The VW Resende Modular Consortium Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The VW Resende Modular Consortium - Essay Example The idea of a modular consortium consists of separating the product into sub-assemblies (modules) which are delegated to and entirely provided by a specific module supplier. Therefore, the module supplier is responsible for assembling its module directly on the automaker’s assembly line (Pires 1998, 225). By establishing strong partnership with 7 key suppliers and outsourcing 100% of its manufacturing, VW was striving to: optimize the operating costs, minimize the coordination costs, to improve cooperation between the partners (suppliers), to improve quality and productivity, to increase the market share, and to utilize space more efficiently.Referring to the Porter’s strategic framework, VW’s strategy of manufacturing trucks in Brazil could be defined as a Focus Strategy. Under a focus strategy the firm concentrates on one or a limited range of segment of the market (Thompson and Martin 2005, p.287). Thus did VW, by focusing its manufacturing process on trucks. Working in the automotive industry throughout the world, VW has made a decision to focus mainly on one segment of the automobile industry in Brazil. It was a truck production sector. While this strategy was different from the overall company strategy, VW had to act in a way that best fitted the organization’s competitive environment in Brazil. The company benefited from its specialization on truck segment by gaining strong competency in the production of trucks and some of their modules. According to the information.... g costs, minimize the coordination costs, to improve cooperation between the partners (suppliers), to improve quality and productivity, to increase the market share, and to utilize space more efficiently. Referring to the Porter’s strategic framework, VW’s strategy of manufacturing trucks in Brazil could be defined as a Focus Strategy. Under a focus strategy the firm concentrates on one or a limited range of segment of the market (Thompson and Martin 2005, p.287). Thus did VW, by focusing its manufacturing process on trucks. Working in the automotive industry throughout the world, VW has made a decision to focus mainly on one segment of the automobile industry in Brazil. It was a truck production sector. While this strategy was different from the overall company strategy, VW had to act in a way that best fitted the organization’s competitive environment in Brazil. The company benefited from its specialization on truck segment by gaining strong competency in the p roduction of trucks and some of their modules. According to the information, received from the interview with Jose Ignacio Lopez, the VW Resende Modular Consortium could enable the company to gain significant competitive advantage among the rivals. These included: modern and productive manufacturing process, relatively low cost, quality of the trucks, simultaneous engineering process with the suppliers, speed in the development and launching of new products, common corporate goals and objectives (trend to work more toward mutual success) (Correa and Park, n.d., pp.1, 7, 10). With Focus strategy approach the company can seek either lower costs or differentiation (Thompson and Martin 2005, p.287). Therefore, by going deeper to the Porter’s focus strategy, it is possible to assume that the VW’s Resende

The economic analysis of the U.S. Endangered Species Act Term Paper

The economic analysis of the U.S. Endangered Species Act - Term Paper Example An overview of the objectives and structure of the Endangered Species Act provides a very detailed and broad protection for many of the colorful species that inhabit this Earth. Wildlife and plants when listed as endangered fall under the net of this protection outlining procedures that federal agencies should follow and adhere to if there is the slightest chance the species are jeopardized. Not only does the Endangered Species Act of 1973, written by a team of lawyers and scientist and written into law by President Nixon, protects endangered species it also provides security for their "ecosystems upon which they depend" as well. The Endangered Species Act enables legislation for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, commonly known as CITES. Criminal and civil penalties provide for the violations of the Act and the Convention.

Special Needs Students: Learning Life Skills

Special Needs Students: Learning Life Skills All children must learn life skills at one time or another in their lives. Most average children will not only learn life skills at home but will also learn them at school. Special needs children may not have the ability to learn the normal life skills at school as they are generally segregated from the average students. What are life skills, you ask? According to Wikipedia, Life skills are a set of human skills acquired via teaching or direct experience that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered in daily human life. .(Wikipedia.org) Unicef states, Life Skills, this term refers to a large group of psycho-social and interpersonal skills which can help people make informed decisions, communicate effectively, and develop coping and self-management skills that may help them lead a healthy and productive life. Life skills may be directed toward personal actions and actions toward others, as well as actions to change the surrounding environment to make it conduciv e to health. (Unicef.org) Life skills are learned by watching others or being taught by another. Average children learn the life skills needed to become successful adults in society without any problems. Most do not even realize they are learning a life skill at the time. How are special needs children supposed to learn these life skills if they are continually segregated from general education students? Inclusion of special needs students into at least elective style classes to learn life skills is a very important step for education. Segregation of special needs students has always been an issue in the education world. One special educator stated, When I started teaching, it was expected that students with significant special needs would be placed in segregated special education classrooms. I noted at that time that these students didnt have access to the same opportunities as the students who participated in the regular education classrooms. Their curriculum was watered down and did not provide exposure to the real world. Their school environment was isolating, and they had only each other as role models and peers. (Lipsitt, A 1998) In following what she wrote, I see a strong problem with trying to teach a special needs student life skills when the ones they are modeling do not have life skills themselves. This is where inclusion helps to change that problem. Inclusion into elective classrooms is a great first step into getting your special needs students into the mainstream of your school. All students deserve the time to socialize with their peers and to learn how to become social accepted. Elective classrooms are a more relaxed and have a less regulated curriculum than core classes. Elective classes pose a more positive situation for the special needs student to feel more relaxed and not so pressured to fit in academically. It is not just a special needs students that need to learn how to fit in, average students also need to learn how to handle being around a special needs student. As an average student of the 80s I do not remember ever having a special needs student in any of my classes. I am not sure we even had that many special needs students at our school, those that were there, were never seen in the regular areas of the school. Today that is something that needs to be changed. It is time to make things equal for all. Everyone deserves to be treated the same regardless of their condition. A person with a disability is not a disabled person. (Lipsitt, A. 1998) This is so true when it comes to a special needs student. Some special needs students are students that just need a bit more help with comprehension, some are physically not able to get around, but are able to understand what is going on around them. Some special needs students are labeled non-communicative. That is wrong on so many levels. A student that does not communicate by normal means is labeled that way, yet they do communicate just not the way you or I would. Each has their own way of communicating what they need or want. Why should we segregate them because we cant understand what they are saying. Maybe we should be segregated for not understanding, and then maybe we would understand what they go through on a daily basis. Inclusion is such a wonderful solution to such a horrific problem of discrimination. One day I hope to see all students sharing all classrooms. Teachers being able to work together to teach all students, the life skills that are necessary to become very successful adults in society in each ones special way is the goal we are after. River Thames Flood Barrier | Review River Thames Flood Barrier | Review Thames Barrier Flood ABSTRACT This is a paper regarding the Thames Barrier. I am trying to present a report on Thames Barrier which is a kind of barrier on the River Thames for flood control. It was constructed between 1974 and 1984. As situated at Woolwich Reach, this barrier is considered to be a remarkable construction. After its construction it was first used defensively in 1983. After that there was no looking back. From 1983 onwards it has been used over 100 times defensively. Till March 19th, 2008 it has got no competitor in its way. Being the worlds second largest movable flood barrier the Thames Barrier stands with all pride and superiority. In this paper I am going to present some of the important things related to this great construction. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Thames Barrier located in the downstream of central London, United Kingdom. It is a magnificently well built mega-structure of the world. The purpose of this barrier is to prevent London being flooded. London in general faces seasonal high tide moving up from the sea all these exceptionally high tides are exacerbated by a storm surge. The Thames Barrier is raised for the duration of the high tide in order to prevent it from getting inside the city. As for the dealings with the low tide the Thames Barrier can be opened and as such it release water flowing down the Thames and in general circumstances backs up behind it. The functionality of this Thames Barrier is very unique and is of great use to the people of London. It has been built across a 523 metre wide over the stretched width of the river, this barrier divides the river into four 61m and two 31m navigable spans. Along with these it also divided it into 4 smaller non-navigable channels between nine concrete piers and two abutments. Huge in structure and worth in construction, this is an amazing barrier ranking itself in the second position. THE REPORT The Thames Barrier is for me a remarkable construction and with its gigantic structure it has saved London for 100 times. In this paper I am going to explore all those aspects of this barrier that has made it world’s second largest barrier. I am also trying to find out how appropriately it has been built and how worth is its construction. The roles played by the government and the engineers and the contractors are also my concern. As the paper proceeds I discover certain things that need some kind of discussion and thus the target of my paper. The Thames Barrier took a span of ten years to get constructed. It was started in 1974 and was finished in the year 1984. Its target was to control and to limit the damages that cause by the seasonal flood of London. It is at the Woolwich Reach and from the day of its launch it has protected London from 1oos of disasters. There are of course some amounts of variations too and that is what the main objective of this paper is. The construction is not only unique but is very innovative among its contemporaries. It is the kind of flood gates that gets across the openings in very stylish circular segments in cross section. The engineering of it is also very remarkable and the operation thus has been constructed in a very circular and rotating manner. The water gets raised by hydraulics. The raising of water causes from the horizontal sill on the riverbed and as such there is the appearance of a steel and concrete barrier to check the tidal water. This act of rising gets elongated further and the ration continues allowing underspill operations to control the upstream levels and a complete 180 degree rotation for maintenance of the water levels. The barrier makes a shield of 40mm thickness and the gates fill with water when submerged. It then let it go empty as the water emerges from the river in a huge tidal form. The construction id full proof as there are additional four central gated of 61 mtrs long and 10. 5 mtrs high; along with two outer gates that are of 31.5mtrs. There are four radial gates of 31,5mtrs long by the riverbanks and are flexible enough to be lowered down. These gates are left opening for the ships and at the same time can be rotated and closed to stop water travelling towards London. There is no doubt to the fact that this barrier is a very strong step towards the protection of the city from flood. TECHNICAL UNCERTAINITIES AND INNOVATION It was Charles Draper who came up with the idea of rotating gates and that is the factor that differentiated Thames Barrier from other contemporary constructions. The trio of Rendel, Palmer and Tritton were the actual engineers behind the construction of this particular unique barrier. The selection of the site was also very important and as such it was decided that Woolwich will be the most suitable site as it is the relative straightness of the banks. It was also discovered that in this site the underlying river chalk will act as a strong support the barrier. The construction was initiated by Costain/Hollandsche Beton Maatschappij/Tarmac Construction consortium. The strategically structured things related to the flood defences were made for 11 miles down river and all these equipments were properly raised and strengthened. The amount that was invested in this whole construction was around  £534 million (at 2001 prices). Added to this budget was the additional  £100 million investment was done specifically for the purpose of river defences. The target was for a span of 1000 years. This was undoubtedly a long term thought and investment. There was a clear understanding of land and water before these declarations are made. All these assessments now seem very irrelevant as the estimations are failing as per the predictions. The main reasons behind these diversifications are the increasing factors of global warming and the simultaneous rise of the sea level. The barrier was made in order to cope with the projected sea level that will continuously keep on rising till 2030–2050. Not only these are the possibilities, but there are the suspicions that whether the barrier will be able to complete its promised term. The technical aspects came into being when there was a high tides forecast in the North Sea. The threat was developed more with the declaration that the high river flows at the tidal limit at Teddington weir is the scientifically proven indicator for the measurement of the water levels that was supposed to exceed 4.87 m in central London. The re was the creation and opening of this estuary from the Teddington. At low tide it is a successful effort that can make greater flow rates. With this increase in the rate of flow the further one goes downstream. In the time of upstream flows there gets the act of creating great reservoirs protecting the flood water from rolling down to the city. POLITICS The political roles as has been played are very dramatic and worth all discussion. It was in 2005, that there came up a very interesting suggestion that to supersede the Thames Barrier. The target was huge and there was the application for a 16 km (10 mi) long barrier across the Thames Estuary. It was a very long extension from Sheerness in Kent to Southend in Essex was. After the completion of this the whole got exposed to the public for wider speculations and popularity. The political agreements came into being after the disastrous flood of February 1953, when the sea level was raised by 2 metres at Southend. The disastrous flood covered an area of 64,750 hectares 24,000 houses, and a major set back came into being with 200 major industrial premises, along with a number of 320 kilo-metres of railway. The affects were tremendous over twelve gasworks and two electric power stations that resulted in a heavy loss to the state as a whole. Depressingly enough there were almost 300 people drowned as well as much livestock. The estimations were done about the higher water levels that were supposed to reach 1 in 50 in a year. All these disastrous aspects and the upcoming threats made the governor get more concerned about the consequences. There came up a much stronger political pressure over the government. As such it appointed a departmental committee, the Waverley Committee, to examine the upcoming threats and the relevant solutions to them. As per the report submitted by the committee in 1954, the implementation of a barrier needs to be examined and has to be applied. Initially various sites we re suggested, but finally it was Woolwich Reach. As the construction proceeded there came up a serious concern from the Port of London Authority. According to this concern there will be a single unobstructed opening of not less than 1,400 feet in the barrier that was supposed to be constructed. This was a very turning point towards the added complications of the designing strategies. However in 1965, there came up another high surge tide and this time the Waverley Committee recommendation had got nowhere and the whole importance lied on the construction of the barrier as soon as possible. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT There were heavy sufferances towards the outbreak of these seasonal floods. The more precautions are taken, the quicker the water runs into the sewers and then the rivers, and the faster they rise. The area most affected last summer was Severn Trent. It has been estimated that up to ‘4% of the land in its region is converted to hard surfaces each year’. The floodwater runs off land faster than ever with fewer places to go. There are these assessments made about the queries that whether this critical infrastructure sites have adequate defences. There are many questions coming up towards the success of this particular Thames Barrier. The floods in England are devastating and how far is it possible to make the Thames Barrier secured for the purpose is still a question. According to the inspections made by the BBC, the flood alerts as has been applied in England and Netherlands are not much effective and fears of storm-driven tidal surges have not materialised. According t the latest assessments and findings these alerts however are saving much life than 1953. It was in that year about 2,000 people in the two countries faced the devastating affects of the flood. In 1953, in a span of a night thousands of people were evacuated in England and surge barriers closed at the Dutch port of Rotterdam. The rush was heavy and the losses were severe. There were great losses faced by England. In Germany and Denmark, several oil platforms were closed off the Norwegian coast and gales are forecast. These types of scenarios were like lifelong threats to the people of Britain. As a solution to this there was no other option than the application and dependence over the Thames Barrier. The role as has been played by the government way very vital. The only solution that the government could initiate with is the barrier. It was regarded as the modern solution. It was a joint assessment as has been made by the government and the Greater London Council. A barrier was closed without any possibility of failure which was again much supported by public in general. However the acceptability was not granted by the Hydraulic Research Station assessment. As for them it is very complicate business and will not succeed. Against all the opposition the Thames Barrier still stands very firm and is protecting London with all its efforts. There came up this Barrier Act that holds the responsibility for the barrier within the government. It was thus was readily accepted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). As it was more concerned about the flooding upon the farming section the approval was due. As consequence to this there was a government grant of 75 per cent that was obtained under MAFF. Added to this was the contribution made by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the alternative possibility, would have had difficulty in allocating a grant for anything over 40 per cent of the project budget. If the flood in London gets neglected than there are the possibility of thousands of homes, shops, factories, businesses and buildings would be affected. The monetary and financial set backs are sure to happen. If all these get activated than there could be such instances that will make London take moths in functioning again. The financial cost of a major flood could be enormous, possibly topping  £30,000m without counting the cost in human suffering and potential loss of life. SCHEDULE DURATION AND URGENCY After 1953, there were regular assessment being made in order to check the timing and the particular season for the tidal affects. In accordance to the declarations made there were proper evacuations and proper resettlements of the community. The role as played by Thames Barrier here is that it is the protecting shield for the same and there is no such way to make London safer. This barrier needs regular maintenance and that has been well bestowed. Global warming is the main cause behind all these disasters. Even the Thames Barrier which was supposed to stand or 1000 years is hardly going to meet the deadline. The drastic change in the climate has made things tougher. People are more concerned about the threats and their property than anything else. These are many agencies and corporations who are working for the same. According to the assessment as forwarded by the UK Environment Agency; there supposed to have extreme danger to life and property if the Thames Barrier is not maintained well enough. FINANCIAL, LEGAL AND CONTRACTUAL MATTERS The financial cost of a major flood has got the topping of an estimated amount of £30,000m without counting the cost in human suffering. This also excludes the potential losses that had happened. The solution was towards the construction of the Thames Barrier. It was a huge construction and as such was very keenly associated with the works of highly sophisticated engineering. As per the estimations the final cost of the flood defences within the Environment Agencys Thames Region was approximately  £535 million. From the contributions of the taxpayers the expenditure was met by 75% of the approved costs and ratepayers were responsible for the remainder. As undertaken by GLC Department of Public Health Engineering the programme got multifaceted exposure and support from all squares of the population. There were these trio of consultant engineers Rendel,Palmer and Tritton who were in charge of the whole responsibility. All expenditure on which grant aid was claimed was subject to a further detailed check by the engineers and accountants of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. As a condition of grant aid, all variations over  £50,000 had to have prior approval by the ministry. There was an estimation that states that over 80 staff operate and maintain the Barrier and the associated flood defences. The declarations for any threat could be made before 36 hours in advance and as such the evacuation can happen. However the risks are less due to the Thames Barrier and as such there was hardly any matter to get the threat. The tidal flood risk to London must be seen in the context of the whole estuary or else the Thames Barrier will be a result of heavier investment losses. The tidal Thames seems to be higher than the Thames Barrier and as such the re needs to be some assumptions made over the sustainability of the Barrier. As when it comes to the planning for the future there comes up the negotiation between the Environment Agency, government, local authorities, environmental organisations and others. The objective that all these organisational units hold is to provide long term-answers on flood risk management in the greater Thames Estuary. A severe flood in London most of the time affects the central part of the London. The causes are devastating and the damages were made by the river. The attention should also be given to the fresh water and sewer systems and needs to mend them for the disrupt power, gas, telephone and vital data services. This results n heavy financial losses and as such there are many things that needs to be given extra attentions. CONCLUSION Sir Hermann Bondi, an eminent mathematician, astronomer and government scientist made a revision over the flood threat in 1966. According to the assessment as forwarded by Professor Bondi, there will be a serious flood in London. He further added that this flood would be A disaster of [a] singular and immense kind and that it must not be allowed, particularly since the ability to prevent it existed’. His idea was for the application of a containerisation that was supposed to be reduced the traffic to the Port of London dramatically. This idea was however not accepted and there came up this mega-structure for the proper and specific measures for the protection of flood. The political awareness led the UK Environment Agency to make the futuristic assessments towards the upcoming threats of the flood in London. According to their assessments, there is sure to be an encounter with an extreme danger to life and property. The areas that it specifies are the parts of Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent and Essex. Not only that the UK Environment Agency had issued eight severe flood alerts for the precautionary measures to happen. Added to these alerts there were the declarations made by the Met Office. It announced there is this tremendous gust of up to 145km/h (90mph) that covered the areas of Orkney and Shetland Islands in Scotland. As a result there was a sufferance of around 500 people. All these people were compelled to spend the night at refuge centres set up at local schools and on the upper floors of their houses. The government was having great concern towards it and the sufferance had no other solution than the Thames Barrier. REFERENCES Environment Agency, n.d., http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/regions/thames/323150/335688/341764/341785/?version=1lang=_e [retrieved on 17.06.08] Reliability of the Thames Barrier, n.d., http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0AU5Ics8LL8Cpg=PA208dq=bondi+h+1967+thames+barrierei=sfs4SLGGIpyUywTI_5XqDwsig=2eF6CA7we7I5swksvsQVWuPxJUU#PPA199,M1 [retrieved on 17.06.08] Thames Barrier, n.d., http://www.jasa.net.au/london/thames.htm [retrieved on 17.06.08] The penalties of ignoring the risks, n.d., http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/regions/thames/323150/335688/341764/341770/?lang=_e[retrieved on 17.06.08] RECOMMENDATIONS London By Sarah Johnstone, Tom Masters, Published 2006, Lonely Planet,London (England),ISBN:1740598318

Essay --

Aaron Lee Period 2 AP Literature and Composition Question 3 Essay â€Å"Remember; remember the Fifth of November the Gunpowder Treason and plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.† This quote from the novel V for Vendetta is based a dystopian story based in London, and the author wants the readers to know that there is an issue that needs to be fixed or else it will end the world in turmoil. Yet another writer who successfully wrote a dystopian novel to warn humanity of is George Orwell, in his book 1984. Orwell warns his readers of the dangers of totalitarianism and that if we allow the government to interfere and take over our lives we will live in a dystopian; where people cannot think for themselves. The dystopian world that Orwell creates through imagery, irony and satire, warns that totalitarianism may soon exist in the United States. Orwell’s dystopian world in 1984 shows the possibility of a terrifying future of the real world if it succumbs to totalitarianism. 1984 was written during the Cold War, a time of major tension and crisis between two super powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, and the setting from 1984 displayed that the threat was real. The book was written to show that the government could take control of our lives and become like Big Brother; who always follows your every moves, controls every action, and brainwashes you that the Big Brother is good. George Orwell was warning against the actions the government was taking during the early Cold War Era. The imagery Orwell uses is clear when he describes Oceania under a totalitarian regime,† the elevator is broken and always has been, there aren’t any colors in the city, it is an unpleasant world to live ... ...people, further Orwell is warning us of this lie. Maybe Orwell wants us to be vigilant and possibly question our departments of our government? Further Orwell uses irony and satire in 1984 is â€Å"Nothing is your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull.† Here Orwell uses satire to emphasize and exaggerate that under a totalitarian government people own nothing and can’t do anything at their own will, no one can think for themselves because it’s a crime. Through 1984, Orwell warns his readers and audience of the possible totalitarianism that may evolve into the government like the dystopian world, Oceania. Through his use of imagery, irony, and satire, George Orwell successfully demonstrates his fear of a world under a totalitarian government and warns his readers through his rhetorical techniques that it may soon occur in the United States.

Economic Problem

Along with the development of the earth is a series of social events need to be addressed, such as population growth, food shortages and water shortages in many parts of the world. Specifically, people in Australia are facing with the threat of water shortage in the future. This problem has created an economic problem and urged the Australian government to find the solutions for this problem. This essay will explain the economic problem and answer the question how do markets attempt to solve the problem of water scarcity in Australia, focusing on the economic problem, water scarcity in Australia, the role of markets and water market in Australia. The economic problem can be known as the competition between unlimited wants and scarce resources. Unlimited wants are goods and services that people want to have are unlimited. But, scarce resources, things to make products, are limited. Because people’s want cannot be satisfied while resources needed to satisfy these wants is scarce, limited. Bized (n. d) points out that because our money is limited, we cannot get everything we ‘want’. Moreover, the scarcity of water is an economic problem. Water is a very significant part in our life, because everyone and everything in this world cannot live without water. However, population growth, intensive agricultural development, urbanization, industrial growth and environment requirements are all increasing demand for water. Not only that, the percentage of fresh water in the world is 3%, while 97% is salty water and it also cannot be reused or renewable. Water is the main source of living things, so the earth will become dry as a planet in space if it has no water. So that this economic problem needs to be solve. In addition, the increase in demand of water use and reduce water availability is a problem in Australia. Between 1983 and 1997, 9400 GL water use is increasing every year (NLWRA 2001 cited in Australian Government). According to the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists (1965), excessive use of water makes the water become scarce in the future. In a word, water is in scarcity. In order to solve the economic problem, we must choose how to use our scarce resources efficiently. If the choices are made, sources can be used efficiently. For instance, the Australian Governments is restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin to keep the water in this basin and protect the environment. They are making decision since the water is scarce. Australian Governments (2010) showed that water which available in Murray-Darling Basin declines, so this basin is likely to become worse. The problem is water in Australia is not unlimited. We therefore have to make choices. The choice can be known as opportunity cost. Since we never have enough resources at our disposal, we have to give up something in order to get another thing we want. For example, Morton and Shippen have to make the decision between selling water to the government or keeping the water for their using and their agriculture. If they decide to keep the water, the money from selling water is forgone and vice-versa. So, scarcity forces making choice. The role of market can help solving the economic problem. A market can be known as an actual place where buyers and sellers interact to trade goods, services for money. They interact in the market to determine the price. The diagram shows the way market finds the price for water. At point E, quantity demanded equals quantity supplied and the price of goods that customers are willing and able to buy equals the price of goods that sellers are willing and able to sell. The market price helps to solve the economic problem because people who want to get the goods or services have to be willing and able to pay the price. This means price addresses the 4 production decisions: â€Å"What to produce? † â€Å"How to produce? †, â€Å"How much to produce? † and â€Å"To whom distribute? . For example, if the price of water increases, people and farmers will use water more efficiently. Price can control the demand of goods and services, because going with the increasing of price is the decline of demand. Customers always look at the price before deciding to buy a good and when the price is high, customer’s want is less. In this diag ram below, the Production Possibility Frontier curve has shifted to the right because of the decreasing in water and increasing in demand. When the price is Pe, demand is greater than supply. This means there is a shortage of water in the market. Then market increased the price to Pe1, demand now declines with the point Qe1. In addition, the supply also can be controlled by the price. If the price increases, supply will be affected by demand and it also decreases. Because demand decreases, fewer goods are produced to correspond to demand, sellers will sell less and make supply decreases. So, the economic problem can be solved by the role of markets and market prices. In this Production Possibility Frontier, supply curve has shifted to the left. Price has increased from Pe to Pe1 and the quantity of water was decreased in order to establish a new equilibrium. [pic] Water in Australia is declining day by day by many. But these factors are the key element of the development in a country. So, Australian Government plans to create the water market to buy- back the water from irrigators looking to sell. In this market, water is a commodity that can be bought and sold between customers and sellers. Specifically, Australian Government’s plan is restoring the balance in Murray-Darling Basin. The purpose of this program is using the water purchase from irrigators restores the environment (Australian Government- 2010). The water buy-back also will be used in the future to protect future living standards. Another way to solve water scarcity in Australia is limited the amount of water use by increasing the water price. In this situation, price of water will be increased to reduce people’s demand, so that they may use water more efficiently. However, price of water also reduce the supply of water because of the limitation in water use. The problem of water scarcity in Australia has forced the Government making choice, the choice between using money to buy-back water for the plan â€Å"water for the Future† and using money for develop the country. But, at the end, the government realized that water is our future. In conclusion, economic problem is our want for goods and services to consume is greater than our ability to produce those goods and services, because of unlimited want and scarce resources. Moreover, the economic problem in Australia is water scarcity. It happened as people need and cannot live without water, while water is scarce and cannot be reused or renewable. This problem is not only about the scarce of water, but also about the existence of human’s life and environment. Therefore, the role of water market was found to solve this problem. In water market, price control the demand and supply of water, so it can be used more efficiently. Economic Problem Along with the development of the earth is a series of social events need to be addressed, such as population growth, food shortages and water shortages in many parts of the world. Specifically, people in Australia are facing with the threat of water shortage in the future. This problem has created an economic problem and urged the Australian government to find the solutions for this problem. This essay will explain the economic problem and answer the question how do markets attempt to solve the problem of water scarcity in Australia, focusing on the economic problem, water scarcity in Australia, the role of markets and water market in Australia. The economic problem can be known as the competition between unlimited wants and scarce resources. Unlimited wants are goods and services that people want to have are unlimited. But, scarce resources, things to make products, are limited. Because people’s want cannot be satisfied while resources needed to satisfy these wants is scarce, limited. Bized (n. d) points out that because our money is limited, we cannot get everything we ‘want’. Moreover, the scarcity of water is an economic problem. Water is a very significant part in our life, because everyone and everything in this world cannot live without water. However, population growth, intensive agricultural development, urbanization, industrial growth and environment requirements are all increasing demand for water. Not only that, the percentage of fresh water in the world is 3%, while 97% is salty water and it also cannot be reused or renewable. Water is the main source of living things, so the earth will become dry as a planet in space if it has no water. So that this economic problem needs to be solve. In addition, the increase in demand of water use and reduce water availability is a problem in Australia. Between 1983 and 1997, 9400 GL water use is increasing every year (NLWRA 2001 cited in Australian Government). According to the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists (1965), excessive use of water makes the water become scarce in the future. In a word, water is in scarcity. In order to solve the economic problem, we must choose how to use our scarce resources efficiently. If the choices are made, sources can be used efficiently. For instance, the Australian Governments is restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin to keep the water in this basin and protect the environment. They are making decision since the water is scarce. Australian Governments (2010) showed that water which available in Murray-Darling Basin declines, so this basin is likely to become worse. The problem is water in Australia is not unlimited. We therefore have to make choices. The choice can be known as opportunity cost. Since we never have enough resources at our disposal, we have to give up something in order to get another thing we want. For example, Morton and Shippen have to make the decision between selling water to the government or keeping the water for their using and their agriculture. If they decide to keep the water, the money from selling water is forgone and vice-versa. So, scarcity forces making choice. The role of market can help solving the economic problem. A market can be known as an actual place where buyers and sellers interact to trade goods, services for money. They interact in the market to determine the price. The diagram shows the way market finds the price for water. At point E, quantity demanded equals quantity supplied and the price of goods that customers are willing and able to buy equals the price of goods that sellers are willing and able to sell. The market price helps to solve the economic problem because people who want to get the goods or services have to be willing and able to pay the price. This means price addresses the 4 production decisions: â€Å"What to produce? † â€Å"How to produce? †, â€Å"How much to produce? † and â€Å"To whom distribute? . For example, if the price of water increases, people and farmers will use water more efficiently. Price can control the demand of goods and services, because going with the increasing of price is the decline of demand. Customers always look at the price before deciding to buy a good and when the price is high, customer’s want is less. In this diag ram below, the Production Possibility Frontier curve has shifted to the right because of the decreasing in water and increasing in demand. When the price is Pe, demand is greater than supply. This means there is a shortage of water in the market. Then market increased the price to Pe1, demand now declines with the point Qe1. In addition, the supply also can be controlled by the price. If the price increases, supply will be affected by demand and it also decreases. Because demand decreases, fewer goods are produced to correspond to demand, sellers will sell less and make supply decreases. So, the economic problem can be solved by the role of markets and market prices. In this Production Possibility Frontier, supply curve has shifted to the left. Price has increased from Pe to Pe1 and the quantity of water was decreased in order to establish a new equilibrium. [pic] Water in Australia is declining day by day by many. But these factors are the key element of the development in a country. So, Australian Government plans to create the water market to buy- back the water from irrigators looking to sell. In this market, water is a commodity that can be bought and sold between customers and sellers. Specifically, Australian Government’s plan is restoring the balance in Murray-Darling Basin. The purpose of this program is using the water purchase from irrigators restores the environment (Australian Government- 2010). The water buy-back also will be used in the future to protect future living standards. Another way to solve water scarcity in Australia is limited the amount of water use by increasing the water price. In this situation, price of water will be increased to reduce people’s demand, so that they may use water more efficiently. However, price of water also reduce the supply of water because of the limitation in water use. The problem of water scarcity in Australia has forced the Government making choice, the choice between using money to buy-back water for the plan â€Å"water for the Future† and using money for develop the country. But, at the end, the government realized that water is our future. In conclusion, economic problem is our want for goods and services to consume is greater than our ability to produce those goods and services, because of unlimited want and scarce resources. Moreover, the economic problem in Australia is water scarcity. It happened as people need and cannot live without water, while water is scarce and cannot be reused or renewable. This problem is not only about the scarce of water, but also about the existence of human’s life and environment. Therefore, the role of water market was found to solve this problem. In water market, price control the demand and supply of water, so it can be used more efficiently.

Marriage and Lovers

An Epitaph upon Husband and Wife By : Richard Crashow Richard begins his poem with addressing lovers who are dead and whom death gathered them one more time, or, as it were, wedded them again, and this is a metaphor, in which, he resembles dying together to get married again. The grave that the lovers are in is the second marriage-bed, this is also a metaphor. The lovers will fade away, for separating soul and body is the fate's job which is : obligatory; however, desting can not sever husband and wife because they live once.Now the poet wants readers to calm down because the lovers are not dead, they are sleeping like innocent turtles, this is an image, in which, he resembles the sleeping of the lovers to the turtles, for turtles are innocent and never commit any bad thing. The only reason that lets them sleep together is love knot, lovers cannot run away, for love knot gathers them together. The lovers have to sleep until the end of fate's job which is : taking away people's life, they have to sleep until the dawn shines, and then all life will be daytime only without night as in paradise.When the storm stops, and the shining dawn comes, the lovers will sleep with happiness and enjoys eternity. Commentary This poem is entitled † An Epitaph upon Husband and Wife† by Richard Crashow, a metaphysical poet. The metaphysical poetry is unusual poetry that is behind logic. In this poem, Crashow tries to cure a misconception, in which, lovers fade away after being dead, he declares that they are just asleep, they do not die but live immortality. This poem enjoys rhyme as in : † wed ,bed† , † wife ,life† , â€Å"lie ,tie† and â€Å"light, night†.

Human Resources Vocabulary for English Learners

Human Resources Vocabulary for English Learners English teachers are often not equipped to go into depth in the terminology required in specific trade sectors. For this reason, supplementary core vocabulary sheets go a long way in helping teachers provide adequate materials for students needing an intensive study of vocabulary in very targeted areas. This core vocabulary reference sheet provides keywords and phrases used by a business human resources department. This list can be used as a starting point for  vocabulary study relating to employment and working. Knowledge of these terms can help people get a job and understand employee handbooks of policies that they are required to follow upon employment at a company. The list contains British and American spellings of terms and phrases, as noted by the use of (UK) and British spellings such as labour, which is spelled labor in the United States. Human Resources Vocabulary absentee absenteeism absenteeism rate accident at work/industrial injury applicant/candidate application form apprenticeship aptitude test assessment of applicants assistant back pay bargaining power basic salary blue-collar worker business  hours/office  hours Christmas bonus clerical  work/office  work company  bargaining/company  negotiation compensation for permanent disability contractual situation cost-of-living allowance credentials day shift direct  labour  (UK) disability pension disciplinary measure/disciplinary sanction discrimination dismissal dismissal for cause dismissal without notice early retirement employer employment agency employment  card/working  papers employment contract/labour contract (UK) employment for a trial period employment  office employment  rate executive cadres executive personnel exit permit experienced person family allowances family leave federal holiday/national holiday (US)/public holiday (UK) freelance full employment full time full-time employment general  strike gross wages and salaries harassment have an accident at work healthcare higher education/advanced education human relations (US)/human relationships (UK) independent unions index-linked wages indirect  labour (UK) industrial  tribunal (UK)/labour  court (UK) internal regulations irregular work/discontinuous work job/employment job application job description job evaluation job satisfaction job security job sharing junior  clerk/junior  employee labor costs labor disputes labor force/manpower labor market labor mobility labor relations (US) /industrial relations (UK)   labor relations/trade-union relations labor retraining labor supply labor union (US)/trade union (UK)   layoff learning by doing leave letter of appointment lock-out management training managing director maternity leave middle management minimum rate of pay minimum wage moonlighting motivation night shift occupation/employment office hours office manager office staff/office personnel on-the-job training outsourcing overtime pay overtime work part time part-time job partial disability pay pay envelope (US)/wage packet (UK) pay  formula/retribution  diagram pay increase for merit paycheck/payslip payroll/payroll ledger pension pension fund period of notice permanent disability permanent job/steady job permanent staff personnel/staff personnel department personnel requirements planner pretax prevention production bonus professional qualifications professional training programmer purchasing manager re-employment redundancy payment refresher course relationship management remuneration resign (chairperson)/to give notice (employee) resignation (chairperson)/notice (employee) retirement retirement age right to strike salaried  workers/employees salary salary  range/wage  band seasonal employment seasonal workers second shift secondary job senior clerk / senior employee severance  pay / dismissal  pay short-term employment sick leave / sick day skilled labor (US) / skilled  labour (UK) skilled work skilled workers social costs social insurance / national insurance Social Security (US) sole  director staff costs / personnel costs striker temporary disability temporary staff temporary worker / temp the job is still vacant third shift time card time clock to apply for a job to appoint a person to ask for a raise to be dismissed / to be fired to be laid off to be on probation / to be on trial to be on strike to be out of work / to be unemployed to dismiss / to fire to fill a vacancy to go on strike to hold a position to interview to retire to risk indemnity to secure employment to select candidates to strike to take measures to take ones vacation  days (US) / to take ones  holidays (UK)   to train to work at home / to telecommute top manager total disability trade training training period trial period under contract underemployed unemployment unemployment benefits union dues / union subscription union officer / trade unionist unjustified dismissal unpaid leave unskilled labor (US) / unskilled labour (UK) unskilled worker vacancy / vacant position vacation (US) / holiday (UK) wage  bargaining / pay  negotiations wage ceiling wage claims wage dynamics wage freeze wage pressures wage-cost spiral wage-earning workers welfare contributions white-collar worker work overtime work shift workday (US) / working day (UK) worker working hour workload workplace

Physical Activity Essays

Physical Activity Essays Physical Activity Essay Physical Activity Essay When any Of these are injured or not working properly then we get ill, and nobody likes to be ill. So it is important that we keep our body healthy. II. Relevance: Although physical activity is an attainable goal on the path to a healthier life, more than half of U. S. Adults do not get more then 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per day at least 5 days per week Ill. Credibility: According to Dry. Michael Pratt of the Centers for Disease control and prevention in Atlanta, Americans in general dont get enough exercise; 60% of Americans are not regularly active and 5% of Americans spend the majority of their time sitting. IV. Thesis: Exercise and fitness are essential to the overall well being of people and provides many health benefits for every one of all ages V. Preview: Today will speak about the benefits and different types of exercise, and just how much exercise you need to maintain being healthy. Body l. Different types of exercise A. There are four different types of exercise; Endurance, Strength, Balance, and Flexibility. Endurance activities increase your breathing and heart rate. They improve your overall fitness and build your endurance, which makes it easier to carry out many of your everyday activities. Brisk walking and dancing are examples of endurance exercise. B. Strength exercise makes your muscles stronger. Even small increases in strength can make a big difference in your ability to stay independent and carry out everyday activities such as climbing stairs and carrying groceries. Lifting weights are an example. C. Balance exercise helps prevent falls, which is a common problem in older adults. Standing on one foot and doing heel-to-toe-walks are exercising techniques to help. Last but not least is flexibility. Flexibility exercises stretch your muscles and give you more freedom of movement. You can do Yoga and certain stretches as exercises to help with that. Transition: Now, lets look at some of the benefits. II. How is exercise beneficial? A. Healthy lifestyle- Exercise combats health conditions and diseases. Regular psychical activity along with a healthy diet can lower your blood pressure and can reduce the risk of illnesses like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. B. Gives a sense of well being- Being In good shape can give you more energy and reduce depression and anxiety. C. Also, it helps with better self -esteem-you look and feel better when youre in shape. Staying active allows a good social life. Its a great way to have fun, make new friends, and spend quality with family. Ill. How much exercise do you need? A. Which activities you should perform, and how often and with what intensity, depend upon your medical issues, overall health, goals, and even your age. B. For people under 65- a cardiac exercise at a Moderate level, (for example, at a pace that makes you break a sweat but still allows you to have a conversation) for 30 minutes, five days a week C. For people over 65- a cardiac exercise at a Moderate level Moderate level (for example, at a pace that is demanding but still allows you to converse-?a level 6 on a scale of 10) for 30 minutes, five days a week Transition: In turn, making sure you balance out your exercise based on your current health status is very important so your not working yourself to hard but just at the right pace. Conclusion l. Summary: To summarize, exercise has a large impact on your health. It is essential to your overall well-being and it provides many health benefits for everyone. II. Reinforce Thesis: So, next time you ask yourself whether or not working out is really helping you, just remember all of the different ways that it Ill. Memorable Ending: Exercise and physical activity can have a positive effect on your everyday life. Even if you think youre too old or too out of shape to exercise, becoming active on a regular basis will give you more energy and the ability to do things more easily, faster, and for longer than before. If youre already active, keep up the good work. If you dont exercise now, its never too late to start.

FGCU GPA, SAT and ACT Requirements for Admission

FGCU GPA, SAT and ACT Requirements for Admission FGCU GPA, SAT and ACT Graph Florida Gulf Coast University GPA, SAT Scores and ACT Scores for Admission. Data courtesy of Cappex. How Do You Measure Up at Florida Gulf Coast University? Calculate Your Chances of Getting In  with this free tool from Cappex. Discussion of FGSUs  Admissions Standards: Roughly two-thirds of all applicants to Florida Gulf Coast University will get in, and successful applicants tend to have grades and standardized test scores that are average or better. In the graph above, the blue and green dots represent accepted students. You can see that the majority of admitted students had high school averages in the B range or higher, combined SAT scores of about 1000 or better, and ACT composite scores of 20 or higher. Your chances of being admitted improve a bit if your numbers are above these bottom ranges.   Note that there are some red data points (rejected students) and yellow data points (waitlisted students) hidden behind the green and blue in the middle of the graph. Some students with grades and test scores that seemed to be on target for FGCU were rejected. Note also that some students were accepted with test scores and grades a bit below the norm. This is because FGCU admissions are not entirely numerical. The university wants to see that you have completed a strong college preparatory curriculum, and they will give extra weight to AP, IB, honors, and dual enrollment courses. And while the university does not use letters of recommendation or essays in the preliminary review of applications, holistic measures such as these may be employed for some students who dont meet other admissions requirements. To learn more about Florida Gulf Coast University, high school GPAs, SAT scores and ACT scores, these articles can help: FGCU Admissions ProfileWhats a Good SAT Score?Whats a Good ACT Score?Whats Considered a Good Academic Record?What is a Weighted GPA? Articles Featuring Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University Photo TourAtlantic Sun Conference

HRD assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

HRD assignment - Research Paper Example Introduction There are a range of evaluation theories that can confuse new practitioners and learners who intend to grasp on ways of evaluating programs. Examples of these evaluation theories include; goal free, empowerment, utilization- focused, and developmental (Lisa, 2006). The different forms of evaluation sprout from the same base of social accountability, social inquiry, and fiscal control (Valerie, 2004). From this base, evaluation orientations further branches out into three main areas; use, methods, and valuing. It is from these branches, various evaluation perspectives from various thought leaders get obtained. These perspectives get to offer learners and researchers on the various evaluation methods, their application, and how to align themselves with the evaluation orientation that best matches their program context or values (Darlene, 2008). It is vital that evaluators get to understand the cross cutting evaluation theories and terminology that is available for the stak eholders. It is vital that new and skilled evaluators get to determine and understand what the various evaluation theories or methods are for. Purpose of evaluation theories and methods Evaluation theory serves various purposes. However, its vital function is to act as a guide to practice. It is incomprehensible to learn on the latest methodological advancement without understanding the relevant evaluation theory concerned (Eleanor, 2013). This situation creates a scenario where evaluators get to learn what to do without understanding why or when to do what they do. It is vital that a good evaluator gets to understand the evaluation theories so that they can choose and employ the appropriate methods. Evaluation theories assist the evaluators past simply making good judgments on what kind of methods to employ but rather under what situations, and towards what kinds of evaluation influence. First off, evaluation theories help to bring back prior experience and thus consolidate lessons learned. Evaluation theories can help evaluators to posses a sophisticated and deep understanding of how organizations carry out their decisions and get influenced by evaluation findings (Lisa, 2006). Knowledge of the theories assists evaluators to learn from other people or organizations experiences. Evaluators who fail to grasp the knowledge of evaluation theories risk repeating past mistakes, which also leave them vulnerable to failure to sustaining and building on past successes. Secondly, the comparison of evaluation theories assists those in the field in determining and understanding the vital areas that illicit debate within the field. Through comparison of the evaluation theories, one gets to determine the gaps present within the field and how they affect their field. This comparative look at the evaluation theories assists evaluators to garner on what issues remains unsettled and elusive in their field of practice (Sung, 2002). Undertaking a look at the different theories present in the field assists the practitioners to obtain different perspectives on what the purpose of evaluation is or how it should get employed. Thirdly, it is vital that evaluators get to embody the knowledge of evaluation theories such that it becomes a part of their identity. Evaluation theory in its embodiment is the basis and core of becoming an evaluator (Valerie, 2004). The knowledge of ev

Nmgmt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nmgmt - Essay Example geting but ‘orthodox’ planning approaches are insufficient for handling large-scale changes as opposed to incremental changes, according to Kotter and Cohen (2002). Significant structural changes had begun to take place in 1994 because of the arrival of free trade. Free trade in the UK’s market meant that foreign competition was coming and was providing local businesses with an opportunity to expand by means of acquisition. Charles Berry has quoted the response of his organization to the change. Even after everyone had agreed to a mutual point and the agreed suggestions were documented in a report, no real progress was made. Hence, all the planning efforts went down the drains because they were not put to work. Most of the industries are designed for incremental changes and commonly everyone associated knows about their business in some detail. Planning helps with such incremental changes where everyone is aware of the little details. However it is inadequate for managing large-scale changes. With non-incremental change, the analysis is often based on unclear assumptions because extrapolations from previous trends may be misleading. Charles Berry explains how his organization considered seven alternatives in an effort to evaluate the situation. In measurable terms, these included sales turnover, the number of employees, potential customer market, core business, competitors, beliefs and the proposed action steps. All the options were documented precisely and several meetings were conducted in order to visualize the propositions in a way that materialized the visions into a near reality. This provided a direction for the attainment of the vision and things got less vague. Hence, the approach , involving seeing, feeling, and changing, was particularly geared towards painting the picture or visualizing the future. There are four main elements involved in successful changes that occur on a large scale. These include plans, budgets, strategies, and visions.

Hospers' Meaning and Free Will Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hospers' Meaning and Free Will - Essay Example According to Hospers, acting based on free will is conscious yet such event is directed by unseen wires hidden within human unconsciousness at a depth which guides the main course of hatred or desire to do something that may set the person free. By this argument as well, Hospers states that one cannot be held responsible for an action resulting from a decision governed by the unconscious drive no matter how deliberately done in the process. Though a person sees and is aware of what he actually does, there emerges a series of rationalizations in an attempt to explain this while one is absent in the realization that as he acts in conscious effort or free will, it is the unconscious or the inner clockwork that takes control. Similarly, Hospers maintains the proposition that because this is so, it is the act that must be accountable and not the man to answer for his state of being since his conscious approach serves only as a vehicle to deliver the ends brought about by the unconscious motivation. Within the latter, Hospers assumes that the key to its impact relies upon the shared functions of the ‘id’ by which the wants are acknowledged, the ‘superego’ that typically contradicts the ‘id’, and the unconscious ego which through compromise, keeps these two in proper balance. In support of his position, the professor opens the subject by designating freedom in certain contexts where it may come to mind a full comprehension in relation to the nature of an act. He argues that ambiguity exists in claiming that a voluntary act is free. Hospers does not completely abolish the possibility of being inclined to the thought that all voluntary acts are free or conversely, that free acts are voluntary, he clarifies however that this is limited in scope due to subjective human preference which distinguishes acts that are voluntary from those that are not even if both could be initiated by freedom.  

Current Trends and Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Current Trends and Services - Essay Example Current Trends in Workforce Recruitment Workforce recruiting is crucial to every organization and company as it brings with it new technology and more productivity. One of the current trends in workforce recruiting is the increased rate at which people tend to find new jobs after almost every three years. Currently, it is also important that one becomes computer literate and upgrade their skills in line with the current technology. While recruiting their workforce, the employers look for someone who is capable of keeping up with the market trend. For instance, a software developer should be aware of the changes in software development that are occurring at a phenomenal rate. Another trend in workforce recruitment is the overwhelming number of women who have entered and are fruitfully climbing the corporate ladder (Hankin, 2005). Moreover, there is an upcoming trend whereby smaller businesses are recruiting more workforces as opposed to bigger companies. This can be attributed to the increased growing rate of technology. Current Trends in the Payroll Management Payroll management is an important part of every company hence most companies are always striving for better effectiveness in their payroll management. Various trends have occurred in payroll management. ... This service sector has also adopted trends such as singe disbursement per pay cycle and circumventing of cycle payments that are done through investigation and eradication of errors. Currently, most companies are able to process payroll which include all required tax expenses, deductions and produce reports for their employees. Current Trends in the Accounting Services Currently in the accounting services there is more emphasis to shift from general accepted accounting standards to the international financial reporting standards. Changes in revenue recognition methodology have also taken place recently. This affects how particular sectors determine revenue recognition. This has significantly affected the construction industry. Current Trends in Call Center Functions One of the trends embraced today in the call center functions is the transition from traditional call center to multichannel contact center. There is also the integration of the current wide range of data and media chann els thus establishing a unified call center environment as stated by Friginal (2009). This environment includes: multichannel services on joined networks; IP networks and IP-supported voice application; and Customer Relations Management and business applications. Today a customer interaction network is founded in an IP-supported architecture that upholds a constantly changing set of multichannel services. This environment includes: multichannel services on joined networks; IP networks and IP-supported voice application; and Customer Relations Management and business applications. Today a customer interaction network is founded in an IP-supported architecture that upholds a constantly

The role of Internal, External and Forensic Auditors Essay

The role of Internal, External and Forensic Auditors - Essay Example Auditors play a significant role in the deterrence of fraud. They assist in risks detection and monitoring, control and regular testing of internal processes and suitable follow up for the purpose of dealing with weaknesses in the system. There are three types of the audit; these include internal, external and forensic audit (Weightman 2008 p 38). This literature review presents a critical evaluation of the roles of the professionals involved in the three types of audit. An organization’s management decides the role of internal auditors whose objectives are usually different from those of external auditors who are chosen to give an independent report regarding the financial statements (Wholey et al 2004 p 66). They work towards satisfying the requirements of the management. Internal auditing is used by organizations as a strategy to assist the organization to accomplish its objectives. The internal auditors, therefore, are in charge of using the systematic methodology designed by the management to analyze the organizational processes, actions, and events with the main goal of identifying organizational problems and suggesting possible solutions. These are independent authorities that conduct regular checks on an organization’s records and books of accounts depending on the agreed procedures for external auditing. These auditors are usually concerned with attesting that there are no substantial misstatements in the books of accounts (Sawyer et al 2003 p 91). They provide essential information about the efficiency of the in-house controls in regard to financial reports, precision and punctuality in transaction recording, and the precision and wholeness of reports regarding monetary and regulatory issues. They also offer an independent and non-subjective opinion in regard to the activities of an organization, as well as vital information for the maintenance of its risk management processes (Weightman 2008 p 88).

Recent debate about U.S. media content or expression that is allegedly Research Paper

Recent debate about U.S. media content or expression that is allegedly obscene - Research Paper Example This therefore means that even the media have the freedom of expression to air whichever programs they want as they are protected by the law. On the other hand, the Supreme Court which is the highest court in US has mandate to revoke or amend laws and even change case rulings of the smaller courts. They can therefore change the laws of Federal Communications Commission if need be to in any case. Cases have been documented whose ruling by the Supreme Court goes against the set laws by the Federal Communications Commission. One of the most famous of these cases is the FCC v. Pacifica Foundation and even another one between US and Fox stations over airing programs with obscene scenes between 6.00 am and 10.00 pm (which are the hours such programs are not supposed to be aired). The cases have been ruled in favor of the defense with them being charged only minimal fines or being released with warnings which is not the recommendation of Federal Communications Commission. According to Overbeck and Belmas in their book â€Å"major principles of media law 2012†, the debate over which rules against obscenity by the media are to be followed and which legal or government institution’s laws are to be in-charge started a long way back. There are several cases documented as well and most of them are ruled by the Supreme Court and usually the ruling does not fully follow the laws by FCC. The debate has therefore led to some media houses not being charged and others being over or under charged and hence not facing the full implications of their actions. This is especially so for medias like the internet where strict rules have not been enforced. The Supreme Court rules in favor of the first amendment in such cases especially because it is sometimes hard to provide evidence of such obscenity and hence ruling is either based on allegations or simply dismissed. The first amendment does not protect

The role of Internal, External and Forensic Auditors Essay

The role of Internal, External and Forensic Auditors - Essay Example Auditors play a significant role in the deterrence of fraud. They assist in risks detection and monitoring, control and regular testing of internal processes and suitable follow up for the purpose of dealing with weaknesses in the system. There are three types of the audit; these include internal, external and forensic audit (Weightman 2008 p 38). This literature review presents a critical evaluation of the roles of the professionals involved in the three types of audit. An organization’s management decides the role of internal auditors whose objectives are usually different from those of external auditors who are chosen to give an independent report regarding the financial statements (Wholey et al 2004 p 66). They work towards satisfying the requirements of the management. Internal auditing is used by organizations as a strategy to assist the organization to accomplish its objectives. The internal auditors, therefore, are in charge of using the systematic methodology designed by the management to analyze the organizational processes, actions, and events with the main goal of identifying organizational problems and suggesting possible solutions. These are independent authorities that conduct regular checks on an organization’s records and books of accounts depending on the agreed procedures for external auditing. These auditors are usually concerned with attesting that there are no substantial misstatements in the books of accounts (Sawyer et al 2003 p 91). They provide essential information about the efficiency of the in-house controls in regard to financial reports, precision and punctuality in transaction recording, and the precision and wholeness of reports regarding monetary and regulatory issues. They also offer an independent and non-subjective opinion in regard to the activities of an organization, as well as vital information for the maintenance of its risk management processes (Weightman 2008 p 88).

Microsoft Corp.s Pricing Policies Essay Example for Free

Microsoft Corp.s Pricing Policies Essay Executive Summary This case study focused on the Microsoft Corporation and charges made by their competitors, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice of antitrust violations and a monopoly of the computer operating systems and applications software, software development tools (e.g., programming language software), and hardware peripherals (e.g., Microsoft Mouse) that Microsoft specializes in. It focused on numerous issues that would lead one to believe that Microsoft was in fact monopolizing the entire industry they were in. . In order to adequately discuss and analyze the issues of this case, I have broken this paper up into four separate sections. Section 1 Key Terms Concepts: Description of the key terms concepts that pertain to this case Section 2 The Case Against Microsoft: Identify the facts and information that support my case against Microsoft Section 3 The Defense of Microsoft: Identify certain facts and information that support a defense of Microsoft Section 4 Discussion: What I have learned from the case After reading this case study, I went back to the email that I received from you and went over the questions that you suggested we consider. The first question was: If you were the DOJ how would you build a case against Microsoft or a dominant leader? I will attempt to do this in Section 2 The Case Against Microsoft. The second question was: If you were Microsoft how might you defend yourself against DOJ claims? I will cover this in Section 3 The Defense of Microsoft. I will attempt to show why it was very necessary for the DOJ to bring a case of monopoly and antitrust violations against Microsoft. In doing this, I will attempt to put myself into Microsofts shoes and defend their claims that they have not created a monopoly. Section 1 1. Key Terms Concepts The reason I decided to include these terms and concepts was to make it easier for me to write this paper and use certain terms without describing them each time I used them in my paper. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division: The Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, a presidential appointee, ran the Antitrust Division of the DoJ. When the Division thought the evidence was sufficiently persuasive, it brought criminal charges. The Division also entered into negotiations with businesses to end litigation in exchange for consent decrees in civil cases, or nolo contendere (no contest) please in criminal cases DOJ: Department of Justice: The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans (http://en.wikipedia. Org /wiki / United_States_Department_of_Justice) DOS: Disc Operating System FTC Federal Trade Commission: The FTC enforces federal antitrust and consumer protection laws by investigating complaints against individual companies initiated by consumers, businesses, congressional inquiries, or reports in the media (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission) ISVs: Independent Software Vendors MS-DOS: Microsoft Operating Systems NDAs: Non-disclosure agreements OEMs: Original Equipment Manufacturers OS: Operating Systems PC: Personal Computer Sherman Anti-Trust Act: it made illegal any form of contract or combination between entities in regards to trade and commerce that would have the effect of restraining trade. And it also put responsibility on government attorneys and district courts to pursue and investigate trusts http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Sherman _ Antitrust_Act) The Clayton Act of 1914: The Clayton Act was designed to prevent monopoly in the beginning rather than to remedy its effects. To accomplish this goal, Congress authorized antitrust prosecutions whenever business practices maysubstantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce, in any section of the country. Section Two of the act forbade sellers from discriminating in price selling goods of like grade and quality to different buyers at different prices when such differences were neither cost justified nor necessary to meet competition. Section Three limited the use of tying and exclusive dealing contracts. Tying contracts required purchasers or leases to acquire a second, separate product in order to obtain the desired product. Exclusive dealing contracts obliged a purchaser or lessee not to deal in products of competitors Vaporware: is software or hardware which is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge, either with or without a protracted development cycle. The term implies deception, or at least a negligent degree of optimism; that is, it implies that the announcer knows that product development is in too early a stage to support responsible statements about its completion date, feature set, or even feasibility (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware) Section 2 2. The Case Against Microsoft In order to make my case against Microsoft and prove that they are most assuredly in violation of monopoly and anti-trust regulations, I will answer the following questions: 1. Is this a case of monopoly? 2. Is this case a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act? Is this a case of monopoly? When I began considering my approach to this paper, I first thought about situations where I was absolutely sure I had been the victim of a monopoly. In order to do this, I first had to make sure that I fully understood exactly what a monopoly was. The American Heritage ® Dictionary defines a monopoly as Exclusive control by one group of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service. In simpler terms, I have always thought of a monopoly as a big corporation doing its best to screw-over the little guy (A.K.A the customer) by doing its best to make as much money as possible. The first situation that came to mind when I thought of a monopoly was how the Comcast cable company had a virtual strangle-hold on the cable service in my homes area. Since they had exclusive control of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service, in this case they were the only cable provider in our area, you were forced to settle for Comcasts service unless you had satellite television or you were willing to settle for the wonderfully fuzzy reception from the antiquated rabbit ear antennas of years past. As a result, we unfortunately had to deal with Comcasts horrible service and always rising rates. Luckily for us, another competitor came in to the picture when WOW! (Wide Open West Internet-Cable-Phone) set up service in our area. We switched cable providers almost immediately and we couldnt have been happier. They have provided excellent customer service and their rates are consistently lower  than Comcasts. As a consumer, we definitely benefited from the increased competition and eventual abolishment of the cable company monopoly in our area. With that out of the way, I was forced to look at whether or not Microsoft had a monopoly in their particular industry. Based on the information in this case, I cannot say that Microsoft has a monopoly on any single entire industry. Do they dominate the majority of endeavors that they choose to participate in? Of course they do. Just look at some of these numbers: As you can see from Table 1, Microsoft dominates the market shares of suite software in the United States. The only problem with these numbers is the fact that they are limited in their time range. In my experience, three years is a long enough time to make an approximate forecast for future happenings, from a financial standpoint. However, that is from a transportation and supply-chain perspective where the main variable happens to be the customers shipping fluctuations. In a volatile and constantly evolving market such as software development, these numbers could sway tremendously with the introduction of a new and sought after product or changes in consumer wants and desires. Table 2 shows the financial numbers of Microsoft and three of their competitors: This also tells a lot about Microsofts market dominance, but this time from a financial standpoint. Two things that stand out to me in this table are the fact that Microsoft has almost twice as much net revenue than their nearest competitor (Microsoft has 4,649 and Novell has 1,998). The second thing that jumped out to me is the fact that all of the competitors show an increase in net revenue from 1984 to 1994. Based on the growth of Microsofts competitors (which there are more than one), I feel confident in saying that Microsoft does not have a monopoly in their industry. They do not meet the standard set forth by the simple definition in the dictionary of Exclusive control by one group of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service. As you can clearly see from the tables, Microsoft  does not have exclusive control of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service. However, Microsoft does in fact hold a monopoly on many other counts, one of which is that Microsoft Windows, the Microsoft OS, is installed on most personal computers that can be purchased from Dell, Hewlett Packard, Compaq, and the like. Because this OS comes pre-installed, we as the consumers do not have much of a choice and there is not much of an alternative for us to go with unless we want to switch to an Apple Macintosh OS. Although Microsoft isnt a natural monopoly in the classically defined or economic sense that Ive identified above, it is a natural monopoly in the land of cyberspace. Microsoft is the path of least resistance for government, consumers, and programmers alike. Microsoft may have many faults, but they make a lot of things easier too. Most of us are willing to accept a monopoly such as Microsoft has for increased convenience and usability. Microsoft is a one-product company, no matter how it may sometimes appear. Their success is fundamentally due to the success of Windows. It rose to power with one product, and it resides there because of the success of that product. Unfortunately for us, this is not only the best product on the market, it is the only true alternative for us to use. In my book, regardless of the textbook definition, this constitutes a monopoly by Microsoft. Is this a case a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act? As I stated in Section 1, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act makes illegal any form of contract or combination between entities in regards to trade and commerce that would have the effect of restraining trade. Based on this case and the readings from week #7, there is proof that Microsoft did violate the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, particularly Sections 1 and 2 of the Act. Section One prohibited contracts, combinations and conspiracies in restraint of trade while Section Two outlawed monopolies and attempts to monopolize. Microsoft violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act by illegally using its market power to restrain trade in the high tech industry. A filing from the DOJ on December 19, 1999 stated that Microsoft engaged in illegal conduct in five separate ways: * by tying browser sales to sales of the operating system; * by using its market power to illegally maintain a monopoly; * by attempting to monopolize the browser market; * by imposing exclusive dealing arrangements between itself and Internet service providers and/or developers; and * by imposing first boot-up and screen restrictions on computer makers. http://news.com.com/2100-1001-233992.html The DOJ filing in December of 1999 shows exactly why Microsoft was in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Some of the things that Microsoft has done that clearly violate the act include, but are certainly not limited to: Microsoft customers upgrading their copies of Microsoft Office at the Microsoft website, but using the competitions web browser, are greeted with a message insisting on the use of MSIE for the full edition of the update. On November 18, 1998 the digital greeting card company Blue Mountain Arts discovered that beta versions of Microsofts Outlook Express (which comes free with Internet Explorer) were automatically filing Blue Mountains e-mail greeting cards into the junk folder rather than the inbox. Shortly afterwards, Blue Mountain Arts discovered that Microsofts WebTV service was blocking their e-mail greeting cards as well. When the courts ordered Microsoft to ship Windows without an integrated Internet Explorer, the company complied by offering a non-functional version of the OS, claiming that the browser was now so completely  integrated into Windows to remove it was tantamount to breaking the operating system. -All three of these examples were taken from the following website: http://www.vcnet. com /bms/departments/dirtytricks.shtml To summarize, Ive identified the following facts: Microsoft does have a monopoly in their industry Microsoft did violate Acts 1 and 2 of the Sherman Anti-trust Act It is convenient for Microsoft to say that their success is solely based on them being able to produce good products. Although they do devote extraordinary resources to improving their technologies, they also work diligently to stifle growth and in-roads from their competition. Section 3 3. The Defense of Microsoft I am not going to spend a great deal of time attempting to defend Microsoft. They have spent millions and millions of dollars working tirelessly to do it themselves. Furthermore, I firmly believe that they have established a monopoly and that this monopoly serves to futher one parties interests: Microsofts. However, I did some research online and came up with the following paragraph from an article titled The Microsoft Antitrust Suit written by Peter Tracey. In it, he wrote The persecution of Microsoft is an assault on the free market, and on the intelligence of the American people. It is the result of long-held envy by Microsofts competitors, including Netscape and Oracle. It is in violation of the constitution, being both ex post facto and vague (Getman). The governments persecution of Microsoft should be stopped, moreover, the antitrust legislation that has exposed business to unfair and unreasonable practices should be repealed. (http://www.levelthreesolutions.com/ peter/msantitrust.html) In Microsofts opinion, the government should not get involved in determining what means a company uses to produce their products. They feel that they have been able to succeed through hard work, tenancity, and superior products. Although it may be unfortunate for their competitiors, Microsoft feels that if you cant stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. In essence, Microsoft makes the most money doing what they do by taking solid ideas from other people, such as the Disc Operating System, and making them better. Microsoft doesnt monopolize the industry. They simply work harder, take risks, and capitalize where other companies have floundered. Section 4 4. Discussion Before I discuss this particular case study, I must tell you that I have always been a big fan of Microsoft and Bill Gates. I have enjoyed the relatively cheap cost of Microsofts software such as Microsoft Excel and Word. I have also felt that with each successive upgrade of these products I have only been able to improve my performance both at work and school. I also thought it was impressive that Bill Gates could take his ideas, push forward with his undefeatable will, and become one of the richest people in the entire world. However, this case study and the analysis that Ive done with it has really opened my eyes to the seamy side of Microsoft and Bill Gates. I was so moved by this case that I even went and downloaded one of Microsofts few internet browser competitors, Netscape, to compare its product with Internet Explorer. When my wife asked me what my paper was I about I told her it was about Microsoft and whether or not they were a monopoly in the industry. Her very quick and wry response said it so perfectly: Duh, of course they are. Even I know that. I think this says it all so succinctly. Do I think Microsoft needs to be disbanded or separated in to two different operating companies? Not really. Like I said before, I enjoy Microsofts products and I use them constantly. In fact, I am writing  this paper using one of Microsofts products, Microsoft Word. I just honestly think that fair competition and a level playing field for Microsofts competitors would only benefit the consumer in the long run. More people with new insights will be given the chance to expand the technology already in place. Too many companies are skittish about taking on Microsoft because of the monopoly and the fear of being annihilated. Finally, I have learned that cases of anti-trust and monopoly are not always as clear cut as one may think. I always thought that Microsoft had a clear monopoly and that there was nothing any of us could ever do to remedy it. I also really didnt care as long as they continued to improve Windows and the accompanying Office Suite. I can see now that competition in all economic arenas, whether it is cable television or fast-food or computer software, is important, no vital, for lower prices and increased technological growth.

The Sonoco Products Company Business Essay

The Sonoco Products Company Business Essay The analysis of this case study is about Sonoco Products Company, a leading manufacturer of industrial and consumer packaging. The company was adversely affected by the financial crisis in the mid 1990s. Due to the financial crisis companies sales came down by 6% during the period from 1995 to 1999. The company re designed its strategy towards industrial packaging industry which brought them the growth through large no of acquisitions. Companys strategies and the working systems changed drastically due to the impact had with the changes happened considering the needs of the consumers. Due to the notable outcomes of globalization Sonoco also felt the high competitiveness in the industry, uncertainty of jobs of employees and innovations in products which had them think of other avenues to improve on. Further the shareholders of the company also called for a new strategic HR approach in order to increase effectiveness, acquire new set of skills and competencies and HR has to be a more s trategic business partner. At the initial stage company made a hit back on to these external challenges by changing the paternalistic culture (which ensured jobs for life and allowed the underperformers to stay in the company ) and also through tightening the performance management system and transforming HR into a more proactive and strategic function changing many HR policies and processes. Due to the changes occurred in the company they had the privilege of making a more integrated marketing approach which reflected the demanding needs of the end consumer. Further, during tough economic conditions, organisations must continually improve their performance by reducing costs, innovating products, improving quality, productivity and speed to the market in order to enhance the organisational performance. (Becker Gerhart, 1996). Thereafter the Sonoco Company improved and they started reviewing their procedures and internal structures without being product oriented in order to gain maximum competitive advantage in the industry. The major changing point of Sonoco was the appointment of their Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Cindy Hartley. She changed the whole Human Resources system with some radical and significant changes which were studded into the firm as highly decentralized and which was not consistent at all. They believed the HR as a strictly back room operation (Sonoco Products case study). Traditionally Human resources function was viewed as a cost to be minimised (Becker and Gerhart, 1996). Initially Hartley discovered that most of the sections or the departments had their own way of doing things. The corporate human resources had very little work to do in the company as a whole, they were another mere department in the organisation which had little influencing power and authority. The main objective of taking Cindy Hartley was to streamline the Human resources function of Sonoco, in order to achieve the goals of creating competitive advantage, to promote best internal practices and reduc e the duplication of work. She was identified as the Change Maker of the firm (Sonoco Products case study). The change makers were interventionists with a strategic agenda focused on both the hard realities of business performance and the softer HR interventions designed to enhance employee commitment and motivation. It was this new role that perhaps most clearly differentiated HRM from traditional personnel management (Guest, 1987, pp. 505-9; Storey, 1992, p. 180). Under the leadership and guidance of Hartley, Sonoco had the luxury of changing its strategy focusing mainly on three areas such as performance management which will directly reflect the contributions made by the employees. She stressed the importance of this as performance management and compensation were HR fundamentals (Sonoco Case Study, p5). Thereafter Hartley focus was on Sonocos talent development and management system in order to refine employees skills and to identify and develop deficient skills. Final was the succession planning that needed to be integrated into business as usual in order to identify and prepare the next generation of leaders. (Sonoco Case Study, p4) Two business models were presented by Hartley to the Sonoco Companys executive committee. One was a centralised model which will target, in reducing the cost of administration and increase process improvements in order to gain a $3.1million worth of savings for the company. In this model most of the HR services will be handled by four centres of expertise. The main disadvantages of implementing this model was restricting opportunities to align directly with individual businesses needs and interests would make other objectives more complicated. (Sonoco Case Study, p6) Second option was the hybrid model where the divisions of the firm would retain some direct involvement in staffing, succession planning, personnel programmes, compensation and benefits. The main advantage of this model was that it would leave intact a divisional HR presence on which GMs could rely on, where by creating a strategic link between corporate HR functions and the businesses (Sonoco Case Study page 6). This model would generate savings of $2.7million for the Sonoco Company. The main question that arose in implementing this model was whether the changes could be effectively driven across the company. More changes were seen in Sonoco since the appointment of Harris DeLoach, Sonocos new Chief Executive Officer. His main ambition was to implement a new business model that would generate a significant growth in the company as well as it will reduce the functional cost which will keep the company more globally competitive among the other firms in the industry. The new model must also reduce the functions costs by 20% or by $ 2.8 Million (Sonoco Case Study page 1). Further, DeLoach gave the task to Hartley with devising two alternative organisational structures for HR that would cost less and support three ambitious objectives, Firstly to increase General Managers (GM) accountability for talent management, Secondly to distribute HR talent and support more evenly across the companys divisions and make HR systems and processes consistent and Finally to optimise HRs ability to provide customised , strategic support to the GMs business (Sonoco Case Study page 1). Also he made the objective s clear saying You can have the best strategy in the world but if you dont have effective execution by people, its going to fail. Thereafter Hartley focused on the two models described and Both of Hartleys alternatives are improvements in the structure of the firm which will change the traditional way of working at Sonoco. Due to these changes the most important change was the high involvement of human resouses personal in the areas which were handled mostly by the GMs. Therefore, the human resourses fulfilled their objective of controlling HR functions in the firms divisions. Further, its understanded that most of the advantages of the centralise solution are disadvantages of the hybrid one vice versa. Due to this one can argued that the centralized model is more suitable for short term progress, since it can help the firm to reduce more than the expected cost cut of 20% which was the wish of CEO, DeLoachs. However, it implies potential dangers for future operation in longer term. In the other hand this morel (centralize) is not that flexible in nature and also not suitable to implement as it will make a consi derable change in the structure of the difficult in a highly challenging market. In addition other disadvantage is that the restriction of opportunities to directly align individual businesses needs and demands, which would make other objectives of Sonoco more difficult. In terms of hybrid model, on the other hand looks like not attractive which is not meeting the requirement of expense deduction and may lead to redundancy mainly due to large set of HR personnel being involved, which will lead to an additional expense to the firm. However, if you take the two models the difference in budget is not that significant at all. Its Just $100,000 where less than 5% as a whole. But in the hybrid model, the potential for longer term is much better than the centralized model. Sonoco will also feel higher flexibility and can adjust to the change of market easier. Also Sonoco operates in 32 countries with different sets of cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2010). Further, in the hybrid structure, with the feature of decentralization, which will help the company to be more flexible in terms of implementing HR activities which are suitable for each country or territory and by selecting hybrid model cultural conflicts will be minimised. Due to those reasons and also by compairing the advantages and disadvantages, the hybrid model seems to be a better option for Sonoco rather than the centralized structure. In implementing either of these models would have a bigger impact and risk involved to the firm but given CEOs main objective of making best use of employees, the most suitable choice seems to be the hybrid model. After the arrival of Hartley, Sonoco implemented a new performance management system and where individuals are accountable for their failures. Accordingly, Performance Management is a process which contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organisational performance (Armstrong and Baron, 2004). Furthermore, performance management makes a culture in the firm where employees as individuals and also as teams take responsibilities for the continuous improvement of business processes and of their own skills, behaviours and contributions (CIPD, 2011). Therefore, Hartley changed the working culture of Sonoco by bringing in a new HR system. Sonoco made the Setting up the new system was mainly due to achieving of organisational objectives and targets, with individual performance metrics in line with the corporate targets. The targets set out by Sonoco can be measured using number of performance management tools such as, 360degree feedb ack, learning and development , performance appraisal, setting performance objectives and performance related pay like wise. Major changes were injected into the Sonoco company. After the introduction of the cyclical model to the firm, it ensured that individual performance objectives and the targets will reflect the organisational goals of the business. Further, in this senario Supervisors and the employees will agree on personal objectives and targets during the performance appraisals. Thereafter the targets will be measured considering their divisional targets. If you take as an example, in division one, each plant manager would have a set of metrics like quality, customer returns ,plant profit, machine downtime and safety. In division two, metrics might be on scrap reduction and to drive productivity (Sonoco Case Study Page 5). Sonoco case study stresses the importance in the foundations of performance management of motivation theory, especially goal setting and expectancy theory. The acceptance of goals by employees and the increasing of difficulty levels of such goals can lead to increased motivation and performance (Locke Latham, 1984). Further several HR tools were used by Sonoco to drive employee and organisational performance which was MBO. This is a goal orientated management tool in which managers and employees come together to agree upon a set of objectives to contribute to organisational performance, Drucker (1954). Additionally in this system individual employees development needs and personal training and development schedule will be agreed upon. (Sonoco Case Study Page 5). Further, Sonocos changed the previous eighteen salary grades and it was changed into a very simple and easy system of five salary bands in order to enhance managerial flexibility in differentiating among employees and awarding merit increases (Sonoco Case Study Page 5) These changes were implemented by Hartley in the new performance management system at Sonoco Products also stressed the importance of an universal compensation system within the firm. Also with the implementation of performance related pay system, it gave an incentive for the high performing individuals at Sonoco Products. The main objective of this was to benefit or reward to individual contributions while within the market guidelines (Sonoco Case Study Page 5). Further, apart from the individual financial benefits, they also permitted managers at Sonoco to think of the contributions that the employees are making in order achieve the desired business objectives (Sonoco Base Study Page 5). Nevertheless, in order to be successful, effective arrangements must be in place to define measure, appraise and manage performance (CIPD, 2011). As mentioned in the case study, reward or compensation strategies has to be divided into both intrinsic rewards and extrinsic rewards. It is very important for Sonoco to implement a variety of compensation strategies, not only focusing on performance related pay where it will help the firm in order meet employee and organisational performance objectives successfully. Due to the new performance management system, Sonoco Company is experiencing some radical changes in its firm currently. Its notable to say that the firm needs more changes or improvements in order to sustain in the competition with the others in the global market. In terms of improvements Sonoco needs attention in the areas of talent management and succession planning for them to get the best in terms of growth. More importantly hybrid model has to be developed and implemented successfully for the firm to get the intended growth and the reducing of cost. Therefore in order to gain the expected organisational performance, engagement with the GMs and line managers has to be strengthened. , Engaged employees have a sense of personal attachment to their work and organisation; they are motivated and able to give of their best to help it succeed and from that flows a series of tangible benefits for organisation and individual alike (MacLeod Clarke 2009). Further its important that Hartl ey interact with the entire workforce rather than engaged only with the managers to get the best out of the employees. Because, in reality without a motivated and engaged workforce, whatever the best HRM practices used you cant generate a high performing culture. Therefore the importance of employee engagement is a vital factor in a high performance culture within the workplace. It is important for organisations to implement a thorough and inclusive policy of employee engagement to create a high performance culture. Reflection and summary By learning The Managing Human Resources module has provided me a very strong foundation and useful insight into the key components and practices which are in the world of Human Resources. It gave me a total understanding of both the techniques and theory behind some of the critical themes within HR. Also it gave me a competitive advantage over some of my colleagues who do not possess a HR related qualification. I believe that it is very important for any future leader to obtain a comprehensive programme of study that relates to the field of HRM as it has demonstrated how important the HR function is in contributing to both organisational and employee performance. This module has certainly enhanced my performance as it has enhanced my knowledge on HR, improved my critical analysis skills, enriched my knowledge of both soft and hard HRM models and also improved my verbal dialogue by having some useful, interesting, stimulating, debating sessions during seminars. Further, it has also i nformed my judgement on how important employee participation is to the success of the organisation. Engaging with employees is a crucial component in generating a high performing culture. It is this concept that has influenced my analysis of the Sonoco case study, as HRM practices and models cannot be successfully implemented without a motivated and engaged workforce. In my personal view, the HRM module, at first, stresses the importance of managing people which I have to do when running a business of my own or working for a firm. Unlike financial management, inventory management etc., in HRM I should not rely on machine or outsourcing but to act flexibly on my own, especially when dealing with skilful and knowledgeable employees. However, thanks to HRM module, I will know how to choose and apply best HR models on their organizations.HRM will help me to identify potential strengths and weaknesses of staffs. A variety HR tools can provide a comprehensive understanding about peoples c apabilities and desires etc. in order to provide them with suitable environments, and through this, fully exploit their contributions. Moreover, to have best use of staffs, I will know how apply development methods to increase their productivity. An organization is more a community than a group of separated persons. Through researching organizational behaviour, I can be aware of relations and interactions among all staffs. Organizational behaviour is not only for providing necessary skills training, but also for allocating people in teams in order to achieve their synergy. Compensation and reward management, in connection with performance management, help me to comprehend the working motivation and know how to promote it for the benefit of both employees and organization. Finally, I believe that this module has provided me with the foundations of becoming a future leader in my organisation.