Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Managerial Finance Final Exam free essay sample

NOT  normally regarded as being a barrier to hostile takeovers? (Points : 5)|   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abnormally high executive compensation Targeted share repurchases Shareholder rights provisions Restricted voting rights Poison pills | 2. (TCO F) Which of the following statements is correct? (Points : 5)| The MIRR and NPV decision criteria can never conflict. The IRR method can never be subject to the multiple IRR problem, while the MIRR method can be. One reason some people prefer the MIRR to the regular IRR is that the MIRR is based on a generally more reasonable reinvestment rate assumption. The weighted average cost of capital is 13%, and the FCFs are expected to continue growing at a 5% rate after Year 3. Assuming that the ROIC is expected to remain constant in Year 3 and beyond, what is the Year 0 value of operations, in millions?   Free cash flow:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   -$15  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $10  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $40 a. $315 b. $331 c. $348 d. $367 e. $386 (TERMINAL VALUE)TV4 = FCF3(1 + g)/(WACC g) = $40(1. 05)/(0. 13 0. 05) = $525 (PV)Value of Operations = -/(1. We will write a custom essay sample on Managerial Finance Final Exam or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 13) + $10/(1. 13)2 + ($40 + $525)/(1. 13)3 = $386 5. (TCO G) Based on the corporate valuation model, Bernile Inc.s value of operations is $750 million. Its balance sheet shows $50 million of short-term investments that are unrelated to operations, $100 million of accounts payable, $100 million of notes payable, $200 million of long-term debt, $40 million of common stock (par plus paid-in-capital), and $160 million of retained earnings. What is the best estimate for the firms value of equity, in millions? a. $429 b. $451 c. $475 d. $500 e. $525 Value of equity = Value of operations + short term investments long term debt notes payable = $750 + $50 $200 $100 = $500

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Biography of Coco Channal essays

Biography of Coco Channal essays Coco Chanel, The first women to create clothing for women that is both attractive and useful. Chanel was one of the first women to run a large, successful business in the fashion industry. Today, its hard to imagine the controversy Chanel stirred up simply by making womens clothing beautiful, comfortable and practical. Chanel understood that women wanted a sense of style and professionalism in their fashion. The clothes she created changed the way women looked and how they looked at themselves. Coco Chanel fulfilled the American Dream through definite actions, personal accomplishments and worthwhile contributions to America. Coco started off at the age of nineteen when she worked at a tailor shop with her young aunt Adrienne. Coco sewed extremely well, so she began to do alterations on her own, but she had higher ambitions and did not plan on being a seamstress for the rest of her life. At this point in time she was seeing a man named Etienne Balsan, he asked Coco to be his mistress and move to his new estate that he had just bought. She agreed to go since she did care for him and for once in her life she wouldnt have to take care of herself. Balsan loved the horse races very much; he had his own horse stables at the estate. He would have many friends over and they would always go horseback riding. Coco didnt enjoy horses or the clothes women wore while riding, tight fitting jackets and long loose skirts. So Coco decided to switch it up a bit. Coco always admired mens clothing, so she had a tailor make a riding outfit consisting of jodhpurs and leather pants that ended at the knee; she wore this with a loose shirt and a scarf. Many women admired Coco for her astonishing ensemble. Coco designed also with hats. She would buy the plainest hats at large department stores then redesign them. Balsan loved her designs, so he offered Coco an apartment he owned in Paris. So she ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Understanding Organizations Through Imagery Assignment

Understanding Organizations Through Imagery - Assignment Example This has led to the growth of corporate social responsibility a move that tries to improve the organizational image within the outside World (Jones, 2013). Possible defects with corporate cultures lies in the way it affects the business management and operations. There exist a thin line between a healthy and unhealthy corporate culture which has a direct effect on the employees, sales and the overall customer satisfaction (Tosi, 2009). A culture that encourages aggressive behavior on the part of employees can be a turn off for the customer and thus drive sales downwards. Furthermore, an unhealthy culture can disrupt the team spirit among employees reducing their level of commitment on improving sales and services to customers (Scott & Davis, 2007). Thus, the top management should strive to ensure they propagate a healthy culture to the employees for a successful retail management. The images that I am most familiar are those that depict an organization as a living organism and an instrument of domination. This is demonstrated in the manner in which an organization struggles to survive within a competitive environment. Employees are subjected to long working hours to ensure service delivery of goods and services to the customer beyond the normal working hours e.g. in supermarkets. Unfortunately, a reduction in consumer purchasing power leads to employees’ retrenchment as the retail outlet try to reduce the operational cost (Jones,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Struggling with identity (or forming identity and what that means) in Essay

Struggling with identity (or forming identity and what that means) in the stories - Essay Example In these works characters are in the quest for their identity. In Tillie Olsen’s ‘I stand Here Ironing’ we find that Emily is seeking her own identity. Her mother, her family members, her teachers and schoolmates, all are in search of identity. We find Emily’s mother’s feelings of sadness and lack and her inability to connect with her daughter Emily. Emily had an inner sadness in properly understanding her own position in the social fabric that existed during that period. A diametrically opposed pattern is evident here. Emily’s mother feels that she must have acted in a different way to influence the behaviors of Emily. Emily, on the other hand, feels that her out of home behaviors were wrong. She thinks that she must have been more positive. She had a strange mix of childhood and motherhood. The very first sentence reveals the mood of the complete story. Emily’s mother explains with a mood of despair her daughter’s hard attempts to locate her own identity being in a self-limiting environment. The story raises several questions individual identity. In the story, both mother and daughter are searching for their identity though they face numerous limitations brought by social constraints and their history of poverty. The constraints that surround them make them search for their identity. Sherman Alexie’s ‘The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven’ is yet another works that involves characters who are in search of their identity. Racial and ethnic identity does matter in the lives of individuals. Racial identity and cultural identity symbolize the cultural existence of an individual. Racial identity and cultural identity often shapes the lives of individuals. The story presents several cultural barriers and difficulties where individuals are in search of their identities. The story describes the life of an young native American man whose life is focused in his ethnic identity. Being an Indian he was brought up on a reservation. He however was constantly on travel. He lived in Seattle. His constant shifting between two cultures and two environments created a big question about his identity. In Tim O'Brien’s ‘The Things They Carried’ also we find a striving for identity. The dual personae that are found in the story often gets intertwined and even become indistinguishable. The narrator himself says that the identity that lives inside is what really matters (Napersteck, 1991). The real identity of the narrator is not always visible in the story. Locating the identity of the narrator is a big threat to the readers also. The identity of the narrator is quite confusing in all the stories in ‘The Things They Carried’. Critics and readers have always been puzzled by this. The narrator himself is unidentified in the title story. However in other stories we find the narrator as Tim O'Brien a fictional character. The author himself admits the identity strife evident in the story. The third-person narrator in the story is nameless or without identity. However as the stories are interrelated we can consider this third-person narrator as fictional Tim O'Brien. The story includes constant shift of identity. The central character or the narrator is striving for identity. Junot Diaz’s ‘How to date, a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie is yet another work in which we see a struggle for identity. Here the character is striving for her racial identity. Here th

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Techniques in Immunocytochemistry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Techniques in Immunocytochemistry - Essay Example After that, both slides were incubated in a medium containing diaminobenzidine (DAB). The sections were mounted with a minimal volume of the aqua mount and were then visualized under a light microscope. The tissue that was incubated with primary antibody was given a blue nucleus with a brown colored background; this indicates the presence of the target antigen (Griffins, 2011). Immunocytochemistry is a common laboratory technique that makes use of antibodies to target specific antigens in a cell via specific epitopes (an epitope is the part of an antigen that is recognized by antibodies). These bound antibodies can then be detected by using many different methods. The antigen is bound by a primary antibody, which is then amplified by use of a secondary antibody. The secondary antibody can be an enzyme that is conjugated. Immunocytochemistry binds antibodies that are specific reagents and allow unique detection of proteins and molecules. It is a valuable tool for the determination of cellular content from individual cells (Gillian et al., 2011). The tissue sections of the cardiac myosin were cut and fixed in acetone. After this, the slides were unwrapped and each slide was placed in a plastic petri-dish. The two plastic Petri-dishes were labeled; one was the control and the other the antibody. A piece of paper was put underneath each slide to form a humidity chamber. The tissue sections were blocked by adding two drops. A PBS buffer containing three percent BSA was introduced and then the tissue incubated at room temperature for five minutes. After that, the excess medium was tipped and the zone around the tissue section was wiped dry with paper toweling.  

Friday, November 15, 2019

Self Esteem Interventions for Adolescents

Self Esteem Interventions for Adolescents CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ‘’You cannot help men permanently by doing for them  what they could should do for themselves’’ Abraham Lincoln Adolescence is retrieved from Latin word ‘‘adolescere’’ which means ‘’to grow up’’. Total of 1.2 billion adolescents pass across the period between childhood and the adulthood around the world. Knowledge and Proficiency captured by adolescents have valuable implications for their growth. (Mary.C.Townsend,2010) Age group of adolescents is defined by many programmes. According to WHO, adolescence is defined as the period in human growth and development that occurs after childhood and before adulthood from the ages of 10 to19. According to Erik Erikson’s stages of human development, an adolescent’s age group between 13-19 years, Draft Youth Policy defined as the age group between 13-19 years; ICDS programme considered the age group of adolescent is 11-18 years; Internationally, the age group of adolescent is 10-19 years. (Carol, Bf,2000) UNICEF categorizes adolescence period in three levels: early adolescents (10-13 years of age), middle adolescents(14-16), late adolescents (17-19). It is a hassle period packed with major variations in physical growth, sexuality, cognitions, emotions and relate with others. It is a period of unearthing of self and relate to the world around the individual. (Stanton, B.F) The sudden and rapid physical changes that occur to make adolescents to aware of oneself, very sensitive and concern about their body changes. It makes the adolescent to feel inferior while compared with others. It causes the adolescents have Self hatredness and negative feelings about themselves. The alternative component for self hatredness is self confidence or self esteem. (Nangle, D.W,1993) Adolescent’s psychological well being self esteem can be interpreted as indicators of adaptive positive emotion is need for continuous developmental process in their life. Self Concept, Self Identity, Self Esteem Assertiveness are important developmental tasks for adolescents these are related to successful emotional regulation absence of psychological distress. If these indicators are diminished among adolescents means it will end up with psychological problems like depression, suicide, alcohol drug abuse. ( Zaff, et al., 2007). Self esteem is the confidence in one’s own worth or abilities and self confidence is a feeling of trust in their abilities. Appropriate level of self-esteem insists the individual to feel honourable, enjoying their efforts and independently express their desires (NASE, 2010). But self esteem changes can occur periodically. Self esteem level is declined at the age of 8-10 yrs. Self-esteem embraces the person’s beliefs and emotions such as triumph, pride shame. It refers to the extent to which an individual value themselves and has long been identified as an important predictor of adjustment to stress (Lauren,2012). There are many reason adolescents might have low self-esteem such as doing poorly at school, problems with parents or friends emotional changes. It can lead a adolescents to engage in reckless activities and antisocial behaviours including Drug Abuse, Eating Disorder , Depression, Conduct Disorder, Aggression Suicide. Low-self-esteem is also associated with feelings of being shy, worthlessness, inept, futile, fragile and defective in nature. So they are affected by negative attitude and decline to recognize their potential, fear about criticism and take compliments negatively and are afraid to take up their own responsibilities and fear of expressing their own opinion. (Coopersmith.S, 2005) (Gibby and Gibby, 1967) shows that the adolescents have the feeling of worthless means, it can end up with depressing features and depression generally inhibits the student’s academic performance. As stated by Deborah L. Downs (1999) â€Å"People who feel worthy, able and competent are more likely to achieve their goals than those who feel worthless, impotent and incompetent’’. It also reveals that academic gain increases the level of self-esteem among adolescents. So the students level of self esteem will enhance successful academic achievement. Similarly, poor academic performance will decrease the adolescent’s self-esteem. So many problems are common among adolescent’s period. Many interventions are used to improve the adolescents well being self esteem. One of the intervention is assertiveness training. Assertiveness is an ability to express openly and directly, Judging their feelings and pinpointing their strengths and weakness give respect to self and others.Assertiveness comprises a multilateral aspects of human expression including behaviour, cognition, and affect. Behaviourally assertive persons are able to express their emotions, foster their goal and built favourable interpersonal relationships aptly handle with both positive and negative emotional feelings. (Richard,F.R, 2008) Assertiveness Skill consists of ability to perform compatible and positive behaviour, make people to deal more efficiently with regular needs and tasks. The above skills contribute to development of adolescent’s mental health as well as physical health when encounter with realities of life and empowering them to perform beneficial activities for protecting self. (Fodor,I.G.1992) Assertiveness Skills include Assertive communication, interpersonal skill, self-conscious, emotional stability and coping skills. It is a solution for socio-psychological problems in a community like substance abuse, domestic and social violence, child abuse, and suicide. It equips the individual to manage anger, aggressiveness, disappointment and step to forward to achieve their personal goals without damage to others’ right. (Feti et al, 2006) Assertiveness training is intended to assist the individual to change their self image, improve individual’s assertive behaviour , convey the individual’s appropriate emotions and to build self- confidence. The use of this training is to enhance adolescent’s self concept, lowered self-abasement and improved self esteem. Positive consequences of this training among students are to increase self- possession, liberty and rationality especially in the areas of personal and psychological health as well as sociable behaviours. (Jayne, et al 1983) Assertiveness training programmes are designed to increase an individuals assertive behaviour and self esteem. It helps an individual to modify their negative view of oneself and also establish their self confidence. It is not a restorative practice, even though it aids to teach an individual on how to assert themselves despite the coercion and burden exist from the world. ( Stack,C Deville,J. 1983) Taylor et al., (2002) have explored that interconnection between assertiveness, self esteem and mental health among adolescence and have establish certain factors which impact assertive behaviour and self esteem. The factors are culture, self-esteem, psychological distress , depression, risk behaviour and gender. It also reveals that boys are having increased level of self esteem, assertiveness independency when compared to girls. NEED FOR STUDY The world population trends 2012 reveals that world’s adolescent population is 7.06 billion. India has the largest population of adolescents around the world. Current PopulationofIndiain 2012 is estimated to be 1.22 billion. Out of which 243 million individuals are in the age group of 10-19 years (UNICEF, 2012). Children may undergone decline in self esteem during teenage period which is a critical transition period for adolescents. Self esteem level is declined at the age of 8-10 yrs. Girls experience this decline in the age of group 12yrs whereas in teen boys, the decline of self esteem usually embark on the age of 14. Adolescents with high self-esteem consider themselves as desirable and equal to other peers. Those who have low level of self esteem persistently experiences self-rejection, self-dissatisfaction and loathing for oneself. (Youth Risk Behaviour Survey, 2007) International Journal of Research Development of Health estimated about the common adolescent problems related to low self esteem. It describes as follows: EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS : Fear and concern about future career 85.6% Lack of concentration 46.7% Not getting good marks 24.2% Parents are interpreted in career choice 23.4% PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS : Anxiety 44.3% Depression 26.4% Excess concern about physical appearance/IQ19.3% Day dreaming 23.2% Suicidal thoughts 10.3% National Report on State of Self-Esteem, explained that low self-esteem is a major impact on adolescent’s life it invades every aspect of human’s life including self image, performance in school and establish rapport with friends and family members. 75% of teen girls with low level of self-esteem narrated that they are engaged in negative activities such as intimidation, smoking, or alcohol abuse when feeling negative view about themselves. 25% of young girls with low level of self esteem engaged in risky behaviour such as injuring themselves , bullying and disordered eating. Most of the research studies proved that there is a significant increase (72%) of body dysmorphia disorder among teenage boys. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a psychological problem, in which the affected individual is excessively worried about their physical structure. Adolescent boys may prone to over exercising, binge eating, eating disorder (anorexia nervosa bulimia) and drug abuse. It is described that about 45% of adolescents in western countries are unhappy with their physical structure. (Webster,H.M,1999) Covington (1989) reported that adolescent girl’s self-esteem is lower than that of boys, and adolescence has been identified as a problematic period for low self-esteem also he concluded that there is a positive relationship exist between self esteem achievement score. Low self-esteem can be improved through many ways and that instruction can lead to better academic achievement. So adolescent’s efficiency to achieve personal goals have been found to have a major influencing factor on academic achievement. Low self-esteem can be a foremost endangering factor in psychological and emotional health problems such as suicide, depression, substance abuse, violent behaviour inappropriate social behaviours include arguing, defiant, or being brutal to others and being stubborn or irritable. One of the main factor in teen promiscuity is self-esteem. ( Beverley,K.M Donna,R.W , 1996 ) When a adolescent has little or no self-confidence means the adolescents may use sex as a complimenting factor to improve their self confidence. Around one million adolescent girls become pregnant per year throughout the world. Low self-esteem is a precursor to involve in premarital sexual relationships it’s sensible for youngster’s pregnancy. It concluded that self-esteem decreases, attitude towards sex become more permissive. These above mentioned factors may be a alternative indicators of low level of self esteem, meanwhile they represent distressed emotional and mental health. (Chris,H.2010) So Adolescent period is a critical period to have low self esteem negative emotions about themselves. There are so many interventions were formulated to increase self esteem among adolescents. Assertiveness training is one of the skill to modify self hatredness , negative emotions low self esteem. (Michel, F.2008) Assertiveness training assists the individual to achieve fulfilment without exploit the rights of others. As a result, it is more convenient to help the students to enroll assertive behaviour and also it helps the students to face problems or criticism during their life. Assertiveness is a tool for expressing their opinion confidently and a way of saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in a pertinent way. An assertive individual impacts, pay attention, confers and express their opinion, willingness and desires without violating the rights of others.( Erogul, C.R, 2009) Assertiveness training can be an effective part of treatment for many conditions, such as Depression, Social Phobia, Stress, Violent behavior and Substance Abuse. Assertiveness training can also improve the person’s interpersonal skills and increased sense of self-respect. It is conceptualized as a highly structured behavioural component that promote the replacement of inhibiting behaviour with socially appropriate, expressive, and outgoing behaviour. The basic assumption is that every adolescent crews their basic human rights and the aim of the assertiveness training is to instruct the individual to raise up for their rights without encroaching the rights of others. (Power,F.C.2009) It helps the adolescents to, Formulate guidelines for improving assertive behavior. Improve awareness about their emotional feelings to other people’s behavior. Give direction to handle the aggressive behavior. Increase an efficiency to get their point across effectively whilst improve an understanding of other’s feelings. ( Cambell,N.2006 ) The student researcher personally experienced many adolescent girls and boys having problems of low self esteem during her Life Skill Training Programme. For this reason, the student researcher conducts this study among adolescents and implements assertiveness training for improving their assertive behavior and level of self esteem

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Cause and Effects of Protestant Reformation

Major Causes and Effects of the Protestant Reformation There were several causes of the Protestant Reformation that effected society, politics, and religion in Europe during the 16th century. In my opinion, the immediate cause that started the reformation was Martin Luther’s act of posting the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral in the Roman Empire. Luther was unhappy with the Catholic Church, and posted the Theses due to the sale of indulgences that was going on to raise money for the renovation of St.Peter’s cathedral from people who wished that their souls go from purgatory to heaven. Luther believed that an indulgence was justified for a person’s wrongdoing. By selling indulgences, the Church was giving forgiveness to people who were not sorry for the sins they had committed. Luther posted the Theses in order to debate the sale of indulgences because he was worried for the people’s souls. Although Luther’s original intentions were to reform the Church of its corruption and greed, it resulted in a split between Protestants and Catholics. The effect that this had on religion was huge.People began to question the oppression of the Church and see it for the manipulative organization which it was, wanting complete control of the population. In turn, people challenged the Church’s authority, and it eventually lead to people freeing themselves from the constraints of the Church as a whole. This made each man individually answerable himself to God. While Luther’s Theses was the immediate cause of the Reformation there were several other causes also. Another major cause was the invention of the printing press and the translation of the Bible to English.John Wycliff translated the Bible to English so that those who could not read Latin could interpret for themselves what the Bible had said. He believed that the Church was entirely too wealthy, and that they were taking advantage of those that had to rely on the Church for Bible translation and guidance. I believe that the printing press allowed for more common people to be able to purchase books. Before the printing press Monks had to recopy books themselves by hand. It also allowed for mass production which put the Bible and other literature in the hands of a much larger audience.The effects on society were that common people were getting more educated on their own, and didn’t need the Church for guidance to run their lives. It also encouraged more people to learn how to write because there was a wider market for their words and opinions. Religion became more accessible to the common people. This allowed for people to come up with their own opinions on the translation of the Bible. The people began to challenge the Church’s authority because they no longer needed a Priest to translate to them. This would end up causing the Catholic Church to lose power.The next major cause of the Protestant Reformation was the creatio n of Lutheranism and the Lutheran Church. The Lutheran Church changed the entire culture in Europe. It caused society as a whole to live more wholesome lives by cutting down on sinful acts and criminal offenses. The Church began to draw the line on what was acceptable and what was not. People began to live more holy lives. Since religion had so much to do with the government and politics at the time, it affected how governments had to be run because they could no longer pay off the Church to get their way.This caused a major political effect on the Catholic Church. Power struggles began to influence how rulers would deal with the Church. Luther’s opposition to the financial practices of the Catholic Church fell on welcome ears even though any religion from the religion that was practiced by the majority of citizens was considered very dangerous. Many local authorities realized that by adopting Lutheranism and ridding themselves of Catholicism that they could seize Church prop erty and avoid payment of Church taxes.When Charles V signed the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, it allowed local princes to determine the religion of their area and declare their political and financial independence from the Catholic Church. Although there were many causes and effects of the Protestant Reformation, I believe that these are the most influential causes and effects of society, politics, and religion in Europe during the 16th century. Works Cited Duiker, William J. , Spielvogel, Jackson J. â€Å"World History Seventh Edition Volume II Since 1500† Wadsworth, 2013. Print.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Incident Analysis and Development Plan Essay

In my previous assignments I have attempted to shed some light on the 3 capabilities which I have identified; which were namely the Leadership skills, Knowledge skills and the Interpersonal Management skills. Each of these 3 skills is crucial for a good manager and each holds its own significance in the building of a solid character. For the purpose of this research paper, I will be concentrating on the Leadership and Interpersonal Management skills upon which I have already talked about before. Harnessing these two characteristics would help growth on the individual level and gives an insight into a person’s overall character as viewed from some external source. Incident Analysis Leadership is a value arousing skill (Heifetz, 1994). Recalling any such moment where I have taken the mantle of leadership I would most definitely have to quote of my academic experiences. Groups and teams are a fact of life during one’s academic years and in said groups and teams there are often conflicts arising which without the presence of a team leader, lead to failed deadlines, substandard work quality and overall unpleasantness among team members (Maister, 2002). I can clearly recall the last time I was part of a group and it was in said group that I got a chance to play the role of the team leader. The decision of me being team leader arose due to my past experience in the topic and when the time came to choose the leader from amongst the team-mates I had the expertise in the subject. Even though I was not experienced much in any leadership position, I was able to do a sufficient job as the group leader and it made me appreciate the tough job that it is to lead people towards a single goal so as to make the achievement a shared vision (Purpose of Leadership, 1997). However, one thing I learned was that Leadership is never static as the role of a leader keeps changing in modern times and anybody who has a proficiency in some skill would take on the leader role when work related to his area of specialization arose. Without any leadership there would hardly be any sense of where the team was headed and it would be meaningless progressing further (Kelly, 2007). Interpersonal skills are also very important in recent times as people of every walk of life have to interact with others to get their jobs done. Previously it was the belief that some jobs required very little interaction with other individuals, such as finance related jobs and other desk jobs where the employees would have minimal socializing (Hayes, 2002). But now the field has changed with people interacting with others for the exchange of knowledge, and for socializing purposes. An incident regarding where I had to demonstrate my interpersonal skills arose when while arranging for a charity event for which friends needed help, I had to visit different markets and deal with numerous people over getting sponsors and getting arrangements done. Through the course of this excursion I had to interact with numerous people and demonstrate communication skills which involved interacting with people at all levels, such as common laborers and store owners. This feature of interacting with people at all levels is beneficial in the sense that it helps later to impress employers (Seneca, 2001). Through the course of interacting with people I was able to get some good contacts that would come in fruitful for future use while also overcoming my dread of speaking to strangers and becoming more comfortable talking to people (Hargie & Dickson, 2003). Self Assessment Measuring one’s leadership skills, one must first recognize the types of leaders that exist. There is some argument as to whether there are 6 types or 7 types of leaders but personally I prefer to side with the 7 types argument. Based on 5 criteria leaders are placed into the types of the transformational leader, the enforcer, the deal maker, the administrator, the visionary, the serial entrepreneur and the spin doctor (Taffinder). The five factors upon which leaders are determined are: impose context, have conviction, generate critical mass, challenge and change and they make and take risks. With respect to the definitions provided, I would rank myself as an Enforcer. This is due to the fact that I am risk averse when groups are concerned and tend to stick to tested and tried guidelines. I am highly confident when taking actions and try to motivate team members in a manner that they have the feeling to achieve something (Brill & Barth, 2008). Â  I avoid taking unnecessary risks since the responsibility of leading a team in my opinion does not permit one the opportunity to take risks. If the risk pays off that’s well and good, but if the risk does not, then the leader is responsible for the outcome of events. This responsibility I believe takes away the liberty that a leader should have and should make him more serious towards leading his followers to attaining the goal (Ball, 2003). Judging anyone’s interpersonal skills is not so easy as it involves feedback from external sources. When others tell one how well they are performing, then one can be any statement regarding the success or failure of it. I would say that I am sufficiently endowed with my interpersonal skills. I would come to the conclusion taking into account the success rate when dealing with others. I have often had to conduct affairs with other external groups and so far I would say that I have done a very good job in carrying out interpersonal dealings. Researchers suggested that self analyzing when related to interpersonal skills should be avoided by researchers since the judgement would always be biased and the answer would be uninfluenced in very rare case (Rubin, Palmgreen, Sypher, & Beatty, 2004). This goes back to the point mentioned that since people are unaware as to most of what they do, determining the efficiency of their success in Interpersonal Communication is very hard to do. A concept known as Self Monitoring usually leads to greater success in determining a person’s interpersonal skills. Self Monitoring is a trait exhibited by famous good public speakers, as they were very receptive of their audiences and could adapt their presentation as per the response from the audience. Many politicians such as Bill Clinton for example have been reported to have strong Self Monitoring skills. Viewing myself through outside eyes I have surmised that in the short time that I have become more pro active in interacting with others, I would say that I am quite successful in interacting with people and can easily carry forward a conversation and can entertain and communicate with others effortlessly (Corbin, Corbin, & Lindsey, 2007). Â  If compared to the extent required in the managerial world and professional world, I would have to say that the skills I possess are somewhere between acceptable and need slightly more improvement. Since leadership is a situational issue, with leadership sometimes being given and other times not, only time can tell how well one has performed. Some situations require more insight and expertise whereas others are relatively simple as all you have to do is inspire your team and it successfully finishes the task on its own (Drucker, 1995)I have usually encountered the former as I haven’t yet witnessed any intense leadership role where I’d have to make decisions which would lead to greater consequences. Interpersonal skills are essential for any business activity and comparing it to the market levels I would say that some improvement, or refinement, is needed. Even though I am not hopeless with my interpersonal skills, it is still a far away from being absolutely perfect. I believe I possess enough skills to at least get the basic jobs done. Development Plans To improve upon my interpersonal skills, I have decided to listen to the suggestions stated. Smiling more often when talking to others, being more appreciative of others comments, paying more attention to others, practicing active listening (applying stuff that I have learnt through listening to others), bringing people together, trying to resolve conflicts, communicating early, and in a humorous manner, trying to see other people’s perspectives and avoiding complaining are some measures that I plan to adopt in order to improve my interpersonal skills (All Business). Following these tips I plan to become more popular in crowds and become more receptive to others when interacting with them. These tips would help me in making a more favorable impression in front of others and become a popular and pleasurable person to talk to. And that in turn would make communicating with others more easier for me and more often. Currently what I’m lacking due to inexperience with interacting with others would be resolved if I strictly follow these mentioned tips. To develop my leadership style I must first note where I fall behind other successful leaders, and in this case, I have identified that I am highly risk averse and in return wind up hindering group from reaching its full potential. Taking more risks, but with the consent and full information being provided to the group so that they can give their feedback as well, I will try to move towards becoming a Transformational Leader who not only gets the job done, but inspires the followers to think of the goals as their goals as well and have a combined motivation towards the job as well. Conclusion Leadership and interpersonal skills are very important for today’s managers as it is the manager’s job to get the tasks done while keeping a strong healthy relationship between all levels of the employees (Koellner, 2002). Currently I am more than capable of handling the simple situations which may arise on a day to day basis, but to actually handle situations which may affect a larger scale, I need to work harder to build my skills so as to become a Transformational leader (Argyris, 1976), who is the best type of flexible leader, and to have good links which can only be forged if the interpersonal relations I have with others are good. Without strong interpersonal skills, no one can actually get the full whole hearted support from others. A person should seek external opinions to actually gauge where he is standing since these are inherent qualities and people are not qualified enough to correctly identify their skills. References All Business. (n.d.). Ten Ways to Improve Your Interpersonal Skills. Retrieved April 28, 2009, from All Business: http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/careers-career-development/11134-1.html Argyris, C. (1976). Increasing leadership effectiveness. R.E Krieger. Ball, J. (2003). Managing People. Retrieved April 28, 2009, from http://www.accountancy.com.pk/articles.asp?id=54 Brill, F. S., & Barth, R. (. (2008). Leading and Learning. Stenhouse Publishers. Corbin, C., Corbin, C. B., & Lindsey, R. (2007). Fitness for Life. Human Kinetics. Drucker, P. F. (1995). The Practice of Management. Harper Collins. Hargie, O., & Dickson, D. (2003). Skilled interpersonal communication. Routledge. Hayes, J. (2002). Interpersonal skills at work. Routledge.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The imagery that Soyinka Essay Example

The imagery that Soyinka Essay Example The imagery that Soyinka Paper The imagery that Soyinka Paper Using the poems Telephone Conversation By Wole Soyinka and Nothing Said by Brenda Agard explain how the poets convey and challenge the message in their poems. Also compare the similarities and differences. Both Telephone Conversation and Nothing Said can be recognised from the outset as poems reflecting the injustice bestowed upon black British citizens in the late 20th century. Each poem contains material for protest, and displays a point the narrator believes strongly in, due to their black origin, however, both poems reflect upon different experiences. Whilst Telephone Conversation exhibits the difficult situation in which many black men found themselves when seeking accommodation, Nothing Said talks of a tragic disaster that occurred in 1981, affecting the entire black community. Both poems deal with colour racism in a separate, yet effective, manner and are compelling in their own individual way. As the title suggests, Wole Soyinkas poem is a Telephone Conversation between a Black African man and a white landlady. The title clearly shows that the poem is about speech and communication, and, throughout, Soyinka demonstrates the frustration of the black man when seeking somewhere to live and facing racial abuse. This is a typical incident that confronted many black British citizens when seeking accommodation, and Soyinka obviously wants the reader to relate to this experience. The poem is presumably set in London, with the narrator pleading his case from within a red telephone box, feeling quite outraged at the unjust comments which face him. The opening lines of the poem are direct and straightforward,The price seemed reasonable, location indifferent. The dismissive attitude in the opening lines is mirrored in the landladys character, showing ambiguity in Soyinkas writing. The landlady, much like the location, is indifferent and shows no compassion toward the African man. Sadness is experienced on behalf of the narrator, as he is treated dismissively by the landlady and is made to feel a sense of shame in his black African origins. He tells us Nothing remained but self confession, when in fact he should be allowed to celebrate he roots, not feel forced to confess to his origins. Repetition within the poem helps to reiterate points and place emphasis upon the awful situation that the narrator finds himself. Silence. Silence of pressurised good-breeding. The silence, which Soyinka emphasises at this point, is that of the landlady, as she coldly accepts the information that her proposed tenant is black. Her silence allows the reader to sympathise with the black narrators awkward situation, and creates a negative image of the landlady. Her pressurized good-breeding shows that she is struggling to be polite due to the pressure and shock upon hearing the African mans news. Madam I hate a wasted journey-I am African. The imagery that Soyinka uses to describe the landlady allows the reader to envisage her through the black mans mind. He describes her as Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled cigarette-holder pipped This shows that he imagines her to be upper class and glamorous: a stereotypical image, displaying prejudice. This is perhaps a point that Wole Soyinka is inadvertently trying to demonstrate within Telephone Conversation; that prejudice is becoming more predominant within modern society. Soyinka uses capital letters to emphasise the landladys questions, ARE YOU LIGHT? OR VERY DARK? and the use of ellipses helps heighten the feeling of disgust at the landladys rude and arrogant nature, by accentuating her pauses. The narrator is depicted as incredulous, and the comment I had not misheard reflects the readers own thoughts of astonishment at this appalling display of racism. The shock of the narrator is exhibited throughout the following sentences with Soyinka commenting on the surroundings, describing the buttons on the payphone as if contemplating ending the call. Button B. Button A. A clever play on words compares the conversation to the childhood game hide and seek, Stench of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak. Perhaps this reference to childhood refers to the immaturity and insensitivity of the landlady, which the black African would have hoped he would no longer encounter in adult life. The confused narrator observes his surrounding, with Wole Soyinka using repetition again to portray his bewilderment. Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered omnibus squelching tar. Finally a realisation hits the black African, It was real! This short sharp sentence captures the narrators disbelief over the previous lines as he is hit with reality, causing the reader to pity the hopeless situation he is now left in. The narrator becomes aware of how rude he is being by leaving the landladys question unanswered, showing his good manners in comparison to her rudeness and ignorance. The landlady once again questions the black African, this time sarcastically described as considerate, whilst her racist and insensitive attitude remains the same.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

HIH Auditing Report

HIH Auditing Report Free Online Research Papers As the second largest insurance company in Australia, HIH Group was constituted by more than 240 subsidiaries at one time. It operated within 16 countries, covering the business over five continents. However, HIH went into liquidation in March 2001, with an estimated shortfall of $5.3 billion. The unexpected collapse was due to various reasons and we will focus on four aspects in our analysis: 1. Reinsurance problem 2. True and fair view compliance with accounting standards 3. Insolvency assessment for director and auditor 4. Auditor independence Implications of HIHRC Report In the HIHRC Report, Justice Owen noted that fraud was not a major contributing factor to the collapse. We will identify the implications of this assessment from both accounting and auditing perspectives. In terms of accounting, HIH provisioning policy did not provide for an adequate prudential reserve margin in respect of its future claim obligations, but rather it sought reinsurance to cover the risk. The reinsurance arrangement would actually be loans, and would possibly reduce the reported profit and increase the liability, which would accordingly result in increased D/A ratio. Moreover, there is a doubt that whether the Accounting Standards fully reflect the true and fair view of the financial statement. The reported assets of HIH, such as good will, deferred acquisition costs and future tax benefit were not serviceable for assessing the real financial position. They exist only in accounting, and do not represent anything that necessarily can be converted into cash. Whereas, these capitalisations of expenses and ‘bookkeeping debits’ all complied with Accounting Standards. As a result, auditors are on a near impossible mission to satisfy the joint criteria of comply ing with the accounting standards and attesting to the truth and fairness of financial statements. Hence, someone suggest that the true and fair criterion should override the Accounting Standards. In respect of auditing, the main issue is auditor independence. Firstly, three former partners of Andersen sat on the board of HIH. Secondly, HIH dealt with the audit committee and non-executive directors. Thirdly, Andersen received a high proportion of non-audit fees from HIH. So it can be concluded that auditor independence was compromised. Besides, auditors were lack of the knowledge of the specific insurance industry, and negligently ignored the contingent liability which may become future claims, thus increasing D/A ratio. Issue of Insolvency: Director’s Duty A company is insolvent if it is unable to pay all its debts as they fall due. According to the Corporations Act, directors have to assess whether their company is solvent and to make a declaration of solvency in its annual report. Moreover, directors also have the duty to prevent insolvent trading. In principle, there are two major tests which are cash flow test and balance sheet test generally used to determine solvency. Under cash flow test, the entity is regarded as insolvent when it is unable to pay its debts as they become due. The cash on hand, and the level of debts incurred are some important elements to consider when cash flow test is employed. While the balance sheet test requires comparing entity’s asset to its liability. If the book value of the assets is less than its liabilities, the company is insolvent. In HIH case, there was an under estimation of liabilities, the large amount of investment and transactions reduced the cash flow within the company. Moreover, the assets of HIH were recorded at historical cost, and some were not serviceable for assessing solvency. Although there were several indicators suggesting the possibility of insolvency, the director of HIH ignored them and consequently failed to detect the company’s possible insolvent status. Issue of Insolvency: Auditor’s Duty As part of the audit planning, auditor is responsible for tracking the client’s solvency. Auditor is responsible to express a true and fair view on a going concern basis of a company’s financial statements. ASA 570 Going Concern requires the auditor to assess the risk of going concern problems at the planning stage and again during the final review when forming an opinion. AUS 708.02 also specifies the auditors’ responsibilities to consider the appropriateness of going concern principle as a basis for preparing financial reports. Since 1992, HIH started to implement the deed of cross guarantee to reduce group financial and reporting costs. Under a cross guarantee, only the ultimate holding company’s directors of the group are required to prepare consolidated financial statements and provide an annual solvency declaration. This increases the difficulties for auditor to assess the solvency of an individual company within a group setting due to the absence of subsidiaries’ financial statements and non-disclosure of market-sensitive information, especially when they cross guarantee each other’s debts. HIHRC observed, with a deed of cross guarantee in place, HIH had netted-off related company assets and liabilities in several APRA annual returns, thus treating its insurance subsidiaries as if they were part of a singular corporate group enterprise. Justice Owen commented on the first step in determining the state of insolvency of HIH would be to identify the corporate entity that has incurred the debt or debts in question. It would also be necessary for auditor to make a more detailed audit planning procedure and assess each insurance company within the HIH group continually to determine its solvency status. Moreover, separate legal entity perspective should be adopted in assessing solvency rather than group enterprise perspective. Auditor Independence There was a close relationship between HIH executives and its auditors, which may give cause for concern for the auditing profession in independence aspect. An auditor must be independent both in fact and in appearance is fundamental to an effective audit. However, an auditor cannot be truly independent when they are being remunerated by the client. In HIH case, three former partners of Andersen, Cohen, Fodera and Gardener had been present on HIH board since December 1998. In addition, Andersen’s presentations to the audit committee were discussed with HIH management prior to audit committee meetings. The closed business relationship involves a commercial interest and may create self-interest and intimidation threats, which is a specific threat to independence. Moreover, the pressure on Andersen partners to maximise non-audit fees was to the potential detriment of their professional obligations. Therefore, the close relationship between HIH and Andersen would primarily contribute to a perception that Andersen was not independent of HIH. In order to improve auditor’s independence, Sarbanes Oxley Act (2002) was created to enforce auditing independence for public companies and to inspect auditing operations while CLERP 9 (2002) was issued to oversight the auditing profession, auditor liability and independence etc. thus promoting auditor independence. It has been proposed that the appointment of the auditor should be made through a regulatory agency, not by the company receiving the audit. Conclusion As analysis above, the failure of HIH raises both accounting and auditing issues which alarms the directors and auditors to meet their duties and fulfill their responsibilities. This case also gives an insight view of the integral nature of accounting and auditing, and how the profession and regulators could facilitate the reforms to improve auditor’s independence as well. Reference 1. Australia’s Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) 2. Deeds of cross guarantee, ASIC Class Order 98/1481: Wholly Owned Entities, retrieved 18th May, 2009 from csaust.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=SubmissionsTemplate=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfmContentID=7803 3. F. Clarke and G. Dean, â€Å"Corporate Officers’ Views on Cross Guarantees and other Proposals to Lift the Corporate Veil† Companies Securities Law Journal, August, 2005, pp, 299-320. 4. F. Clarke and G. Dean (2007), Indecent Disclosure: Gilding the Corporate Lily, Cambridge University Press, pp, 94-180 5. F. Clarke, G. Dean and K. Oliver (2003) Corporate Collapse, Cambridge University Press, Chapter 15 6. Financial reporting relief for wholly-owned entities under Class Order 98/1418, retrieved 18th May, 2009 from asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byheadline/Relief+for+wholly-owned+entities+under+Class+Order+98-1418?openDocument 7. HIHRC Report, 2003, HIH Royal Commission, April 2003, Volume1 Volume3 8. Leung, Coram and Cooper (2009) Modern Auditing Assurance Services, 4th Edition, Wiley, pp79-661 9. Worrells, 2003, Determining solvency and insolvent trading, 26th April, 2009 from worrells.net.au/library/insolvency/Determining%20Solvency%20and%20IT.pdf Research Papers on HIH Auditing ReportIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesDefinition of Export QuotasOpen Architechture a white paperLifes What IfsThe Project Managment Office SystemTwilight of the UAWResearch Process Part OneStandardized TestingEffects of Television Violence on Children

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Is assured participation in the political decision-making process for Essay

Is assured participation in the political decision-making process for ethnic groups in conflict (power-sharing) likely to help prevent ethnic violence or merely entrench inter-ethnic tensions - Essay Example , who are responsible for making decisions, how the other players in the field make their voices heard and determine how to account for what is rendered. The big question in this paper is whether assured participation in political decision- making process helps to prevent ethnic conflicts or not. Governing a divided society in the line of religion and ethnicity is a difficult process that requires patience and community participation in the decision-making processes. The people in society should participate in political decision making to contribute to the choice of their leaders, economy, and other important crucial matters that affect their country. Encouraging community participation could also be a challenge especially where the leaders governing the states are hated by specific ethic groups because of their tribes or religion because they could aim at opposing the government in most of the decisions made just to prove that they do not support the leaders. There are conflicts in various countries around the globe because of governance based on ethnicity and religion that have made the citizens divided and confused since they are at the middle of the tensions where they are killed and tortured because of the decisions made by their governments. The scope of this paper is to discuss if assured participation in political decision-making processes for ethnic groups in conflict is likely to help prevent ethnic violence or merely entrench inter-ethnic tensions in the various societies using normative arguments that are theory-based. Sahni and Medury (2003) confirmed that involvement of the community members in political decision-making processes is a necessary and desired part to ensure the development of activities in the society. Participation in political decision-making enables the government to tie various programs to the citizens, which could make the people live in peace and harmony or lead to ethnic crisis. Allowing the citizens to participate in political

Friday, November 1, 2019

The Optimum Cultivation and Establishment Methods for Growing Oilseed Literature review

The Optimum Cultivation and Establishment Methods for Growing Oilseed Rape In a Various Soil Conditions within the UK - Literature review Example This research will begin with the statement that as sustainability and the greening of the ecosystem become very important to global agencies and nations, the focus of most countries have turned to the role that plants can plan in achieving this goal. But as important as plants help in the greening of the solar system, they have also become very important sources of food for both plants and animals, including humankind. Plants have actually accounted for major parts of the export made by most countries in the form of raw edible food, processed wood, refined products, and drugs. In the United Kingdom (UK), the role that various plants play in the socio-economic wellbeing of the country cannot be underestimated. It is not surprising that studies have continued to go on about the best ways by which various plants and crops can be well researched into to find the best practices, conditions, and establishments under which they are best cultivated for optimum output. As part of secondary d ata collection for the research work, the review of related literature is taken seriously to know what has already been done in this field and the gaps that exist in the literature. This way, the best ways by which this research can fill the gaps can be rightly identified. The review will, therefore, focus on the background of the crop, the relevance of it to the UK and the best practices in its cultivation. The oilseed rape crop is known by many names including rape, Brassica napus, and sometimes just called rape. The origin of the seed in the UK is raced to the 14th century when the bright yellow flowering was first brought to the European region. The oilseed rape crop belongs to the family Brassicaceae, commonly known as the mustard or cabbage family. The crop belongs to the order Brassicales and genus Brassica. Since arriving in the U.K., the plant has been known as a very important crop, which has been cultivated over the years since the 14th century. In one study, FAOSTAT argu ed that the oilseed rape is one of the longest most adored plants to have been cultivated in the U.K. This emphasis is given to the plant because of the continuous attention it has received over the years for the need to maximize the production of the crop.