Ib Economics Commentary 1 - Microeconomics Essay - 807 Words

Commentary #1 Syllabus Section: Section 1: Microeconomics Word Count: 749 Date commentary was written: October 26, 2012 Date article was published: May 20, 2012 Rebecca Bundhun, (October 19, 2012) Cost of summer getaways hit as air ticket prices rise, The National, http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/tourism/cost-of-summer-getaways-hit-as-air-ticket-prices-rise The cost of an airline ticket can fluctuate tremendously based on a number of factors. The goal of airlines is to maximize their capacity by having the greatest number of passengers on all trips. This may however be difficult, as airlines pricing is not only dictated by their own operating costs and profit margins required but they have to†¦show more content†¦Although prices tend to be set by supply and demand, they are also exposed to externalities. An externality occurs when the actions of consumers or producers give rise to positive or negative side effects on other people, who are not part of these actions and whose interests are not taken into consideration. A perfect example of a negative externality is the rise of jet fuel. As a barrel of oil rises, the price of jet fuel also rises and consequently the price of an airline ticket also rises. Externalities can create a positive or negative demand or effect on a product or service. Price elasticity of demand is a term that helps us understand the measure of the responsiveness of the quantity demanded to changes in price. In general, if there is a large responsiveness of the quantity demanded, the demand is referred to as being elastic, if there is a small responsiveness, demand is inelastic. Airlines take advantage of the existence of inelasticity. Mr. D’Souza states in the article, â€Å"People are still flying. People traditionally plan these breaks, and regardless of the price, they fly. The demand is very, very high.† On the contrary, airlines understand price elasticity and use this well. They know that fare prices can be considered both elastic and inelastic based on the circumstance the traveler finds themselves in. Airlines study their client base, theirShow MoreRelatedEconomics IA: Microeconomics Commentary on Heathrow Slams Price Cap Put On Airline Fees Word count:700 Words   |  3 PagesEconomics IA: Microeconomics Commentary on Heathrow Slams Price Cap Put On Airline Fees Word count: 746 Michael Lee The article is about the government trying to control price of airlines of Heathrow Airport. CAA has set a price cap on the fee Heathrow Airport charges the airline firms, wishing that this will lead to lower price in the flights for consumers. Maximum price, also referred as price ceiling, is usually set by government to limit the seller pricing system to ensure a fair and reasonableRead MoreIb Economics Notes Grade 113816 Words   |  16 Pagessame rate as P. If %∆Plt;%∆Q, this good is called relatively elastic. If %∆Pgt;%∆Q, this good is called relatively inelastic. If %∆P=%∆Q, this good is called unit elastic. Determinants of the PED -gt;Things that tell us what the PED is originally. 1) availability of substitutes –the more substitutes a good has, the easier it is for consumers to switch products if the price changes EX: if one brand of T-shirt is more expensive, choose another brand. In other words, for T-shirts, a relatively smallRead MorePMCN Case Study3324 Words   |  14 PagesThe theory of economics does not furnish a body of settled conclusions immediately applicable to policy. It is a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique for thinking, which helps the possessor to draw correct conclusions. The ideas of economists and politicians, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual

Business Related Articles Free Essays

What does the network layer do? Where does it sit in relationship to the other four layers of our simplified network model? Network layer is the third layer of the OSI model. It performs switching and  routing by creating logical paths, known as  virtual circuits, for transferring data from  one node to another node. Routing and forwarding are the major functions of this layer. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Related Articles or any similar topic only for you Order Now It also performs other operations such as  addressing, internetworking, error handling,  congestion,  control and packet sequencing. It maintains the quality of service requested by the transportation layer. It determines how data are transferred between network devices. It Routes packets according to unique network device addresses and Provides flow and congestion control to prevent network resource depletion. The network layer provides the functional and procedural means of transferring variable length  data sequences from a source to a destination host via one or more networks while maintaining the  quality of service  and  error control functions. At this layer, the computer system engages in a dialogue with the network to specify the destination address and to request certain network facilities, such as priority   Network Layer consists of three sub layers: Sub network Access: This layer considers protocols that deal with the interface to networks, such as X. 25. Sub network Dependent Convergence: This layer is necessary to bring the level of a transit network up to the level of networks on either side. Sub network Independent Convergence: It handles transfer across multiple networks. The major Functions of the network layer are: Routing: The most outstanding function of network layer is routing which includes Moving data across a series of interconnected networks the network layer. At the network layer, the devices and software routines handles incoming packets from various sources, determines their final destination, and then transfers the data to their destination. Logical Addressing: Every communication device in a network of an logical address, which is also called as â€Å"layer three address†. The  Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer protocol which is the best known example of network layer and every machine consists of its own IP address. It manages the connectionless transfer of data one hop at a time, from end system to ingress router, to router to router, and from egress router to destination end system. It is not responsible for reliable delivery to a next hop, but only for the detection of eroded packets so they may be removed. Connection model: The OSI Network Layer protocol can be either connection-oriented, or connectionless. In general, the  TCP/IP Internet Layer supports only the connectionless Internet Protocol (IP). Message forwarding: This is the most important function of network layer. Since many networks are partitioned into sub networks and connect to other networks for wide-area communications, networks use specialized hosts, called gateways or  routers to forward packets between networks. Datagram Encapsulation: Network layer performs encapsulation of messages received from higher layers by placing them into  datagrams  which are also referred to as packets with a network layer header. Fragmentation and Reassembly: The major function of the network layer is transmitting messages down to the data link layer. Some data link layer technologies consist of certain limitations on the length of any message that can be sent. If the packet that the network layer wants to send is too large, the network layer has to fragment the packet before transmitting it to data link layer. It transmits each piece to the data link layer. The fragmented pieces are then reassembled once they arrive at the network layer on the destination machine. Handling and Diagnostics: At the network layer Special protocols are used to allow devices that are logically connected, or that are trying to route traffic, to exchange information about the status of hosts on the network or the devices themselves. How to cite Business Related Articles, Papers

Progress And Movement In America Essay Example For Students

Progress And Movement In America Essay Websters Collegiate Dictionary defines progress as to develop to a higher, better, or more advanced stage. In todays society, there are many views on the educational and economic progress of African Americans. They have encountered many stages during the civil rights movement such as Jim Crow Laws; and are now entrepreneurs; middle-class Americans, and some attend college. Despite this, presently, African American achievement has not been as significant since. The question at hand is that in modern times, is it progress or just purely movement? (Morrison) The Civil Rights Movement was a political, legal, and social struggle to gain full citizenship rights for black Americans and to achieve racial equality. The civil rights movement was first and foremost a challenge to segregation, the system of laws and customs separating blacks and whites that whites used to control blacks after slavery was abolished in the 1860s. During the civil rights movement, individuals and civil rights organizations challenged segregation and discrimination with a variety of activities, including protest marches, boycotts, and refusal to abide by segregation laws. Many believe that the movement began with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and ended with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, though there is debate about when it began and whether it has ended yet. The civil rights movement has also been called the Black Freedom Movement, the Negro Revolution, and the Second Reconstruction. (Encarta) Generally put, it was an effort to ensure African American entry into the White Society. Some of the most important goals of African American leaders during the civil rights movement were to gain voting rights, and to gain the right to be able to go to any institution they so chose without being denied service. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, felt that black people could prosper economically and educationally in the White Mans World if allowed the same opportunities as White Americans. Through events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery and the Woolworth Student Sit-In, African American rights has been almost totally acquired in modern times. Since the Civil War, much of the concern over civil rights in the United States has focused on efforts to extend said rights fully to African Americans. The first legislative attempts to assure African Americans an equal political and legal status were the Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1870, 1871, and 1875. Those acts gave African Americans such freedoms as the right to sue and be sued, to give evidence, and to hold real and personal property. The 1866 act was not active, and was reenacted in 1870 only after the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment. The fourth Civil Rights Act attempted to guarantee to the African Americans those social rights that were still withheld. It penalized innkeepers, proprietors of public establishments, and owners of public conveyances for discriminating against African Americans in accommodations, but was invalidated by the Supreme Court in 1883 on the ground that these were not properly civil rights and hence not a field for federal legislation. The 20th-century struggle to expand civil rights for African Americans has involved the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Congress of Racial Equality, the Urban League, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and others. Another struggle now is that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is indeed an act; not law. African Americans must indeed struggle to keep this right in the future. However, the 20th-century generation is lazy because a lot has been accomplished for us, and now we simply take a back seat for it all. Other views on this represent that African Americans now focus on accomplishing the miniscule things in life like fixing up the ride with dubs and a system. (Barnor) African Americans have achieved a lot since the Civil War. Unfortunately, the progress can be compared to an S curve, or a Learning Curve. At first, acceptance is slow. Fahrenheit 451 compared to the movie The Power of Essay It is then tested to make modifications. After a period, critical growth occurs; until the mature stage, where it is essential and mainstream. Has African American progress reached its mature stage? .

Yahoo Case Management Essay Example

Yahoo Case Management Essay Yahoo! is a digital media company that delivers digital content across the World Wide Web. Yahoo! operates across the globe reaching to the Americas, EMEA, and the Asia Pacific. They are headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA and currently employees 13,600 people at the end of the FY2010 year. Yahoo! ’s current mission is to connect people to their passions, their communities, and the world’s knowledge. Yahoo! rovide many different services to their users and a one stop place to browse the web, check email, look at the news, check current finances, and much more. They have a place for small businesses to keep track of emails and websites. Yahoo! gets most of their revenue through selling display and search advertising. Some of their current objectives and strategies are to provide their users with the most update and efficient information possible. They want their users to be happy and continue using their site to satisfy their needs. There are eleven people within Yahoo! s top management. Ross B. Levinsohn was named CEO after Scott Thompson resigned from his position as CEO. Thompson had fraudulent information on his resume and one of Yahoo! ’s third party member found it. Yahoo was in the process of suing Facebook for supposedly stealing patents from Yahoo!. Facebook is now countersuing Yahoo! , saying that Yahoo! was the one who stole the patents. Yahoo! ’s demographics stated that more men viewed Yahoo! than women. No matter what someone’s income was wasn’t a determinant of whether or not they used the site. The political and legal segments of the firm refer to the laws and regulations of companies that react in industries with competitor companies. These rules and regulations may be set within the firm by the Board of Directors or outside of the firm by government policies. Yahoo! ’s Board of Directors are the ones responsible for setting the standards for the company’s officers, directors, and employees. Yahoo! has a very strong competitive environment. Some of Yahoo! ’s direct competitors include: AOL Inc. , Google Inc. , Microsoft, Face book Inc. All of these companies compete in the Internet Service Providers industries. We will write a custom essay sample on Yahoo Case Management specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Yahoo Case Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Yahoo Case Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Each one of these companies may be in a similar industry but they each have different company beliefs. The threat of new entrants is relatively weak. Although the Internet does provide ease for anyone at any time to create their own website, for them to actually be compatible with Yahoo! there many entry barriers they would have to consider. Some of the opportunities that we found for this company included: increased mobile content consumption, increasing digital advertising, merging positions with AOL Inc. , a distribution strategy centered on using the popularity of social networks. Some of the threats included: the intense competition, decline in market share, increased dependence on advertising revenues exposed Yahoo! to business cycles. The number of users that access Yahoo! ’s many different applications is one of the biggest strengths that they have. This large customer base attracts many different companies looking to advertise on Yahoo! ’s websites. In the United States alone, Yahoo! attracts 187 million users. That is more that Google (176 million), Facebook (154 million), and AOL (114 million). Its company leads in 12 different online categories with Yahoo! Finance being one of the biggest ones. HISTORY Yahoo was found by David Filo and Jerry Yang, PhD candidate in electrical engineering at Stanford University, in February of 1994. It started as a hobby that began a new way that people communicated across the globe. They started making lists of their favorite links and spending more time on that than on their doctoral dissertations. Yahoo! is an acronym for â€Å"Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle†, but they both said they chose the name because of the definition of Yahoo! : â€Å"rude, unsophisticated, uncouth. † (Yahoo! History, 2012)Yahoo! had its first million hit in 1994. They knew they had a fast growing business, due to the heavy flow of traffic on their site. They met with many venture capitalists, until the met Sequoia Capital which is a â€Å"well regarded firm who has had many successful investments such as, Apple Computer, Atari, Oracle and Cisco Systems†. (Yahoo! History, 2012)Sequoia Capital agreed to invest in yahoo in April of 1995 and invested nearly $2 million in them. Once things began to look up they started look for a management team. Tim Koogle was their first hire and CEO. He was a veteran of Motorola and he was also an alumnus of Stanford University also with a degree in engineering. In April of 1996 they had a success IPO launch and had 49 employees to their company. Yahoo! is currently the leading global internet communications provider. It offers a broad network to over 345 million people worldwide. www. Yahoo!. com reaches out to audiences all across the globe; it is the No. 1 internet brand across the globe as well. Yahoo! is currently headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA with other offices in countries like Asia, Europe, Australia, and Latin America. During the year end of 2010 Yahoo! had a 2. 1% decrease in revenues compared to 2009. Yahoo! ’s operating profits had a 99. 8% increase over year 2009. Yahoo! ’s net profit for 2010 was $1,231. 7 million compared to $598 million in 2009. MISSION/OBJECTIVES/STRATEGIES Yahoo! ’s vision is to â€Å"deliver your world, your way. † They do that by using technology, insights, and intuition to create deeply personal digital experience that keep more than half a billion people connected to what matters most to them. Their mission is to connect people to their passions, their communities, and the world’s knowledge. Yahoo! s objective for their business to survive is to provide maximum services and quality to their users to be able to find what they are searching for on their site. Yahoo! needs to increase the amount of users that use their search engine and be able to provide quick services to their users. Yahoo! needs to focus on the important applications and be able to provide for the users who use their services. Yahoo! ’s strategies are to increase the number of sharing of content and services to be able to ensure their users are happy with their services. Yahoo! should also provide services for their users all across the globe. Industries/Products/Competition Yahoo! ’s main industry is internet information providers. They provide the world with a one stop place to be able to search the World Wide Web and keep a check with the latest news and finances. â€Å"Yahoo! ’s offerings include Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! groups, Yahoo! Answers, Flickr, and Connected TV. † (Business Discription, 2012) These provide a wide variety of communication and social services to users and small businesses. Yahoo! ’s key products and services include News, Email, Music, Video, TV, search services, local advertising, social networking and mobile applications. Most Yahoo! ’s services are free of charge but some of their offers do cost a small fee. Yahoo! ’s revenue is based off of their offerings. Yahoo! ’s free email is available so you can keep in touch with friends and family across the globe. Yahoo! offers a lot of services to different types of people globally. They have a place for your small business to be able to create and maintain a domain, an email, a website, and lastly a place where you can sell your products and services online to customers across the globe. Yahoo! is a great one stop shop for the latest news and weather. Yahoo! ’s top competitors are Google, MSN, and AOL. They have to keep up with the latest trends to be able to be the best. Unlike Google, Yahoo! offers many different services right on their homepage. You don’t have to search for the weather or news its right there on their homepage. Yahoo! is a great site to use when you just want the latest on what’s going on. Top Management There are seven employees on board for the top management position of the company Yahoo! Inc. The Interim Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Media are Ross B. Levinsohn. Levinsohn is accountable for all of the company’s digital media business, which include the strategy, partnerships, vision, engineering, and content structure for all of Yahoo! ’s properties and global experience. Michael J. Callahan is the Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel. In 2007, he became the executive vice president. Before he took on the role as the executive vice president he was served as the senior vice president. Callahan is in charge of the public policy and worldwide legal affairs. Callahan advises Yahoo! ’s board of directors on corporate and strategic governance issues. David Dibble also serves as one of the Executive Vice President and is also over the Central Technology Organization. Dibble job requirements is making sure Yahoo! up and running efficiently all over the world. He has to be make sure that the basic technology, information security and application management are running smoothing as well. He is also responsible for charting a clear transportation roadmap for Yahoo! maps and directions. Dibble is also required to make sure the performance of the site is running up-to-date too. David Filo is the co-founder and chief at Yahoo! Inc. Filo is from Louisiana and co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1994. He job requirements is to direct the industrial operations behind Yahoo! Inc. and is the key technologist. Filo takes credit for helping construct Yahoo! into the most vastly trafficked website and a popular name brand. Timothy R. Morse is the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President. Morse manages Yahoo! ’s finances, mergers and acquisitions and investor relations. Rich Riley became the American Executive Vice President in April of 2012. He handles all of the operations for consumers, partners, and advertisers in the American regions and all the go to market activities. Riley has been with the company for thirteen years and he was the created of the toolbar that we still use today. In 2009 he became the Senior Vice president and the Managing Director in Europe. Riley help Yahoo! back on track when it was down in the weakest region. Rose Tsou was the general manager in 2000 and got a promotion in April of 2007 to where she was is now as the Senior Vice President of the APAC region. Tsou duties are to manage Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Korea, India, and Taiwan. Tsou is on the board in New Zealand and Australia for the joint venture operations. In 2001, she help productively formed the internet brand with Taiwan. She helped with the formation of Wretch which is now one of the hottest blog and photo site. David Windley is the Chief Human Resources officer and the Executive Vice President. He is the team leader of the global human resource team. Windley is responsible for motivating the company’s global strategies with talent and culture and organization efficiency. Mark Morrissey is Senior Vice President of Core Platforms. He looks after the foundational platforms, technology and research to allow customers products and leverage of Yahoo! s data store. He is accountable for our display advertising, information and analytical platforms, consumer and global platforms, and the Yahoo! labs. Christophe Parcot is the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Yahoo! EMEA. He oversees all the go-to-market behavior and operations for consumers, partners, and advertisers in the EMEA area. He is responsible for all the sale s operations too. Shashi Seth is the Senior Vice President, Connections of business. He is responsible for all the company interactions with all of its 700 million users. The connections group is he responsible for Yahoo! Search, Mail, Flickr, IntoNow, Messenger, Answers, Groups, and the social bar. Current Issues One major issue involved with Yahoo! Inc. is dealing with the resigning of the Chief Executive Officer, Scott Thompson. He stepped down from his position on May 13, 2012 after only being the CEO for a short four month period. Thompson exaggerated his credentials he received from Stone Hill College. Thompson was the former PayPal president and was hired by Yahoo! in January of 2011. He was hired because Yahoo! as hoping that Thompson would help end the Web portal from struggling. On May 3, 2012, a principal shareholder with 5. 8% stake in Yahoo! , Daniel Loeb revealed that Thompson’s degree had fraudulent information. Loeb stated that Thompson had only received his accounting degree but not his computer science. Thompson leaving will be very costly for the company. Thompson will receive his annual base salary of $1 million, his hiring bonus of $1. 5 million in cash money and also $5. 5 million in stock. According to regulatory filings, he will also get an incentive equity award that is valued at $5 million. He is also entitled to compensation two times the amount of his annual salary. After the resigning of Thompson, this is the third CEO to be discharged from Yahoo! within the last eight months. Yahoo! Inc. might suffer a negative impact on its shareholder’s trust. Yahoo! is one of the biggest brand names out there but it has not been performing up to par. Even though Yahoo! is a big name brand, it is performing very inadequately within the last few years. Some of the biggest social networking sites have been taking over Yahoo! ’s market share. Yahoo! Inc. market share is dropping. It went down 2% points just since September. In September 2011 Yahoo! had about a 15. 5% market share of searches in the United States and now in the month of May 2012 it has dropped to 13. 5%. Since the market share has been declining for Yahoo! , Google and Bing have been gaining in market share. With the new CEO in office hopefully there will be some new changes into getting Yahoo! market share value back up to where it should be. With all the new changes Yahoo! is going through and Levinsohn is in office as the interim chief executive officer, he is faced with a big crisis. Levinsohn has to make the choice to sell some of the stake in Alibaba back to the internet company for seven billion dollars but Daniel Loeb will approve the transaction. Alibaba is one the largest internet based company where you can trade with other companies, shop, and it has a search engine based in China. Yahoo! China and Alibaba formed together in 2005. Some reports found that Yahoo! the company’s performance and graphics have been going downhill the past eight years. The company’s management problems are not helping. The internet traffic site has gone down . 7% within a year. The market cap is falling too. In the year of 2006 it a value at $54. 9 billion and now in 2012 it is $17. 26. In April of 2012 it was $18. 8. Yahoo! ’s revenue growth has been falling as low as -13. 20%. The expenses at Yahoo! keep rising and is over $1 billion where as it was just in the millions a couple of years back. Hopefully with all the new changes taking place Yahoo! Inc. can get back on its feet and get back where it use to be. Also another major issue going on with the company Yahoo! is their lawsuit with Facebook. Yahoo! is claiming that Facebook has stolen ten patent ideas from Yahoo!. The patents that Yahoo! s claiming that Facebook stole from them are: †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"U. S. Patent No. 6,907,566 Method and system for optimum placement of advertisements on a webpage, †¢U. S. Patent No. 7,100,111 Method and system for optimum placement of advertisements on a webpage, †¢U. S. Patent No. 7,373,599 Method and system for optimum placement of advertisements on a webpage, †¢U. S. Patent N o. 7,668,861System and method to determine the validity of an interaction on a network, †¢U. S. Patent No. 7,269,590Method and system for customizing views of information associated with a social network user, †¢U. S. Patent No. 7,599,935 Control for enabling a user to preview display of selected content based on another users authorization level, †¢U. S. Patent No. 7,454,509 Online playback system with community bias, †¢U. S. Patent No. 5,983,227 Dynamic page generator, †¢U. S. Patent No. 7,747,468 Contents consignment sale system and method for networking broadcasting, †¢U. S. Patent No. 7,406,501 System and method for instant messaging using an e-mail protocol†. (Yahoos 10 patents that it claims Facebook infringed, 2012) Now Facebook is in the process of countersuing Yahoo!. Facebook is claiming that Yahoo! is infringing on their patents. Sociocultural Sociocultural is defined as â€Å"the concern with a society’s attitudes and cultural value†. (Hitt, 2009) Yahoo! ’s value shapes the culture and defines the character the company. The value and culture is at the heart of what they do and who the company is. The value that Yahoo! is committed to is achieving integrity. Leadership is earned and should never be taking lightly. Yahoo! aims to have a faultless implementation and does it best to achieve the quality. (Yahoo Investor Relations, 2012) Changes in social trends may impact the demand for a company’s product and availability as well as the business production and marketing activities. These trends can also affect individual’s willingness to work. The sociocultural environment influences individual’s expectations, attitudes, achievements, and responsibilities of the company and its management. Management firms take into consideration several external elements when doing an external assessment of the business. Political factors dissect the legal, political, and governmental aspects of a business and include such things as: government-driven tax laws, trade agreements, regulated prices, incentives, and manufacturing requirements. Political stability is an important consideration. Social factors are another key element which includes the way Americans work, live, produce, and consume. With the aging society of America, billions of people who are outside the US may be in market for American products. Demographics The demographics for Yahoo! Inc. by age and gender that look at Yahoo! on a daily basis are compared to the population of the users on the internet in general: Yahoo! : Internet Users: Below 24- Men 13%, Women 12%Men 9%, Women 37% 25 to 34- Men 15%, Women 10%Men 9%, Women 8% 35 to 44- Men 11%, Women 8%Men 8%, Women 7% 5 to 54- Men 9%, Women 6%Men 7%, Women 4% 55 to 64- Men 6%, Women 5%Men 4%, Women 3% Above 65- Men 4%, Women 1%. Men 3%, Women 1% From this distribution of the ages and gender, Men look at Yahoo! Inc. or use the internet more than women do. This is probably true because Yahoo! offers more for the male gender with the Yahoo! Sports and Finance tabs. When looking at the location for the United States, Massachusetts rank number one in the st ate that visited Yahoo! the most. California was second and Texas ranked third. Then you have Georgia, Washington, New York, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, and then Indiana. It is very close for race for the states coming in fourth through tenth. When looking at the global distribution the United States ranks number one for the most use out of the websites. The Philippines, Indonesia, Egypt, Romania, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, United Kingdom, and Taiwan are in a close tie with what global country uses the website the most. Yahoo! Inc. leads its rival’s with the amount of user traffic. Yahoo! ’s website is clicked on globally with over 2. 4 billion page views though out its 25 international website and the 13 languages you can choose. Yahoo! lso attracts more the 627 million visitors a month. This reaches about 47. 4% of the global population. Yahoo! Inc. headquarters in Sunnyvale, California but has offices all the world including India, Latin America, and China. Yahoo! Inc income distribution levels are closely similar to each other no matter the income of the house hold. The users whose average income ranges from $0-$30k, $30-60k, $60-$1 00k and $100k-+ are similar to the general population. The households where the income is $100k and more looks at Yahoo! closely the same as the households where the income is $0-$30k. The ethnic mixes of the web searchers for Yahoo! are the African, African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and other. The African Americans’ spend more time searching with the website Yahoo! then the Middle Eastern. The Asians and Caucasians spend more time on the website than any other race. The Hispanic and Africans are viewing the site about the same percentage. Economic Environment The economic environment includes the consumer price index, gross domestic product, and the strength of today’s dollar. Yahoo! Inc. needs to have correct information about our economy. Yahoo! ’s expenditures by their advertisers have a tendency to have a recurring cycle, reflecting overall economic environment and budgeting and buying patterns. Yahoo! Inc. gets most of their revenues from the advertising. If any advertising decreases then that can result in the revenue for the company. Yahoo! Inc is very dependent on their brand and a mishap on the brand name can result in cost-effective conduct could hurt the business operating cycle. The earnings of Yahoo! depend on the customers and how much the advertisers are spending on their websites. This year the decision was made to ramp up election coverage by partnering with ABC news, a new web show â€Å"Remake America† and a new blog â€Å"The Signal†. Wayne Powers, Yahoo! ’s SVP of North America sales, stated that the company sees this as a real opportunity and focus for the year. He also stated that Cox Digital Solutions will be the exclusive company for the political issues and advocacy advertising. Powers explained how Cox would be focusing campaign money specific to issues that deal with jobs and health care while Yahoo! ’s sales team would be working with advertisers that wanted their messages tied into the high-traffic election issues. Yahoo! ’s outgoing CEO Thompson had stated that data will attribute to the company’s turnaround and play a major role in the multiplatform political advertising capabilities. Political/Legal Environment The political and legal segments of the firm include all of the external issues and benefits relating to the firm. First off we would like to mention the privacy bill of rights as one of the major trends under the political and legal environment. This bill has a purpose of protecting consumer’s privacy from the data collected online. This bill of rights is said to be voluntary but as of right now we know that Yahoo! Google, AOL, and MSN have agreed to become a part of this. The pushing of this bill requires search engine sites to add a â€Å"Do Not Track† device to the website. If the consumer chooses this device, said to be represented by blue triangle icons on the edges of some digital ads, then a direct indication will be sent to the companies that colle ct this records for advertising purposes. The indication will let the companies know that the user does not want to be tracked. Currently there are many lawsuits between the companies of Yahoo! and Facebook. Yahoo! irst eluded that Facebook was responsible for stealing ten patents from the company. This statement from an article explains more, â€Å"Yahoo Inc sued Facebook Inc over 10 patents that include methods and systems for advertising on the Web, opening the first major legal battle among big technology companies in social media. † (Yahoo sues Facebook for infringing 10 patents, 2012) Through reading this article we saw that Yahoo! had not decided to take their issues to legal term until after the announcement of Facebook’s public offering that could have resulted in Facebook being valued at $100 billion dollars. Many people know of the financial duress Yahoo! has incurred over the past couple of year and wonder if this is a means of acquiring capital. A spokesperson of Facebook, Jonathan Thaw says,† Were disappointed that Yahoo, a longtime business partner of Facebook and a company that has substantially benefited from its association with Facebook, has decided to resort to litigation. † (Yahoo sues Facebook for infringing 10 patents, 2012) Many people also feel that this could not have been a smart move on Yahoo! ’s behalf, since Facebook was responsible for many of Yahoo! s benefits. We now know that Facebook has retaliated and now has a pending lawsuit against Yahoo!. There recently have been many new partnership made on Yahoo! ’s behalf. Some of these partnerships include Yahoo! merging with ABC News and LG Electronics. Yahoo! has also introduced Genome, which was created by Yahoo! this year in hopes of bettering online marketing campaigns. We feel that politica lly Yahoo! will benefit from the Genome. One of the main reasons for creating such a program for Yahoo! was to increase their ROIs. Genome was designed to help marketers organize campaigns to help meet their objectives and build brand value. The News segment of Yahoo! is revolving daily touches on subjects of U. S. news, local news, business news, entertainment news, sports, politics, technology, health, travel, sciences and opinion news. Yahoo! conducts annual business human rights webcasts. The new partnership with ABC is based on using mobile devices to directly channel users through apps. The users can enter to win prizes after watching their favorite shows. The application is title Yahoo! IntoNow mobile application. By using the IntoNow application viewers can chat about their favorite shows through Twitter and Facebook. Technological Environment As we know that Yahoo! is a digital media company, and an Internet Web based company, the technological environment is very important to the growth of this company. In today’s society digital media is one of the fastest growing industries and also one of the fastest growing industries the world has ever seen. Yahoo! has a developer network called Yahoo! Geo Technologies. This section of Yahoo! lets users create individual portfolios and share them via Internet. Not only does Yahoo! Inc. ave a private technologies section where you can find the latest information on all of the upcoming technologies; you can blog about it, and read technologies news headlines as fast as they are put online. Yahoo! has made itself available through all of the â€Å"smart† technology, purchasing itself an â€Å"app† where you may access this portal thro ugh any smart device such as cell phones. Competitive Environment Yahoo! has a very strong competitive environment. Some of Yahoo! ’s direct competitors include: AOL Inc. , Google Inc. , Microsoft, Face book Inc. All of these companies compete in the Internet Service Providers industries. Each one of these companies may be in a similar industry but they each have different company beliefs. The mission statement of Yahoo! says,† to connect people to their passion, their communities, and the word’s knowledge†. Google provides the largest catalog of web sites and other material, and makes this material available to anyone who can get an internet connection for free. Google’s automatic search technology helps consumers find instant access to significant information from their online catalog. Microsoft’s mission â€Å"our missions and values are to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential. About Microsoft, 2012)† AOL is just an internet service provider who combines the influence of the Internet with its own standard services. Industry Analysis First, the threat of new entrants is relatively weak. Although the Internet does provide ease for anyone at any time to create their own website, for them t o actually be compatible with Yahoo! there many entry barriers they would have to consider. For this reason many people could argue that the threat of new entrants would be high because of the ease of creating new websites but in no way would the enter being a direct competitor of Yahoo! hat would take much time. Since we know that Yahoo! was established and has been successful for many years, we can also conclude that this company has faced many issues in getting the business brand where it is today. Some of the barriers to entry include: capital investments, economies of scale, switching cost, loyalty of the brand, and an absolute cost advantage. For a company to measure up to the level of success that Yahoo! is it would need a substantial amount of monetary funds. Millions in fact of dollars would be necessary for the development and startup of a site like Yahoo!. In many instances it takes an extended amount of time for a company to build its name/reputation and even longer to attract users. Start up Internet providers would not be smart in trying to compete on the level that this company does. The information mentioned earlier about the ease of new entrants into making their own websites is still very relevant to the success of Yahoo!. Although these companies are not direct threats in the beginning it is always necessary to watch the growth rate of these little companies. Yahoo! has to continually find new attractions, that competitors dont have, and ways to keep their customers loyal. The threat of new entrants in search engine market is moderately low because competitors, Google Facebook Inc. , have many servers all over the world that captures so much information about user behavior, a new entrant would have to provide more sufficient search results at faster speed. These new competitors would also be forced to present information from different sources in a more integrated and customized way. Since the turn of the 20th century in this competitive market, the new entrants have to have an absolute cost advantage comparing to others. The new entrants must come up with a better, cheaper and more efficient plan to collect information from diverse parties and allocate the information from itself. Also new entrants have lower cost of producing the services compared with Yahoo!. This brand loyalty is a harsh entry barrier to overcome unless the rival product offering is of primarily and considerably greater worth than what Yahoo! is contributing. Secondly the bargaining power of the buyers/customers is high because of the availability of substitutes, switching cost and the undifferentiated services. Because there are so many search engines in this industry other that Yahoo! users can switch to other engines if they want to with great ease. For this to happen the other engines must prove that they have a substantial amount of performance over Yahoo!. This means that there are absolutely no switching costs for Yahoo! users to switch to Google, AOL Inc. , or Microsoft. One of the main goals of Yahoo! is to get their users on the website and maintain their interest for multiple hours. Through this idea they hoped to attract many people with many different ages at all points and times during the day. Through research we conclude that the advertisers are another of the buyers of Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! must strive hard to keep their eye popping ads so maintain the continuation of their advertisers. The services that Yahoo! offers are diverse from any other competing internet server. At the home page of Yahoo! you can find any and everything in the entertainment division without have to do numerous searches. The services that Yahoo! ’s rivals carry is much undifferentiated from theirs. Third, the barg

Jane Austen and Convention of the Gothic

Jane Austen and Convention of the Gothic Introduction The novel Northanger Abbey adversely mentions gothic literature; it even influences the main characters’ actions and decisions. However, the use of this genre is done to mock and trivialise the genre.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Jane Austen and Convention of the Gothic specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More How Jane Austen challenges conventions of gothic novels As one reads the novel, one comes across a series of gothic titles throughout the narration. The characters talk about and reference various pieces in the book. Catherine meets with Isabella at the beginning of her adventure at Bath. Their main topic of conversation is gothic literature. These two ladies especially mention the Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe, but their fondness for the books makes them appear one -dimensional and detached from reality. Jane Austen also mocks gothic literature by selecting a very unconventional heroine . Gothic novels usually feature beautiful young women as main characters. Catherine is average-looking at best; sometimes, Austen leads readers to believe that her main character is even unattractive. The first page states that Catherine had â€Å"an awkward figure, sallow skin colour, dark lank hair and strong features† (Austen 1817, p.1). In eighteenth century Britain, strong features and sallow skin were undesirable traits. Jane Austen wanted to defy conventional expectations of gothic literature by choosing an individual who had little physical appeal. Furthermore, Catherine’s social background was nothing extraordinary. She came from a large middle income household, yet most gothic novels either focused on incredibly poor or exceptionally wealthy heroines (Rose 1993). Furthermore, Catherine was not talented in the conventional ways of English society at the time. She could not draw or paint, and neither could she write. Even Austen remarks that she was â€Å"a st range and unaccountable character† (Austen 1817, p.6). Catherine appears to have challenges with social interactions as well. She does not seem to understand people; yet this is a predominant quality in most gothic books. Catherine did not know about Isabella’s true intentions until the situation had gone overboard. She could not hide her suspicions about Henry’s father from him. Furthermore, she fails to realise that she was leading-on John Thorpe. Catherine lacks social experience, which was a quality that was hard to miss in the gothic genre. In choosing such a heroine, the author wanted to challenge stereotypes of women in romantic literature, of which gothic novels belong (Summers 1964). In the narration, the main character appears to grow and learn about the workings of English society. This was not initially true at the beginning. In fact, one detects Catherine’s naivety when she first visits Bath. She seems to have an overblown imagination about th e way the world works. Catherine looks at the world through the eyes of the characters in gothic novels (Glock 1978).Advertising Looking for essay on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In these books, seemingly ordinary events can lead to terrible occurrences in the future. The main character thinks of Mrs. Tilney’s death as one such tale, but later realises that she had distorted reality. Jane Austen wanted to demonstrate how gothic novels can feed the mind with unrealistic and fantastic expectations. For instance, when Henry drives her out to Northanger Abbey, he indulges her imagination: â€Å"In one perhaps there may be a dagger, in another a few drops of blood, and in a third the remains of some instrument of torture; †¦ your lamp being nearly exhausted, you will return towards your own apartment. In passing through the small vaulted room, however, your eyes will be attracted toward s a large, old-fashioned cabinet of ebony and gold, which, though narrowly examining the furniture before, you had passed unnoticed.† (Austen 1817, p. 144) Catherine is quite gullible at this point because she expects nothing short of gothic mystery in the place. She is deeply disappointed when she realises that Henry’s home is quite ordinary. The house possesses none of those concealed spaces that she read about in the gothic tales. Clearly, Catherine is deluded by these readings; the author wanted to show that such exaggerations can impede one’s functioning in society. Catherine paid a heavy price for these wild imaginations when Henry discovered that she thought that someone has murdered his father. Some critics summarise this depiction through the following summary â€Å"Again and again we see the kind of malediction novels confer on Catherine, teaching her to talk in inflated and stilted clichà ©s, training her to expect impossibly villainous or virtuous b ehaviour from people whose motives are more complex than she suspects, binding her to the mundane selfishness of her contemporaries (Gilber and Gubar, 2000, 132). Although Austen satirises gothic novels through Catherine’s extreme indulgences, one must realise that the main character still sensed the pretentiousness of the people around her. She was right about questioning General Tilney’s character, because he turned out to be mean spirited and elitist. The author of the book wanted to show that gothic elements can skew one’s reality, but may lead to unconscious revelations about such people. As such, Austen did not completely write-off gothic fiction. She wanted to satirise its flaws, but also acknowledge that it did possess some insights. The writer defied conventions of gothic novels by starting with a naive character, and then developed and nurtured her to the woman that she becomes at the end of the novel.Advertising We will write a custom essay sa mple on Jane Austen and Convention of the Gothic specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In most gothic works, the heroines of the narrations are highly perceptive. They are well experienced in the world, and know what to expect from people. These are all qualities that Catherine lacks at the beginning of the book (St.Clair 2004). Catherine is not the only character in the novel to defy conventional gothic depictions: General Tilney also signifies this indifference to the status quo. At the time when Austen wrote her novel, most gothic novels had villains that were forceful, violent or even murderous. However, Northanger Abbey has none of this; in fact, the villain does not seem to possess the typical traits of such a character (Sadlier, 1944). Nonetheless, Austen depicts his undesirability through his intentions and interests. The General is overly concerned about Catherine’s wealth regardless of her admirable qualities as a person. A woman ’s social status is so important to the ‘villain’ that he is willing to ruin his relationship with his son for it. Henry Tilney chooses to defy his father rather than abide by his dictatorial rules. One can perceive that Jane Austen wanted to speak out against the ills of male patriarchy in her society (Varma 1966). She, therefore, preferred to use this role in order to advance her themes rather than to advance her plot, unlike the case is in eighteenth century gothic literature. Perhaps even the treatment of General Tilney as an antagonist is misguided in this analysis. He comes off as a man who cares too much about money and reality. The General is so concerned about maintaining his status that he meddles into the affairs of his children. Austen opted to mock gothic books by having a character that takes the shape of villain, but is not really one. Sometimes gothic pieces focused on man’s weaknesses and his inability to control his surrounding. Rarely di d they caricature society’s flaws (Levine 1999). Northanger Abbey was the exact opposite of this propensity. It satirises society’s obsessions with power and wealth through its plot as well as its characters. One such individual was Isabella who claims to care for nothing more than love. However, she gets very frustrated at her fiancà ©e when she realises that he is not as wealthy as she had presumed. She causes James great anguish when he realises that she was flirting with another man. Additionally, General Tilney is quite hospitable to Catherine when he thinks that she comes from a wealthy family. However, he kicks her out when John tells him otherwise. These people were all depictions of what society can become when it places too much emphasis on wealth. Jane Austen challenges conventions of gothic literature by going in this direction. One should note that most females in the late eighteenth century had minimal economic or social options. Writing was one of the f ew professions that individuals could use in order to earn a decent living (Kate 1993).Advertising Looking for essay on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They were not politicians or property owners, but they had an opinion and needed to express it somewhere (Todd 1980). The author of the novel chose to mock societal practices through the use of a common literary genre, that is: the gothic novel. While the main character of the book is unattractive, Isabella is beautiful and charming. The author used conventional qualities of protagonists in gothic literature to satirise Isabella’s obsession with material wealth (Monaghan 1981). This choice in character traits may seem unintentional, but it reaffirms the fact that the book is indeed a parody of gothic work. In order to mock certain elements of fiction, some authors may choose to mirror the stylistic devices of their parodied work in order to achieve this objective (Dentith 2000). Likewise, Jane Austen does the same thing with her novel. She integrates gothic elements in her piece in a manner that satirizes them rather than validates them. Most gothic novels have an air of myst ery about them. They tend to cause suspense by leaving out vital pieces of information. Readers often read on in order to discover what will happen to the main character. Austen uses mystery in her novel as well, but this achieves different objectives. For instance at some point, Henry describes Abbey exaggeratedly to Catherine. Of course she realises that Henry is fooling around. However when she finds a manuscript, she presumes that she can uncover some proof about her suspicions. However, darkness engulfs her and she hears receding footsteps and the closing of a distant door† (Austen, 155). She cannot validate the significance of this piece of paper until morning. When morning comes, she soon appreciates that it was nothing but a laundry list. The passage about the dark room may fill a reader with suspense. Nonetheless, when one discovers the reason behind her fear, one realises that there was no mystery behind it. Jane Austin employs gothic tactics to satirise the genre by showing that all the mystery was created in the mind of the protagonist. Most gothic novels often focus on oppressed individuals. These situations may elevate readers’ perceptions of the main characters after they triumph over their adversaries. Usually, such heroines will scream and act in terror. Sometimes them may cry and faint over an issue. Others may appear overly emotional or too sentimental (Mandal 1999). It is through their sorrow and anger that the readers get to connect with them. In Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen also uses sentimentality as a trait, but only as a mechanism to defy the oppressed-heroine stereotype. In one instance Catherine seems to have lost it all; her potential father in law sends her out of his house. It is almost as if her whole world has been shattered, although John Thorpe was partly to blame for this occurrence. Regardless of these circumstances, the reader does not necessarily think of Catherine as a damsel in distress. Furthermore, things change for the better when Henry pays her a visit in her hometown (ART 2008. General Tinley eventually consents to the marriage, so she ceases to be the oppressed victim. In another scenario, the death of Mrs. Tilney preoccupies Catherine’s mind when she suspects that her husband killed her. However, little proof exists for her to validate this statement. She seems deeply disturbed by these issues, and one may even assume that she is living in a dangerous place. Later on, she realises that there was nothing to these suspicions. â€Å"The absurdity of her curiosity and her fears could they ever be forgotten? She hated herself more than she could express† (Austen 1817, p.183). Austen mocks this aspect of victimisation in gothic literature by dismissing off ‘dangerous situations’ as misguided thoughts or delusions. Conclusion Jane Austen satirises gothic literature by using unconventional characters in her novel. The protagonist is not a damsel in distress, unattractive or even talented, yet one cannot miss these qualities in the gothic genre. Additionally, the villain does not fit conventional gothic depictions because he commits no explicit wicked acts. The author also uses her characters to mock society’s obsession with wealth; an uncommon trait in gothic work. Even the stylistic devices she borrows from the latter genre are designed to dismiss such works as remote from reality. References ART, 2008, ‘Northanger Abbey and Persuasion’, Quarterly Review, vol. 24 no. 3, pp. 48. Austen, J, 1817, Northanger Abbey, John Murray, London. Dentith, S, 2000, Parody, Routledge, London. Gilbert, S Guber, S, 2000, The madwoman in the attic, Yale University Press, New Haven. Glock, W, 1978, Catherine Morland’s gothic delusions: A defence of Northanger Abbey’, Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, vol. 32 no. 1, pp 33-46 Kate, F, 1993, The woman reader, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Levine, G, 1999, Translating the monstrous: Northanger Abbey, McMillan, London. Mandal, A, 1999, The gothic heroine. Web. Monaghan, D, 1981, Jane Austen in a social context, Barnes Noble, Totowa. Rose, M, 1993, Parody: Ancient, modern and post modern, Cambridge University press, Cambridge. Sadlier, M, 1944, Things past, Constable, London. Summers, M, 1964, The Gothic quest, Russell, New York. Todd, J, 1980, Gender and Literary voice, Holmes and Meier, New York. St.Clair, W, 2004, The reading nations in the romantic period, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Varma, D, 1966, The Gothic flame, Russell, New York.

15 Best Jobs in the World [Video]

15 Best Jobs in the World [Video] The job possibilities out there extend beyond your wildest imagination. Astronaut? Sure, that seems pretty awesome. But what if you could get paid to ride waterslides and tell how you feel about them? More awesome. Or how about getting paid to taste chocolate? Sign us up, please. Check out the following Wacky Wednesday profile of jobs that seem too good to be true: from Professional Zombie (really) to Luxury Bed Tester. Here are the 15 Best Jobs in the World right now!

Political Economy of Inequality & Distribution Essay

Political Economy of Inequality & Distribution - Essay Example Social justice is achieved if the economic systems allow people to select opportunities created by performing within the constraints of the rules. This is because the resultant distributions from the rules will make the system just and fair. Hayek insists that the concept of social justice cannot still be attained through procedural fair rules because luck involved does not reflect an individual’s advantage (Miller 1997, p. 142-144). This notion implies that luck cannot precede distribution because one must receive the resources to appreciate economic policy. The outcome of the distribution method should show an individual’s effort of acquiring the resources. This can be in the benefits the society derives from such economic activities and the reasons for procedural rules. However, there are no legal systems where people do not break rules and Hayek should suggest ways of taming political economists from mistreating other players (Hayek 1978, p. 87). Market systems cann ot rely on a just society if the resources are reserved for a few individuals who want to satisfy personal missions. As a result, the results and deserts of free markets limit the attainment of social justice that remains a mirage in the society. Hayek’s argument that social justice is a mirage holds that procedural rules contribute to the erosion of individual freedoms and promote the introduction of totalitarianism. The concept highlights that an authority that exercise coercion in allocating resources to individuals is not just. This is because an ideal social justice evaluates an individual’s desert using his contribution to the welfare of the society (Hayek 1978, p. 87). The market liberation does not favor social justice because individual’s claims are not met and requires reconstruction of the economic system to address the shortcomings. Although organizations are beneficial parts of the society, trying to make serve all purposes affecting

External Sources of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

External Sources of Finance - Essay Example Financing decisions are normally very fundamental considerations to be made by any multinational corporation like Acme which seeks to venture into large scale operations. As such, the whole prerogative clearly rests on the finance managers to appropriately select the best financing method out of the myriad option available in the world today. The various option of finance that Acme can opt for are lucidly outlined below. The corporation can opt for the issuance of preference or ordinary shares in order to raise sufficient capital for the foreign expansion. This is a major source of finance for most organizations across the world. Its advantage lies in the fact that it is â€Å"non-redeemable†. As such, it is an existing and permanent source of finance that is not to be repaid like other sources of fund. The repayment process only occurs upon the winding up of the company. On the contrary, it can be argued that this form of financing has the disadvantage of diluting the ownership strength of the company since it involves the addition of new shareholders into the company (Steffens 45-9). In the same vein, as the number of shareholders increases, the control of the company becomes very difficult as decision making becomes very procedural and bureaucratic due to the wide consultation needed before any major decisions are made. Bank loans Loans from banks and other financial institutions are usually good sources of finance for business organizations. Obtaining such loans is always simple for most large organizations that are known to have wide capital bases. The use of loans as a source of financing has the advantage that it never leads to a loss of direction for the business as in the case of issuance of new shares. Bank loans are normally long-term sources of finance and can always be obtained in large sums unlike other sources. In most cases, loans are used to buy fixed assets such as vehicles and machinery. The major disadvantage of using loans as sources of finance revolves around the huge interests paid (Gopalan 67). Most banks charge very high interest rates and it therefore becomes unprofitable to acquire loans without the assurance that the business will raise sufficient profits to cover for the high interest rates. Short term loans can also be obtained in form of overdrafts in which case most banks need no collateral. However, bank overdrafts are always charged at very high interest rates than other loans. Debentures The issuance of debentures is also another source of capital that Acme can adopt for its expansion program. Debentures are usually units of loan which a company issues to the debenture holders and are usually traded like shares. The advantages and limitations of using debe ntures are basically similar to those of most bank loans. The loans are usually obtained from other companies, individuals or financial institutions. In that regard, Acme will then be prepared to repay the debenture holders the interest accrued. One striking characteristic of a debenture is that it is only backed by the company without any form of collateral like other loans. It therefore leaves the company’s assets free which can then be used to obtain further financing in the future. Leasing Leasing is one of the most common sources of financing in the increasingly competitive business environment. In essence, a business cannot purchase all the fixed assets it requires to set up operation in a foreign land. Leasing enables companies to

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest Essay Example for Free

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest Essay The six psychological approaches are biological, learning or behavioral, cognitive, sociocultural, psychodynamic, and humanistic. Each approach is unique in its own way and used by psychiatrists to diagnose the problem. A biological approach is applied when the there is a known medical condition. The medical condition normally connects to mental health, and the solution comes from therapy. This particular approach looks at the whole body. The learning or behavioral approach is all about analyzing the person’s the behavior and modifying their behavior biased on their response to the environment. This approach works from positive and negatives items in their environment, and is sometimes cured by brings these elements in and out of their life to fix the problem. The events in the environment can be rewards or punishments that will influence the patients behavior. The cognitive perspective is about understand a patients thinking and understanding. How we process, store, and retrieve information influences our behavior. It is said that all problems are located in the brain, and using this perspective you can find a medical issue that is affecting how the brain is working. The sociocultural approach is when the mental health has something to do with the environment that deals with growth. The culture in which the patient is a large factor. In a psychodynamic approach an individual’s problem is inside the unconscious mind. This can be from a dramatic event that happened earlier in their life. Sometimes the cure can be from the patient themselves accepting the fact, or acknowledging that they have a problem. The final approach is a humanistic approach. This is about individual or self directed choices that influence behavior. This approach deals with the physical health of a patient to eventually cure their mental health. There is a well known philosophy that a healthy mind equals a healthy body. In this approach, a psychologist will control the patients diet and exercise to regain their mental health. The hospital used many methods on the mentally ill patients. They had group counseling scheduled every day where Mrs. Ratchet interrogated the patients and made them feel uncomfortable. The hospital also had electric shock therapy and lobotomy as other treatment methods. Also, the hospital gave the patients medicine, this is a biological approach, even though it was given to these people unwillingly. Mrs. Ratchet also allowed McMurphy to receive a vote in order to watch the ball game and she bended the rules or was too strict in order to win her position. This is a behavioral approach because McMurphy watched the baseball probably in his normal environment at home. She teased him with the thought of watching the game as a reward, then took it away. McMurphy had behavioral or learning approach. He would congratulate people when they did things he thought were good and he would yell at them when he thought they did something bad. For example, when McMurphy taught Chief how to shoot a basketball, he cheered after every point he made. The other patients looked up to and really admired McMurphy, which put him in a very powerful position. He had a strong effect on the other patients and they really admired him. Chief Bromden’s recovery began when McMurphy came to the hospital and started talking to him and making him do tasks. McMurphy worked on chief to see if he was smart enough to complete simple tasks. The first step was him raising his hands above his head at the basketball court, which was the first movement he had done in his whole time being there. Before chief wouldn’t handle directions from others very well. His next step was raising his hand to vote on watching the baseball game, which McMurphy also encouraged greatly. Later, McMurphy rounded up the patients to play some basketball. McMurphy passed the ball to Chief and he shot it, which was followed by him beginning to follow orders and run up and down the court. The final step was when McMurphy gave him the gum before Electroshock Therapy and the Chief spoke fo r the first time at the clinic. After this, chief revealed his intelligence to McMurphy. Ken Kesey was always very interested, and was very talented with the subject of psychology. In 1959 he volunteer to take part in a study named Project mkultra  , this was a CIA funded project dealing with psychoactive drugs. Some of the drugs included were LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, cocaine, AMT, and DMT. This and his work at the state veterans hospital, which gave him access to LSD, inspired him to write One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. At the state veterans hospital, Kesey spent a lot of time talking to the patients. sometimes under the influence of the hallucinogenic drugs with which he had volunteered to experiment. Kesey did not believe that these patients were insane. Kesey believed that society had pushed them out because they did not fit in the the culture, and that they just wanted a place to keep all the mentally ill. I think that Kesey was trying to convey to people at mentally ill hospitals were treated in a bad manner. He tried to show people that the mentally ill were probably sheltered away from everybody just because they were different. The hospital portrayed in the film didn’t seem to help the patients out or want them to recover and go home. They seemed to have no rights. These patients adjusted to this lifestyle and didn’t want to leave, that is a problem when the assumed goal was to improve these people’s problems. The rewards from good behavior seemed nonexistent and He also wanted to show how cruel the punishments were in the hospital. Psychedelic 60s: Ken Kesey the Merry Pranksters. Psychedelic 60s: Ken Kesey the Merry Pranksters. University of Virginia / Charlottesville, Virginia, 16 Dec. 2009. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. . I really enjoyed One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I thought the movie was genius. There were parts of humor, and it kept you interested and wondering so many things. I enjoyed that there were many main plots and side plots, like the hospital verses the patients, or the patients versus their own recovery. McMurphy was a very mysterious character, because he was crazy, and nobody could figure out if there was anything wrong with him. I though that putting him in that section of the hospital was a mistake, because he is so manipulative and high functioning that he abused all the hospital’s loop-holes. At the same time he was very good for the patients. I also enjoyed the character and all their different problems and personality differences. I enjoyed watching how Billy and the Chief progressed mentally throughout the film. I also love the thought of people breaking structure, and that is what McMurphy definitely succeeded in. This movie very closely related to psychology, because it directly dealt with people who were mentally ill. Also psychology was involved when McMurphy used his genius mind to go against the hospital in various ways. Thinking of these schemes uses a large amount of psychology. Even for the viewers, the movie left you deep in thought, with predicting and questioning what is going to happen next. This movie made you think deeply making this a very psychological movie.

NSAID’s In Competition Equines Essay -- horses, law

Presently in the United States there is a law against consumption of NSAID’s (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) in horses during competition. The Federation Equstre International (FEI) wants to propose a new law allowing the consumption of these NSAID’s in competition horses. Therefore, with every new law passed some are for and some are against it. Each side has a knowledgeable reason behind their choice to be for or against the change. The FEI wants to look at all sides equally and make their educated assessment for the new rule inclined. Inflammation is a normal response to tissue damage. There are five signs of inflammation called cardinal signs. Theses signs include: heat, pain, swelling, redness, and loss of function. Inflammation can be considered one of the leading origins of discomfort in an injured or ill equine animal. When an NSAID is given to horses the cardinal signs are controlled, and damage to the inflamed tissue is reduced (Crabbe). NSAID’s in equine’s can be useful, but they can also cause negative side effects that, in a long-term use, can cause more negative effects on the horse and possibly decimate them. Barb Crabbe, veterinarian, says; â€Å"When NSAID’s block the damaging effects of prostaglandin, they also block these protective mechanisms, putting your horse at risk for ulcers throughout his GI tract† (Crabbe). Although Crabbe feels there are several negative side effects Davis feels there are only two negative side effects cox 1 and cox 2. These two negative influences cause the bad side effects in NSAID’s. Cox 1 gets in the way of the body’s natural reaction to inflammation. Cox 2 controls the pain and helps to control the remaining inflammation (Davis). Nevertheless this does not mean NSAID’s ar... ...ecture. Cuckson Pippa, â€Å"FEI NSAID Congress Addresses Science and Ethics of Drug Use†, www.chronofhorse.com, The Chronicle Of The Horse, August 24, 2010. Pierre Louis, â€Å"How To Use Irrelevant Plasma and Urine Drug Concentrations in Doping Control in the FEI† , FEI NSAID Congress , Switzerland, 2010, address lecture. Princess Haya, â€Å"Opening Address†, FEI NSAID Congress, Switzerland, 2010, address lecture. Roly Owers, â€Å"What Are The Ethical and Welfare Implications of Permitting the Use of NSAIDs During Competitions?† FEI NSAID Congress, Switzerland, 2010, address lecture. Willis Grania, â€Å"FEI president welcomes long overdue congress on NSAID’s†, www.Dressagensw.com, Equestrian Australia, n.d, February 6, 2014. Tim Ober, â€Å"The Pros and Cons of Reintroducing NSAIDs to FEI Sport†, FEI NSAID congress, Switzerland, 2010, address lecture

Prisons As Industry Essay

What is the most profitable industry in America? Weapons, oil and computer technology all offer high rates of return, but there is probably no sector of the economy as abloom with money as the privately run prison industry. Prison industry in recent years has become a high-profit business and it competes with industries such as the oil and gas industry. The aim of this paper therefore is to examine the industry as a whole. In examining the industry therefore, there shall be a cursory analysis of some salient point vis-à  -vis the prison industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A very important fact is that the prison industry came about because of the congestion in the various government-owned prisons in throughout the country. The demand for prisons seems to be ever increasing and the public prisons scattered all around the country are incapable of providing adequately for this. Nearly every prison in America is overcrowded and will continue to be so if new prisons do not spring up. So therefore, the aim of the prison industry is to make provisions for more space to keep dissidents at a lower cost than federal prisons can.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In other words, privately owned prisons are unique because demand for prisons is high, while supply of prisons is low.   That is what makes this industry so appealing. Thus, privately owned prisons are good substitutes for federally run services. Therefore, this brings us to the issue of prison privatization. This involves the transfer of running state-owned prisons to private industries to manage. Thus, by using the private sector to build or manage prisons, many states believe that they can reduce costs. Privatization of prisons can take various forms. This includes: Contracting out services: This is the most common form of prison privatization. Currently, 39 states in the US hire private firms to provide such services as medical and mental health treatment, drug treatment, education, staff training, and vocational training and counseling. Contracting out prison labor This also is another means of privatizing prisons. By putting prisoners to work and paying inmates competitive wages, many private companies are reducing prison costs for the government by withholding earnings for taxes, room and board, family support, and victim’s compensation. Such employment also gives prisoners the skills and work experience that will prepare them for the job market when they are released from prison. Construction and lease/purchasing Many states see private construction as a promising solution to the prison over crowding crisis. States normally finance construction by cash appropriations (a â€Å"pay-as-you-go† approach) or by issuing general obligation bonds The points above are some of the ways by which prisons by various states in the US. In another vein, privatization of prisons can also occur at the federal level. For instance, the Federal Government of the United States recently proposed contracting with a private firm for a new 500 bed minimum-secure facility for illegal aliens. In addition, the Bureau has considered contracting for facilities to house â€Å"special needs† prisoners, such as juveniles, women, protective custody cases, and for prisoners needing medical services. However, the federal government is wary in contracting out the more â€Å"mainstream† prisoners such as those imprisoned in the Federal Correctional Institutions and the U.S. Penitentiary System. Nevertheless, the prison industry has raises certain questions. These questions must be answered before a deeper understanding and full grasp of the objectives of the industry can be achieved. The first question is that has the federal government abrogated its responsibility by privatizing prisons. In other words, Should the private sector be responsible for a function traditionally performed by the government sector? Evidence has shown that that prison privatization does not mean that the government relinquishes its responsibility. The government still would select the inmates to be placed in private prisons, choose the type of facility to be contracted out, oversee the contractor’s disciplinary practices and, most important, evaluate the contractor’s performance. Furthermore, another good question to be asked is whether service quality and flexibility is maintained or not? This is because some policy makers maintain that the quality of management in private prisons will tend to be high at first, because of competition and the desire to win contracts. However, they question the private sector’s ability to sustain high-quality standards. This is not true of the prison industry because contracting standards are likely to improve over time as more firms enter the market and competition increases. Periodic bidding creates incentives for firms to improve constantly the quality and cost-efficiency of their performance. These above questions, among others, are some of the questions to ask in order to have an enlightened grasp of the prison industry. Now, it is of necessity to look at the history of prison industry. Historically, prison population started to grow in the United States in the 70s. Statistically, one out of every hundred adults is now imprisoned. In order to curtail the unwanted rise in the number of inmates, larger sentences are being imposed on to act as deterrent and other policies, which are known as the ‘broken window’. They have introduced the ’three strike’ policy which means that if you are convicted of any 3 offences you will receive life which is a very good deterrent. The state of Virginia applies this always, and has managed to slow the growth of the population (Bratton 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, the government has tried to seek alternative modes of punishing offenders instead of retaining them in the prison yards. Undauntedly however, the rate of offenders soars. This has gone a long way in boosting the prison industry. The industry is now much bigger than ever before worth around 40 billion dollars a year. Due to the overcrowding in state prisons and federal prisons, which are on average 34% over designed capacity according to the BJS report, the prison industry has to rely on private prisons. Many states enjoy the companies taking on the task of building the prisons and covering the costs and just charging the state per inmate, as the state tends to be a lot more lenient to a convicted felon in order to save money. So therefore, prison industry continues to soar high. Investors are now having good times because of their net profits from prison business. For example, the leading company in prison business, Corrections Corporation of America, has made a tremendous success in the business. The revenue of this company rose by 81% in 1995 alone. Again, Investors in Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, another leading prison industry,   have enjoyed an average return of 18 percent during the past five years and the company is rated by Forbes as one of the top 200 small businesses in the country as of today. The list goes on an on. Ten years ago, there were just five privately run prisons in the country, housing a population of 2.000. Nearly, a score of private firms run more than 100 prisons with about 62,000 beds today. That’s still less than five percent of the total market, but the industry is expanding fast, with the number of private prison beds expected to grow to 360,000 during the next decade. This could be said to be the reason why a recent headline in USA Today which says that; â€Å"Everybody’s Doin the Jailhouse Stock† In view of this, the prison industry is now a lucrative business. In fact, almost 30 states in the US have 28 states have passed legislation making it legal for private contractors to run correctional facilities and many more states are expected to follow suit. God knows maybe one day, the prison industry will take over as the most lucrative and cost-effective business. To summarize it all, there are many reasons why America has incarcerated more of its population than any other country including China, which has a much greater population. The main reason is still the fact that the prison industry is being portrayed as a business and companies are making money from crime. Therefore, toughening of laws by both the federal and state governments does not help matter. Therefore, one can safely conclude that prison industry has come to stay. What is to be done now is for the government to tighten laws on the establishment of privately owned correction centers across the States. This would go a long way in ensuring that the privately owned prisons function effectively as their public counterparts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   REFERENCES Tonry M., 2004. Prisons and Imprisonment, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Pages 12062-1206. Walker, S., Spohn, C., Dolone, M., 2004. The Color of Justice, Race Ethnicity, and Crime in America, 3rd Ed, Wadsworth Publishing. Scalia, J., August 2001. Federal Drug Offenders, 1999 with trends 1984-99, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice. Samaha, j., 2001. Criminal justice, 5th ed. Wadsworth publishing. Renshaw, B., December 1982. Prisoners 1925-1981, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice. Harrison, P., November 2004. Prisoners 2003, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice.

Common Problems for an Extended War and the Solutions Essay

Neither the North nor the South had prepared for an extended war. Two years into the conflict, both faced common difficulties. Foremost was the lack of money and manpower. The war was expensive and both treasuries were depleted. While neither initially wanted to impose direct taxes to finance the war, they were forced by circumstances to turn to taxation though on a small-scale. The North seemed to have had more success in raising funds. With the North’s population greater than that of the South, the new tax was able to finance 21% of the war expenses while it was only 1% for the South. Both also tried borrowing. The North being more committed to the idea and was able to obtain more than $2 billion worth of bonds in loan. Another solution that was considered and eventually enforced was the printing of paper money. The Confederacy started with $100 million while the Union printed $150 million worth of â€Å"greenbacks† so called because of its color. The flooding of paper money expectedly led to inflation that resulted to food prices increasing to 80%. This led to hardships in the urban areas which were unable to produce their own food. Volunteers in the army for both sides dwindled off as disillusionment set in. The prestige of army life with its military parades and victories were gone as the harsh realities of deadly diseases, camp life boredom, loss of values, impersonal destruction and conditions of being â€Å"half-starved, half-frozen and half-drowned† were experienced. There were also desertions. To entice would-be soldiers, sign-up bonuses of $800 to $1000 were given to outsiders. Soon, they resorted to the draft despite anticipated opposition and anger by the general populace. However, instead of forcing men to serve, they encouraged those who are already in the army to re-enlist and attract volunteers. The South needed more of these draftees since the North had about 180,000 able immigrants to choose from. The allowance for substitution and exemption, however, led to even further resentments as the conditions clearly favored the rich.

Alfred Dreyfus essays

Alfred Dreyfus essays Throughout Jewish history, there have been many events that have helped evolve the Jews as a nation. The exodus from Egypt, the destruction of the Temple, the Spanish Inquisition of 1492 and the Holocaust have all had profound effects on the Jews. One event which many people may not link which an advancement of Jewish history is the Dreyfus Affair of 1894. The Dreyfus Affair acted as a sort of watershed in Jewish history as many different thoughts, feelings and emotions were emitted from the Jews as well as for the Jews. From Alfred Dreyfus as an individual to the Affair itself, this long and unfortunate experience in essence opened the doors for a Jewish homeland. Alfred Dreyfus was born on October 9, 1859 in Mulhouse, Alsace to a family of Alsatian Jews. His family roots in Mulhouse and Alsace had been established for several centuries. His father Raphael Dreyfus had set up a small cotton mill, to which he soon added a textile factory. His business prospered enough to secure his family a more-than comfortable upbringing. Raphael married Jeanne Libmann and the couple had 13 children. Only seven of those children four boys and three girls survived infancy, and these seven grew up in a comfortable, respected lifestyle. The Dreyfus family as a result of their wealth were very well respected around France. In 1870, in the midst of the France-Prussian war, the Dreyfus family was forced out of Alsace and took refuge in Carpentras. It has been said that the sight of French troops traversing Mulhouse... determined his military destiny (Bredin 12). In 1871 with the Treaty of Frankfurt, Raphael chose French citizenship for him and his children who were minors and then left Mulhouse to settle in Basel, Switzerland. In 1873, Raphael and Jeanne decided to send Alfred to boarding school in Paris, however he had a hard time adapting and soon returned home to his family. Over the next few years, Alfred t...

A Cooperative Jute Mill In Assam Management Essay

A Cooperative Jute Mill In Assam Management Essay Assam Co-operative Jute Mills ltd. being in the cooperative is unique of its kind in the country. Though it has a glorious history it plunged into oblivion for running around one and a half decade due to its internal crisis. But with pressure from the public and the employees it was re-opened and since then it never looked back. Obviously the reasons behind the organization’s revival and sustenance are worth exploring. The study established the existence of Employee Commitment in the organization, which in turn was found to be related to organizational performance. The study also explored and revealed the reasons behind the lack of performance during certain periods. Key words: employee commitment, work involvement, organizational performance Introduction The Assam Co-operative Jute Mills Ltd. is situated on the south bank of the river Brahmaputra at Silghat in the Nagaon district of Assam. This is the only Jute Mill in the country in Co-operative Sector. It was registered in the year 1959 under the Assam Co-operative Societies Act and after much struggle it was commissioned in the year 1970 with the initial investment of around Rs. 150 lakhs. But the Mill after running for about 14 years in rough weather had to close down during March 1984 for about 2 years due to acute financial crisis and other infrastructural problems. Again, the Mill was re-opened on 1st January 1986 under public demand with the financial assistance from the Central Government as well as State Government. However, in spite of sufficient government assistance, financial depression developed again due to imbalance in the income and the expenditure. The mill experienced teething operational problems due to huge accumulation of unsettled liabilities, shortage of working capital etc. But, after continuous struggle and efforts, the Mill started improving its economy from the year 1992-93 and thereafter making progressive net profits. Now, the Mill is completely free from all loans and li abilities and achieved an economically viable position. The Mill is implementing the scheme for renovation/modernization of its plant and machinery from its own resources. Today it provides direct employment to about 800 men. The mill has institutionalized corporate governance and discipline in all aspects of its functioning. During the year 2007-08 the Mill achieved the highest ever turnover of Rs. 18.67 Crores and best ever profitability after tax of Rs. 1.83 Crores. Looking at the above background it ignited the researchers to find out as to what are the reasons that prompted the organization to revive. Why the employees wanted the organization to sustain and above all what made these people to stay in the organization inspite of not being paid highly. The findings could be important learning for replication in other sick organizations and cooperative sector units. Thus the study was carried out with the following objectives. i. To determine the level of employee commitment in AC JM. ii. To explore the relationship between â€Å"Employee commitment† and the â€Å"Organizational performance† in ACJM. Thus the study did not elaborately take into account other aspects of management. Method Sample included all executives and staff, and 50% of workers from each department (12 departments). The response rate of the former was 76% and that of the latter was 78%. Questionnaires and schedules were used to gather the primary data. An extensive study of the available secondary sources of data available in the organization was carried out.

Problem of corporate social responsibility Essay

Problem of corporate social responsibility - Essay Example In such an analysis, the movie ‘Wall street’ as acted in 1987 features such manipulations of a stock broker (Bud) who gets into trade deals with an unscrupulous corporate raider (Gordon Gekko) through whom we see the attributes of manipulation. The character of Bud is clearly brought to light through the greed for quick wealth, which led him into the heinous acts in trade. In one such an incident, after he is much involved in illegal trade affairs with his mentor Gekko, he learns the business and opts to practice it himself against his corporate friend. He deceives Gekko to invest in Bluestar airlines after which he cunningly drives the stock up with an intention of bringing them later down for his own gain against his friend Gekko. This therefore illustrates such an example to business manipulation which is against CSR and which is driven by profit motive. Bud is interested in the unethical behavior of manipulating business performance for own gain through profit maximi zation (IMDb, para 1-7). Manipulation would therefore involve such practices as intentionally overpricing of business goods, over valuation or devaluation as well as the intentional price distortion for the purpose of personal gains. Manipulation has effects in affecting the market forces, which are responsible in regulating demand and supply. At macro level, interest rates and the stock values have great influence on performance of an economy. They also influence the lending rates by financial institutions, which have an equal capacity of encouraging investors into a country. This illustration of manipulation through stock over-valuation and undervaluation therefore has the capacity of destabilizing forces of demand as well as supply hence distort the economy, both at micro as well as macro level. It is also worth noting that manipulations by price distortions ahs the capacity of creating unfavorable competition within the markets whose effects would be felt within the whole econom y. Tax evasion In other instances, business people may intentionally evade payment of tax as a paramount practice for corporate social responsibility. It is the expectation of every governance regime that business firms honor their role in payment of tax for building on government revenues. The governments therefore raise their funds through taxation and as such imposes legal frame worst through which full compliance from any trading firm is expected. This therefore brings in the local and international norms against which individual traders or firms are liable to facing legal charges. However, it is a common practice for trading businesses or individuals to avoid payment of taxes. Such ways through which tax evasion occurs is through understating the profit returns, failure to update books of account on timely manner as well as corruption where traders would cooperate with authorities at a lower fee instead of honoring the obligation of paying taxes. These are common practices, whi ch are against business ethics that trading firms or individuals engage in for purposes of maximizing own profit. However, despite the increased efforts in creating awareness and regulation, unethical behavior through such means as tax evasion is increasingly being experienced (Cox, Friedman and Edward, 263-265). Dishonesty practices are equally common phenomena in trading businesses

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Human Resource Management - Essay Example As Schaufeli, Bakker and Salonova (2006) stated employee Engagement can be defined as a positive, fulfilling work related state of mind in an organization that is characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption, which positively impacts employees. Apple Inc, headquartered in California, is known for producing best known hardware products like Mac line of computers, iPod music players and the iPhone smart phone. In the recent years, there is a remarkable growth in number of employees in Apple. â€Å"Apple's employee headcount grew to 80,300 full-time equivalents, up from 72,800 at the  end of fiscal 2012† (Silva 2013).Thus, this company becomes an apt model for discussing HRM challenges in Employee engagement. In this content, let us analyze the theories related to this HRM challenge, using Apple Inc, as an example. Employee, being the lifeline of an organization, must be assigned challenging assignments as per their interests and expectations, so that they devote their max imum potential to attain maximum production and also achieve customer satisfaction. To engage employee’s hearts and minds, there are ten C’s namely connect, career, clarity, convey, congratulate, control, contribute, collaborate, credibility, confidence. (Zinger). All these aspects has to fall in place for the employee to become engaged to his/her allocated tasks. Employee engagement is also driven by lot of factors such as communication, performance, rewards and recognition, relationship with managers and peers, knowledge of company’s goals, vision and career development opportunities. (Das and Vijayalakshmi 2012). Again, when all these aspects are positively managed by the organization and its managers, the employees will become engaged and will be ready to put maximum effort for the betterment of the company. The employee’s intrinsic interests are personal growth, being part of a larger process and their extrinsic interests are pays and rewards. Employ ees should be able to find a profound connection to the company, so that their interests correspond to the goals of the company. Employees are the first and foremost customers to the company and organization’s policies should be framed in such a way, that it satisfies their primary customers. Employee engagement is also the prime factor in employee retention. It is very essential because of the expensive employee replacement costs. â€Å"A study conducted by SHRM (society for human resources management) that estimated that it cost $3,500 to replace just one $8 per hour employee† (Burns 2011). Thus in order to eliminate unnecessary wastages of company’s capital, employee engagement plays a pivotal role. In our employee engagement study, the retail sector of Apple can be taken for deeper study. Employee engagement should commence from the moment of recruitment or employment. In that direction, Apple follows a unique method by employing Apple brand lovers. â€Å"A pple recruits people who love the Apple brand and provides them with a vision for their work that goes beyond selling products to enriching people’s lives†Ã‚  (Temkin 2011). In their induction program, employees keep on hearing the chanting of