Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Taking a Look at The Matrix - 611 Words

The Matrix is a sci-fi action film created in 1999 by Andy and Lana Wachowski. The Matrix explores each branch of philosophy with great depth, giving the viewers a reason to question the world we live in today. The most intellectually stimulating problem presented by the Matrix trilogy is the question of the nature of reality posed by the premise of the film. This is actually an ancient question, which Plato asked and attempted to answer in his Dialogues, especially in the famous allegory of the cave. Both share the major philosophical issue, metaphysics, with the ongoing questions of â€Å"What is reality?† and â€Å"Are we living in the real world or an illusion of the real world?† Are we only glimpsing that which we have the potential to behold? Other main philosophical issues evident in The Matrix are ethics: â€Å"is it morally acceptable to kill someone to save another person’s life?† or â€Å"is someone’s life worth sacrificing to save a lot of people†. When taking in the political side of things we come across the ethical issue: ‘is it acceptable for the government to keep things from us that we wouldn’t like or want to know?† Another ethical issue perceived in The Matrix is Epistemology: â€Å"how do we know what we know?† and â€Å"How do we know that we have reached our fullest potential?† The Matrix and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave both show us how to perceive our own reality and to distinguish between what is real and what is not real and how the people living in the Matrix world areShow MoreRelated Analyse The Streingths and Weaknesses Of The Boston Matrix As An Aid T910 Words   |  4 Pages In this essay I will look at the strengths and weaknesses of using the Boston Matrix to help make decisions in business. I will first briefly explain the Boston Matrix and then analyse its effectiveness as an aid to making a marketing strategy. Like Ansoffs matrix, the Boston Matrix is a well known tool for marketing managers. It was developed by the large US consulting group and is a way that a business can compare all of its products. The two aspects it looks at are market share (relative toRead MoreThe Matrix, Directed By The Wachowski Brothers1533 Words   |  7 Pages The 1999 film ‘The Matrix’, directed by the Wachowski Brothers, tells the story of a computer-generated world in which humans are used as batteries to power the matrix’ systems. The film focuses on a small team of humans who are fighting against the matrix. There are several themes in this film and many of which are suggested through the ‘material body’. The material body is made up of four key elements- cinematography, mise-en-scà ¨ne, editing and soundtrack. These elements are crucial to the audience’sRead More The Matrix Essay1310 Words   |  6 Pages The Matrix In 1999 directors/writers Larry and Andy Wachowski (Bound) made a dark and often disturbing Science Fiction film, The Matrix. With the production expertise of Joel Silver (Commando, Predator, Lethal Weapon series, and Die Hard series), Andrew Mason (The Crow, Dark City) and Barrie M. Osborne (Face/Off, The Fan, Childs Play), The Matrix is sure to be a favorite among Science Fiction movie fans for years to come. The Matrix won the Oscar award in all four categories it was nominatedRead MoreThe Matrix And Allegory Of The Cave Analysis769 Words   |  4 Pagesreal? A thought in both The Matrix and Allegory of the Cave. The Matrix, written by Lana Wachowski illustrates many questions throughout. The main character, Neo, tries finding Morpheus in need of an answer to his question. What is the Matrix? Considering, Morpheus is the most dangerous man alive, he does all that he can to find him. Neo is approached by Trinity and led to the underworld to meet Morpheus. They soon realize that Ne o is â€Å"The One† who can defeat the Matrix. Similarly,The Allegory ofRead MoreFilm Analysis of The Matrix Essay754 Words   |  4 PagesFilm Analysis of The Matrix The Matrix is a movie about computers taking over the world and how one man changes everything. The opening shot is a shot of computer generated pixels, next there is a reverse zoom shot which reveals the word ‘searching’. A computer sound is then played, which sounds like something is downloading. The reverse shot is than cut, which shows Keanu Reeves, known as Neo, lying down on his head, looking pale whilst listeningRead MoreThe Allegory Of The Cave Essay975 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Allegory of the Cave†, and the renowned sci-fi movie â€Å"The Matrix.† Both works deal with escaping a false reality while unveiling a real one. In Plato’s â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave†, the escaped prisoner synonymous to the character Neo in â€Å"The Matrix†, exhibiting a shared theme behind both plots. Socrates suggest that with effort, all that is beautiful and right can become visible or apparent to the prisoner, where as in The Matrix, Neo is called to a similar fate, under the premise that the zenithRead MoreA Virtual Simulation Created By Ai s? Essay1542 Words   |  7 Pageswith our lives? No one really knows. Life will be one of the greatest mysteries for all of time. We may never know the answers to the questions that have been around since the beginning of time. What if the Matrix is real and we are actua lly in a virtual simulation created by AI’s? The Matrix starts off with a computer screen showing that a phone call is being traced. You can hear someone talking about â€Å"The One.† Cops start to descend on the room where the call is being made. The cops find TrinityRead MoreWorld s Increasing Demand For Energy Essay1283 Words   |  6 Pages2035. Within that, gas looks set to become the fastest growing fossil fuel, spurred on by ample supplies and supportive environmental policies. 1.1 BACKGROUND From the advert of the modern oil and gas industry, petroleum geologists and engineers have followed a conventional route for exploration; look for hydrocarbon source rocks, find reservoir quality rocks where hydrocarbons can accumulate, identify a trapping mechanism and then drill a well. But a revolution is taking place in the explorationRead MoreComparing Smartphones with The Matrix1029 Words   |  5 Pagespersonal traits. Individuality is an individual’s attitude that distinguishes the individual from everyone else. However, our reliance on the mass- media, is taking away our individualism leaving us susceptible to being controlled by the powerful. Individuality is being lost because the human brain is vastly becomingRead MoreEssay on Project Management1166 Words   |  5 PagesFunctional, Matrix, and Dedicated Team Approaches to Managing Projects These team approaches have all different set of advantages and disadvantages to them. The major difference between the three is that functional team approach is â€Å"employed† totally from within the parent organization. Functional approaches have absolutely no cost to them and provide more than adequate flexibility in the use of staff. However, its disadvantages include poor integration and a distinct lack of ownership that does

Sunday, December 15, 2019

How Do I See Free Essays

How I would like to see myself in the next 10 years? For the next 10 years I want to see myself succeed in every aspect such as self, family/social, economic, and spiritual. I would like to see myself still in service, growing in my profession and continuous my study / schooling. So, I will improve more in the areas of my weaknesses and make use of my full potential and ability in achieving my personal goals. We will write a custom essay sample on How Do I See or any similar topic only for you Order Now By that time, I am continuing practicing my profession as Psychologist and perhaps able to finished my master’s degree or even doctorate degree in Psychology. Economically, I am a financial independent and secure individual. I will no longer worry about my old age. I will travel and have fun of life after years of hard work and perseverance. My husband and I will have our own life, spend more time together and enjoys ourselves as maybe we never had before due to work demands. I have a business of my own which will also be a help in securing our other financial needs like for medicine, hospitalization and others. My family will be independent. My children already finished college and have their own profession in chosen field / career. I see myself mentoring and guiding my children in every step of their chosen career for them to succeed and support them in their failures. I maybe have a grandchild as well by then. I will be spending more time with my family, enjoying life and make most of my life servicing them. I want to have recreational gathering with my relatives and closest friends. My relationship with God is deep and will continue to seek more of Him in our life. I will have my devotions continuous and still involved myself in church services and recollections. My children will still be in church services and perhaps even grandchildren will also be part of it. Our family devotions will be taught to our grandchildren, if we have, and teach them to anchor their faith only in God. I am seeing my whole family attending altogether in every Sunday mass, special occasions and all important moments of our life. How to cite How Do I See, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Academic and Business Research Food Products

Question: Discuss about theAcademic and Business Researchfor Food Products. Answer: Azman, N. and Sahak, S.Z., 2014. Nutritional Label and Consumer Buying Decision: a Preliminary Review.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,130, pp.490-498. The article on nutritional level and the consumer purchasing decision making process reveals the results from many empirical researches. The nutritional level of the food products is intended to be the information provider to the customers regarding their available food choices as well as stimulation of the consumption of the healthy products. Such labels containing information affect the purchasing decisions of the consumers as they allow the consumers to choose healthy food options over the different unhealthy food alternatives. The consumers are able to make informed judgements about the overall value of the products. The nutritional labels are often regarded as a guidance for a healthier life and better diet plan. The articles give information about the food labels, nutritional labels and the nutritional information panel. The consumers are interested in witnessing the reference amounts in the nutritional labels and understand their nutrition value. This would help them to make t heir purchasing decisions. The female consumers gave more importance to the nutritional levels than their male counterparts. There were various kinds of information that are presented in the nutritional labels such as preservatives, coloring substance, calories, quality certificates and ingredients. The educated consumers prefer to use the nutritional labels when making their purchases of food product as compared to the less educated ones. This review presented a preliminary view of the inter relationships between consumer buying decision and nutritional labels. Aday, M.S. and Yener, U., 2014. Understanding the Buying Behaviour of Young Consumers Regarding Packaging Attributes and labels.International Journal of Consumer Studies,38(4), pp.385-393. This article strived to measure the impact of the packaging attributes as well as labels on the buying behavior of the consumers. The study was done in the backdrop of the Turkey, which is considered as a connection between Asia and Europe. The authors strive to establish the fact that the there are several factors that affect the youngsters behavior towards the food labels and their packaging. The results of the surveys established the fact that the glass packages which give protective structures attracts the consumers. The healthy nature as well as transparency of the packages are effective in increasing the interests of the consumers. The young consumers are enthusiastic regarding the food labels where they are able to get the desired information. However, there were label contents which were hard to understand by the consumers. There is some important information as perceived by the customers such as ingredients, production batch number and the expiry dates of the food products. The females considered the fat content in the food labels as the most important factor while the male counterparts were more concerned about the protein content. The study concluded that the food packaging labels as well as packaging attributes are important parameters that affect the consumer purchasing decisions. Newman, C.L., Howlett, E. and Burton, S., 2014. Shopper Response to Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling Programs: Potential Consumer and Retail Store Benefits.Journal of Retailing,90(1), pp.13-26. This article aimed to underline the responses of the shoppers to the different nutrition labels that are present in product packages. The number of FOP (front of packages) labeling system of the nutrition does exist in the real marketplaces. The benefits of providing good FOP health information system are numerous and varied. The various systems do influence the consumer evaluations of both the retailers and products. There is different perceived concern of the retailer for the customers to mediate the various system effects. The FOP nutrition labeling would help the retailers so that there is non-price competitive advantage that would increase the company profits. Mandle, J., Tugendhaft, A., Michalow, J. and Hofman, K., 2015. Nutrition Labelling: a Review of Research on Consumer and Industry Response in the Global South.Global Health Action,8. (Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) This article aimed to provide in-depth discussion on the consumer attitude and the consumer usage towards the nutrition label as well as food industrys response to the different labeling regulations. The study explored the nutrition labelling research gathered from 20 different countries. It has been noted that the consumers that prefer pre-packaged food items wishes to view the front pack labelling that show servings. There can be label formats which are represented by symbols or other characters. The consumers share their preferences with others from the different higher income countries as far as their labelling criteria are concerned. The nutritional labels are considered strong in the different emergent countries as far as rural poor and the urban population are considered. The modern health freak customers are increasingly using the food labels to undertake obesity prevention strategies as well as policies. The Sydney Morning Herald- Health Star Ratings is the Worlds Best Food Labelling System, Say Experts, Published on October 2016- Smh.com.au. 2017. [Online] Available at: https://www.smh.com.au [Accessed 2 May 2017]. The article on the health star ratings was published in The Sydney Morning Herald that shows the doubt lack of trust and the confusion among the Australian shoppers regarding the health star rating system that is considered as the best system to grade the food labels. This article performed the survey of the nutrition labelling system of 50 countries. It also showed that the health star rating used to rate the food labels of Australia are the best. The consumers purchasing decisions are highly impacted by the health star ratings, which may increase or decrease the sales of the brands. These labels also affect the manufacturers regarding the need of improving as well as reformulating their products. It was agreed that the labelling systems that mix the evaluative graphical component as well as numbers are considered to be the most effective ones. It is not advisable to only display nutritional information in the labels without any recommendation or expert opinion. These kinds of strat egies are adopted for greater public health measures which would impact the profits made from the sale of the unhealthy products.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Suicide prevention project geared toward the elderly population

Introduction Suicide is an aspect that is well known by people due to its prevalence. However, there is much to be discovered in regard to the issues that are associated with suicide. Suicide can be defined as the process through which an individual ends his or her life purposely or deliberately. There are various factors that could lead to suicide, for instance stress, depression and in most cases, mental illness.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Suicide prevention project geared toward the elderly population specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Suicide is a concept that is viewed differently by various societies depending on their culture and religion. Most western cultures and Christianity for example perceive suicide to be a very negative concept that should always be avoided. Statistics show that in the United States of America, suicide is ranked as the fourth leading cause of deaths. Although suicide ca ses are seen in individuals of all ages and family backgrounds, there are some groups of people who are more vulnerable than others (Holmes and Holmes, 2005). This piece of work gives an in depth discussion of the issue of suicide with much emphasis being given to the elderly and how suicide could be prevented in this section of the population. The Problem Statement The problem of discussion in this project is the issue of suicide among the elderly persons in the world and in the United States of America in particular. Depression is an alarming condition that has affected an estimate of 19million of the American population each year. Adults are the most affected. The conditions worsen among the elderly especially due to the fact that it is not usually easy to detect. This is because the observed signs and symptoms with the elderly are usually confused or rather assumed for normal aging behavior. Research has showed that depression is a leading cause of suicide especially among the e lderly and the fact that it is not easy to diagnose it makes it worse. Over the past two decade, there has been an increase in the rate of suicide among the elderly. The elderly in the United States, those aged 65 years and above comprise a very small percentage of the whole population, only 13%. Despite this, they account for 20 percent of all the suicide deaths in the nation, which is an alarming number and hence the desire to carry out this project to help curb the problem. The most notable factor that has been identified to be exacerbating this problem among the elderly in America is detection where the condition is noted at a very late stage. Fear of confronting the issue as a mental illness is also a contributing factor to this problem.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Most of the elderly people are not usually ready to visit mental health facilities for assistance and hence the stigma in them leads to acute depression which in turn increases the chances of contemplating and committing suicide (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The project that I thought to be effective for this kind of problem is prevention and intervention oriented so as to come up with a long lasting solution to the problem. Target Population, Stakeholders and Participants The problem of suicide among the elderly has been very disturbing. For this reason, there ought to be strategic intervention and treatment measures established to curb this ordeal that is claiming a lot of lives and leaving others in devastating conditions. To do this, an exhaustive research ought to be carried out, involving all the individuals deemed to be appropriate in regard to contributing relevant information about the elderly and suicide instances. To come up with some informative and effective report in regard to the issue of suicide and how it could be prevented among the elderly, some indivi duals and groups of people ought to be involved. The target population will be men and women age of 65 years and above. Some of the other stakeholders and participants include the caregivers either at home or in the homes for the elderly, the relatives as well as medical practitioners that that are charged with the responsibility of dealing with emergency health issues such as suicide. Data Collection and Analysis Methods Data collection is a critical and sensitive aspect that requires some technical skills to allow for success in the process. It entails the practice of preparing and collecting information related to a certain aspect for different purposes for instance to carry out a certain project or to improve an already ongoing process. Data collection is intended to get relevant information that is used in making decisions and conclusions in regard to a certain topic of study (Sekaran, 2003). Data collection ought to be very objective for there to be informative and relevant da ta.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Suicide prevention project geared toward the elderly population specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Objectivity is however undermined by the human nature of biasness. Sampling is usually a good data collection method but only when used effectively. In order to achieve a high degree objectiveness, the sample should be as representative of the total population as possible In this study, a field research will be conducted where by information will be retrieved from various sources. This data will be useful in answering of the research question. Field data will be retrieved from a number of sources. Both primary as well as the secondary sources will be collected. This will include visiting the elderly in their homes as well as in the homes for the elderly and taking notes on the information given by the elders, the caregivers as well as the medical practitioners who provide medical services to the elderly. This will be very important in getting first hand information. It will also be important in enhancing the profitability of the data collected first hand. Important information will also be retrieved from the official documents from the nation’s health centers. Structured questionnaires will also be useful in collection of the necessary data. This method of data collection will be very helpful in collecting qualitative data from the selected sample from the population. However, this will be done with a lot care to avoid any negative feedback since the respondents in this case may be tempted to exaggerate the information they give to favor themselves. Data collection through interview will be conducted through face to face interaction with the respondents. This is where the respondents will be asked questions by the interviewer. In this case, the interviewer will read the questionnaire to the respondent and then record what they respond. In data analysis, the data collected will be both qualitative and quantitative types of data. This data will be collected through interviews as well as the relevant reports. The main aim of the research in this case will be identification of the suicide prevention measures.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This will be done by analyzing the information retrieved from different individuals. Data from different sources will help in identification of the problems in specific areas. This will help in identification of particular areas which needs immediate reforms. There are several methods which will be applied in data analysis. This analysis will include a precise documentation of the field data. The researcher will collect data from various sources. Then this data will be compiled and compared. It is therefore advisable for the researchers to ensure that the data collected is precise. The data collected from interviews and reports will also be examined at this stage. In this process, certain patterns will be identified as well as connections and similarities. This analysis will also identify any deviation from what is expected. Here, the researcher will therefore be able to identify some critical areas which need urgent changes in regard to preventing suicide among the elderly (Burns, 2000). Interventions and Treatment to the Problem From the above description of the problem of suicide among the elderly in America, it is evident that the issue is alarming thus necessitating some intervention and treatment measures to curb this ordeal that is claiming a lot of lives and leaving others in devastating conditions. To come up with effective intervention and treatment measures, it is advisable to look at the root causes of suicidal cases so as to be able to handle them effectively. This will enable for preventive measures to be applied where the condition has not been experienced and proper treatment when the conditions that may facilitate suicide have already occurred. From the data collected from the different participants using the various data collection methods and review of different literature on the topic, I noted that the identification of whether an individual is actually suicidal is a difficult task not only to a lay person but also to the trained profession als. It is however a greater challenge to those with less training and experience. The following are some of the circumstances that may contribute to higher risks of an elderly person to commit suicide: Financial crisis hence inability to live the desired life, depression, alcohol abuse, isolation which could be social, emotional or physical, the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness, loss of stature of the elderly in the family or society due to old age, some losses of either a spouse, a pet or a loved one, having life threatening or terminal disease and loneliness and inability to put up with it. Other factors that may exacerbate the risk of suicide among the elderly include excessive pain that could be as a result of a disease where the elderly prefer death to unending suffering, loss of independence and immobility where their movement and course of actions are restricted and observed, and lack of employment among others. Some medications can also cause symptoms of depression which may in turn cause suicide. They include hormones medication, steroids medication, blood pressure medication as well as arthritis medication (Ebersole, Hess and Luggen, 2004). Among the warning signs that a person could identify in suicidal elderly people include frequent statements about death and suicide, social withdrawals and a tendency to say goodbyes, instances of writing and revising a will, taking some medications without prescriptions, being careless on some issues and failure to follow the orders given by medical personnel, interruption of sleep patterns, having some interests in firearms which was initially absent, giving suicide threats, having increased interests on death related issues and expressing hopelessness and helplessness in their talks and actions (Evans and Radunovich, 2009). The knowledge of the above mentioned signs, symptoms and warning signs is very helpful in the event of being prepared and taking appropriate measures to prevent the issue of suicide among the elderly people. According to Goldsmith et al. (2002), some of the intervention and treatment measures that could be taken on the elderly to reduce instances of suicide include as simple as being a helping element to the elderly. One can offer help to elderly people who are contemplating suicide through various means for instance being alert to identify the common risk factors and warning signs associated with suicide and identifying and consulting health and medical practitioners in the society who may offer assistance when needed. Another possible way is talking openly to a trusted person about your concerns in respect to a certain behavior exhibited by an elderly person under your care. This last step is usually assumed to be useless but in the real sense, it helps greatly by raising ideas that could help deal with the situation appropriately. Cognitive therapy is a psychotherapy that is recommended as a treatment for suicide related syndrome. Clozapine medication also prevents suicide among people with schizophrenia (Brown, 2011). Project Goals, Their Assessment and Action Plan Every project is usually carried out with some aims and objectives. Some of the projects are aimed at coming up with preventive, intervention or consultation measures in regard to a specific topic or problem issue. For the sake of this assignment, the project is aimed at coming up with all possible suicide preventive measures in an effort to saving the population’s lives more especially the elderly people. The goals will be assessed through looking at the progress of the action plan. After the preventive and treatment measures are identified and analyzed, there is need to take action or else to implement the recommendations. There are various ways through which the project’s results could be implemented, for instance, through taking a number of elderly people who are identified to be at risk of committing suicide and taking the advocated measures to see the d ifference that could be experienced under controlled situations and measures. Challenges and Strategies to Address Them Projects are associated with a lot of challenges in their implementation depending on the situations surrounding the implementation. The project of study is not an exception and there are challenges in the implementation of the identified measures and strategies. However, the challenges have to be addressed in an appropriate manner that fosters success. Some of the challenges that could be faced include problems in the collection of data where some respondents may not be willing to give adequate and appropriate information. Another challenge is lack of cooperation of the responsible bodies in delivering the changes advocated for, for instance, the elderly and the caregivers. The challenges could be handled through assuring the respondents that the information they provide will be treated in a confidential manner and teaching all the responsible people on the import ance of life and hence that of preventing any suicidal cases. Impact of the Project on Social Change The project of study is meant to be a positive element which is supposed to help in bringing significant changes in regard to what should be done on the aspect of suicide among people in the United States of America and the elderly in particular. The fact that suicide could be viewed in a social perspective is a justification that this project should contribute positively to social change. Some of the social aspects associated with suicide include pressures, excessive suffering and fear which are difficult to deal with, depression as well as social and mental disorder. In some instances, suicide attempt can be seen as an act of seeking help and attention, an expression of desperation and thus using suicide as a way to escape as opposed to a desire to die. This therefore follows that in case a solution could be offered to the elderly and other people who are at a risk of contemplating suicide; there is a very high chance of change of intention, from death to life. This is because no one wishes to die whenever there is a chance of having a good life (National Institute of Mental Health, 2000). In regard to social change, this project will change the society’s perception in regard to the issue of suicide. It will for example help them to be more prepared to prevent and deal with issues related to suicide among the elderly through the understanding of the warning signs as well as the symptoms associated with the suicidal elderly. People will also be able to handle the elderly in an appropriate manner having the understanding that they are a vulnerable group that require care, for instance, through provision of company to avoid loneliness, provision of encouragement and motivation of a brighter tomorrow to avoid the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness and provision of the necessities and basic needs to avoid them to wish that they would afford some items , an aspect that could contribute to depression and hence suicidal behavior. The elderly should also not be left to live alone since this may encourage suicide as they fail to see the meaning of life especially after comparing their earlier lives when they were independent and mobile and when they are elderly and hence incapacitated. This may lead to a feeling of regret and they may also feel rejected and hence contemplate suicide as a way of escaping the reality (Dougherty, 2008). Conclusion It is evident that suicide is a chief public health problem that claims a significant number of lives, the young and the elderly, each day in the United States of America and the world at large. Unsuccessful suicide attempts are also experienced in a high rate. For this reason, there is dire need for preventive and curative measures in an effort to minimize the instances of suicide as well as attempted suicide. There are various factors that have been attributed to be the cause of suicide for i nstance hopelessness, loneliness, stress and depression as well as mental illness among others. Preventive measures should therefore be directed towards solving the root causes of suicide other than the signs and symptoms of suicide since as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Reference List American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th Ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. Brown. K. (2011). In Suicide Prevention: Seniors In Houston Are A Forgotten Population. Web. Burns, R.B. (2000). Introduction to Research Methods. London: Sage. Dougherty, M.A. (2008). Psychological Consultation and Collaboration in School and  Community Settings. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Ebersole, P, Hess, A.P and Luggen, S.A (2004).Toward Healthy Aging: Human Needs and Nursing Response.6th ed. USA: Elsevier Health Sciences. Evans, D.G., and Radunovich, L.H. (2009). Suicide and the Elderly: Warning Signs and How to Hel p. Web. Goldsmith, K.S. et al. (2002). Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative. New York: National Academies Press. Holmes, M.R. and Holmes, T.S. (2005). Suicide: Theory, Practice, and Investigation. New York: SAGE. National Institute of Mental Health.(2000). Older adults: Depression and suicide facts. Science on Our Minds Series. Web. Sekaran, U. (2003). Research Methods for Business: A Skill-Building Approach. 4th Ed. New York, NY: John Wiley Sons. This research paper on Suicide prevention project geared toward the elderly population was written and submitted by user Samiyah Suarez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Spanish culture Essays

Spanish culture Essays Spanish culture Paper Spanish culture Paper Essay Topic: Aint I a Woman Black Women and Feminism In general, it is always very advantageous to speak the countrys language you intend to do business with, and particularly if you intend to live there on a permanent basis. This is true for every culture but even more for Spain, as the Spaniards do not, on average, speak English as well as a Northern European. Many companies in Spain have staff with good English language skills, but an initial approach in Spanish is more effective and it is inevitable on a non-corporate level. However, to succeed in Spain or any other culture in general, good language skills alone are in most cases simply not sufficient. Cultural differences and customs can cause more difficulties and stress than one might expect. As a consequence, it is always wise to enquire about the cultural particularities and the way one is expected to respond to them beforehand. Those soft skills might not decide upon success or failure, but what is quite certain is that they create comfort, be it in the business environment or in your private life in Spain. The cross-cultural competence comprises aspects related to verbal and non-verbal communication, social behaviour and appearance. In order to prevent culture shock and not to drop a clanger you should be aware of the following: GREETING and ADDRESSING a PERSON In Spain there are distinct differences in the greeting customs between males and females or in a formal or informal meeting. When introduced expect to shake hands; do so again when leaving. Many Spaniards will meet each other with a kiss on both cheeks, mostly close female friends. However, this is not common in business relationships where it is wisest to offer just a handshake. Once a relationship is established, men may exchange a hug and pat each other on the shoulder. Spaniards have two first names and two surnames, constituted of their fathers first surname and their mothers first surname. People are often referred to as Don or Dona and their first name when in formal occasion, or use Sei or or Sei ora as you would Mr. or Mrs. COMMUNICATION Spaniards are very talkative and are very energetic while talking. This energy becomes apparent in the pace of their speech, the tone of their voice as well as in their body language. So if several people speak at once dont be surprised and be prepared that your Spanish counterparts could, and he/she usually will, interrupt you. This is not a sign of disrespect but the way to show how interested they are in what you are saying. Vice versa you feel free do it, too. Spaniards also speak a lot with their hands; you should not mistake it for anger and what is also very important, never mimic them. Generally, people stand very close when talking, what might be intimidating or uncomfortable for you but stepping back from them will likely be seen as offensive. Even though Spaniards require less personal/physical space while communicating you should never touch, hug or back slap a Spaniard you do not know well, unless a friendly Spaniard touches you first. As far as the conversation topics are concerned you might talk about sports, your home country, Spanish traditions and history and your family but you should avoid discussing religion, feminism, Civil War and World War II. You should be polite at all times in Spain. On entering a shop or a bar a general buenos dias (good morning) or buenas tardes (good afternoon), and adios (good buy) on leaving is expected. A popular trap for foreigners is the similarity between the words services and servicios; so if you commend someone for his good servicios, you are basically praising his toilet. Also be aware of your body language which might lead to misunderstandings and offence. While crossing your fingers has several meanings, usually things such as protection or good luck, and is a nice gesture to be friendly, the forming of a circle using your thumb and index finger (American symbol for ok) constitutes a deep insult in Spain as it refers to certain body parts. You should also refrain from yawning or stretching in public as it is considered vulgar. If you want to indicate that you are alert you could pull down on your eyelid. If you are a woman be prepared for lengthy gazes from admiring males and whistles, although it is now considered to be rude doing so. MEETINGS and NEGOTIATIONS Spaniards prefer doing business with people they know and trust. As a consequence, it is important for your success to spend sufficient time with your potential business partners and let them to get to know you. This will usually happen during meetings, as face-to-face communication is the preferred way to establish business relationships and doing business in general. Meetings are often held over lunches and dinners. Nevertheless, they are yet formal and follow rules of protocol but those are not always too strict. Furthermore, you should ensure that your partner knows about your intention to talk about business. The first meeting is usually all about getting to know each other, so do not be surprised if it does not lead to a conclusion of the contract. In general, meetings are for discussion and exchanging ideas rather than making decisions. In addition, most Spaniards do not give their opinions at meetings, therefore you are advised to watch their non-verbal communication. Doing so will also help you to ensure your partners understand you, as Spaniards do not like to lose their face and try to avoid looking foolish at all times they will rarely admit that they do not understand something. This is more the case if you are not speaking Spanish. In Spain it is of crucial importance how you present yourself. Along your immaculate outward appearance your character and personality will play a big role. It is best for you to display modesty, e. g. when describing your achievements and accomplishments. Furthermore, play safe avoiding confrontations and particularly avoid insulting the Spanish ego at all costs. Honour and personal pride mean everything in Spanish culture and Spaniards do not like to publicly admit that they are wrong thus, it is better to agree that you disagree rather than maintaining your ground. In addition, always try to build rapport with your colleagues as feelings are as important as evidence in making a decision to the Spanish. Appointments are binding and should be made in advance, preferably by telephone or fax and reconfirmed the week before. Even though Spain is one of the least punctual countries in the whole Europe make sure you arrive on time and be prepared to keep waiting for some 15-30 minutes on your business colleagues rather than keep them waiting for you. Present your business card, best if it is two-sided, to your partner upon arriving, handing it with the Spanish side facing the recipient. Although, many Spanish business people speak English, not all do so. Thus, it is wise to check it beforehand and if needed to hire an interpreter. It is recommended to bring plenty of literature about your company, samples of your products or demonstrations of your services. Moreover, it is a very good idea to have all of your materials printed in two languages, Spanish and your own. Hand out a paper summary of your presentation in Spanish to make sure that your audience understands what you are saying. Negotiations are normally extremely long and arduous but if succeed they will usually result in a long-term relationship for your company and particularly for you as a person. Even if you switch companies your Spanish colleagues allegiances will be to you rather than the company you represent. So remaining patient in business transactions can be very rewarding. During business negotiations, rules and systems are only used as a last resort to solving a problem, and you should be prepared for a chaotic atmosphere. Often several people will be talking simultaneously and interrupting you. In the Spanish business culture, at the conclusion of a successful negotiation it is common to offer gifts . You should ensure that it is a high-quality item and that it is finely wrapped. If you are offered a gift, you should open it immediately and in front of the giver to show him respect. DINING ETIQUETTE and ENTERTAINMENT In the south of Spain it is acceptable to be late by 30 minutes for social meetings. If you are invited to a Spanish persons house you can bring chocolates, or cake; wine, liqueur, or brandy; flowers for the hostess, or a small gift for the children, which is always appreciated. Meals in Spain are a great opportunity for establishing personal relationships and developing trust, even with the business partners. Business colleagues often dine together, but different ranks within a company do not mix. Spanish men normally accept a meal invitation form a businesswoman although she must remain purely professional at all times. Generally meal time in Spain is considered as time for relaxation. Unless an arrangement was made for discussing business in a restaurant, deals are normally closed in the office. However, after a successful negotiation you all go to a restaurant to celebrate. Attempt to give a toast in Spanish (toast from females also acceptable) but let the host do the first toast. You are only to bring a spouse, if you know that the others are bringing their spouses, too. Also smoking during dinners is much more acceptable in Spain than in other countries. It is better to decline food rather than not finishing it, as in Spain it is considered rude to waste food. Tipping everybody is very common in Spanish culture; a tip of 5% in restaurants will be appreciated. DRESS ETIQUETTE Appearance is extremely important to Spaniards. They place greater value on formal dressing than many other Europeans. In Spain it is necessary to project good taste in apparel. If you want to leave a lasting impression, look fashionable and smart; dress conservatively and try to avoid bright or flashy colours, for it is not favoured to stand out. Business attire includes suits and ties, even in warm weather, as shorts are rarely worn in public. However, the jacket can be taken off during a meeting, if the senior person may do so. Female business travellers are best off in well-cut suits, dresses, blouses and skirts, and they should accentuate their femininity through impeccable hair. Elegant accessories are significant for both male and female. If you get a formal invitation to a party, you should wear a black tuxedo for men and a cocktail dress for women, always in conservative colours. Business casual usually means a clean and fashionable designer cotton shirt and good pants, and of course, no tie.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Business Sustainability Performance †Free Samples to Students

The main purpose of strategic operations management is to help and support the business organizations to increase the overall performance. In order to achieve strategic operations successfully, the business organizations need to consider efficiency and flexibility. The strategic operations management consists of competitive business approaches and moves to ensure successful business performance. This helps the organizations to define the mission and vision of the business by setting accurate objectives and implementing and executing suitable strategies. The fact that everything is done strategically, defines the success of the operations management. This report emphasizes on identifying and analyzing the operations of the organization named Tindo Solar by considering the value chain of the organization. The report also includes the inbound and outbound logistics of the company and its effect on the customers. Tindo Solar is a solar panel manufacturing company based in Adelaide, Australia. Tindo Solar is a national company that designs and manufactures solar panel products strictly based on the Australian conditions. The products manufactured by the company are of superior-quality due to which the products are highly preferable among the customers. The solar panels manufactured by the company require minimal maintenance thereby, making the products cost-effective for the customers. Due to technological advancements, the company has incorporated the latest features in the solar panel products. Therefore, the solar panel products manufactured by Tindo Solar are highly automated and technologically advanced. By considering the present market trend, the company has made required amendments and inclusions in terms of technology in the products. As a result, the solar panels by Tindo Solar are highly preferable within the market and the customers. Moreover, the company provides various service o ptions to the customers such as easy finance and installation along with the installation charge as low as $2000. Furthermore, the company provides more than 20 years as guarantee period thereby, making it more reliable for the customers[1]. In order to run a business successfully, it is essential for the business organizations to conduct certain operations strategically. This helps in maintaining the track of the various strategic activities conducted for successful business operations. Settings goals timely and the ability of the business organizations to manage the vicissitudes of the daily operations of the business highlight the backbone of the business[2]. Therefore, effective management of the daily operations of Tindo Solar includes managing finances, operation planning, protection of business, benchmarking, supply chain management, management leadership, organizational design and business sustainability[3]. Finance management is a crucial aspect of for Tindo Solar, as this provided opportunity for appropriate financial resource management. Financial management is concerned with the acquisition, financing and management of assets thereby, resulting in the success of the business[4]. The business organizations fail to utilize its complete potential for growth and expansion without proper administration and effective utilization of finance. The main factors of financial management include investment decision, financing decision and dividend decision[5]. Therefore, Tindo Solar need to manage the finance of the company to conduct business successfully. By strategically conducting the investment decision, Tindo Solar will be able to determine the total amount of assets required retention by the organization. Secondly, Tindo Solar needs to manage the supply chain effectively as this will allow the organization for effective management of network planning, inventory control, distribution strategies, outsourcing and procurement[6]. The supply chain of Tindo Solar will help the organization to integrate the stakeholders from the supplier to the customers. This will also help Tindo Solar in promoting mutual sharing of information among the channel members thereby, helping planning and monitoring of the processes[7]. Co-operation among the channel members are essential for effective management of supply chain by promoting coordinated activities by Tindo Solar. Benchmarking is defined as the continuous systematic process of measuring own output or work process against the toughest competitors in the market[8]. Continuous benchmarking will help Tindo Solar to identify their strengths and weakness and work on it to sustain in the competitive market. As the use of solar panel is highly facilitated In Australia, it is essential for Tindo Solar to continuously compare and contrast their operational strategies with the best in the market. Therefore, this will help Tindo Solar to satisfy the customers better by fulfilling the needs and establishing new standards and goals[9]. Moreover, benchmarking will also motivate the employees of Tindo Solar by challenging them professionally and provide career growth. Ensuring business sustainability will allow Tindo Solar conduct business in Australia without hampering the environment but contributing towards the economy of the country[10]. Business sustainability is an integral part of the corporate risk management, as this allows the business organizations protect the environment while conducting business. Therefore, environmental sustainability for the business of Tindo Solar will provide an opportunity for the company to make responsible business decisions. Considering the nature of work done by Tindo Solar, it is already beneficial for the environment, as it is facilitating the use of solar panels within the people. Therefore, both economic and environmental aspect of the country is benefited due to appropriate business sustainability. The concept of lean product management theory is defined as the ability of the business organizations of being less wasteful along with doing things that are big for the country, its economy and the environment[11]. However, lean product management theory does not signify being cheap. Therefore, implementation of lean product management theory will help Tindo Solar to maintain the operations of the company by maintaining their profit level along with being less wasteful. The implementation of lean product management theory allowed the managers of Tindo Solar to get the value of the products to the market rapidly. The use of solar panels is highly preferable among the Australian population. Based on the increasing demand for the use of solar panels among the population, the managers of Tindo Solar has served the market. The company began its operation in 2003 and since then has been able to grow their business and customers base successfully. The organization has even opened its branches in Melbourne since the organization began conducting business. The use of this theory has helped Tindo Solar to penetrate the market into the half. Market penetration helped Tindo Solar in working towards the goal instead of building arbitrarily. According to the theory, the managers of Tindo Solar are able to explore the problems rather than emphasizing solely on the requirements. After evaluating the market, the managers came to know about the requirement of the customers. The customers were also encountering issues in terms of maintaining electricity and paying huge bills. Therefore, the company was able to explore the problems of the customers and gather to required features for solving the problem. The company started manufacturing and installing solar panels for the customers thereby, ensuring both solar and environmental help. The company also emphasized on spreading awareness among the people regarding the diverse application of solar panels along with low maintenance and fewer electricity bills. Ensuring business sustainability will allow Tindo Solar conduct business in Australia without hampering the environment but contributing towards the economy of the country[12]. Business sustainability is an integral part of the corporate risk management, as this allows the business organizations protect the environment while conducting business. Therefore, environmental sustainability for the business of Tindo Solar will provide an opportunity for the company to make responsible business decisions. Considering the nature of work done by Tindo Solar, it is already beneficial for the environment, as it is facilitating the use of solar panels within the people. Therefore, both economic and environmental aspect of the country is benefited due to appropriate business sustainability. The demand of using solar power panel in Australia has increased over the years due to the adverse environmental impact of the conventional electricity system[13]. The heating and cooling machines and systems contribute adversely towards the environment. Therefore, ensuring business sustainability will allow Tindo Solar to manage financial, environmental and social opportunities and obligations appropriately. It has been seen that in order to progress and compete, the business organizations are undertaking strategies without considering the adverse environmental impact. Global warming is one of the biggest examples of such negligence[14]. One of the sustainable business strategies undertaken by Tindo Solar is that the company has taken the initiative of going green with the commercial solar panel in Adelaide and Melbourne[15]. According to the rules and policies of the Australian Government, it is important for the organizations to produce energy from renewable resources[16]. The main motive of Tindo Solar is to produce residential and commercial energy to the people from sunlight. The company installs solar panels on the roofs and ground of the premises in such a way that direct sunlight falls on the panels. The photons of the sunlight then reach the panels and the photovoltaic tubes help in transferring it into useable energy. The use of solar panels for both commercial and residential is beneficial for the environment. The use of solar panels are beneficial are it is one of the renewable producers of energy. Solar panels can be used in all parts that receive sunlight[17]. The use of solar panel as the source of energy completely mitigates the chances of power or electricity cut. Moreover, solar panels can be used as long as sunlight is present in the environment. Therefore, this is a sustainable business approach used by the Tindo Solar that is beneficial for the country, its people and the environment. The solar panels provided by Tindo Solar have diverse applications but low maintenance costs thereby, making the use extremely profitable and beneficial for the environment and the company. The customers using solar panels only need to keep the panels clean and has no other maintenance costs[18]. Moreover, Tindo Solar provides a warranty period of more than 20 years for the products they install thereby, m aintaining sufficient environmental, social and financial sustainability. In this report, it can be concluded that Tindo Solar needs to implement strategic operations management for conducting business successfully. Tindo Solar energy is a solar company based in Adelaide, Australia. It is important for the company to manage the strategic operations in terms of financial management, benchmarking, supply chain and sustainability appropriately. The use of lean product management theory will help the organization to maintain the operational management of the product. The use of this theory helped Tindo Solar to manufacture products with huge benefit but not cheap. Moreover, Tindo Solar has a sustainable approach towards the environment of the country, as the company primarily emphasizes on the manufacturing of solar panels and installing them. This is a huge initiative undertaken by the company, as the solar panels have diverse applications and low maintenance costs. In addition to, the company also provides more than 20 years of warranty on their products the reby, ensuring financial and social sustainability. Amigoni, Francesco, et al. "Competitions for benchmarking: task and functionality scoring complete performance assessment." IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 22.3 (2015): 53-61. Azevedo, Susana G., et al. "Influence of green and lean upstream supply chain management practices on business sustainability." IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 59.4 (2012): 753-765. Bansal, Pratima, and Mark R. DesJardine. "Business sustainability: It is about time." Strategic Organization 12.1 (2014): 70-78. Christiansen, Ulrik, Annemette Kjà ¦rgaard, and Rasmus Koss Hartmann. "Working in the shadows: Understanding ERP usage as complex responsive processes of conversations in the daily practices of a Special Operations Force." Scandinavian Journal of Management 28.2 (2012): 173-184. Christopher, Martin. Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK, 2016. Gao, Jijun, and Pratima Bansal. "Instrumental and integrative logics in business sustainability." Journal of Business Ethics 112.2 (2013): 241-255. Hepsà ¸, Vidar, et al. "Integrated Environmental Monitoring in Daily Operations." SPE Intelligent Energy International. Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2012. Kayser, Mark Andreas, and Michael Peress. "Benchmarking across borders: electoral accountability and the necessity of comparison." American Political Science Review 106.3 (2012): 661-684. Matta, Andrea, et al. "Modelling home care organisations from an operations management perspective." Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal 26.3 (2014): 295-319. Ng, Anthony C., and Zabihollah Rezaee. "Business sustainability performance and cost of equity capital." Journal of corporate finance 34 (2015): 128-149. Poksinska, Bozena, Dag Swartling, and Erik Drotz. "The daily work of Lean leaders–lessons from manufacturing and healthcare." Total Quality Management & Business Excellence 24.7-8 (2013): 886-898. Slawinski, Natalie, and Pratima Bansal. "Short on time: Intertemporal tensions in business sustainability." Organization Science 26.2 (2015): 531-549. 'Solar For Business' (Tindosolar.com.au, 2017) accessed 31 August 2017 Stadtler, Hartmut. "Supply chain management: An overview." Supply chain management and advanced planning. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2015. 3-28. 'Tindo Solar –' (Tindosolar.com.au, 2017) accessed 31 August 2017.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Psychology Report - memory for text Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Psychology Report - memory for text - Essay Example Results showed that the group in which context was given before reading the passage had performed better in comprehension and recall than the two groups in which no difference on recall was found and that comprehension and recall is significantly correlated when context was given prior to the introduction of material. The procedure is really quite simple. Â  First, you arrange things into different groups depending on their makeup. Â  Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. Â  If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is the next step, otherwise you are pretty well set. Â  It is important not to overdo any particular endeavor. Â  That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. Â  In the short run this may not seem important, but complications from doing too many can easily arise. Â  A mistake can be expensive as well. Â  The manipulation of the appropriate mechanisms should be self-explanatory, and we need not dwell on it here. Â  At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. Â  Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. Â  It is difficult to foresee any end to this task in the immediate future, but then one never can tell. (Bransford & Johnston, 1972, p. 722.) Bransford and Johnston used this passage in their study of comprehension and recall. Two groups of subjects listened to the passage, and were asked to understand and remember it. Â  One group was made to listen to this passage right away while the second group was informed beforehand that the passage was about washing clothes. Â  Bransford and Johnston found that people in the second group were much better at understanding and remembering the passage than those in the first group. Â  The first group had no context in which to incorporate the passage; the second group could readily integrate it into their prior knowledge of washing clothes. Prior knowledge is a factor in

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Uniformly Accelerated Motion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Uniformly Accelerated Motion - Assignment Example The graphical representation for movement along straight line includes plotting distance against time is always regarded as positive. The curve of this graph never reduces take for instance the speedometer and odometer in a vehicle. Since the displacement is termed as the vector quantity, it can be graphed against the period if we confine the motion of a line and then use the positive and the negative signs in specifying the direction. However, it is a conventional practice plotting displacement along straight line against time with the help of a scheme. Such graphical representation along the x-axis may be positive or negative. The graph can either be a plus and get more plus or negative and get more minus. In the two cases, the curve would be a positive slope and the object will be a positive velocity. Additionally, the graph might be positive, have less positive and or a minus, and have more minus. In the two cases, the curve would have a minus slope and the object will be a negat ive velocity. The instantaneous velocity of any given object at any given time will be the displacement slope against the time graph. Therefore, it can either be +ve, -ve, or even zero. The instantaneous acceleration of the object at a given time will be the gradient of the velocity against the time graph at that given time. For the constant motion and velocity along the x-axis, the x graph against t graph is represented as the titled straight line. For the constant motion and its acceleration, the v against the t graph is represented as a straight line (Bueche and Eugene, 134).

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Developing Reflective Practice Essay Example for Free

Developing Reflective Practice Essay This essay will focus on developing reflective practice through exploring a critical incident in the workplace. It will explore different methods of reflection and use one particular method to reflect on the critical incident (appendix 1) and explain why this individual method was chosen. It will evaluate individual career development by reviewing past practice and the skills that have been gained throughout time, for example teamwork, group roles and experience gained, which will be ways to measure how development has progressed. It will illustrate a critical understanding of assessing personal capability within the workplace. It will identify a range of personal and interpersonal skills that contribute to effective professional practice and different types of work methods and will also reflect on practice and develop action plans to meet personal goals for the future. It is important to reflect on practice to help us grow as people, find faults and work on issues to better ourselves. Wigens (2003:1) states ‘reflective practice has been identified as one of the key ways in which we can learn from our experiences’, however Atherton (2003) cited in Johnston and Nahmad-Williams (2009:367) ‘questions whether reflection can really bring together the practical and theoretical’. Paige- Smith and Craft (2008) puts forward that it is important to reflect on how we interact with children and observe their peer interactions; this helps us to reflect on how important interactions are. After looking at Different methods of reflection, I investigated and considered a few, for example Gibbs and Kolbs. Gibbs is quite similar to De Bonos as you are able to explore the different stages in depth, but found that Kolbs does not have a clear cut off between each phase of the cycle, therefore I found it difficult to pull the case study apart using this method. Johnston and Nahmad-Williams (2009:365) writes ‘Although Kolbs model is useful to see where refl ection fits into the learning cycle, it does not provide detail about what reflection is and the processes in which it is achieved’ The model of reflection that has been chosen is De Bono’s six thinking hats. This method struck to be the most interesting to myself as it can be quite a visual tool. The hats are referred to by their colour at all times as opposed to their function (De Bono 2000), the reason for this is as De Bono (2000:14) states ‘If you ask someone to give his or her emotional reaction to something, you are unlikely to get an honest answer because people think it is wrong to be emotional’.  Lindon (2012) puts forward that De Bono’s method is a parallel way of thinking, meaning that you are looking and thinking in the same direction yet the direction changes. It helps to give a more rounded viewpoint and helps see things from a different perspective. Dreyer (2012) illustrates this by imagining a house with four people around it, one facing the front, one facing the back and one at either side; All may argue that their viewpoint is the best, but until you walk around and view the house from all four angles you will not be able to have an understanding of different perspectives. Johnston and Nahmad-Williams (2009:365) state that ‘Dewey (1859-1952) was an influential figure in education and viewed reflection as a way of purposeful thinking that is systematic and raises questions and answers’. De Bono (2000) suggests that thinking is imperative in everyday life and no matter how good we think we are we should always strive to be better. De Bono’s six hat model has six aspects the first being the white hat which suggests that you first examine the data you have available, the facts and the figures, in this case Child Ls mum wants to be able to bring her child into nursery earlier than 8:00am as she has to be in work, but thinks it is too expensive to pay for the early sessions, after being told to not come in early, mum still persisted in arriving prior to 8:00am. The second aspect is the red hat which is your intuition, emotions and reaction, in this case feelings were frustration that mum did not want to pay like others, annoyed that she was ignoring me, aggravated she kept bringing child L early, infuriated at the fact that she was not communicating with staff, uncooperative as did not want to help mum and nervous to keep having to tell her repetitively. The third aspect is the black hat which is the negative points of the situation, De Bono (2000) states that this is the most valuable of all of the hats an d should not be seen as a bad hat, it is only to highlight possible risks and potential problems, in this case it is unfair to parents that are paying for the early start and not fair on staff members setting the room up. The fourth aspect is the yellow hat which is the positive aspects of the situation, in this case it is good for parents to test staff members patience as it helps deal with things in future calmly and confidently, having gained knowledge and experience, also that the manager and parent were able to meet half way and come to a conclusion of a joint decision. The fifth aspect is the green hat which summarises and  concludes of events, helping to decide what has been learned and what you will take forward into future practice. In this case it has shown that parents are going to get upset at times and practitioners have to deal with it as effective as possible. In future I would try and resolve the situation myself by coming to a resolution without involving the manager if possible, this way it may have not escalated as quickly as it did. The final aspect is the blue hat which is the evaluation to put the green hat into action. In this case make sure there are parent comment boxes wher e if a parent is unhappy they are able to voice their opinion and feel listened to instead of getting worked up. If it is possible to find an alternative and affordable way to engage struggling parents for example to be able to drop their child off early maybe just five minutes. You may then imagine you were the complete opposite and ask yourself how you would now feel. By going through these different thought processes you are allowing your brain to take a journey to come to a fair conclusion. Having worked through the above reflective model it has highlighted some personal strengths and weaknesses which have been useful to reflect on professional development. Writing a timeline of career progression (appendix 2) has enabled me to look at past practice and focus on the skills gained throughout years of training. This has been a useful method of looking at personal progression. The most enjoyable experience had to be when I worked in Majorca as a children’s representative. Whilst here learnt to tone down my expressive personality, after a hurricane struck I panicked and scared the holiday makers, my manager pulled me into the office and explained that it was very unprofessional and that I needed to control my emotions. Another experience was after returning home, a family that used to attend my previous nursery had informed me of some very upsetting news. They told me that the mother of a 1 month old baby had died. The father asked if I would be interested in becoming their private nanny, after working on the other side of child care in a home environment I was able to see things from a different perspective and can relate to parents in current practice. Many times in life the opportunity have arisen for me to develop and grow as a practitioner. Since being a child my career path has been quite clear and after leaving school I began to study child care, alongside working with children. Looking back it was quite a vulnerable decision as the importance o f childcare was not as  great as now, and after working in several nurseries, learnt that it is hard work. The chance finally came for a promotion to be third in charge of a nursery, after being successful in the position I realised that it was going to be a difficult journey. The job was very rewarding, although the time spent with the children had been halved due to paperwork and other duties, and other practitioners that used to work alongside me were now taking instructions from me. Through this time I began to deal with confrontation, at first the thought was quite daunting but after lots of practice feel very comfortable to approach this. The next step in my career development was a job that I happen to stumble across. I quickly arranged an interview as the money was greater yet the responsibilities cut. The setting was not like one I have worked in, or heard of before as there were lots of deprived children and chance to delve into the social work side of things. In the past my experience has been in upper class nurseries with highly qualified parents such as Lawyers and Doctors. I quickly learned that this was going to bring me lots of experience and after working there for a year and a half I got promoted to a room leader, this is my current situation and have now been working there for four years. Every day I feel I learn something new in my job role and am one of the few people who love my job. Within my duties I attend core group meetings and case conferences, liaise with social workers and other professionals, as well as support the staff in my room with their daily duties and most importantly care for the children within my setting. The team we have is a highly qualified group of people who have all worked there for a long time and enjoy working together. Each staff member has a different personality which helps the nursery see things from different perspectives. Miller (2005) proposes that teams get together by different personalities balancing out so everybody has an input. I have a very bubbly and confident personality yet a colleague of mine is qui te the opposite. It is this balance that helps the staff and parents to feel comfortable and be able to approach individual members of the team with ease to support their personal preference. Manktelow (1995) illustrates you are able to solve different problems using numerous approaches such as ambition, sensitivity, creativity etc. As staff we are able to approach difficulties within our working hours and overcome them giving each other great support. Like Lindon (2012) we work effectively as a team even though there is a hierarchy  everyone is allowed to have their own opinion and are listened to which helps everybody feel positive. All members of the team enjoy attending regular training courses to make sure we are up to date with current practice and procedures. Miller (2005) puts forward that it is important for practitioners to take a critical look at theory and practice when working with children. Regular staff meetings are held and staff appraisals. It is important to be able to give and receive constructive criticism. I recently have started to give the 4 practitioners underneath me appraisals. I find it to be quite difficult to explain that they need to work o n different parts of their practice. This is an area that I need to work on. The praise sandwich is a tactic that my manager explained to me, when you have something negative that you need to discuss with a member of the team, you should start and end by saying something positive. This helps the person to realise that they are acknowledged for the good practice as well as the bad. She also told me to be more of a Swan which was explained to me like this. A swan is a beautiful creature who is relaxed above water, however below the water her feet are going very fast. My manager explained for me to stay calm on the outside in situations even if underneath I am struggling. After researching more about this found a good self reflection tool called SWAN. Jagusiak (2013) writes that it stands for Strength, Weakness, Ambition and Need. She explains that it involves witnessing and examining ones own practice, although you are watching someone else, this will help to analyse and critique any weaknesses. I am proud to be part of the team and feel that we are at the performing stage in our career. Tuckman (1965) cited by Smith (2005) argues that when groups of people come together they go through four separate stages as they meet and establish. These phases are called forming, storming, norming and performing. Forming is when the people in the group are meeting and accepting each other, they tend to test boundaries and figure interpersonal behaviours out. Storming is when they are a bit more comfortable and are able to speak out, question and criticize one another, they feel more comfortable to form conflict. Norming is when the group is established, they have overcome resistance and able to express personal opinions. Performing is the fourth stage where a team work well together, almost complement each other and help one another, roles are well established and performance is high. This is where my team are at the moment. Tuckman later in 1977 proposed an update and added a fifth phase adjourning. This is the stage where tasks are complete, people go their separate ways and group members can disengage. This can be due to retirement or the setting closes. After conducting some individual experiments to see how I work and how I fit into my team, I found that an auditory learning style suits best as the spoken word seems to digest better personally. The Belbin Team Inventory test showed that the implementer stuck out from the rest. I find this to be true as am a very positive person and am motivated and self disciplined. My favourite questionnaire had to be the Honey and Mumfords learning style. After completing this it was found to be quite evenly distributed between all of the aspects, which are the activist, the theorist, the pragmatist and the reflector. My scores were slightly higher in reflector and pragmatist. I am in agreement with this as am very enthusiastic about trying new things out in pract ice, yet able to stand back and view the whole picture before jumping in head first. Lindon (2012) writes once we have highlighted our preferred learning style using many questionnaires there are a number of ways to put these into practice. Completing these self-reflection tests has enabled me to understand more about the person that I am, how I work and what I need to strive to achieve in the near future. Taking this into consideration I have planned for some future development. I thought it would be useful to look at the early year’s standards and aim to develop some aspects of these. With this in mind I have chosen 2.5 Develop and sustain respectful relationships with children and their families. I have chosen this one linking back to my critical incident. It is important to sustain respectful relationships with parents as you have to work in partnership with them on a daily basis. Through these professional relationships comes trust allowing us to fulfil our parents as partner’s ethos. The second aspect I would like to develop is 7.2 take a lead in establishing and sustaining a culture of cooperative working between colleagues and wider professionals. I have chosen this one due to the fact I actively engage with outside agencies and other professionals on a daily basis and would like to make sure that I am continuing this cooperative behaviour. In conclusion I feel that I am a very reflective person. I enjoy receiving constructive criticism, as I like to have goals to work towards and always strive to better myself. I have enjoyed completing this essay as it has highlighted many things about myself I had forgotten along the way, such as how I used to behave and react to problems. By illustrating this it has stated the fact that without knowing I have been learning and developing from the start. I have discovered ways for me and my team to find out more about how we work as practitioners and ways to overcome certain situations like my critical incident. I am proud of my personal achievement and would encourage anyone to work with children as it is a very rewarding path in life. Dreyer, L Arts Forward, Munch Club #1: Edward deBono’s Six Thinking Hats Sep 10th 2012; http://artsfwd.org/munch-club-1-edward-debonos-six-thinking-hats/ On-Line-UK [Accessed 20.11.13] De Bono, E (2000) Six Thinking Hats, Penguin Books; Great Britain Jagusiak, C (2013)SWAN technique; http://www.satyaliveyoga.com.au/2013/04/16/swan-technique/ On-Line-UK[Accessed 10.12.13] Johnston, J and Nahmad- Williams (2009) Early Childhood Studies, Pearson Education Ltd; England Lindon, J (2012) Reflective Practice and Early Years Professionalism, 2nd edition, Bookpoint LTD; Oxon Manktelow, J (1995) Mind Tools Essential Skills for an excellent career, Mind Tools, UK; Blackwell Miller, L (2005) Developing Early Years Practice, Oxon; David Fulton Publishers Paige-Smith, A and Craft, A (2008) Developing Reflective Practice in the Early Years, Berkshire; Open University Press Reed, M and Natalie, C (2010) Reflective Practice in the Early Years, SAGE Publications LTD; London Smith, M. K. (2005). ‘Bruce W. Tuckman – forming, storming, norming and performing in groups, the encyclopedia of informal education. [http://infed.org/mobi/bruce-w-tuckman-forming-storming-norming-and-performing-in-groups/. Accessed: [02.12.13]. Wigens, L (2003) Beginning Reflective Practice, Cheltenham; Nelson thornes Ltd

Thursday, November 14, 2019

An Analysis of Burger King :: Business Management Studies

An Analysis of Burger King Burger King is a reliable burger company which has had its ups and downs. In 1974, it came out with a slogan of "Have it your way" and at this time it also had a 4 % market share. Burger King's idea was to have the customer have their burger done their way rather than a standard burger. In the early 80's Burger King was trying to keep sales growing so they had to keep changing their advertising. In 1982 "Battle of the burgers" and "Aren't you hungry for a Burger king now?" were the slogans used. In 1983 "Broiling vs. frying" and 1985 "The big switch". All these ads throughout the years helped increase market shares from 7.6% to 8.3% from 1983 to 1985. "Search for herb" was a slogan used by BK about a person that has never tasted a whopper burger, this campaign was supposed to increase market share by 10% but in reality only increased it by 1% it was a disaster. In 1986-1987 "this is a burger king town" and "best food for fast times" brought a lot of attention to the company. In 1988 "We do it like you do it" was used often but a year later they came out with two new slogans which confused the customer. In 1989 "Sometimes you gotta break the rules" and "BK tee vee" with MTV and Dan Cortese with "I love this place". This was another huge setback for BK because people on the go and parents found this ad loud and irritating. BK at this time has failed to establish a solid image that would differentiate it from its competitors. Ads if anything only confused consumers as to what advantages BK offered. In 1993 it had a market share of 6.1% were McDonalds had 15.6% and BK's sales were growing slower than its rivals. Failed advertising campaigns weren't the only problem's, they also had internal problems. Management lacked focus and direction and has struggled with marketing mix decisions. Franchises became confused and angered, service was slow and food preparation wasn't consistent. Burger King lost its core product-flame broiled burgers, made the way the customer wanted them. Another thing that hurt them was the fact they didn't lower prices to keep competing with their competitors this led to a below average sales growth. Many in store promotion also failed. In 1993 a new CEO was introduced, this allowed for huge turnaround and in fact it did. He helped please the franchises and responded to their problems and listened to their recommendations. Then later he lowered prices and hired a new advertising agency.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Leadership Essay Introduction Essay

Perhaps none of you are lucky enough to be a leader and fight for animal rights or other beliefs, but every year colleges and universities require students to write a leadership essay. Its goal is to identify and evaluate your potential leadership qualities. One of the best ways to cope with the task is to list the characteristics that successful politicians or opinion leaders have. And then demonstrate their presence in your case by an example of specific life situations. This is the main difference between the leadership essays and similar ones. Instead of analyzing literary works or their authors, you need to focus on your own personality. The leader is not always associated with the commander or the strong-willed warlord. An effective guide could be strong and weak, learn and teach simultaneously. The leadership category offers a lot of qualities, the presence of which plays a great role in the life of each person. We are talking about empathy, dedication, sincerity, consistency, altruism, responsibility, self-development, influence, the ability to teach. The essential part of leadership paper outline consists of describing the bright moments of your life to substantiate the stated thesis. Examples should not be abstract and contain pathos reflections. It is better to resort to the specifics and show in which cases you showed courage, intelligence or organizational skills. It is the details that increase the confidence in the content of the text. The personal nature of the essay on leadership makes it possible to use anecdotes as arguments. Each new quality must begin with a new paragraph while keeping in touch with the previous text using transitional phrases. This will help make the essay easily readable to the audience. You also could use the information collected earlier from various sources. When writing a leadership essay, the following necessary components should be considered. First of all, to compose an idea of ​​the phenomenon of leadership, use online resources or biographical stories. They will not only clarify the concept but will also lead to good ideas. Do not confuse the leadership essays with the heroic epic. You need attention to yourself, but not to other people. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid fantasies and blatant lies. Remain as honest as possible to make your work realistic, and look like a fairy tale. To achieve this, shun qualities that are not inherent in you. The use of the method of brainstorming will help determine the required skills. Remember the situation where you were given a great responsibility, for instance, a project, a sports team or the main role in the play. In general, any experience of cooperation can be presented in the context of leadership. Once you have decided on the field of research, it is significant to develop an essay scheme. Thus, a successful completing of a leadership essay depends on the depth of understanding of this concept, your honesty and life experience. Also, remember that real effective leaders have a unique vision of things. Use this quality to present yourself in a favorable light.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Problems

Chapter 3 Problems 1. Dental Delights has two divisions. Division A has a profit of $200,000 on sales of $4,000,000. Division B is only able to make $30,000 on sales of $480,000. Based on the profit margins (returns on sales), which division is superior? 3-1. Solution: Dental Delights Division ADivision B [pic] Division B is superior 3. Bass Chemical, Inc. , is considering expanding into a new product line. Assets to support this expansion will cost $1,200,000. Bass estimates that it can generate $2 million in annual sales, with a 5 percent profit margin. What would net income and return on assets (investment) be for the year? -3. Solution:Bass Chemical, Inc. [pic] 4. Franklin Mint and Candy Shop can open a new store that will do an annual sales volume of $750,000. It will turn over its assets 2. 5 times per year. The profit margin on sales will be 6 percent. What would net income and return on assets (investment) be for the year? 3-4. Solution: Franklin Mint and Candy Shop [pic] 8. Sharpe Razor Company has total assets of $2,500,000 and current assets of $1,000,000. It turns over its fixed assets 5 times a year and has $700,000 of debt. Its return on sales is 3 percent. What is Sharpe’s return on stockholders’ equity? -8. Solution: Sharpe Razor Company total assets$2,500,000 – current assets 1,000,000 Fixed assets$1,500,000 [pic] total assets$2,500,000 –debt 700,000 Stockholders’ equity$1,800,000 [pic] [pic] 11. Acme Transportation Company has the following ratios compared to its industry for 2009. | |Acme Transportation |Industry | |Return on assets†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ | 9% | 6% | |Return on equity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |12% |24% |Explain why the return-on-equity ratio is so much less favorable than the return-on-assets ratio compared to the industry. No numbers are necessary; a one-sentence answer is all that is required. 3-11. Solution: Acme Transportation Company Acme Transportation has a lowe r debt/total assets ratio than the industry. For those who did a calculation, Acme’s debt to assets were 25% vs 75% for the industry. 14. Jerry Rice and Grain Stores has $4,000,000 in yearly sales. The firm earns 3. 5 percent on each dollar of sales and turns over its assets 2. 5 times per year. It has $100,000 in current liabilities and $300,000 in long-term liabilities. . What is its return on stockholders’ equity? b. If the asset base remains the same as computed in part a, but total asset turnover goes up to 3, what will be the new return on stockholders’ equity? Assume that the profit margin stays the same as do current and long-term liabilities. 3-14. Solution: Jerry Rice and Grain Stores a. [pic] [pic] [pic] 3-14. (Continued) b. The new level of sales will be: [pic] [pic] [pic] 25. Calloway Products has the following data. Industry information is also shown. Industry Data on Net YearNet IncomeTotal AssetsIncome/Total Assets 2006$360,000$3,000,00011% 00738 0,0003,400,0008 2008380,0003,800,0005 Industry Data on YearDebtTotal AssetsDebt/Total Assets 2006$1,600,000$3,000,00052% 20071,750,0003,400,00040 20081,900,0003,800,00031 As an industry analyst comparing the firm to the industry, are you likely to praise or criticize the firm in terms of: a. Net income/Total assets? b. Debt/Total assets? 3-25. Solution: Calloway Products a. Net income/total assets |Year |Calloway Ratio |Industry Ratio | |2006 |12. % |11. 0% | |2007 |11. 18% |8. 0% | |2008 |10. 0% |5. 0% | Although the company has shown a declining return on assets since 2006, it has performed much better than the industry. Praise may be more appropriate than criticism. 3-25. (Continued) b. Debt/total assets Year |Calloway Ratio |Industry Ratio | |2006 |53. 33% |52. 0% | |2007 |51. 47% |40. 0% | |2008 |50. 0% |31. 0% |While the company’s debt ratio is improving, it is not improving nearly as rapidly as the industry ratio. Criticism may be more appropriate than praise. 26. J odie Foster Care Homes, Inc. , shows the following data: YearNet IncomeTotal AssetsStockholders’ EquityTotal Debt 2005$118,000$1,900,000$ 700,000$1,200,000 2006131,0001,950,000950,0001,000,000 2007148,0002,010,0001,100,000910,000 2008175,7002,050,0001,420,000630,000 a. Compute the ratio of net income to total assets for each year and comment on the trend. b. Compute the ratio of net income to stockholders’ equity and comment on the trend.Explain why there may be a difference in the trends between parts a and b. 3-26. Solution: Jodie Foster Care Homes, Inc. a. [pic] 2005 $118,000/$1,900,000 = 6. 21% 2006 $131,000/$1,950,000 = 6. 72% 2007 $148,000/$2,010,000 = 7. 36% 2008 $175,700/$2,050,000 = 8. 57% Comment: There is a strong upward movement in return on assets over the four year period. 3-26. (Continued) b. [pic] 2005 $118,000/$700,000= 16. 86% 2006 $131,000/$950,000= 13. 79% 2007 $148,000/$1,100,000= 13. 45% 2008 $175,700/$1,420,000= 12. 37% Comment: The return on sto ckholders’ equity ratio is going down each year.The difference in trends between a and b is due to the larger portion of assets that are financed by stockholders’ equity as opposed to debt. Optional: This can be confirmed by computing total debt to total assets for each year. [pic] 200563. 2% 200651. 3% 200745. 3% 200830. 7% 31. The Griggs Corporation has credit sales of $1,200,000. Given the following ratios, fill in the balance sheet below. Total assets turnover 2. 4 times Cash to total assets 2. 0% Accounts receivable turnover 8. 0 times Inventory turnover10. 0 times Current ratio 2. 0 times Debt to total assets61. 0% GRIGGS CORPORATIONBalance Sheet 2008 AssetsLiabilities and Stockholders’ Equity Cash _____Current debt_____ Accounts receivable_____Long-term debt_____ Inventory_____ Total debt_____ Total current assets _____Equity_____ Fixed assets _____ Total assets _____ Total debt and stockholders’ equity_____ 3-31. Solution: Griggs Corporation Sales /total assets= 2. 4 times Total assets= $1,200,000/2. 4 Total assets= $500,000 Cash= 2% of total assets Cash= 2% ? $500,000 Cash= $10,000 Sales/accounts receivable= 8 times Accounts receivable= $1,200,000/8 Accounts receivable= $150,000 Sales/inventory= 10 timesInventory= $1,200,000/10 Inventory= $120,000 3-31. (Continued) Fixed assets= Total assets – current assets Current asset= $10,000 + $150,000 + $120,000 = $280,000 Fixed assets= $500,000 – $280,000 = $220,000 Current assets/current debt= 2 Current debt= Current assets/2 Current debt= $280,000/2 Current debt= $140,000 Total debt/total assets= 61% Total debt= . 61 ? $500,000 Total debt= $305,000 Long-term debt= Total debt – current debt Long-term debt= $305,000 – 140,000 Long-term debt= $165,000 Equity= Total assets – total debt Equity= $500,000 – $305,000 Equity= $195,000 Griggs Corporation Balance Sheet 2008 Cash |$ 10,000 |Current debt |$140,000 | |A/R |150,000 |Long-term debt | 165,0 00 | |Inventory |$120,000 |Total debt |$305,000 | |Total current assets |280,000 | | | |Fixed assets | 220,000 |Equity | 195,000 | |Total assets |$500,000 |Total debt and |$500,000 | | | |stockholders’ | | | | |equity | | 35. Given the following financial statements for Jones Corporation and Smith Corporation: a. To which company would you, as credit manager for a supplier, approve the extension of (short-term) trade credit? Why? Compute all ratios before answering. b. In which one would you buy stock? Why? JONES CORPORATION | |Current Assets |Liabilities | |Cash |$ 20,000 |Accounts payable |$100,000 | |Accounts receivable |80,000 |Bonds payable (long-term) |80,000 | |Inventory |50,000 | | | |Long-Term Assets |Stockholders’ Equity | |Fixed assets |$500,000 |Common stock |$150,000 | |Less: Accumulated | (150,000) |Paid-in capital |70,000 | |depreciation | |Retained earnings |100,000 | |*Net fixed assets | 350,000 | | | |Total assets |$500,000 |Total liabilities and equity |$500,000 | Sales (on credit) |$1,250,000 | |Cost of goods sold | 750,000 | |Gross profit |500,000 | |† Selling and administrative expense |257,000 | |Less: Depreciation expense | 50,000 | |Operating profit |193,000 | |Interest expense | 8,000 | |Earnings before taxes |185,000 | |Tax expense | 92,500 | |Net income |$ 92,500 | *Use net fixed assets in computing fixed asset turnover. † Includes $7,000 in lease payments. | | |SMITH CORPORATION | |Current Assets |Liabilities | |Cash |$ 35,000 |Accounts payable |$ 75,000 | Marketable securities |7,500 |Bonds payable (long-term) |210,000 | |Accounts receivable |70,000 | | | |Inventory |75,000 | | | |Long-Term Assets |Stockholders’ Equity | |Fixed assets |$500,000 |Common stock |$ 75,000 | |Less: Accumulated |(250,000) |Paid-in capital |30,000 | |depreciation | |Retained earnings |47,500 | |*Net fixed assets | 250,000 | | | |Total assets |$437,500 | Total liabilities and equity |$437,500 | Sales (on credit) | $1,000,000 | |Cost of goods sold | 600,000 | |Gross profit |400,000 | |† Selling and administrative expense |224,000 | |Less: Depreciation expense | 50,000 | |Operating profit |126,000 | |Interest expense | 21,000 | |Earnings before taxes |105,000 | |Tax expense | 52,500 | |Net income |$ 52,500 | *Use net fixed assets in computing fixed asset turnover. † Includes $7,000 in lease payments. 3-35. Solution: Jones and Smith Comparison One way of analyzing the situation for each company is to compare the respective ratios for each on, examining those ratios which would be most important to a supplier or short-term lender and a stockholder. | |Jones Corp. |Smith Corp. | |Profit margin |7. 4% |5. 5% | |Return on assets (investments) |18. 5% |12. 00% | |Return on equity |28. 9% |34. 4% | |Receivable turnover |15. 63x |14. 29x | |Average collection period |23. 04 days |25. 2 days | |Inventory turnover |25x |13. 3x | |Fixed asset turnover |3. 7x |4x | |Total asset turnover |2 . 5x |2. 29x | |Current ratio |1. 5x |2. 5x | |Quick ratio |1. 0x |1. 5x | |Debt to total assets |36% |65. 1% | |Times interest earned |24. 13x |6x | |Fixed charge coverage |13. 3x |4. 75x | |Fixed charge coverage calculation |(200/15) |(133/28) | a. Since suppliers and short-term lenders are most concerned with liquidity ratios, Smith Corporation would get the nod as having the best ratios in this category. One could argue, however, that Smith had benefited from having its debt primarily long term rather than short term. Nevertheless, it appears to have better liquidity ratios. 3-35. (Continued) b. Stockholders are most concerned with profitability. In this category, Jones has much better ratios than Smith.Smith does have a higher return on equity than Jones, but this is due to its much larger use of debt. Its return on equity is higher than Jones’ because it has taken more financial risk. In terms of other ratios, Jones has its interest and fixed charges well covered and in general its long-term ratios and outlook are better than Smith’s. Jones has asset utilization ratios equal to or better than Smith and its lower liquidity ratios could reflect better short-term asset management, and that point was covered in part a. Note: Remember that to make actual financial decisions more than one year’s comparative data is usually required. Industry comparisons should also be made.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Journalist in the UAE Media Organization

The Journalist in the UAE Media Organization as it takes time to do it right (p.81). The respective results of the study therefore postulated the significant development of correctional measures through the infusion of strategic training elements into the gate keeper training fundamentals and other respective case examples. Moreover, Stacks and Salwen (2008) further postulate that, Scholars recognize that individual gate keepers have the power to pass some items through gates and reject others, but studies have also shown that gatekeepers actions must be understood within the context of environment. The expansion of gate keeping studies to multiple levels of analysis opens the door of study of the most interesting of Lewins concepts (p.82). This introduces another aspect with respect to the future of current gate keeping approaches. It suggests that there is an increasing need for more focus to be placed upon the achievement and contextual application of gate keeping based on a particular environment. This is because there are various forms of difference emanating from geographical areas due to culture differences, and other interacting levels in society leading to the potential need for developing better mechanisms in the domain of gate keeping as a new strategy.