking. It is likewise an incredible feeling of harmony, both inside the family and in the nearby network. It is likewise a social novel. It discusses liquor misuse and assault, the infidelity of Mr. Burgess, Sharons pregnancy and the issues it causes, for the Rabbitte family, yet in addition for the Barrytown people group. Sharon Rabbitte: Sharon is the primary character of this book. She is 20 years of age, and the oldest little girl of Jimmy (Sr.) and Veronica Rabbitte. It is a tough time for her, being pregnant of her neighbor who is hitched, however she wont concede that it is. She is an excellent young lady, continually supporting others, however she needs a great deal of help as well. In spite of the fact that she lied about the babys father, she names the child after the genuine father. Sharon is a round character, during the story we get a great deal of data about her. Jimmy Sr.: He is Sharons father. He works, and each night he goes to his preferred bar, where he meets his companions. First he bolsters Sharon, however when everyone around realizes that Mister Burgess, their neighbor, is the person who made Sharon pregnant, he takes somewhat inaccessible of Sharon. At that point he feels sorry for himself (particularly in light of the fact that he detests Mister Burgess), which is bothering Sharon. Be that as it may, he is continually safeguarding Sharon and later, after he had a r ... <!

Describe the reasons advanced to justify discrimination against Essay

Portray the reasons progressed to legitimize victimization Catholics and free African Americans in the United States until the Civil War. How did Nativists - Essay Example The oppression Irish Catholics diminished during and after the Civil War, however the victimization free African Americans during and after the Civil War expanded. Previously, during, and after the American Revolution up until the American Civil War Irish Catholics were oppressed. The main explanation behind the separation was perspectives conveyed from Europe. Since the Reformation spread in England, bringing about Henry VII severing with the Pope, Protestants conflicted with Catholics. Protestants were most of pioneers and authors in the United States. The administration, schools, and social part of the United States was based upon Protestant qualities. This mentality prompted the oppression Irish Catholics. The subsequent disposition concerned the Irish and English long standing disagreement about the English standard in Ireland. These perspectives from the old world continued into the new world. Strict contrasts additionally were utilized to legitimize victimization Irish Catholics. Protestants were alarmed that the Pope would attempt to vanquish or apply authority over the recently shaped United States if the Irish Catholics settled in the new land. For the Protestants rehearsing Catholicism implied unfaithfulness to the United States, because of a Catholic’s loyalty towards the Pope. The United States had recently held an effective upheaval against a lord; they would not like to be subjects of another. Despite the fact that this rationale appeared to be implausible, numerous Protestants dreaded Catholic mastery. At last, other ethnic gatherings needing to fit in with the Protestants victimized the Irish Catholics so as to be increasingly American. For instance, German Protestants would oppress Irish Catholics to fit in better with the new Protestant society. It didn't make a difference what ethnic gathering an individual was from in the United States, however whether the gathering

Women Gender and Realities - 1925 Words

Women Gender and Realities (Essay Sample) Content: Women Gender and Realities Name Institution Women Gender and Realities Institutional discrimination on women can be defined as any injustice by organizations, for example, the government or any other institutions, done on women because of their gender. This discrimination is brought about by norms that exist in the society that is predominated by discrimination. This paper will explain how women are discriminated in healthcare and family and how this discrimination relates to their age, race, and status. It will also discuss feminist solutions to these forms of discrimination. Women face institutional discrimination in healthcare by receiving discriminatory treatment from most insurance companies, unlike their male counterparts. For example, women are required to pay higher insurance premiums compared to men. The only factor that necessitates this disparity is gender, an incidence that sheds light into the existence of discrimination in the health care sector. There is also a noticeable inequality in the rate of insurance, whereby a large number of women are insured compared to men. Similarly, many companies make an assumption that caesarean sections as well pregnancy are pre-existing conditions and thus don’t have to be covered. This hypothesis puts women in a situation where they have to seek alternative sources of money to cater for pre-natal check-ups, yet they contribute premiums that should cover the costs. Some women, who work part time to handle household jobs and take care of their children, are excluded from the health care programs of their employers. In some areas, women working in the health sector who are eligible for promotion are forced to stay in the same job group longer than their male counterparts (Andersen their parents make the choice for them instead. During pregnancy and after childbearing, the woman is relegated to staying at home without the capacity of engaging in any demanding duty such as employment whereas the husband enjoys the benefit of fully being involved in work and other meaningful tasks without any interruptions based on gender. The influence of class upon the experiences of a woman in the light of discrimination in the family cuts across virtually all societies; it being a universal occurrence. In most cases when there is a difference in the educational levels of the individuals that make up the married couple, segregation then eventually sets in stealthily and almost imperceptibly. If the husband is more educated that the wife, an inevitable degree of discrimination comes into view even in simple things like conversations. Over the years, feminists have sought to deal with women discrimination by addressing inequalities or injustices that are based on gender, building on the belief that there should be political and socioeconomic equality of the sexes. They propose doing away with social structures that favor men over women to achieve equity in access to quality health care for all. They propose that since men dominate most medical institutions, the services offered should support men above women. Hence dealing with institutional discrimination in health care should inv...

Examples of Descriptive Essay Topics

Examples of Descriptive Essay TopicsWhile it may seem too easy to write articles on topics that you know and love, there are still some examples of descriptive essay topics that will work for many students. To get started writing about topics, you can simply take a look at the topics given in the sample topics listed in this article. This is a great way to find out if a topic is really something that students want to discuss and will be interested in reading the article.If your teacher allows it, it may be a good idea to read this article while you are taking a class member's class. Most teachers will want to see you reading the article prior to the class meeting.There are a few simple tips to keep in mind when writing potential topics. To start, try to think of topics that are familiar to the reader. By identifying the most common questions and concerns, you can begin to write about the topic in the most helpful way possible. If you are the type of student who enjoys writing about u nusual topics, use the sample topics provided in this article to learn more about the topic.After you have decided on a topic, start to prepare an outline for the article. This outline should include a few lines or bullet points with information on the topic. These will be important as you prepare to write the first draft of the article.Once you have finished writing about the broad topic, the next step is to research the topic and gather the facts. You will need to review the article with your instructor. In addition, your instructor will help you learn more about the topic by asking you questions.After you have used the article to gain more information, the next step is to refine the article. This step will allow you to turn the first draft into a well-written article that can be used in class.For a good source of examples of descriptive essay topics, visit the Resources section of our website. If you visit this section, you will find many samples of descriptive essay topics that you can use to develop your own ideas for an article. Good luck!

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Synthesis And Function Of The Dopamine Transporter

In this experiment, the reaction that occurs because of ligand binding to YFP, a dopamine transporter was observed. This experiment required sterility practice, immunofluorescence staining, and colocalization. To accurately conduct immunofluorescence staining, a thorough understanding of proper sterile techniques is needed. Sterility refers to cell culturing experiments without any contamination, therefore all of the experiment was performed under the hood. No discoloration signified no contamination. The entire experiment proved successful upon identifying the YFP dopamine followed by colocalization and concluding with a release of calcium in the cell. Introduction Structure and function of the dopamine transporter The dopamine active†¦show more content†¦The dopamine transporter can also work backwards,for example, in an efflux mode, and recent mutagenesis experiments show different structural requirements for inward and outward transport. Figure 2: Newly synthesized dopamine transporters traffic to the surface of neuronal cells via the endomembranous system which includes the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi Apparatus. (Figure 3 below) Figure 3 DAT is involved in a number of dopamine-related disorders, including ADHD, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, and alcoholism. The gene that encodes the DAT protein is located on human chromosome 5, consists of 15 coding exons, and is roughly 64 kbp long. Dopamine biosynthesis Dopamine is an organic molecule that is made up in the dopaminergic neurons through the expulsion of a carboxyl group from the L-Dopa molecule. Figure 4: The biosynthesis of Dopamine Tyrosine → L-Dopa → Dopamine This chemical functions as a neurotransmitter in nerve cells by sending signals to other nerve cells. DA is produced in the brain, kidneys, plants, and most multicellular animals. The first step in the biosynthesis of Dopamine uses the enzyme Tyrosine Hydroxylase which is biosynthesised. The complete reaction for this goes as follows: L-tyrosine + THFA + O2 + Fe2+ -- L-dopa + DHFA + H2O + Fe2+.The forming of L-dopa, L-tyrosine, tetrahydrofolic acid (THFA),Show MoreRelatedThe Relationship Between Nutrients And Mood1360 Words   |  6 PagesMechanism Of Nutrient Action Various micronutrient-related factors are associated with increased risk of psychiatric illness, and micronutrients play essential roles in an array of brain functions that have been implicated in mood lability. Micronutrient inadequacy may impair one or more of these critical brain functions and result in psychiatric symptoms. The micronutrient-mood regulation mechanisms discussed in this review are not exhaustive, nor are they mutually exclusive; in fact, they may be complementaryRead MoreEssay about Ecstasy2454 Words   |  10 Pagesuse of the brain cells. The neurotransmitter is released from nerve terminals found at the axon base. When they diffuse across the synapse, they are then recognized by receptors on the receiving cell with which they attach themselves. The major function this bond performs is it, induces, inhibits or modulates currents of electrically charged particles (ions) across the cell membrane (Aertes). Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, synthesized by the amino acid tryptophan and tryptophan hydroxylaseRead MoreThe Use Of Modafinil And Armodafinil Are Oral Central Nervous System Wakefulness Promoting1253 Words   |  6 Pagesenzymes associated with sleep/wake regulation at pharmacologically relevant concentrations. Hence, both these compounds do not modulate receptors for norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, GABA, adenosine, galanin, histamine-3, melatonin, melanocortin, orexin-1, orphanin, PACAP and benzodiazepines; or transporters for norepinephrine, serotonin, COMT, GABA; or enzymes like choline or phosphodiesterase VI, GABA transaminase, and tyrosine hydroxylase. 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These genes include â€Å"those that code for beta cell mass, beta cell function†¦proinsulin and insulin molecular structure, insulin receptors, hepatic synthesis of glucose, glucagon synthesis, and cellular responsiveness to insulin stimulation† (McCance and Huether, 2010). Two mechanisms, insulin resistance and decreased insulin secretion, are vital functions that lead to the development of Type 2 Diabetes. Insulin resistance is the effect that insulin has on insulin-sensitiveRead MoreThe Relationship between Genetics and Violence Essay1442 Words   |  6 Pagesactivity, especially within the orbitofrontal cortex and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Both of these brain areas have effects on decision making. Other causes are linked to hormones and neuroendocrine transmitters, like testosterone and dopamine. Dopamine is linked to the reward system, and testosterone is linked to general violent behavior. Lastly, some of the causes are linked to enzymes. 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International Business Cross Border Commerce - 1460 Words

International business is also known as cross border commerce. Only half of American businesses pursue overseas opportunities. A variety of reasons keep American businesses from pursuing a global market. The biggest reason for not engaging in cross border commerce is fear, lack of knowledge. With education, international businesses can be effective, efficient, and profitable. Having a basic understanding of globalization leads to building a more solid foundation of understanding the environmental aspects impacting international global businesses today. By applying trade investment theories, one can also explore global financial markets and monetary systems that affect cross border commerce. Ultimately leading to consider entering the†¦show more content†¦Companies expanding their services in other countries tend to not want to change their product based on the different cultures due to an increase of capital spent on the adaptation of their goods and services. For example, M cDonald’s, an American company based out of San Bernardino, CA, ventured out to British Columbia in 1967. McDonald’s began changing their menus based on the culture of each country they resided in, which in return proved beneficial to the company because the locals accepted the American franchise (James, 2009). Apply The Concepts of Culture to The International Business Setting Culture is described as a set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that set apart itself from the others. When a company establishes a business in another country, they must keep in mind the different cultures. There might be a difference in communication, religion, ethics, and values that a company shall adapt too in order to be successful. If the local culture is ignored, it could result in an unsuccessful business, protests, or boycott of the company’s goods and services. Companies that are interested growing internationally have to spend the time and money researching and gathering data about the different cultures before establishing their business. Not only does the company have the responsibility of having to respect the different cultures but also their own when conducting business internationally. One of the biggest struggles of

Essay on Elizabeths Spiritual Growth in The Crucible

The Crucible tells of a town’s obsession of accusing innocent people of withcraft. One character that stands out and makes a spiritual growth is Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth allows her frustrations of her depression to overcome her religious beliefs which separates herself from God and her marriage. She grows spiritually and begins to understand the things going on around her which was the strength she needed in the beginning. At the start of the play, Elizabeth is heartbroken her husband, John Proctor, has committed adultery seven months ago with Abagail Williams. Elizabeth’s sorrow leads her to insecurities of her husband’s fidelity. When the talk of witchcraft comes up, Elizabeth becomes devastated she has been accused of witchery by†¦show more content†¦With everything going on, Elizabeth allows her distress to overcome her Puritan beliefs. During the time of the Salem witch trials, many accusations were made. Because Elizabeth knows Abagail wishes t o take her place, she initially becomes frustrated when Rev. Hale reveals Abagail has accused her of witchery in court. Elizabeth’s first instinct is to get her husband to â€Å"tell her she’s a whore† and to break the â€Å"promise† made that night (1128). Deep down Elizabeth knows her frustrations are overcoming her religion but she does not yet realize it. When John returns home, he implies Elizabeth is judging him of his flaws instead of looking for the goodness in him (1124). John, during this time, was more spiritual and â€Å"in-tune† with God more than Elizabeth who only thought of herself. Her frustrations and insecurities overpowered her consideration of others feelings. Finally, Elizabeth’s spiritual growths are apparent as she begins to understand the tings going on around her. Because Elizabeth’s name has been called in court, she is imprisoned. During this time, John confesses to the court of everything to save his wife and their family. Elizabeth then realizes the good in her husband and says she must forgive him in order for him to forgive himself (1161). She becomes more understanding towards her husband’s decision and begins to stand by him. The strength Elizabeth gains becomes even more apparent as she tells Rev. Hale she is

Hamlets Sil Essay Example For Students

Hamlets Sil Essay A soliloquys purpose is to outline the feelings and thoughts of a certain character at a point in the play. It reveals the innermost beliefs of the character and offers an unbiased perspective as it is merely the character talking to the audience, although not directly, and not to any other characters who may cause the character to withhold their true opinions. Therefore, Hamlets first soliloquy (act 1, scene 2) is essential to the play as it highlights his inner conflict caused by the events of the play. It reveals his true feelings and as such emphasizes the difference between his public appearance and his feelings within himself. An example of Hamlets public appearance would be his less confrontational attitude towards Claudius in the previous scene. And an example of his true feelings would be here in the addressed soliloquy where he directly insults Claudius as a satyr (act 1, scene 2). In the scene Shakespeare communicates the turmoil of Hamlets psyche through imagery and langu age. Hamlets despair stems from his mothers marriage to his uncle and it is this that is the driving force behind what is communicated. His constant repetition of the time in which it took the two to get married, But two months dead . . . yet within a month . . . A little month . . . Within a month . . . most wicked speed, suggests his disgust at the situation and that it is not necessarily the nature of their incestuous relationship that troubles Hamlet; more the short time in which it occurred. In fact, this is especially well communicated to the audience as, throughout the soliloquy, the passage of time that Hamlet describes gets less from two months to Within a month. This has the effect of outlining Hamlets supposed contempt of his mother for only mourning a month whilst also highlighting that it is the time involved that is annoying him and not specifically the deed. In this soliloquy, we also learn about Hamlets adoration of his father and how this serves to emphasize the scorn tha t he shows towards his mother. Hamlet communicates that his father was a divine, almost ‘god-like character, so excellent a king, who was so loving to my mother. He also illustrated the contrast between the new king and the old and as such his mothers choice, Hyperion to a satyr. This example of extreme contrast increases the importance of Hamlets father and yet also makes a mockery of Claudius character; one which, to this point, the audience could have seen as strong and domineering. When Hamlet says, Frailty, thy name is woman, he is personifying frailty as the entire gender. His mothers actions have lead him to believe that all women are capable of acting in this wicked way and that all women are weak. Comparing his perfidious mother to his virtuous father Hamlet fells that the people that he could look up to in life have departed and that his entire world has been altered, It is not nor it cannot come to good. Hamlet know longer looks up to anyone. In a matter of a few months Hamlet, in his mind, went from a life of norm and admiration to a completely different world of cruelty and injustice. Hamlet is also communicated well by the imagery that is used throughout the soliloquy. At the start, Hamlet says that he wants his too too solid flesh to . . . melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew. This goes alongside the later lines, How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world, where the build up of adjectives, one after the other, serves to highlight just how difficult it is for Hamlet to live in the world. It is as if Hamlet cannot deal with or, indeed, stand the physical side of life anymore; he needs to get rid of his body to be able to deal with the inner conflict going on in his head. The poetry of these lines and the image that is expressed serve to reveal not only the tragic nature of his problem, also highlighted by his allusions to suicide, but also create a link between him and the audience. In fact, the entire soliloquy establishes a connection between the audience and Hamlet, a concept that is essential in the play. .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 , .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 .postImageUrl , .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 , .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9:hover , .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9:visited , .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9:active { border:0!important; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9:active , .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9 .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4be6ce01b52b115d0f542ce6631553d9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: 12 Angry Men EssayAnother good example of imagery in the soliloquy is that of the unweeded garden that grows to seed; things rank . . . in nature. This image represents the something that is . . . rotten in the state of Denmark. It is a simile for the state of his society, as in it used to be nice but now is gross. The language of the description also emphasizes this as it suggests images of things that are unprofitable and nasty. These images all serve to highlight Hamlets impressions of the society that the audience are only just forming theirs upon; therefore, leading to a bias towards the character of Hamlet. The structure of the piece also communicates the nature of H amlets thoughts as he is constantly changing subject, Let me not think ont Frailty thy name is woman! A little month, and suggest the depth of Hamlets thoughts; he has so much going in his head that he wants to commit suicide and is therefore trying to rationalize his feelings. He is repressing himself from revealing his true, innermost thoughts, But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue, perhaps because the gravity of his situation is too much to bear. Therefore, this soliloquy is successful in communicating Hamlets emotional state to the audience because it reveals the true nature of Hamlets feelings not only through the diction but also through the imagery, language and underlying messages of the text. It successfully highlights the divisions of character of Hamlet whilst aiding the audience in building a connection with him. Bibliography:Hamlet

Supply and Demand are Market Economy

Question: Discuss about the Supply and Demand are Market Economy. Answer: Introduction Supply and demand are considered as the backbone of the market economy as well as the major primary concepts of economics. Demand describes the total amount of a commodity as well as services that are desired by purchasers. It also demotes the total amount of the commodity that all the purchasers are willing to purchase at a certain price. On the other hand, supply describes the total amount of a product that are offered by the market. It also denotes the amount of a certain commodity that certain producers are willing to supply (Bowen and Sosa 2014). According to the law of demand, if all the factors remain constant, the more the price of a good the individuals will demand the less. On the other hand, if the price of good decreases, the individuals will demand more. Similarly, the law of supply denotes the total quantity of a commodity that are sold at a certain price (Kannai and Selden 2014). Discussion According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Supermarkets in Australia struggles to meet demand for brand label milk. Dairy farmers are facing the problem related to fall in prices since Coles. During the face of decreasing global prices, the two biggest dairy processors in Australia cut the price they desired to pay to the farmers for milk. As a result, a social media platform arranged campaign that called for customers in order to support the farmers by purchasing more milk, yoghurt as well as cheese and the individuals were also requested to purchase branded products instead of home brand goods from the supermarkets. According to the president of Australian Dairy Farmers, she did not encourage boycotting certain brands however; she desired to see individuals purchasing branded products (Lawrence and Dixon 2015). There are noteworthy changes taking place in the economic growth rate as well as the domestic policies of the trading partners that is likely to affect the demand for agricultural products in Australia. The demand for agricultural products in Australia is mostly influenced by outbreaks in the food safety and more wide-ranging concerns of customers over chemicals used during the production procedure. Worldwide diets are becoming increasingly harmonized that in turn forced governments to focus on manufacturing as well as importing agricultural products that were previously consumed by only Western societies (Qureshi, Hanjra and Ward 2013). In order to reach the export target set by the government, the farmers of Australia requires to improve their productivity as well as competitiveness in the international market. The growing population in Australia is likely to get coupled with rising per capita consumption that will in turn put an increased pressure on the domestic food system. On the other hand, the aging population in Australia will increasingly have an effect on both food consumption prototypes and total demand. The increasing ethnicity in Australia is likely to drive demand for imported food commodities (Marinoni et al. 2012). The factors other than price that affects demand includes tastes and preferences of the customers, income of the people as well as the number of individuals in the market. Tastes and preferences is regarded is one of the most imperative determinant that affects demand. The demand will be more for those products, the tastes and preferences for which will be grater. As a result, the demand curve for such products lies at a higher level. The demand for several goods changes due to change in fashion. Income of the people also determines their demand because if the income of the people increases, their demand for goods will increase. The greater income indicates greater purchasing power. In other words, if the income of the people increases they will be able to afford more. If the commodity is a normal good, then the increase in income will lead to increase in demand. However, if the commodity is an inferior good, then an increase in income diminishes the demand. The market demand for a g ood is obtained by adding up the demand of the individuals at several possible prices (Bohi 2013). The factor other than price that affects supply includes technology, transport condition as well as policies of the government. Technology is considered as one of the most important determinants for supply as an enhanced and better technology leads to increase in the production of a commodity that in turn leads to increase in supply. The supply of a commodity will also get decreased if the government incurs tax. In other words, the increase in tax leads to increase in the cost of production that in turn lowers supply. Transport also acts as a constraint for supply of a commodity. If the products are not available at the specified time due to poor transport facility, it affects the supply for that product. Conclusion It can be concluded that the population in Australia is predominantly urban that is largely accountable for the augmented demand for suitable processed foods. At present, Australia upholds a trade surplus in the food processing and beverages sector. It can also be concluded that income of the people also determines their demand because if the income of the people increases, their demand for goods will increase. References Bohi, D.R., 2013.Analyzing demand behavior: a study of energy elasticities. Routledge. Bowen, W.G. and Sosa, J.A., 2014.Prospects for faculty in the arts and sciences: A study of factors affecting demand and supply, 1987 to 2012. Princeton University Press. Kannai, Y. and Selden, L., 2014. Violation of the Law of Demand.Economic Theory,55(1), pp.1-28. Lawrence, G. and Dixon, J., 2015. 11. The political economy of agri-food: Supermarkets.Handbook of the International Political Economy of Agriculture and Food, p.213. Marinoni, O., Garcia, J.N., Marvanek, S., Prestwidge, D., Clifford, D. and Laredo, L.A., 2012. Development of a system to produce maps of agricultural profit on a continental scale: an example for Australia.Agricultural Systems,105(1), pp.33-45 retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/supermarkets-struggle-to-meet-demand-for-brand-label-milk-20160524-gp2cwo.html Qureshi, M.E., Hanjra, M.A. and Ward, J., 2013. Impact of water scarcity in Australia on global food security in an era of climate change.Food Policy,38, pp.136-145.

Joint Forest Management-a Review free essay sample

Joint Forest Management Joint Forest Management  often abbreviated as  JFM  is the official and popular term in  India  for partnerships in  forest  management  involving both the state forest departments and local communities. Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme in the present form can be traced to the Arabari experiment initiated by foresters in the state of West Bengal. This experiment provided a strong feedback for incorporation of the system in the National Forest Policy of 1988. In many locations people’s voluntary groups were engaged in protection of forests without any initiative from the Government. Subsequently, based on the experience, the process of institutionalizing people’s participation in forest protection and regeneration began. This type of collective endeavour in protection and management of forests through people’s involvement was later termed as Joint Forest Management. The objectives of JFM 1. To elicit active participation of villagers in (a) creation (b) management and (c)  protection of plantations; 2. We will write a custom essay sample on Joint Forest Management-a Review or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To achieve ecological needs consonant with sustainable productivity of wood and other  non-timber forest resources ; 3. To wean away the land owning communities from shifting cultivation by adopting an  alternative i. . Tree Farming ; 4. To productively utilise the degraded jhumland thereby checking soil erosion; 5. To conserve Biodiversity through people’s action ; 6. To create and generate forest –based economy for the villagers  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Merits of JFM †¢ Fuel wood in the form of dry and fallen twigs and leaves from the forests is now available to participating communities. The proportion of the harvest that goes to the communities share varies across States. †¢ Some States like Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab have banned grazing completely, other States have allowed for rotational grazing. These practices have helped the regeneration and survival of vegetation in forests, and in increasing supply of fodder grasses. †¢ All NTFP, barring few nationalized products, are now available to the people free of royalty in all states. People have a right to collect even the nationalized products like Kendu leaves, Sal seeds etc. †¢ VFCs are also entitled to a share in the timber harvest in varying proportions. There are provisions for contribution to Village Development Fund from a portion from people’s share from final harvest proceedings. There has been a significant shift in the labour utilization patterns in communities across various States owing to the increased supply of fodder and fuelwood, this is more significant with respect to women. †¢ At the state level there are Corporations such as Forest Development Corporations, Forest Industries Development Corporations, etc for marketing of specific forest products and apex agencies like Marketing Federat ions such as Tribal Marketing Federation of India, which organise the marketing of forest products. There are co-operatives of the forest gatherers such as Girijan Co-operative Societies as in Andhra Pradesh. †¢ In case of timber marketing, provisions in the JFM resolutions and government regulations require the VFCs to take permission from FD for felling and transport of timber and thus, they are unable to get involved in timber marketing. †¢ On an average, 40% of the sites across the four study states showed improvements in the regeneration status owing to protection against biotic pressure, fires and illicit felling; another 20% are showing positive trends. On an average high plant densities were observed in regeneration class at 70% sites and remaining sites had high plant densities in recruitment class. JFM sites that were provided better protection and where the institutions were strong had maximum augmentation of volume and density per hectare in the lowest class owing to better regeneration. †¢ In order to provide incentives to communities for economic returns to sustain forest protection and management efforts, different states are adopting practices for augmenting supply of NTFPs. Improved agriculture is being promoted with the creation of irrigation infrastructure in many states. Status of JFM Programme Government of India on June 1, 1990 issued guidelines to the state governments for involving local communities in the protection and development of the degraded forests. Based on this,the JFM programme has now been widely adopted in twenty two states of the country. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. As per information received by the Ministry from the various State Governments as on 1. 1. 2000, there are 36130 JFM Committees managing 10,248,586. 41 ha. of forests under the JFM programme in these 22 states of the country. The primary objective of JFM is to provide a visible role to the local communities in planning, management and protection of forests and to give them a share in the benefits from these forests. On operational parameters, JFM is a concept of developing partnership between forest department and fringe forest user groups on the basis of jointly defined roles and responsibilities. JFM in India is gradually emerging as a powerful tool of sustainable forestry. It recognises the livelihood and sustenance needs of the people through the principle of ‘care and share’. The concept of JFM has been interpretted in various ways but the basic element in this concept is to establish grass-root community based institutions for protection and management of the forests. The programme aims at empowering local people for their active participation as partner in the management of forest resources and sharing the benefits derived from its protection and management. The JFM approach optimises the returns, minimises conflicts and links the forestry development works with over all development of the land based resources. It also aims at acquiring technical and managerial capability available at the grassroot level.

World Studies Extended Essay Sample

World Studies Extended Essay SampleA World Studies Extended Essay Sample is a great place to begin your knowledge of the sciences and humanities. There are many books available in the market that contain detailed information about some of the most important world studies.The fact that science and humanities have a long history has helped these two fields immensely. Scientific findings can be used to modify or develop a civilization. Some of the best thinkers in the field of world studies had it in their minds to make their field of study more relevant and beneficial to human beings.It has been recorded that the first writing on world studies was written by the Egyptian scientist, Thutmose. He stated that the world was too large to be categorized under one discipline, but it was apparent that each type of world could be studied within its own domain. In order to achieve his objective, he brought together a number of the best thinkers of the time. They comprised of Zoroaster, Aristotle , Socrates, Plato, Pythagoras, Diogenes, and others.For this kind of kind research project, they decided to bring together a group of their colleagues who would be able to give them good information. They focused on studying world religions, because there were too many ideas being put forward for each one to be able to be weighed equally.The Roman Doctor of Laws, Livy, carried out research into the world religions. His work is replete with important references to other world religions, and he determined that world religions can be divided into four divisions. These were the Muslim religion, the Indian religion, the Christian religion, and the Jewish religion.He also did extensive research into the four types of world religions. He claimed that each had its own way of worship, customs, and traditions. He referred tosome of the big world religions as the Abrahamic religions, the Buddhist religions, the Hinduism, and the Jainism.When you are trying to decide if world studies is worth y our time, you will have to compare it to the World Wide Web. You will see that this is an easier method for gathering data. Once you have gathered all the information that you require, you can then compare it with the World Wide Web, and decide if it suits your needs.

3 Cases of Superfluous Semicolons

3 Cases of Superfluous Semicolons 3 Cases of Superfluous Semicolons 3 Cases of Superfluous Semicolons By Mark Nichol Semicolons serve one of two purposes: A semicolon can act as a weak period to separate two independent clauses so closely associated that dividing them into distinct sentences might seem excessive, or it can function as a supercomma in a sentence consisting of a list in which one or more items ordinarily separated by commas themselves include commas. Sometimes, however, employment of a semicolon in one of these roles seems to be merited but is not. The following examples, each followed by a discussion and a revision, illustrate such unnecessary usage. 1. Another factor is the actual speed of disruption; specifically, the ability of organizations to change rapidly. A semicolon used as a weak period must separate two independent clauses. Because the second half of this sentence is a mere subordinate clause, the semicolon is not appropriate. Using a comma in place of a semicolon fails to clarify the hierarchy of the sentence (preceding and following specifically with a comma would at least temporarily obscure whether specifically applies to the clause before it or the one that follows), so a dash is the best alternative: â€Å"Another factor is the actual speed of disruption- specifically, the ability of organizations to change rapidly.† (Parenthesizing the subordinate clause is also an option, but parentheses serve to diminish the impact of additional information, while a dash emphasizes it.) 2. This evaluation should include ascertaining which account balances are touched by the work of the provider; the related internal control assertions; how results are evaluated for reasonableness within established tolerances as dictated by the desired precision of the control activities in question; and whether the provider conforms to the organization’s code of conduct. Most of the list items in this sentence are long, but a semicolon exists to delineate complex phrases that already include commas rather than to set off extensive phrases; the statement is coherent without fortifying the divisions by changing the punctuation from commas to semicolons, so the latter are not necessary: â€Å"This evaluation should include ascertaining which account balances are touched by the work of the provider, the related internal control assertions, how results are evaluated for reasonableness within established tolerances as dictated by the desired precision of the control activities in question, and whether the provider conforms to the organization’s code of conduct.† 3. Soon, it becomes clear that the implications of the change reach farther than the finance and accounting group to impact operations, potentially leading to decisions to restructure customer contracts and pricing models; adjust sales commission and incentive compensation plans; modify debt covenants; assess tax planning strategies; and impact mergers and acquisitions transactions, forecasting reports, executive dashboards, and partnership and joint venture reports. Readers might conceivably be confused by this sentence’s organization because of the complexity of the list item â€Å"impact mergers . . . joint venture reports,† so retaining the semicolons is defensible, but because it is last in the sentence, it is probably safe to simplify punctuation by using commas in place of semicolons: â€Å"Soon, it becomes clear that the implications of the change reach farther than the finance and accounting group to impact operations, potentially leading to decisions to restructure customer contracts and pricing models, adjust sales commission and incentive compensation plans, modify debt covenants, assess tax planning strategies, and impact mergers and acquisitions transactions, forecasting reports, executive dashboards, and partnership and joint venture reports.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point ArcHomogeneous vs. HeterogeneousTypes of Plots

Learning Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Learning Theories - Essay Example Activities in the lesson plan are already aligned with principles of Cognitivism. Cognitivism is concerned about making students fully understand the concepts (Casas, 2011). Contrary to Behaviorism, which relies on memorization for mastery of the subject (Arizona State University), Cognitivism relies on higher thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Therefore, to incorporate principles of Cognitivism in the current lesson, one should focus on making students use higher thinking skills in mastering the concepts that will be taught. The first means of instruction is to use visual and verbal content at the same time. It entails the use of visual aids in the explanation of the story to better facilitate expedient learning on the students. The use of pictures is important because it appeals to the visual sense of the students. It is not enough to just mention Mississippi to engage students. Pictures will aid in making them imagine what they can find in the setting of the story. Also, instead of making students read the story right away, it will help students to understand the story more if the teacher presents vocabulary words used in the story. The short story makes use of the setting to highlight the theme. Therefore, for the main task, students are assigned to construct the timeline of the story. In making the timeline, they are expected to base their work on the events of the story. Making the timeline will challenge their analytical skills as they cut out Grandma Phoenix’s trail. Likewise, the visuals they will make will help to strengthen their knowledge of the plot, hence lead them to a deeper understanding of the story.

SUPPLY CHAIN GLOBAL TREND - Supply and logistics management CLASS Research Paper

SUPPLY CHAIN GLOBAL TREND - Supply and logistics management CLASS - Research Paper Example Customers on their part have become very sophisticated in that they are so keen to discover how a certain product affects the rest of the world. Any business that engages in sustainable activities has received a lot of favors from the rest of the world through donations and market share. The most important aspect of any business dealing is the nature of the supply chain in which the organization uses to acquire goods and services as well as serve its clients. Sustainability is among the global trends affecting supply chain in the world today. Researchers and scholars believe that for an organization and the entire global market to become sustainable the process must start with individual supply chains (Faisal 517). As a result, related bodies have come up with strategies to help individual organizations and industries to establish sustainability in their supply chains. In this connection, this paper aims at discussing sustainability as one of the emerging global trends in supply chai n. Sustainability houses three key issues including environmental protection, socio-cultural and economic performance. These three must be incorporated in any business endeavor to make it sustainable and healthy to the society. Proponents of sustainability in supply chain see it as a way to improve organizational performance and a way to grow the general economy of the world. In addition, sustainable supply chain aims at mitigating the negative impacts on the environment and society that occur in the supply chain. A supply chain is made up different individuals with different personalities and ethnic background (Miemczyk 484). Social harmony and cultural responsibility must be upheld in the supply chain transactions to ensure that organizations achieve maximum success and that customer satisfaction is achieved. The environment in which a business operates is key to its success. The health of the environment determines the flow of material and

Research Project Climate Change Essay Example for Free

Research Project Climate Change Essay INTRODUCTION Climate change is the variation of the weather in global scale which include changes in temperature, precipitation, nebulosity and other phenomena. These variations last for an extended period of time (decades to millions of years) and they can be caused by external forces (variations on the solar activity, orbital variations, impact of meteorites), internal forces (volcanic eruptions, plate tectonics, El Nino), or by results of the human activity (global warming). Global Warming There are many questions about global warming, from its causes to its effects, and many people even question whether or not it even exists. Global warming is described as the increase of the average temperature of the Earth caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities, such as deforestation, use of fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion and cement production. According to the global warming theory, the intensification of industrial activities during the twentieth century (based on the fossil fuel combustion such as petrol and coal) increased the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. The increase of the global temperature and the new composition of the atmosphere lead to several alterations which affect the elevation of the sea level, heat waves, droughts and heavy rainfall, ocean acidification and species extinctions, to name a few. Greenhouse effect and the emission of CO2 Greenhouse gases keep the Earth warm through a process called the greenhouse effect. If it were not for the greenhouse gases trapping heat in the atmosphere, the Earth would be a very cold place. Greenhouse gases are any of the atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation produced by solar warming. They include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and water vapor. Greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, but the elevated levels are directly blamed to human activities, specially the production in excess of carbon dioxide when any material containing carbon is burned, such as oil, coal, natural gas, or wood. However it is controversial whether the human activities are to blame for the global warming due to the emission of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide represents a very small percentage of the gases in the atmosphere (only 0.032%) and it is immediately absorbed by the vegetation, in all kind of environments, without any possibility of accumulation anywhere. The population that consumes CO2 (plants) is much bigger than the population that is emitting this gas (men and machines). Besides, the energy used in the process of removing CO2 from the atmosphere is endless: the solar energy. Mainly, the determining factors of the climate change are basically the energy of the sun or insulation and the speed of the rotation and translation of the Earth. Is Global Warming Real? Although the whole world is aware of the global warming issue and is afraid of what its impacts could do in the coming future, there are those who still believe global warming is a fiction and does not exist. The global warming debate in many parts of the earth is ranging more than before. One of the world’s best known climate change sceptic John Coleman, who co-founded the Weather Channel, has claimed that the theory of man-made climate change is no longer scientifically credible and rising global temperatures points to a natural phenomenon within a developing eco-system. According to Coleman, global warming has become a political and environment agenda item, but the science is not valid, and efforts to prove the theory that carbon dioxide is a significant greenhouse gas and pollutant causing significant warming or weather effects have failed. â€Å"The impact of humans on climate is not  catastrophic†, he says, â€Å"our planet is not in peril. It is all a scam, the result of bad science.† (John Coleman, 2014) On the other hand, former Vice President Al Gore, who had an award-winning documentary film in 2006 called An Inconvenient Truth which discusses the present and future effects of global warming, continues his fight against global warming and says that â€Å"we simply cannot continue to use the atmosphere as an open sewer for dirty and dangerous global warming pollution that endangers our health and makes storms, floods, mudslides and droughts much more dangerous and threatening.† (Al Gore, 2014). He supports the adoption of renewable energy such as solar and wind power and enforces bold new standards for fuel economy. CONCLUSION Whether global warming is a consequence of human activities or other phenomena (or both), it is real and climate change is happening. We should all do our part to help alter the future path of human-induced warming by adopting a more responsible lifestyle to reduce the amount of CO2 emission by reducing waste, recycling, switching to green power (wind and solar), planting trees, carpooling and so on. Also, less energy use means less dependence on the fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming. REFERENCES Climate Change. – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change (Online; accessed 14-November-2014). Global Warming. – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming (Online; accessed 14-November-2014). Global Warming. – NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/monitoring-references/faq/global-warming.php (Online; accessed 14-November-2014). Coleman, J. (2014) Global Warming Greatest Scam in History! – Global Warming And The Climate. Retrieved from http://www.global-warming-and-the-climate.com/ arguments-against-global-warming.htm Gore, A. (June 18, 2014) The Turning Point: New Hope for the Climate. Rolling Stone. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/ the-turning-point-new-hope-for-the- climate-20140618 Statement by Former Vice President Gore on Australias climate policy. July 17, 2014. Retrieved from blog.algore.com (Online; accessed 19-November-2014).

A Philosophic Challenge Essay -- Theory of Evolution, Darwin, DNA

Did you know the odds of proteins necessary to create a strand of DNA lining up in order naturally are only once in 4x10022 years? (Werner 104). That’s highly improbable! Darwin didn’t anticipate that future discoveries would disprove the fundamental tenants of his theory of evolution. Modern science is repeatedly uncovering evidence that Darwinian evolution cannot be the explanation for life on earth because it relies on an implausible claim of spontaneous generation, leaves gaps in the fossil record, and is contradicted by emerging scientific discoveries. Spontaneous generation refers to the theory that the first life form evolved rapidly out of nothing, and all organisms evolved gradually from the original life form. Mounting evidence makes the argument for spontaneous generation untenable. No biological phyla (a level of organism classification) have yet been discovered to support Darwin’s theory. Even more condemning is that Darwin understood taxonomy (the classification of living organisms), but he refused to acknowledge or account for the gaps in his theory (Wilker 24). For example, spontaneous generation, a necessary assumption in Darwin’s theory, cannot explain how proteins are formed. Evolutionists suggest that either proteins or DNA were involved in the first living organism. However, proteins cannot be formed naturally, yet are required for DNA (Werner 105). This raises the â€Å"chicken and egg question,† which came first? Evolutionists cannot explain this, providing no justification for how proteins an d DNA could have been involved in spontaneous generation. Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, would have had to form naturally to allow for the possibility of spontaneous generation. Yet, an experiment conducte... ...naturalists for using the existence of vestigial organs as an argument for evolution, stating â€Å"vestigial organs provide no evidence for evolutionary theory.† (qtd. in Wells, â€Å"Why Darwinism†) More and more scientific evidence is overturning the biologically based arguments used to support Darwin’s theory. Darwin’s theory falls short of fulfilling explanations for the beginning of life. Darwin’s suggestion that life is spontaneously generated is a leap of faith not supported by science. The fossil record is full of gaps that Darwin’s theory cannot explain, and new discoveries in biology undermine the basis the of evolutionary theory. While Darwin’s theory may have initially seemed plausible when it was first published, modern science has provided evidence that the foundations and hypotheses on which Darwin’s theory of evolution are based cannot possibly be true.

Integrated Performance Management Through Effective Management Control

9 Integrated Performance Management through Effective Management Control WERNER BRUGGEMAN Performance measurement and performance management are vivid themes in the literature on management control. So, it is only natural that we investigate how this literature has contributed to the field of Integrated Performance Management. The purpose of this chapter is to describe how management control systems can be used to effectively manage company and business performance.First, we define the scope of management control and describe the link with organizational strategy. Then, we focus on the three elements of the management control system: (1) the management control structure; (2) the control process; and (3) the management control culture (beliefs systems). We will describe these three elements in greater detail and give an overview of the findings in mainstream contingency research studying the effectiveness of control systems in various environmental and organizational contexts.Manageme nt control defined Management control and the link with strategy Following Anthony and Govindarajan (1995), management control can be defined as a process of motivating managers to perform actions and activities in line with the goals and strategies of the organization. According to this definition, an organization is ‘under control’ when its members do what the management wants them to do. Management control comprises various tasks, among which are:Planning the future activities of the organization; Coordinating the activities of the various members of the organization; Communicating information; Evaluating this information; Deciding on the actions to be taken; and Influencing people to adapt their behaviour according to the company goals (Anthony and Govindarajan, 1995). Integrated Performance Management through Effective Management Control ? 153 From the definition above, it follows that management control plays a central role in managing the company’s perform ance and the implementation of its strategies.Therefore, it is of vital importance that management behaviour, which is stimulated by the management control system, is consistent with the strategy to be implemented (the so-called ‘intended strategy’ – see also Chapter 6). The starting points of the management control process are the mission, the vision and the strategies of the organization. We refer to Chapter 6 for a more thorough discussion of each of these concepts, but recapitulate them very briefly here. The mission of an organization is a description in general terms of the role of the company towards its stakeholders.It describes the reasons for the company’s existence, its strategic focus and values, as well as how the long-term goals should be realized. The goals are descriptions of the long-term desired future of the company. The mission and goals translate into strategies, which specify the way in which the vision aspired to should be reached. T he strategy in turn is translated into concrete performance objectives or targets. This is usually done through formalized action plans.Management control and goal congruence The purpose of management control is to maximize congruence among the goals of the organization, its various entities and its individual managers. This is called goal congruence. The way in which managers react to management control information depends to a large extent on their personal goals. For effective management control, it is important to be able to measure the impact of these motivators, because they largely determine the behaviour of people in an organization, as well as the desirability of the consequences of their behaviour.Business Management Study GuideThe management control system should be designed in such a way that, whenever managers take decisions that fit into their personal goals, these decisions should also be in the interests of the company as a whole. In other words, the management contr ol system must create the conditions to foster a feeling within the members of the organization that they can best realize their personal goals by contributing as much as possible to the realization of the general company goals.It is clear that the way in which managers are evaluated and financially rewarded for their performance plays a significant role in reaching ‘goal congruence’ (see also Chapter 13). Goal congruence is an important condition for effective performance management. The problem of goal congruence can be described in more detail in the following way. Corporate goals are translated into departmental goals, and in these departments people are working who also have their personal goals. A first problem that can arise is a lack of congruence between the corporate and departmental goals.For example, a department or division of a company can have a long-term vision that says it is desirable to stay small and be profitable (in other words ‘small is 154 ? The Integrated Performance Management Framework beautiful’). On the other hand, top management might be striving for a company goal of strong growth and therefore wants the division to grow. In this case, there is a lack of congruence between the different visions, and a number of meetings will have to be organized to align the goals and strategies.However, there is also the possibility that the division manager is opposed to the growth of his division because he is personally reluctant to make the required efforts. In this case, there is a conflict between the personal goals of the manager and the goals of the company. Role of management control in performance management Verifying whether the company (or the business unit or department) is on track is an important management function. Management control is an important instrument for motivating personnel to act in accordance with the goals and strategies of the organization.This motivation is one of the major driving force s of the performance and the value of the company. The management control system must be adjusted to the goals and the strategies of the company and it must be optimally aligned. The contribution of control to strategy implementation Robert Simons (1995) has outlined how management control can contribute to effective strategy implementation. In his book, Levers of Control, he introduced four key constructs that must be analysed and understood in order to implement strategy successfully: core values, risks to be avoided, critical performance variables and strategic uncertainties.Each construct is controlled by a different system, or lever, the use of which has different implications. These levers are: †¢ Beliefs systems, used to inspire and direct the search for new opportunities. †¢ Boundary systems, used to set limits on opportunity-seeking behaviour. There are three broad categories of boundary systems: business conduct boundaries, internal controls and strategic boundar ies. 1 †¢ Diagnostic control systems, used to motivate, monitor and reward achievement of specified goals.Diagnostic control systems attempt to measure output variables that represent important performance dimensions of a given strategy: critical performance variables. These factors must be achieved or implemented successfully for the intended strategy of the business to succeed. Diagnostic variables should be measured, monitored and controlled, but reporting on them to higher management is on an exception basis only, when a value falls outside a normal control limit and corrective actions must be taken. Interactive control systems, used to stimulate search and learning, allowing new strategies to emerge as participants throughout the Integrated Performance Management through Effective Management Control ? 155 organization respond to perceived opportunities and threats. As a fourth lever of control, these systems focus attention on strategic uncertainties and enable strategic r enewal (i. e. , emergent strategies). Figure 9. 1 Levers of control Source: Simons (1995: 159) Control of business strategy is achieved by integrating these four levers of control.The power of these levers in implementing strategy does not lie in how each is used alone, but rather in how they complement each other when used together. Two of the control systems – beliefs systems and interactive control systems – motivate organizational participants to search creatively and expand the opportunity space. These systems create intrinsic motivation by creating a positive informational environment that encourages information sharing and learning. The other two levers of control – boundary systems and diagnostic control systems – are used to constrain search behaviour and allocate scarce attention.These systems rely on extrinsic motivation by providing explicit goals, formula-based rewards and clear limits to opportunity-seeking. These four levers create tension between creative innovation and predictable goal movement. This tension requires managers of effective organizations to know how to achieve both high degrees of learning (innovation) and high degrees of control (efficiency) (Simons, 2000: 304). Levers of control and the organizational lifecycle Developing an integrated control system does not happen overnight. Managers of small entrepreneurial firms perform their strategic control 56 ? The Integrated Performance Management Framework rather informally. As the business grows larger, however, informal processes become inadequate. Simons (1995, 2000) illustrates how the levers of control can be successfully implemented as a business grows and matures (see Figure 9. 2). Figure 9. 2 Introduction of control systems over the lifecycle of a business Source: Simons (1995: 128) In their most recent book, Kaplan and Norton (2001) point out the importance of using the Balanced Scorecard (see Chapter 3) as an interactive control system.It is clea r from Figure 9. 2 that an organization must have some experience with other control systems before it can exploit the Balanced Scorecard in this way. Diagnostic systems, boundary systems, and internal control systems are all necessary, but they do not create a learning organization aligned to a focused strategy. Some Balanced Scorecard implementation failures occurred because organizations used their scorecard only diagnostically, and failed to get the learning and innovation benefits from an interactive system.The CEOs of successful Balanced Scorecard adopters succeeded because they use the scorecard interactively, for communication and to drive learning and improvement. They set overall strategy and then encouraged people within their organization to identify the local actions and initiatives that would have the highest impact for accomplishing the scorecard objectives. (Kaplan and Norton, 2001: 350) Management control versus task control Anthony and Govindarajan (1995) distingui sh management control, which ultimately is about implementing strategies, from strategic planning and control and task control:Integrated Performance Management through Effective Management Control ? 157 †¢ Strategic planning and control is the process of determining and evaluating the goals of the organization, and formulating or reformulating the broad strategies to be used in attaining these goals. Strategic control refers to the maintenance of the environmental conditions of strategies. Strategic control is used to evaluate the background of existing strategies and the environmental assumptions on which the strategies were formulated.It can also involve the reformulation of strategies. †¢ Task control is the process of ensuring that specific tasks are carried out effectively and efficiently. For example, internal audit and internal control are often associated with task control. Elements of a management control system In the previous paragraphs, we have described the i mportance of management control for strategy implementation and for performance management. In the remainder of this chapter, we go deeper into the details of the management control system and focus on its compounding elements.A management control system consists of three basic elements: (1) the management control structure; (2) the management control process; and (3) the management control culture. The first element, the management control structure, deals with the division of the organization into ‘responsibility centres’. A distinction needs to be made among the various types of responsibility centre, such as ‘revenue centres’, ‘expense centres’, ‘profit centres’, and ‘investment centres’. Determining the optimal structure is part of the task of management control.The second element in a management control system, the management control process, comprises the cycle of: planning for the expected input and output; mea suring the results; comparing plan to reality; and, finally, adjusting if necessary. The third element is the management control culture or the beliefs systems. This is the combination of communal values and behavioural norms, which determine the behaviour of managers and staff. Choosing an effective management control structure To manage an organization according to certain objectives, you must first choose an appropriate management control structure.A management control structure is the system of basic principles for the functioning of the organization or the organizational structure in which the management control will take place. Hellriegel, Slocum and Woodman (1992: 5) define the organizational structure as ‘the structure and formal system of communication, division of labor, coordination, control, authority and responsibility necessary to achieve the organization’s goals’. 158 ? The Integrated Performance Management Framework Elements of a management contro l structure When defining the management control structure, the following questions must be answered: What are the various departments in the organization? †¢ What are the responsibilities of the various department managers? †¢ How are the activities of the various departments coordinated, and what are the coordination mechanisms? Defining the departmental structure In organizing for effective performance management, the company may choose a functional organization structure, a multidivisional structure, a matrix organization or a network organization structure. When choosing the functional organization structure, the tasks are grouped based on the functional specialty to which they belong.Traditionally, the following departments are presented in the organizational chart: ‘Sales and Marketing’, ‘Engineering’, ‘Production’, ‘Distribution’, ‘Purchasing’ and ‘Finance’. An organization can also be co ntrolled within a multidivisional structure, which is a structure based on products or markets instead of functions. If based on products, we have a product-oriented department structure. The sales, development, production and purchasing activities with regard to a certain product are concentrated in one, individual department. On the other hand, the organization could also be structured around markets.In this case, all tasks that deal with a certain geographical market are grouped. The multidivisional structure groups management tasks in divisions, each of which focuses on a certain product or geographical area where the products are sold. Division managers are responsible for the daily operational decisions within their division. Top management no longer wants to engage itself in daily problems, but instead focuses on the important strategic decisions (e. g. , investment decisions, acquisitions and divestments). When designing a multidivisional structure, the business unit concept can be taken as a starting point.In this concept, the organization is structured around strategic business units or SBUs. An SBU is an operating unit of a planning focus that groups a distinct set of products or services sold to a uniform set of customers, facing a well-defined set of competitors. Many companies have a combination of functional and product- or market-oriented structures in their organizational structure. They prefer to work in a matrix organization. On the horizontal line, we find an R&D manager, a production manager, a financial manager and a purchasing manager.On the vertical line, we see the various business or product line managers. They are responsible, first of all, for the marketing and sales of their product line, but they must also take care of the coordination between the various functional departments. Staff members in the various functional departments are thus led by two managers. Integrated Performance Management through Effective Management Control ? 159 Defining the responsibility of managers After determining the department structure by which the organization will be controlled, it is important to define the responsibilities of each department.A department or an organizational unit, led by a manager with clearly specified responsibilities, is called a responsibility centre. An organizational structure is therefore a hierarchy of responsibility centres. Delegated responsibility demands appropriate authority. When assigning the responsibility for a specific output to a certain department, this department should also have control over its output. So, responsibility requires the existence of ‘controllability’. Delegated responsibility also requires an appropriate ‘accountability’.A manager is considered to be ‘accountable’ when he or she is assessed according to the realization of his or her objectives. In other words, performance is monitored, and if his or her performance turns out to be b ad, management will take the necessary actions. A responsibility centre is not only assessed on its output (which result has been achieved? ), but also on its input (how many inputs were used? ). In general, a responsibility centre should be assessed on two basic criteria: efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency is the relation between output and input.The more cars that are made in a car manufacturing company with the same production costs, the more efficient the operation is. The cost per unit (i. e. , the total production cost divided by the number of units produced) is therefore an efficiency norm. Effectiveness expresses the extent to which the realized output is aligned with the goals and strategies to be realized. It could be that the sales department has become more efficient by selling more with the same people, but that the sales efforts were focused on markets in which the company has chosen not to be active for strategic reasons.In this case, the sales efforts were not effective, i. e. , they did not contribute to the realization of the corporate strategy. When designing a management control system, one must determine what efficiency and effectiveness mean concretely for each department and how these can be measured. Assigning responsibilities to the departments means determining the right performance measures. The responsibilities of the manager can be divided into financial, strategic and operational responsibilities. Performance measures must be defined for each of these responsibility areas.We call them financial, strategic and operational performance measures. With regard to the financial responsibilities, we can distinguish among the following types of responsibility centres: expense centres, revenue centres, profit centres and investment centres. †¢ Expense centres are departments that are responsible for the costs they have made (input), but whose output is not measured in financial terms. In a functional organization structure, typic al expense centres are the production department, the R&D department, the purchasing department and the financial department.Staff functions are also usually controlled as expense centres. 160 ? The Integrated Performance Management Framework †¢ Revenue centres are departments in which the output, but not the input, is measured in financial terms. Typical revenue centres are the sales departments. Their management task is not concerned with the costs incurred; instead, they strive to reach a turnover objective. †¢ In a profit centre, the manager is responsible for the costs and also for the revenues of the department. Thus, the ‘profit centre’ manager receives a profit report for his or her department. In investment centres, the profit as well as the investments (‘assets employed’) are measured. The department manager has the authority to take investment decisions and is also responsible for the profitability of the investments made. A typical per formance measure for investment centres is the return on investment (ROI). Regarding strategic responsibilities, a manager’s task not only involves realizing financial goals; the manager and his or her team may also be charged with contributing towards realizing the competitive strategy of their division and the general strategy of the company.For example, the general company strategy may be concerned with growth in all business units and with global operations. Choosing and formulating this strategy may be the work of general management, but translating it into the business unit may be the responsibility of the division manager. The division manager may also be responsible for defining and developing a competitive advantage (in the areas of quality, flexibility and customer service, for example) for his or her business unit. The manager may be responsible for constantly tracking the evolution of customer satisfaction and adapting the competitive strategy in time to this evol ution.When strategic responsibilities are also delegated to a lower level in the organization, the manager responsible should be evaluated with regard to the level of success of the chosen strategies. Performance measures must be determined for this as well. The method of the Balanced Scorecard (see Chapter 3) may be of help here. Finally, regarding operational responsibilities, it is obvious that managers of responsibility centres are also responsible for managing daily operations. A number of ‘key performance measures’ can be defined for this, which are followed up closely by top management.The division manager may be asked to realize objectives with regard to inventory levels, processing times, products out of specification, revision times, etc. Restriction of responsibilities and freedom of action Each responsibility centre is restricted in its activity by a number of rules and procedures. Rules are formal expressions of the behaviours that are permitted and not per mitted to the members of a department. Procedures are descriptions of steps to be followed in executing a task or in making decisions.Rules and procedures provide a detailed specification of the kinds of responsibility and freedom of action the responsibility centre has or does not have. They indicate how the responsibilities and freedom of action are restricted. The Integrated Performance Management through Effective Management Control ? 161 indicated restrictions can be expressed in a positive or negative way. Positive responsibility restrictions describe what the responsibility centre manager may do. Negative restrictions describe what the manager is not allowed to do.Some restrictions relate to responsibilities, others are involved with the manager’s freedom of decision. The freedom of an individual in an organization can also be restricted by general codes of behaviour, which result from existing laws, statutory provisions and ethical values. These are meant to prevent t he potential mix of personal and company interests (e. g. , they indicate in what way confidential information should be treated). Restriction of responsibilities and freedom of action are all part of the boundary systems of a company.These are ‘explicit statements embedded in formal information systems that define and communicate specific risks to be avoided’ (Simons, 1995: 112). Coordination mechanisms When the department structure and the responsibilities of the various departments are defined, rules must be set up with regard to the actions between departments as well. The responsibility for realizing the global company goals and strategies cannot be split up into independent partial responsibilities. Departments and divisions must cooperate in various areas.Therefore, it is important that rules with respect to this cooperation be defined that motivate the managers maximally to target their efforts towards realizing the global company goals. There are two important kinds of rules that coordinate actions between departments: (1) formal coordination mechanisms (task forces, standing committees, integrating managers); and (2) transfer price systems. Choosing the optimal management control structure Designing the management control structure involves a number of choices. The decision can be made to manage in a functional structure or in a divisional tructure. Within a divisional structure, the divisions can be structured around products, markets, business units, or a combination of these. One can also choose to work in a matrix organization. Then, a choice must be made regarding the degree of delegation of responsibilities. A department can be led as an expense centre, a revenue centre, a profit centre or an investment centre. The responsibilities of these centres can be restricted in various ways, and cooperation between departments can be coordinated by several coordination mechanisms and rules regarding transfer prices.In some companies, manage ment control is characterized by a detailed set of formal rules, centralized decision power, limited delegated responsibilities and a strict hierarchy of authority. Such a structure is called mechanistic. At the other end of the spectrum, we have the organic organizations. They are characterized by few rules, decentralized power of 162 ? The Integrated Performance Management Framework decision, group decision-making, broadly defined functional responsibilities and a flexible application of the hierarchic relations.We can now ask the question: Do optimal choices exist? In order to answer this question, we must first define what makes a management control structure optimal. The answer to this question can be found in the description of the task of management control: the objective of management control is to motivate managers maximally to realize the corporate goals and to implement the strategies. So, a management control structure is optimal when it maximally stimulates the desired goal-oriented behaviour and minimally leads to undesired (or dysfunctional) behaviour.To be able to choose a management control structure, one must predict what the effect of the choice will be on the management behaviour and whether the expected effect is desired or not. For example: †¢ A company that wants to realize a competitive strategy of flexibility (custom-made work) in its business units wonders if it is optimal to manage the departments in a functional organization structure, in which the sales department is responsible for the turnover and the production departments (as expense centres) are responsible for the price of the products made.To be able to answer this question, we need to know to what extent the production managers are inclined to handle specific customer demands in a flexible way when the price of the products is the most important performance measure. †¢ Universities lead their faculties and departments as discretionary expense centres with respect to educational activities. In the short term, the deans and department heads are responsible for the costs of their faculties and departments, and not directly for the number of students and the revenues.As a consequence, the professors are not motivated to have many students, and they organize very few (if any) activities to influence and increase the number of students in the short term. Faculties and departments could also be managed as profit centres. The question is: What would be the effect on the management behaviour of deans, chairmen and professors? Would they act in a more commercial way? Would they lose their interest in research? Would this lead to overly aggressive competition among universities and, if so, is aggressive competition a corporate strategic choice within educational policy?To be able to make an optimal choice of management control structure, good insight into the strategy that is to be realized is crucial. The choice of the management control structure mus t be aligned with the strategic choices of the company. Knowledge of how managers will be influenced by certain structural choices is also important. One can learn from one’s own experience or from the experiences of other companies. In most cases, companies learn from their own experience. Setting up a management control structure is a dynamic process. The key is to look forIntegrated Performance Management through Effective Management Control ? 163 both well-motivated and dysfunctional management behaviours in the existing structure. Ultimately, the process should yield new ideas for improving the structure to promote the desired behaviour and eliminate the dysfunctional behaviour. Experiences from other companies can also be helpful. A significant part of the literature on management control focuses on research of the general tendencies and patterns in management behaviour in various types of management control structure.A general conclusion is that there is no management control structure that is optimal for all control situations. The optimal management control structure depends on the situation. The research that studies which management control structure best suits which type of environment is called ‘contingency research’. This contingency research has focused on two major contingency variables: (1) the environment; and (2) a firm’s strategy.Study of the first contingency variable has helped identify the appropriate structures to fit the levels of uncertainty in the environment (Burns and Stalker, 1961; Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967; Galbraith, 1973; Drazin and Van de Ven, 1985). Structure is generally discussed in terms of mechanistic versus organic approaches to organizing, and it is believed that more organic structures are best suited to uncertain environments. These are structures that focus on ‘clan control’, i. e. , social control coordinated by integrative mechanisms such as task forces and meetings.Contingen cy research also shows that management control structures should be well suited to the company’s chosen strategy. Different strategies may require different control structures. A popular typology deals with the strategic mission of business units, which may vary from a ‘build’ strategy, to a ‘hold’ strategy, a ‘harvest’ strategy and, finally, a ‘divest’ strategy. The objective of a build strategy is to increase market share and production volumes, while a hold strategy tries to protect the existing market share and maintain the current competitive position.A harvest strategy focuses on maximizing cash flow and profit in the short run, even if this is at the expense of market share. Last, the divest strategy concerns the decision to withdraw from a certain business. Other strategy typologies that are often used in the management control literature come from Porter (1985) and Miles and Snow (1978) (see Chapter 6 for more infor mation). Evidence from the strategy/organizational design research suggests that for strategies characterized by a conservative orientation (defenders), harvest and cost leadership are best served by entralized control systems, specialized and formalized work, simple coordination mechanisms, and directing attention to problem areas (Miles and Snow, 1978; Porter, 1985; Miller and Friesen, 1982). For strategies characterized by an entrepreneurial orientation (prospectors), build and product differentiation are linked to a lack of standardized procedures, decentralized and results-oriented evaluation, flexible structures and processes, complex coordination of overlapping project teams, and directing attention at curbing excess innovation. 164 ?The Integrated Performance Management Framework Designing an effective management control process Phases in the management control process The management control process can best be represented by a closed loop control cycle (see Figure 9. 3). Th e process starts from the strategy of the company, from which the action programmes are derived. Once the programmes are set up and approved, their financial implications for the coming year can be expressed in a budget. At the end of the budget period, the actual performance is measured and compared to the budget.The results of this analysis are then reported to top management and used in the evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the responsibility centres concerned and their managers. The management control process thus starts from strategic planning and target setting and consists of the following five phases: Figure 9. 3 The management control process Integrated Performance Management through Effective Management Control ? 165 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Planning action programmes (programming); Preparing the budget; Executing the plan; Measuring performance, following up the budget and reporting; and Evaluating and rewarding.Important design parameters o f the control process When used in an appropriate way, the budgeting process may motivate managers to improve performance. The motivating impact of the budget is influenced by the following parameters. The level of management commitment to budget targets First of all, companies may use the budget to assess the financial impact of their strategic action plans. In this case, budgeting is primarily used as a feed forward control mechanism and its primary function is to support the planning process (‘budgeting for planning’).Budget targets are an indication and show the direction in which the company wants to go, but managers do not feel a strong pressure to realize the targets. Budget targets can also be seen as commitments for the managers. In this case, the budget is used for control. Top-down versus bottom-up budgeting Budget targets may be imposed topdown by executive management (in consultation with the division managers, or not). Besides this, there is also a bottom- up process, in which each division sets up its own budget, yet within the general goals and directions of the company.The global company budget is then formed by combining the various sub-budgets. The level of participation during the budgeting process When setting up a budgeting process, an important parameter is the level of participation managers may have in the target-setting process. We can talk about participative budgeting when subordinate managers participate in the budgeting process and in defining the budget objectives. Participative budgeting involves back-and-forth communication between superiors and subordinates – they share information and converge on a mutually acceptable budget.It is generally agreed that involvement in setting up the budget leads to higher acceptance than when the budget is imposed fully from the top. Moreover, it is assumed that participative budgeting has a positive effect on the commitment of the division managers who have to realize the b udget later on. The difficulty of budget targets It is necessary to think about guidelines regarding the degree of difficulty in realizing the budgets (‘goal difficulty’). Certain companies have a policy of realistic budgets, where the budget objective will be accepted if it most probably can be reached.Other 166 ? The Integrated Performance Management Framework companies prefer challenging budgets, where top management expects the division managers to work very hard. The basic assumption behind challenging budgets is that managers can always achieve more with their team than they think they can. The task of top management is to stimulate managers to try to excel themselves over and over again. In this situation, managers who submit realistic budgets are evaluated poorly beforehand and a more challenging budget is imposed on them from the top.Whatever the budget philosophy, a budget can be accepted if it holds sufficient task content, i. e. , if the team in the departme nt will have to exert a lot of effort to realize the budget. As a general rule, the set targets ought to be realistic but challenging. This means that they may not be set unattainably high, which results in frustration and manipulation of data, but they may also not be too easily achievable, because then most of the performance stimulus disappears. Tolerance for budget slack It should also be verified whether or not the budget is too pessimistic.Some managers may be inclined to build a certain ‘slack’ into their budget. The phenomenon of budget slack occurs when a manager submits a budget in which a certain ‘buffer’ is built in so that the budget objectives are relatively easy to reach. Indeed, in a participative budgeting process the tendency might exist to ask more than one strictly needs to cover oneself against unforeseen circumstances or out of fear that top management will reduce the budget by a certain amount.For example, if the purchasing department fears that it will no longer be able to buy raw materials at the prices that were budgeted in the past, it can ask for extra means for this part of the budget. It can also be that managers prefer not to set the budget standards too high in companies where their bonuses are calculated on the degree to which they have reached their budget objectives. In all these cases, the general interests of the company are not respected because, by building in budget slack, the company funds are not optimally allocated.Fairness in budget target setting When assessing the budget, one should verify whether the task content of the budgets of the various departments are of equal value. The budget negotiation process is not only a vertical negotiation process in the organization, it is also a process of comparing the planned efforts of the various departments. Dynamic managers, who always work with challenging budget objectives, may become demotivated when they discover that other departments are tole rated when they exert less effort (i. e. , make less profit or be less productive).However, equally balancing the task content of the budgets of the various departments presents difficulties because the management problems may differ widely per department (e. g. , different management functions, product groups, markets, etc. ) and the concept ‘task content’ is difficult to measure objectively. The task content of a budget depends on the experience of the manager and his or her team. There is also a certain Integrated Performance Management through Effective Management Control ? 167 psychological insight involved here.Some managers, along with their teams, feel more quickly swamped with work than others. In any case, clear imbalances in the performances of the various departments need to be eliminated as quickly as possible. For instance, in a profit centre structure, where all divisions are making profits and a certain division is constantly in the red, a thorough restr ucturing plan must be set up in the short run to make the department profit-making as fast as possible. Tightness of budget control With regard to following up the budget, a choice can be made between tight and loose control.The tightness of the control is determined by the degree to which restrictions are imposed on the freedom of subordinates and emphasis is placed on reaching the predefined objectives. In most cases, it is assumed that tight control provides more certainty that the people in the organization will act as is expected of them. This can be done by determining the activities in detail, by following up very accurately the results of the departments, and by exerting pressure on the responsible managers to adjust quickly potentially unfavourable anomalies. With tight budget control, it is frequently (e. g. monthly) verified whether the real costs and revenues are in accordance with the planned short-term objectives. Undesired anomalies in the budget are not tolerated and must be eliminated quickly. The advantage of tight control is that managers become more aware of the importance of costs and profitability, and they actively seek ways to eliminate inefficiencies. However, tight control may also have undesired dysfunctional effects. Focusing on short-term results too intently may encourage managers to organize actions that optimize profitability in the short term, but that are disadvantageous in the long term.For example, in order to reach its budget figures, the purchasing department may decide to buy cheaper, but qualitatively inferior, raw materials. However, this may lead to significant quality problems in production and possibly to lower quality end products, which result in losing the goodwill of the customers. When the emphasis is primarily on reaching budget objectives in the short term, managers may also not be motivated to make the strategic investments that are necessary for the long-term survival of the company.Moreover, excessively tig ht budget control may lead to building in ‘slack’ when setting up the budget objectives or to playing accounting tricks to artificially boost the short-term results. On the contrary, with loose budget control deviations from the budget that arise in between are overlooked by top management, and there is a trust that potentially unfavourable anomalies will be eliminated by the divisional managers at the end of the budget period. The budget is used more for communication and planning, and there is less pressure to undertake immediate short-term actions to adjust the results.The use of budget performance in rewarding managers When setting up the budget, for managers of responsibility centres it is required that the 168 ? The Integrated Performance Management Framework proposed objectives be realized (although we know some companies that start paying bonuses when only 80 per cent – and even 60 per cent – of the budget target is realized). At the end of the yea r, the actual results are compared to the planned objectives and are further analysed by means of variance analysis.In this way, the budget is an ideal basis for evaluating the performances of the responsible managers. Managers who succeed in realizing the proposed objectives must be rewarded for their good performance. This reward may be of a financial nature (e. g. , bonus, salary increase or other financial advantages), but the reward may also be more focused on non-financial motivators, such as promotion, extension of responsibilities and recognition. A bonus for performance relative to the budget can be determined subjectively or by formula.To be effective, the reward system must be designed in such a way that it optimally motivates the managers to act in accordance with the corporate goals and strategies. Optimizing management control process policies A management control process (and more specifically, the budgeting process) is effective when it motivates managers on the vari ous levels of the organization to perform actions in line with the organizational goals and strategies. From contingency research on management control, evidence suggests links between strategy and the characteristics of the management control process.Defenders, and companies with conservative, cost leadership strategies, find cost control and specific operating goals and budgets more appropriate than entrepreneurs, prospectors and companies with product differentiation strategies (Simons, 1987; Dent, 1990; Chenhall and Morris, 1995). Chenhall and Morris (1995) have found that tight control is suitable for conservative strategies; they also found tight control in entrepreneurial situations but, importantly, operating together with organic decision styles and communications.Some research has been focused on the relationship between the chosen competitive strategy and the management control process. Differentiation strategies are associated with a de-emphasis on budgetary goals for pe rformance evaluation (Govindarajan, 1988). Govindarajan and Fisher (1990) found that product differentiation with high sharing of resources (between functional departments) and a reliance on behavioural control was associated with enhanced effectiveness.Bruggeman and Van der Stede (1993) found that business units implementing differentiation strategies based on a make-to-order strategy preferred loose control in budgeting, while business units with a cost leader strategy or a differentiation strategy based on standard products found tight budget control more suitable. They also found that bottom-up budgeting and a commitment to budget targets was considered optimal for all competitive strategies. Overall, Van der Stede Integrated Performance Management through Effective Management Control ? 169 2000) has shown that product differentiation strategies are associated with less rigid budgetary control, but this is also associated with increased budgetary slack. It has also been suggeste d that bonus systems must be suited to the strategy. Anthony and Govindarajan (1995) suggest that formula-based bonus determination approaches should be used with a harvest strategy and that subjective bonus determination is optimal for build strategies. Contingency research has also found relationships between characteristics of the management control process and the level of uncertainty in the environment.Companies operating in an environment of unpredictable change require an appropriate set of control process characteristics. Uncertainty has been related to performance evaluation characterized by a more subjective evaluation style (Govindarajan, 1984; Moores and Sharma, 1998), less reliance on incentive-based pay (Bloom, 1998), non-accounting style of performance evaluation (Ross, 1995), and participative budgeting (Govindarajan, 1986). As environmental uncertainty increases, using more participative budgeting increases performance. In contrast, when environmental uncertainty is low, participative budgeting ecreases performance. In situations where environments are stable and predictable, there is little informational benefit from participation because superiors have sufficient information to develop budgets. Companies may also operate in a hostile, difficult environment. This is an environment that is stressful, dominating and restrictive. Environmental hostility has been associated with a strong emphasis on meeting budgets (Otley, 1978). Hostility from intense competition has been related to a reliance on formal control and sophisticated accounting, production and statistical control (Khandwalla, 1972; Imoisili, 1985).The optimization of target-setting approaches seems to be related to task complexity. Locke and Latham (1990) found that difficult goals lead to higher performance, but this effect is moderated by task complexity. The result leads us to expect that performance will be higher when managers are invited to work towards challenging targets, exc ept when the performance task is too complex. The appropriateness of bottom-up budgeting has been associated with information asymmetry between superiors and subordinate managers (Shields and Young, 1993).When subordinates have much better information about their business than their superiors do, bottom-up budgeting leads to more accurate budgets, arising from the use of the subordinates’ better information. When top-down budgeting is used in the case of high information asymmetry, subordinates may reject the budget because it is not consistent with their information. Top-down budgeting is beneficial in situations where superiors have sufficient knowledge about the subordinate’s activities being budgeted. 170 ? The Integrated Performance Management FrameworkThe role of beliefs systems The management control culture is the third and final part of the management control system. Managers’ behaviours and actions are not only influenced by structural and procedural e lements, but also by the formal beliefs systems in the organization. Simons defines beliefs systems as ‘the explicit set of organizational definitions that senior managers communicate formally and reinforce systematically to provide basic values, purpose, and direction for the organization’ (Simons, 1995: 34).Beliefs systems are an important element of an organization’s corporate culture. The corporate culture is the set of values, beliefs and norms of behaviour shared by members of a firm that influences individual employee preferences and behaviours (Besanko et al. , 2000). Ouchi (1980, 1981; Ouchi and Johnson, 1978) considers culture as an alternative control system in the organization. He introduces the idea of clan control, by which he means control through an internal system of organizational norms and values. Culture influences the behaviour of individuals.Individuals who value belonging to the culture will align their individual goals and behaviours to th ose of the firm and pay more attention to selfcontrol. A culture that is intensively held by most employees is called a strong culture. Culture can support a company’s competitive advantage (Barney, 1986). It is supportive when the values espoused by the culture are very much in line with the chosen direction and the performance objectives of the firm (e. g. , a company with a product leadership strategy where all employees love to change things and learn from new experiences).In this case, we talk about a ‘high performance culture’. In other words, the culture is clearly aligned with the strategy of the firm. Of course, the opposite also holds. If there is a cultural misfit, culture can also be a source of persistently poor performance. This occurs when the values underlying the firm’s culture are in conflict with the chosen strategic direction. For example, a culture stressing efficiency, stability and routine behaviour will not support the implementatio n of a flexibility strategy. In this case, culture may be a barrier to change and managers will experience a ‘low performance culture’.So, it is important that the majority of the employees believe what top management believes. It is the task of management control to define a set of common beliefs. It frequently happens that top managers have explicitly expressed the vision, the mission, the goals, the key values and the strategies of the firm, but lower-level managers and employees do not share the underlying beliefs. Goal statements about creating shareholder value are experienced as ‘grand terminology’ when employees do not feel the passion of working on value-creating projects.A strategy of highquality products will not succeed if all employees are not convinced that they should work to ‘zero defect’ and do their work ‘right the first time’. Many flexibility strategies fail because people do not like ‘to change their Inte grated Performance Management through Effective Management Control ? 171 Figure 9. 4 The origins of unhealthy corporate cultures Source: Kotter and Heskett (1992: 145) 172 ? The Integrated Performance Management Framework plans. ’ In general, successful strategy implementation needs beliefs systems supporting the chosen strategy.The beliefs of employees and managers may be hard to change, but they can be influenced by training sessions, by inspiring leadership, and by demonstrating the success of the new strategy and successful strategic projects. John Kotter and James Heskett (1992) have written a book about corporate culture and performance in which they propose a stepwise approach to the creation of a high-performance culture and focus on the origins of healthy and unhealthy corporate cultures. Their ideas are presented in Figure 9. 4 and Figure 9. 5. Figure 9. 5 The creation of a performance-enhancing culture Source: Kotter and Heskett (1992: 147)Integrated Performance Ma nagement through Effective Management Control ? 173 Conclusion Control and evaluation is the fourth component of our Integrated Performance Management Framework. In this chapter, we have shown the important role of management control for strategy implementation and for performance management. Developing an appropriate management control system is a prerequisite for effectively managing an organization. On a broader level, Simons (1995) has shown that control of business strategy is achieved by integrating four levers of control.These levers create tension between creative innovation (emergent strategies) and predictable goal movement (intended strategies). This proves the crucial role of control in the strategy implementation and performance management process. We then focused our attention on the three basic elements of the management control system: (1) the management control structure; (2) the management control process; and (3) the beliefs systems. We have analysed optimal manag ement control structures and processes from a goal congruence perspective.That is, we have investigated how to design a management control structure and process that maximally stimulates goal-oriented behaviour and leads to minimal dysfunctional behaviour. Attention is also paid to how strategy affects the choice for a particular management control system. It is clear that management control also interacts with the organizational behaviour component. From Chapter 10 on, we investigate this fifth component in greater detail. Note 1 Business conduct boundaries are those that define and communicate standards of business conduct for all employees.Like the Ten Commandments, they specify actions that are forbidden. Internal controls are the policies and procedures designed to ensure reliable accounting information and safeguard company assets. Strategic boundaries define what types of business opportunity should be avoided, thereby drawing a box around the opportunities that individuals a re encouraged to exploit. Strategic boundaries are installed to ensure that individuals throughout the organization are engaged in activities that support the basic strategy of the business (Simons, 2000: 289).