Report on Business Administration

Business Administration is the study of the performance and management of a business, including important decision making. There are many different duties related to Business Administration, including office manager, business support, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and many others. Most companies have a dedicated group of administrators. The main areas in Business Administration are management, logistics, human resources, operations, economics, and organization. An administrator checks all these parts of organizations to ensure that they are all working properly and efficiently.The time it takes to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration changes depending on the school. At most colleges that have a business school or department, the course of study takes four years, or eight semesters. The majority of students earn a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. At some schools, the core curriculum could be extended, and some could be accelerated degree prog rams that can be completed in as little as three full years. If one wishes to pursue a graduate study in Business Administration, it usually requires two years extra.The degree is often called MBA or Masters in Business Administration. One can earn the degree whether on a campus or though online colleges. When a student graduates, he or she will have the knowledge to open his or her own business or work in corporate America. The years that it takes to obtain a Masters in Business Administration is definitely worth the potential success. Considering a degree in Business Administration but do not know what job opportunities await? A major in Business Administration can get results in multiples areas.These areas may be in private business, education, government and retail. A lot would depend on the prestige of the college one graduated from and one’s area of specialties. Important skills such as decision making, clear communication, and organization, can set the structure for a successful business career and a good salary. In general, a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration would be helpful in getting a position in a range of administrative jobs. Most Bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration have many focus areas that would be helpful in preparing one for certain types of jobs.Some examples are accounting, economics, marketing, communications, entrepreneurship, etc. A Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration prepares student for entry-level roles in management and administration. Getting a bachelor’s degree in business administration require a strong base of liberal arts and science classes. Students who desire a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration spend half of their credit hours on general education classes like English Composition, Social Sciences, Statistics, Communications, Economics, Natural Sciences, and Mathematics.While each program differs, most business administration programs select re quired general required courses that students must take in conjunction with open elective slots that student can fill on their own from a list of available classes. Students begin taking business administration classes in their third year, or junior year, and they must have a C average grade or better to remain in good standing, while others schools require a B average or higher. Business Administration courses cover a broad range of specializations, like Economics, Marketing, Management, Organizational behavior, accounting, financing, multivariate analysis and more.The salary for someone with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration can change, like in any other job. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for someone with a degree in Business Administration is $50,000 a year. When trying to get better career opportunities, increased pay and the chance to make one a valuable resource for any sized company, a bachelor’s degree in business administration is one of the best ways to achieve it.This major can get one a variety of very good jobs because while earning this major you learn very effective skills such as logistics, management, speaking skills and more. It also depends on how much time you devote to it. If one continues with their education, and gets masters degree, and then a PhD, it will be very rewarding and get set you a path to a very successful career. There are a lot of schools where you can get a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.The top 5 business schools in the country are University of Notre Dame in Mendoza, University of Virginia, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, and Emory University. If you already have a bachelor’s in Business and you want to get your Masters in Business Administration (MBA), the top five schools in the country are the University of Chicago, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Stanford University acc ording to Business Week. If you want to get a bachelor’s in business and your school does not offer that major, do not worry.There are a lot of majors related to Business Administration. Some of them are Accounting, Business Communications, Finance, Industrial Management, International Business, Logistics Management, Marketing, and Mathematics. With a Bachelor’s degree you have a lot of opportunities. Many people say that student with a Bachelor’s in Business prepares you for a lot of jobs. Sky is the limit! Majoring in business can lead you to a high paying job, and a good social standing. Even though it can be hard to achieve, it is very rewarding to have it. It can open the doors to a successful and productive future.

Petroleum and Supply Chain

A Report On Castrol India Ltd. , Mumbai Assignment: Supply Chain Executive Summary Castrol India LTD. Castrol India Limited is a Public Limited Company with 70. 92% of the equity held by Castrol Limited UK (part of BP Group). From a minor oil company, with a share of about 6% in 1991, Castrol India has grown to become the second largest lubricant company in India with a market share of around 28%. Castrol India manufactures and markets a range of automotive and industrial lubricants. It markets its automotive lubricants under two brands – Castrol and BP.The company has leadership positions in most of the segments in which it operates including passenger car engine oils, premium 2-stroke and 4-stroke oils and multigrade diesel engine oils. Castrol India has the largest manufacturing and marketing network amongst the lubricant companies in India. The company has 5 manufacturing Plants across the country, including a state-of-the-art plant in Silvassa. The company reaches its con sumers through a distribution network of 270 distributors, servicing over 70,000. retail outlets.From a minor oil company, with a share of about 6% in 1991, Castrol India has now grown upto a market share of around 28%. Product and services * Passenger car oil * Gear Oil * Diesel Engine oil * Two wheeler engine oil * Grease * Coolant * Castrol Supply Chain Network Overview * Manufacturing facilities : In India there are 12 production facilities with major ones at Patalganga, Silvassa, Tondiarpet, Paharpur. Each production plant has its own capacity in terms of different packing lines and not SKU. | * Plant and capacity dataDaily available filling capacities across current locations(in KL) – Single | Shift w/o overtime*Data taken by project Report | | | Distribution: Inbound Logistics: The base oil for Castrol is centrally purchased by British Petroleum. Some of the Indian refineries also provide base oil to Castrol India Limited. The oil is brought to the plants by tankers fr om offshore tanks. Castrol India Limited has four plants-Patalganga, Silvassa, Paharpur and Tondiarpet and in total 12 filling stations.Outbound Logistics: Castrol has three tier distributor structure-distributor hubs (CDC/RDC), carrying & Forwarding Agents (CFA) and Distributors. The transportation from manufacturing plant to distributor hub is called Primary Transportation (P0). Transportation from distribution centre to carrying & forwarding agency (CFA) (P1), from warehouse to warehouse (P2) and warehouse to customer and distributors is called Secondary transportation. The entire country is divided into four zones North, East, West and South.There are 30 CFA,2 DC and 4 Marine warehouses in India. The diagram below shows the supply chain distribution structure at Castrol India. There are five layers – Supplier, Plants, Distribution Hubs, Warehouses and Distributors. Castrol has recently implemented DRM in which demand is generated at the CFA level once the inventory at the distributor level falls below an established norm. * The diagram below shows the supply chain distribution structure at Castrol India. There are five layers – Supplier, Plants, Distribution Hubs, Warehouses and Distributors. Castrol has recently implemented DReaM in which demand is generated at the CFA level once the inventory at the distributor level falls below an established norm. Global Reach: The global reach of British Petroleum is shown in the below mentioned figure. Castrol is a subsidiary of that. Planning Process: Forecasting: Generating production forecasts is a key business process in the oil and gas industry. Production forecasts are used to calculate cash flow using economic models and to assess reserves in the corporate portfolio. These forecasts impact the financial health of the company and its market value.To generate forecasts, the super majors use in-house reservoir simulators and commercial simulation products, several of which exist on the market. Gener ally, companies use a variety of methods for production forecasting. Production forecasts for brown fields, i. e. fields currently in production, are regularly updated with production data acquired with off-take volumes. Many production forecasting software products on the market are generally applied on a fit-for-purpose basis. Reservoir simulation is a standard part of the reservoir engineer’s toolkit for generating production forecasts.The reservoir models have become more sophisticated over the years, due to the increasing computing power available, with the creation of earth models and use of high-technology tools to acquire data for history matching. For brown fields it is common practice to use a reservoir simulation model and history to match the model with new reservoir data on a regular basis and run the model in forward prediction mode to generate forecasts of oil, gas and water production volumes. Use of 3-D seismic data acquisition became widespread in the 1980s and 1990s.This has allowed construction of detailed reservoir models of the subsurface architecture and identification of additional oil (new zones, bypassed oil, etc. ). Increasing use of geostatistical models during the 1990s has raised the awareness of risk and uncertainty and their impact on decision-making. The driving force has been to reduce the bandwidth of uncertainty, i. e. to narrow the range of uncertainty by using multiple realisations. Systematic application of statistical techniques may be used to understand the predicted reservoir behaviour and the range of production forecasts.Production forecasts can also be generated using traditional methods, such as decline curves. Classical reservoir engineering methods, such as material balance, should also be in the reservoir engineer’s toolbox. It is important to recognise that the reservoir simulator should not be used as a ‘black box’. For history matching, the production data has to be quality-checked to ensure good quality control and validity. The forecasts generated by a reservoir simulator should be consistent with other reservoir engineering methods that are used, for example, in gas field P/Z plots (i. . the visual image of the gas material balance, where the original gas volume equals the remaining gas volume plus the volume of gas produced). Future trends in real time production forecasting with automatic history matching will include production data and 4-D seismic data, the creation of geo statistical models and multi-realization simulation models for forward prediction. This will still require reservoir engineering intervention to assure and control the quality of the output.With the advent of the e-field, an executive might be directly linked to the same computer as the reservoir engineer and can view, on a screen at his desk, the corporate production forecasts and the corporate reserves being updated in real time. Oil industry (Castrol) forecasts are generated using the best-practice techniques of time-series modeling. The precise form of time-series model used varies from industry to industry, in each case being determined, as per standard practice, by the prevailing features of the industry data being examined.For example, data for some industries may be particularly prone to seasonality, i. e. seasonal trends. In other industries, there may be pronounced non-linearity, whereby large recessions, for example, may occur more frequently than cyclical booms. Approach varies from industry to industry. Common to analysis of every industry, however, is the use of vector auto regressions. Vector auto regressions allow us to forecast a variable using more than the variable’s own history as explanatory information. For example, when forecasting oil prices, we can include information about oil consumption, supply and capacity.When forecasting for some of our industry sub-component variables, however, using a variable’s own history is often the most desirable method of analysis. Such single-variable analysis is called univariate modeling. We use the most common and versatile form of univariate models: the autoregressive moving average model (ARMA). In some cases, ARMA techniques are inappropriate because there is insufficient historic data or data quality is poor. In such cases, we use either traditional decomposition methods or smoothing methods as a basis for analysis and forecasting.It must be remembered that human intervention plays a necessary and desirable part in all our industry forecasting techniques. Intimate knowledge of the data and industry ensures we spot structural breaks, anomalous data, turning points and seasonal features where a purely mechanical forecasting process would not. Inventory Planning: The company recently had implemented an inventory optimization application from Tools Group, Amsterdam, called DPM (formerly, Distribution Planning Model). But Tenaglia knew that technology was only part of the solution.After gaining some experience with the software to understand its capabilities, the European division of Castrol undertook the hard work of organizational change, creating a supply-chain planning department that was totally separate from execution functions. Aggregate Planning Methodology: Castrol initiated a program to improve their Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes. The team was faced with reactive supply chains caused by forecasts that were inaccurate, unreliable and incomplete. The forecast did not extend to all SKUs and calculations required intensive manual work.The supply chain was still widely order-driven and structured to be reactive, rather than proactive. The demand forecast was carried out by sales and marketing, so the supply chain people reworked the forecast in order to trigger replenishments. We had a lot of uncertainty due to poor forecast practices. † The inventory side was also challenging. Most slow moving products had excess inv entory. Fast moving products were often out-of-stock. Safety stocks had been set manually, based largely on personal experience. In the calculations, there was little formal sense of supply and demand uncertainty.Safety stocks were infrequently adjusted, and when they were, it was often in reaction to a single event. For instance, an under stock situation would often trigger an increase in safety stock levels. addition, planners were expediting to constantly to overcome the poorly derived inventory targets. This expediting was triggering production reschedules and urgent deliveries, increasing costs and amplifying supply chain noise. â€Å"We’ve seen dramatic increases in our service level with significant reductions In inventory across Europe†.Castrol identified the need to build an effective S&OP planning process which they would implement in one country and then roll out across Europe. The resulting system would coordinate ten independent systems into one global and unified coherent planning process, encompassing the â€Å"downstream† portion of Castrol’s supply chain, from blended oils and packaging through to the end user customer. The system would insure high service levels to customers, reduce stock-outs and cut back on manual expediting. BP Castrol quickly came to the conclusion that to accomplish the above, they needed to include nventory in their S&OP process. Improving the forecasting process was clearly required, but alone it would not achieve the high customer-service levels they wanted. A Castrol uses software that analyzes demand history across multiple dimensions so you can obtain the best possible forecasts and inventory targets for driving your supply chain. Innovative and advanced technologies enable Castrol to improve and automate planning processes. Solutions span key supply chain planning areas such as Demand Planning, Demand Sensing, Promotion forecasting and Inventory Optimization.BP Castrol’s resultin g system delivered the target service levels, reduced out of stocks, and largely eliminated the expediting. Over a two year period, KPIs improved dramatically. Aggregate forecast accuracy improved by 15% on average and channel forecast accuracy* improved to 90% for retail. (* % of SKUs demand within 20% of a 2 months aged forecast) Total network inventories were reduced by 35%, 20% in the first year after implementation and then 20% again in the following year. Despite the lower inventories, service levels to customers, as defined by â€Å"line fill rates†, were up by 9% overall.The system has become a unique company standard for excellence in forecasting, customer service level planning and inventory optimization. The system now spans 29 installations, 25 countries and has been expanded to two continents. The Payoff: Reduced Inventory and Higher Service Levels The replenishment flows had to be synchronized with the demand signal through optimized inventories. They improved d emand sensing by generating more robust and reliable forecasts. They implemented an improved and standardized monthly demand forecast process cycle.A single point of accountability was instituted. Promotion planning and monitoring was also improved. They improved demand response by improving safety stocks using a solution provided by Tools Group. Reliable statistical modeling accurately measured demand and supply chain volatility. Reliable inventory modeling and mix optimization techniques accommodated this volatility and accurately set the inventory targets required to achieve a responsive inventory mix. The Payoff: Reduced Inventory and Higher Service Levels BP Castrol’s resulting system delivered the target service levels, reduced ut of stocks, and largely eliminated the expediting. Over a two year period, KPIs improved dramatically. Aggregate forecast accuracy improved by 15% on average and channel forecast accuracy* improved to 90% for retail. (* % of SKUs demand within 20% of a 2 months aged forecast) Total network inventories were reduced by 35%, 20% in the first year after implementation and then 20% again in the following year. Despite the lower inventories, service levels to customers, as defined by â€Å"line fill rates†, were up by 9% overall.The system has become a unique company standard for excellence in forecasting, customer service level planning and inventory optimization. The system now spans 29 installations, 25 countries and has been expanded to two continents. Pricing: The rising crude prices caused severe Base-oil supply imbalances. The shortage of raw material also severely impacted many of the small-scale players in the Indian lubricant market. (Castrol) Further, the supply uncertainty triggered rapid Base oil price increases. This in turn caused most lubricant players, including Castrol, to take multiple price increases during the year. . Economic slowdown the global financial crisis in the second half of 2008 severely i mpacted the Indian stock market and caused the rupee to depreciate by about 20% with respect to the US Dollar. The rupee depreciation offset benefits of softening Base-oil prices during the latter half of the year. The lower overall economic activity level and restricted availability of finance also impacted automotive sales and trucking activity in the second half of 2008. a slow-down in the construction sector earlier in the year due to the high interest rate regime was further affected by lack of credit in the second half.This has caused an overall slackening of demand in the lubricant market, particularly in the industrial, mining, off-road and fleet-operators segment, in the last quarter of the year. The lubricant channel partners reacted to this period of uncertainty by tightening their inventory levels, causing a one-off impact on lubricant volume in the second half of 2008. 2. Crude oil Crude prices continued to remain an important cost input element to Base-oil in addition to supply demand economics. In 2008, crude prices rapidly increased and crossed US$145 a barrel in July.This triggered steep increases on various crude derivatives including Base-oils across the globe. In the second half of the year the crude prices collapsed but the depreciation of the rupee against the US Dollar offset some of the increases. Refiners also carried inventory of high priced crude procured earlier and as a result, the benefits of the falling crude prices were not passed on by refiners to industrial customers in tandem with the crude prices. The following graph indicates the trend of crude prices 3. Base-Oils and AdditivesThe steep rise in crude prices severely impacted the Base-oil prices with multiple price increases charged by the Base-oil refiners. At its peak, the Base-oil price touched uS$1800 per ton in the second half of the year, almost doubling from 2007 exit levels. The increases were regular and quick until September 2008. Supply situation had further deter iorated due to refinery closures, production issues and turnaround at domestic and international sources. Due to limited availability, customers were put on allocation by major refineries.Post the crude prices falling from the high of over uS$145 a barrel and the economic slowdown, the availability of Base-oils witnessed strong improvement. However, there was very little reduction in prices till the last quarter due to the depreciation of the rupee against the US Dollar and the high inventory of Base oils held by refiners in anticipation of demand. Input costs of additive manufacturers witnessed a rapid increase and with the expectation of higher demand, the pricing balance tilted in favor of additive manufacturing companies.Additive prices witnessed an increase of circa 25% over the 2007 levels. However, Castrol has managed the volatile input prices by ensuring effective procurement and inventory management. Productivity of purchasing spends and working capital management has been an area of focus. Tight control of Base-oils and additives inventory has ensured higher inventory turnaround and release of cash in a timely manner for the business. EXCECUTION: Checking and Controlling of Inventory Plan: The management conducts physical verification of inventory at reasonable intervals during the year. b) The procedures of physical verification of inventory followed by the management are reasonable and adequate in relation to the size of the Company and the nature of its business. (c) The Company is maintaining proper records of inventory and no material discrepancies were Noticed on physical verification. Performance Evaluation Parameters: †¢ Facilitate planning, execution, and management †¢ Enhance visibility †¢ Reduced inventory and demurrage cost †¢ Improve productivity and operational efficiency †¢ Respond quickly and synchronize changes †¢ Reduced costs †¢ Improve decision making Increase customer satisfaction †¢ Build strategic relationships †¢ Improve agility, competitiveness, and business performance Information Technology : In the oil and gas industry, knowing where and what product is being produced or delivered is essential to an efficient and effective organization. The use of IT to offer possible remote control of equipment and facilities, transaction services monitoring, and even transportation management service is important. Firms like British Petroleum have developed new systems to aid in their business operations by using these technologies.Past and present methods of communication in the oil and gas industry have included satellite communications (on a limited basis), Cellular and Specialized Mobile Radio, fiber-optics, and general offshore telephone service using radio frequencies consisted of a radiotelephone based antenna/transmitter that would allow communications between any offshore oil platforms and land-based telephone networks. These systems required a team of employees to monitor and report to management on a continuing basis.Currently, cellular and specialized mobile radio services are in the process of providing better services to the offshore drilling platforms and are generally expected to replace the older offshore radiotelephone systems found primarily in the Gulf of Mexico region. Such systems make use of these technologies to reduce and/or eliminate on site monitoring by a team of employees. With respect to labor costs, the organization could save substantial amounts of money because there is no need to have personnel continuously on location to inspect, monitor, maintain, and/or report conditions.Wireless data provided by implemented wireless technology would automatically produce reports on processes. Adjustments could be made at appropriate times reducing any overtime payments. The benefits of IT integration to the Castrol as a whole could be substantial. Supply Chain Collaborations, Coordination, And Cooperation Supply-chain managemen t requires an oil and gas company to integrate its decisions with those made within its chain of customers and suppliers. This process involves relationship management by the company. Both customer relations and supplier relations are key to effective coordination of supply-chains.Often, the interaction between suppliers and their customers are adversarial in nature, based on a negotiated contract that spells out all the terms and conditions by which all parties are required to comply. Instead, a firm can create long-term strategic relationships with their suppliers. In most cases, it is a collaboration process between the oil and gas operating company and its suppliers. One of the weaknesses of a supply-chain is that each company is likely to act in its best interests to optimize its profit.The goal of satisfying the ultimate customer is easily lost and opportunities that could arise from some coordination of decisions across stages of the supply-chain could also be lost. If suppli ers could be made more reliable, there would be less need for inventories of raw materials, quality inspection systems, rework, and other non-value adding activities, resulting in lean production. Coordination from the perspective of British Petroleum Company involves the following issues: * ensuring supplier effectiveness n cost, timeliness and quality * setting appropriate targets for inventory, capacity, and lead time * monitoring demand and supply conditions * Communicating market and performance results to customers and suppliers. A typical challenge in the petroleum industry supply chain is the attitude and anxiety regarding collaboration and information sharing between supply chain partners. While collaboration and information sharing rep-resent a crucial factor for supply chain efficiency. Improved supply chain efficiency in the petroleum industry, therefore, needs a new philosophy in collaboration, even if this means working with competitors.

A Study On Protestant Reformation History Essay

A Study On Protestant Reformation History Essay With reference to England, Scotland and Germany the extent to which the Protestant Reformation affected the development of their nation states and national identities was not uniform. Each country will be discussed on an individual basis as will agreement or otherwise because although there were similar consequences there were also different results from the Protestant Reformation. To start with reference will be made to Germany first, partly because the Protestant Reformation started there and partly because in many ways it was far more complicated a situation than England and Scotland. Unlike England and Scotland, Germany was not a country that actually existed, let alone having more or less established borders with national institutions, monarchies and a sense of nationality. The only things that the Germans held in common was that they spoke dialects and variations of the same language and that they were under the nominal rule of the Holy Roman Emperor.The Holy Roman Empire was split up into over 300 states of various sizes and importance. These states were keen on maintaining their autonomy from the empire; the Protestant Reformation would provide some of those states with a pretext for increasing their independence (Maland, 1982, p.148). The Protestant Reformation started in Germany rather more by accident than by design in 1517. The Augustinian friar Martin Luther started the process by his protest against indulgences at Wittenberg. Luther was an accomplished theologian and would prove highly capable of writing his views and ideas in German as well as Latin. Luther was astute enough to put things in German to spread his ideas further through pamphlets, books and bibles thus increasing the availability of publications in German. The lack of imperial authority in Germany meant that Luther and the Reformation was able to survive (Roberts, 1996, pp.227-28). The Protestant Reformation had added attraction to the Germans because it gave them a greater sense o f a German identity rather than being subjects of the various states and statelets. Luther had not anticipated all the effects of unleashing that greater sense of being German would be a further division of the German states rather than bringing them closer together. There were also more radical reformers such as Carlstadt that whipped up so much support for radical reform it culminated in the Peasants War. Luther was against such radicalism and tied the Lutheran Reformation closely to the secular rulers to prevent further anarchy. Whilst Luther wrote the majority of his works in German such as the Liberty of a Christian Man, his most radical pamphlet , The Babylonish Captivity of the Church of God remained in Latin. For Luther was plainly aware of the radical effect that putting such works in German could have (Maland, 1986, pp. 88-89). Those princes and states that followed Luther and conformed to the Lutheran Confession of Augsburg formed the Schmakaldic League. Aside from Sax ony the league included Brandenburg, Prussia, and Hesse. They were ranged against the catholic German states and the Emperor. The Protestant Reformation started in Germany but the factors that allowed it to survive effectively prevented the forming of a united German state or the complete success of the Protestant Reformation there (Chadwick, 1990, pp.63-64).

Religion and Law in U.S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Religion and Law in U.S - Essay Example Though the government cannot interfere with religion itself, they may step in when and if they feel the need; especially if a certain ritual is putting a person at risk . An example of the conflict that is seen with the oxymoronic clauses which supposedly go hand in hand is in the religious cult refered to as the Jehova’s Witnesses. The government or authorities will not restrict the religion itself but the behavior and affects of the rituals can be brought to their attention. They therefore are obliged to restrict religious-related activities that interfere with the wellbeing of a person. Its’ all done in the name of â€Å"the law† Another example of the two clauses being inforced but yet scrutinized is in the prosecution of polygamy. The idea of polygamy states that as many can have more than one wife and father as many children as possible. The court upheld Mr. Reynold’s, in Reynold’s Vs. the United States, convition and they believed that if they did not stand up against such behavior, they were indirectly allowing other practices to take place such as human sacrifice. Combining both clauses together, the US has documented its existence in the 1st amendment and has named it the â€Å"religion clauses† because they both thereby state their involvement in protecting the human race while at the same time, giving freedom of religion itself and expression in a country and a land that is free. Without theses clauses, people would get away with murder claiming it was done in the â€Å"name of God or Allah.† Both clauses is an issue of preference allowing people to choose the religion they want to be involved in. Without their freedom, people are bound by regulations they perceived to have vanished before touching down on U.S. soil. The clauses also state that they cannot force anyone to worship a certain way nor can they create establishments favoring one form of religion or the other. With this

International Corporate Finance and Financial Markets Essay - 1

International Corporate Finance and Financial Markets - Essay Example To begin with, international corporate finance deals with a number of activities pertaining to the multinational corporations. Some of the activities of the international corporate finance include the management of cash, capital, debtors, inventory and short term financing. The corporate finance as far as global finance is concerned since it enables companies to evaluate funding requirements, as well as plan its corporate capital. Having a clear understanding of the capital structure of a firm is crucial for the managers since it provides a clear insight into the various sources of finance that may be needed in order for the company to operate effectively blobally. For instance, having enough cash for operation is vital particularly for companies with declining sales numbers. In such a situation, international financial markets become significance as it allows organizations to obtain a pool of liquidity. This is a strategic technique required of company top managers in order to ensur e the success of a company in the long run. Financial markets are also important for organizations since it enables firms obtain financial by issuing of stock or share capital and corporate bonds (Sercu, 2011). Global financial markets are also important for companies and individuals since it provides investment opportunities, which enables exchange participants to fulfill their long and short-term financial objectives. Companies tend to involve in equity transaction as a means of generating extra revenue. The additional revenue generated is vital as it can help the company reduce red ink, particularly if the principal activities of the firm indicate slothful performance (Claessens and Laeven, 2006). Regulation of the global finance is another crucial role played by the international corporate finance and financial markets. There are usually government agencies in the global marketplace that are concerned with the regulation of the activities of investors to

Staffing Report (final project for the HRM class ) Research Paper

Staffing Report (final project for the HRM class ) - Research Paper Example Walmart values the ability to offer customers the lowest prices which in turn, they believe, leads to an overall feeling of well being. In addition to their continuing goal of offering low prices, Walmart also wants to have the best selection of products. According to the article entitled â€Å"Walmart, P&G, Kraft Swap Sales & Marketing Strategies,† Walmart added 8500 items to their shelves in order to meet the demands of their customers("Walmart, p&g, kraft," 2011). In terms of their business strategy, Walmart is seeking to create more stores internationally and within the United States("Walmart, p&g, kraft," 2011). In addition, Walmart is gearing up to create more environmentally friendly brands and products, so as to reduce their carbon footprint ("Walmart, p&g, kraft," 2011). In terms of their Human Resource strategy, Walmart seeks to provide continuous training and education for their employees, so that customer service is high and costs are low("Walmart corporate," 2011) . For the next three years, HR believes that this strategy will continue to help keep expenses down for the company. Description of who they hire Within the Walmart company there are many different jobs that a person may apply for. One of the most common positions at this company is that of the store associate. Currently, there are 1.2 million employees who work as store associates. This particular job is comprised of all things customer service. Store associates are expected to work the registers, perform returns, help customers find products, stock merchandise, and keep the store clean and organized("Walmart corporate," 2011). There does not appear to be any requirement for this position, although it is helpful if the person is in decent health and can handle standing for long periods of time and have the ability to lift moderately heavy items on occasion("Walmart corporate," 2011). There are also store management positions. Within this particular area, there are three different l evels of management: assistant manager, co-manager, and store manager. The minimum qualifications for these positions usually include 1-3 years in a supervisory role and 1-3 years of general management experience. An education or background in finance is also an important component, although not always required. The main duties of those within a management position is to supervise the store associates, meet sales and financial goals, and to make sure that the store keeps to the company’s guidelines and policies("Walmart corporate," 2011). People can also apply for a logistics career at Walmart which is the distribution end of the company. This particular job entails getting products to the stores. There are over 40 distribution centers in the United States and products are constantly coming in and out according to the needs of the stores("Walmart corporate," 2011). For this job, high levels of physical fitness are required as is experience with heavy machinery. Organization s kills are important for this particular career path as well. Walmart’s hiring philosophy revolves around â€Å"Respect for the Individual† ("Walmart corporate," 2011). This means that the company wants to offer a competitive salary and benefits for their employees. They are a fairly active

Critical Thinking about the Vietnam Conflict Research Paper

Critical Thinking about the Vietnam Conflict - Research Paper Example Meanwhile, the cold war was in its peak. Therefore, the US leaders hesitated to take actions as this could trigger tension which may eventually lead to World War III (Leuhusen par 1). However, tension became irresistible later after which the battle ensued. William, who was a US commander, led the US army in the battle. A tough war started soon during which a large number of people lost their lives. Media in Vietnam War In the contemporary world, the role of media in influencing the people has significantly increased. The media can significantly influence the people’s thinking either positively or negatively. The media has also played a major role in improving communication across the world. During the Vietnam War, the media had a pivotal role that had a strong impact on the way people conducted themselves then. The main factor that causes war is the differences among various groups that emerge from differences in ideologies and opinions. In connection to this, the media has a significant role in influencing people’s views and opinions on various aspects. Therefore, media can be a very strong agent of war. In the case of Vietnam War, the media played a significant role in influencing people’s perception as well as courses of actions. The media can also play a significant role in fostering peace among the people by promoting consensus among antagonist groups. For instance, people are usually influenced by the available information while making important conclusions about the war. The information they get may trigger negative or positive mentality about the war. The media have a significant contribution in this case. Therefore, the role of the media in the Vietnam War was too important to ignore. As noted earlier, the major cause of the Vietnam War... Capitalism and communism are two totally opposing modes of production. In communism, the means of production are collectively owned. In this mode of production, people work together after which they share the products equally amongst themselves. On the other hand, the capitalism mode of production is characterized by private ownership of the means of production. This is opposed to the socialism production where the property is owned collectively by the community. Therefore, the two were totally different from each other. Due to these differences, conflict was bound to emanate from the two sides. Both systems cannot exist in the same economy. In this case, communism poses a great threat to the American economy. As the world’s largest economy, the spread of communism could threaten the investment and other economic relations that America had with these regions. America’s economic interests were favored by capitalism rather than communism. In capitalism, America could easi ly realize its economic interests. In other words, these differences played a major role in promoting the war in Vietnam. From this perspective, United States believed that it had enough reasons for being in war with Vietnam. In real sense, it looked odd for the United States to go into war with a small country like Vietnam. Furthermore, Vietnam is located far away from the Asian countries. This posed many questions among the people. Many people believed that there were no enough reasons for the United States to take such kind of action. That is, going into war with a small country like Vietnam without justifiable reasons. In an effort to convince people about the logic for the action, propaganda machine was set into action.

Poverty and Pollution Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Poverty and Pollution Case Study - Assignment Example Of course, the implications come with some benefits of economic prosperity at the expense of citizens’ health and expenditure in their future. It is the price they get to pay for the benefits of harmful investment in their countries. This document discuses human right to a clean and safe environment, justifies the moral obligations of developed countries towards third world countries for their incurred costs, and finally, recommends civil liability and taxations as pollution standards that are fair for global enforcement. Keywords: Pollution, Environmental Degradation, Third World Countries, First World Countries, Economy and Development, Pollution Control, Industrialization, Investment, Cities, Production, Costs, Price, Business, Regulations Pollution can be categorized differently depending on its cause and impact in the societies. It has become a key sensitive area not only at the national level, but at a global governance level, with too many policies being enforced from t he industrialized nations to the third world countries. Effectively, environmental law is a measure expected to preserve the environmental pure conditions by preventing further degradation. However, its application is being taken seriously in industrialized nations unlike in developing nations, who still feel that they need the opportunity to grow, before they apply the law effectively at a pace the industrialized nations have set in their nations. Air and water pollution have taken the lead in bringing serious mass destruction.

MBA Strategic Managment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MBA Strategic Managment - Coursework Example This coursework discusses a controversial issue of successful corporate alliances and focuses on researching of it's collaborations in modern corporative culture. For the most part, the authors of cited works have successfully argued that corporate alliances, and collaboration, would become a strategic differentiator between those who flourish; and, those who perish, in the global competitive turf. The hypothesis the researcher developed in this coursework are as follows: 'A company’s sustained growth and competitive edge is derived through ‘middle-ground’ strategic alliances, than extreme M&A' and 'Overly tactical approach, rather than building reciprocal trust, between allying partners leads to failed alliances'. After analyzing and researching three other articles, the researcher provided detailed describtion of each one in the coursework and offered to establish the answers found as follows: 'Strategic alliances are not merely a fad. Global competition and shr inking time-to-market for products and services necessitate long term reciprocal partnerships' and 'Strategic alliances should take a long term view in fostering mutual trust, and sharing of resources from a strengths perspective; to move up the value chain, and sustain competitive edge in future'. In conclusion, the researcher of this coursework states that getting to know partner's culture and how it influences, both inside and outside the business environment are most important and crucial for success of corporate alliances.

What Important Role Did Emil Sodersteen Play in Australian Art Deco Research Paper

What Important Role Did Emil Sodersteen Play in Australian Art Deco Architectural Design - Research Paper Example It introduced in Architecture irregular shape, curved lines, curved glass, mosaic, and stained glass. This new style flourished in European Architecture. Art Deco was a continuation of Art Nouveau. It offered in the twentieth century’s design - luxury, style and efficiency. It emerged in the years of 1908-1912. Representatives of this design style are Tamara de Lempicka, Rene Lalique, William van Alens, Raymond hood and Paul Manship.3 Art Deco reached its flourishing between the years 1925 and 1935 years. The name Art Deco came from the Exposition Internationale des arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes. It was an art and craft exhibition, which took place in 1925 in France.4 The exhibition, demonstrated the latest achievements in the field of architecture, interior, furniture, metal products, glass, and ceramic designs. Six months of the exhibition period drew about 16 million visitors from different parts of the world. The exhibition was gorgeous and glamorous. The famous French architect Le Corbusier, one of the founders of constructivism and functionalism, for this exhibition designed and built the pavilion by name  «Esprit Nouveau ». The famous painter P. Lalique built another pavilion with colored glass fountain with light effects. The 1925 Paris exhibition, as whole, became the final stage of development of design of the period of Modern or a transitional stage form of Modernism to post-war functionalism. In 1966, after the revival of 1925 exhibition in Paris, this art design style received the name Art Deco. Before that, the style was called "jazz modern," "zigzag modern", "streamlined modern". New discoveries of spectacular monuments of ancient Egyptian art (including the tomb of Tutankhamen, 1922) and the ancient civilizations of America made a significant impact on the development of Art Deco design style. In the period, between the two world wars, Art Deco was used in decorative art; today the term has become the synonym of ef ficiency. Art Deco design artists offered glamour and efficiency in their work. Art Laurence, one of the brilliant Art Deco artists, combined in his work classicism, symmetry, straightforwardness, and cubism on one hand as a part of Art Nouveau, and on other the ancient art of the Egypt, Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Thus, Art Deco in design accepted on one side favorite themes and motives of Modern - more precisely the style of art Nouveau, - which were winding lines, an unusual combination of expensive and exotic materials, images of exotic creatures, wave form, and on the other side colorful designs, ornate carvings, visual abstraction, and abstract _______________________ 5. â€Å"Decorating in the Art Deco  Style,† Art Deco Style- Decorating in Art Deco Style, accessed May16, 2012, interiordec.about.com/od/stylesofdecor/a/art_deco_style.htm. 6. â€Å"Lalique Crystal, Figurines, Glass, and Art,† Squidoo, accessed May16, 2012, www.squidoo.com †º Home & Garden †º Home Decor. expressionism of the past. As an artistic style, Art Deco denied asceticism and opposed to the minimalism. It focused to the past, embodied a blend of

Existence of God Argumentative Paper Essay Example for Free

Existence of God Argumentative Paper Essay There are many different types of arguments for the existence of God. With each argument there is a conception presented of God. For each argument there are different approaches. I will be focusing on the Cosmological and Teleological Arguments. Teleological Arguments are known to be arguments from divine, arguing from order in the universe to the existence of God (1).With the ordering of the universe, created by an intelligent being, they hold that it is ordered towards a purpose or an end. The Cosmological Argument â€Å"is the argument that the existence of the world or universe is strong evidence for the existence of a God who created it. It is a first caused argument where the existence of the universe, the argument claims, stands in need of explanation, and the only adequate explanation of its existence is that it was created by God† (1). Behind this argument, it holds that though the universe still needs explanation for its existence, the existence of God Himself does not. In the article McCloskey is critical of these arguments for God’s existence supporting his stance by offering the problem of evil as reasoning to not believe. He believes the belief in the existence of God is not a source of strength and security (2). However, if we are to use the Cumulative Case approach we can have successive truths. This case cumulates the Cosmological, Teleological, as well as, the Moral Arguments together. It gives us the conclusion of a personal, moral, intelligent creator of the universe as the best explanation for the universe we experience (3). McCloskey maintains that the Teleological Argument is not satisfactory and that it can be rejected simply by rejecting its premise. The premise holds that there is in fact evidence of purpose and design. McCloskey says though, that there were many things that were considered evidence or proof, prior to evolution, but those very things are now not being considered as so. Thus, in order to be a proof, there has to be given indisputable examples. Given that the Teleological Argument, presenting disputable examples, says McCloskey, there is no proof. There can be no form of argument with evidence of an intellectual design and/or designer. I would have to argue with McCloskey by using the â€Å"fine-tuning argument.† Within the universe is nothing short of precision, not only of natural laws, but the beginning stages and state of the universe. These both are pointers to an intelligent Creator. The universe is finely-tuned maintaining physical constants of nature (5).The strength of gravity should be considered. With the occurrence of the Big Bang. The gravity had to have precision because even with a little more force used on either side, it would not have occurred as the Big Bang, but the Big Crunch. Even with the slightest change in gravity, it could change the world into something completely other than what we know. That which is being offered as evidenced cannot be questioned. If we were to give to evolution as truth, there is still no grounds for believing it is true. It does nothing but in the end support the theist position, and shows that evolution needs teleology. McCloskey’s main objection to theism is the presence of evil in the world, â€Å"No being who was perfect could have created a world in which there was unavoidable suffering or in which his creatures would(and in fact could have been created so as not to) engage in morally evil acts, acts which very often result in injury to innocent persons† (1). With this problem on McCloskey’s mind, he holds it to the theists. He still wonders how the theist does not take this to mind seeing that it goes against the perfection of the divine purpose. There can be no grounds in a belief of a perfect being. Even if all reason was thrown out, he says the theist at best could only present a pool of beings full of â€Å"concern, dismay, and anxiety, rather than comfort and security† (1). There is a logical problem of evil and there is logical inconsistency when there is both the existence of God and of evil. The atheist holds that there is severe contradiction between claiming God is good, yet evil exists. Mackie, an atheist, says the contradiction does not arise immediately; to show it we need some additional premisesthese additional principles are that good is opposed to evil, in such a way that a good thing always eliminates evil as far as it can, and that there are no limits to what an omnipotent thing can do. From these it follows that a good omnipotent thing eliminates evil completely, and then the propositions that a good omnipotent thing exists, and that evil exists, are incompatible(8). There exists two kinds of evil. There is â€Å"human evil,† and â€Å"natural evil† in which atheist claim are both forms of needless suffering. The logical problem of evil claims the â€Å"tension† between simultaneously having evil in the world, while also having a perfect God. This would without a doubt be a logical contradiction according to the atheist. There is also the evidential problem of evil. With this claim, there is not contradiction, but the fact that evil exists, if give grounding evidence for being able to reject that God is all-powerful. It is a weaker version of the former, and claims that it is highly unlikely that an all-perfect God exists. Plantinga responds with trying to defend that it is reasonable to believe in God, even without evidence. His position is kn own as â€Å"Reformed Epistemology†. In order for his view to hold he would have to reject the Evidentialist Credo., which he claims rests on Classical Foundationalism. This led him to his positive view, or â€Å"Reformed Epistemology.† This holds that a belief in God is â€Å"properly basic.†Some object to these claims, saying that evil is logically required for good and is needed for us to see the good. Evil is a means and will cause good. There is given the â€Å"free will† defense that is meant to try and answer the problem of evil. Either this would come about by humans free will resulting in a greater good and that evil is ascribed the humans and not God. However, those who oppose this, bring up the issue of natural evils. Mackie stands his ground that God should have given human beings free will in such a way that we always chose the good. The atheist propose God did not create men to choose between right and wrong, and that God is morally inconsistent. In response, the free will theodicy attempts to defeat the former by claiming the suffering of the innocent is justified because of the existence of free will. We as humans have misused our free will, thus what is known as ‘moral evil.’ Other sufferings from evil come from the natural evils. While McCloskey challenges the free will defense, Plantinga proposes the law of non-contradiction. He argues for there could be logically possible affairs whereby God would be unable of creating a world of both evil and autonomous humans (9). Evans puts it simply, â€Å"It does not seem to be true that a good being always eliminates evil as far as it can. What is true, perhaps, is that good being always eliminates evil as far as it can without the loss of a greater good or the allowance of a worse evil† (1). McCloskey objects to the cosmological argument claiming, â€Å"mere existence of the world constitutes no reason for believing in such a being†(1). There has been great objection to this however because of the fact of contingent objects. God is the â€Å"first cause,† the one who began it all. Because there is not explanation for contingent beings, if God is a necessary being, He is the necessary cause of the existence of creation and we as beings. God has no cause, otherwise He would not be God. It is the very existence of the world that implies the existence of God. The â€Å"laws of nature† imply the existence of a lawgiver, God. This position was held by Aristotle, holding firmly against the possibility of infinite regress. The argument from contingency suggests that it is possible the universe might not have existed, thus needing explanation of why it does in fact exist. In essence, it must have a cause. This leads to the belief in â€Å"necessary being,â⠂¬  meaning a being that needs no explanation. The temporal cosmological argument holds that the beginning of the universe was either caused or uncaused. However, objectors to this say we cannot actually claim whether the universe â€Å"had to exist.† Also, a â€Å"necessary being† comes into question. The refuters say this line of argument does not give enough explanation of why there could not be more than one cause. There is no ground for putting God as the first cause or prime mover. Time and causality as we know it cannot be grounds for explaining the beginnings of the universe. However, those objecting to McCloskey, hold if there were a being like the universe, then he would exist in time, thus he himself came into existence. But, the ultimate cause must not have come into existence. For it to be an ultimate cause, the ultimate Creator must be outside of time. (10).What McCloskey fails to realize, is that not every argument is going to capture every aspect of God. There are many different arguments that go abo ut doing that. If God does not exist, then all has no hope of immortality. Life, the world, and everything in it is meaningless. There would be no purpose or significance to anyone or anything. This leaves us with no ultimate meaning without immorality and God. Would we be able to say there was any purpose or meaning to someone who lived just to die? To be born just to pass out of existence? Lane says that it is not just each individual person that is headed towards the grave, but the universe itself is headed for extinction. This all in all is hopeless. Dying man, in a dying world. If this is the case, the small details in life do not matter, it does not make a difference. Our behaviors, our choices do not matter. Dotoyevsky said â€Å"If there is no immortality then all things are permitted† (11). Without God, there is no accountability, morality, or sense of right and wrong. Even more so, in a universe without God, good and evil do not exist (11). However, if we were to say there were no God, we would still be without purpose because we would just be accidental. We would just be accidents of chance. The only view that can save the human race from itself is a theistic view (11). The only thing going for an atheist is living with the fact of the absurdity of life. Such a view makes it impossible to live a fulfilling, happy life. For the atheist, absurdity of life and creating meaning for one’s life is a contradiction. A major disadvantage of atheism is that no one has hope or faith for reward of good or and punishment of evil. A believer’s hope is this, Christ. Ephesians 3:11 tells us that God had a purpose I mind before He created. Man within his own voluntary will would be able to love and choose God. Nature alone points to God. Humanity and the universe itself does not have to exist. Both are not self-existent but caused. There is no explanation for their existence. Within a Christian world view, life is not meaningless and pointless ending at the grave. We have hope in the resurrection and of eternal life. God and immortality are both necessary for a meaning full life (11). Bibliography 11- Craig, William Lane. The Absurdity of Life without God. In Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, by William Lane Craig, 71-90. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2008. 1-Evans, C. Stephen, and R. Zachary Manis. Philosophy of Religion: Thinking About Faith. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009. 8- Kunkle,Brett. â€Å"The Logical Problem of Evil.† Truth Never Gets Old. April 21, 2009 2- McCloskey, H. J. On Being an Atheist. Question (1968): 63-69. 5- Biologos. â€Å"What is the â€Å"fine-tuning† of the universe, and how does it serve as a â€Å"pointer to God?† 9- http://kevinfannystevenson.blogspot.com/2012/07/on-being-theist-response-to-h-j.html 10- http://www.existence-of-god.com/first-cause-argument.html

Fundemental Rights of India Essay Example for Free

Fundemental Rights of India Essay The Fundamental Rights in Indian constitution acts as a guarantee that all Indian citizens can and will live their lifes in peace as long as they live in Indian democracy. They include individual rigts common to most liberal democracies, such as equality before the law, freddom of speech and expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of religion, and the right to constitutional remedies for the protection of civil right. Originally, the right to property was also included in the Fundamental Rights, however, the Forty-Fourth Amendment, passed in 1978, revised the status of property rights by stating that No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law. Following are the Fudamental Rights in India Right to Equality | * Article 14 :- Equality before law and equal protection of law * Article 15 :- Prohibition of discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. * Article 16 :- Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment * Article 17 :- End of untouchability * Article 18 :- Abolition of titles, Military and academic distinctions are, however, exempted| Right to Freedom | * Article 19 :- It guarantees the citizens of India the following six fundamentals freedoms:- 1. Freedom of Speech and Expression 2. Freedom of Assembly 3. Freedom of form Associations 4. Freedom of Movement 5. Freedom of Residence and Settlement 6. Freedom of Profession, Occupation, Trade and Bussiness * Article 20 :- Protection in respect of conviction for offences * Article 21 :- Protection of life and personal liberty * Article 22 :- Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases | Right Against Exploitation | * Article 23 :- Traffic in human beings prohibited * Article 24 :- No child below the age of 14 can be employed | Right to freedom of Religion | * Article 25 :- Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion * Article 26 :- Freedom to manage religious affairs * Article 27 :- Prohibits taxes on religious grounds * Article 28 :- Freedom as to attendance at religious ceremonies in certain educational institutions | Cultural and Educational Rights | * Article 29 :- Protection of interests of minorities * Article 30 :- Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions * Article 31 :- Omitted by the  44th Amendment Act | Right to Constitutional Remedies | * Article 32 :- The right to move the Supreme Court in case of their violation (called Soul and heart of the Constitution by BR Ambedkar) * Forms of Writ check * Habeas Corpus :- Equality before law and equal protection of law | Fundamental Right 1. Part-III, containing articles from 12 to 35 deal with Fundamental Rights. 2. The Fundamental Rights can be enforceable by a court against the State. 3. These are primarily aim at assuring political freedom to the citizens by protecting them against the excessive State action. 4. The Fundamental Rights are given a pride of place by the Constitution makers. 5. The chapter of Fundamental Rights is sacrosanct and not liable to be abridged by legislative or executive act or orders, except to the extent provided in appropriate Article in Part III. 6. Grover Justice Supreme Court said: â€Å"where as the fundamental rights lay down the means by which that goal was to be achieved.† 7. Fundamental rights occupy a unique place in the lives of civilized society and have been variously described in judgment of the Supreme Court as â€Å"transcendental†, â€Å"inalienable† and â€Å"personal†. 8. There are negative in character. The State is asked not to do certain things for the people. Directive Principles of State Policy 1. Part –IV, containing Articles from 36 to 50, deal with Directive Principle of State Policy. 2. The Directive Principles of State Policy can not be enforceable by any Court. 3. These are aimed at securing welfare, social and economic freedoms by appropriate State action. 4. The Directive Principles are given a place of permanence by the Constitution makers. 5. The Directive Principles of State policies have to confirm and to run as subsidiary to the Chapter of Fundamental Rights. 6. Grover Justice Supreme Court said: â€Å"Directive Principles prescribe the goal to be attained.† 7. The Supreme Court described the Directive Principles of State policy as â€Å"Conscience of our Constitution†. 8. These are positive in character. The State is directed to take certain positive steps for the welfare and advancement of the people. Directive Principles Of State Policy The Constitution lays down certain Directive Principles of State Policy which  though not justiceable, are ‘fundamental in governance of the country’ and it is the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws. These lay down that the State shall strive to promote welfare of people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice social, economic and political, shall inform all institutions of national life. The State shall direct its policy in such a manner as to secure the right of all men and women to an adequate means of livelihood, equal pay for equal work and within limits of its economic capacity and development, to make effective provision for securing the right to work, education and to public assistance in the event of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement or other cases of undeserved want. The State shall also endeavour to secure to workers a living wage, humane conditions of work, a decent standard of life and full involvement of workers in management of industries. In the economic sphere, the State is to direct its policy in such a manner as to secure distribution of ownership and control of material resources of community to subserve the common good and to ensure that operation of economic system does not result in concentration of wealth and means of production of common detriment. (1) Equitable distribution of wealth or the socialist pattern of society and equal pay for equal work for both men and women. (2) Provision of adequate means of livelihood to all its citizens, men and women. (3) Provision of employment to all. (4) Free and compulsory education for children. (5) Living wage for workers. (6) Protection of childhood and youth against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment. (7) Organization of village panchayats as units of self-government (Article 40). (8) Prohibition of the consumption except for medical purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs injurious to health. (9) Organization of agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines. (10) Promotion of international peace and security and maintenance of just and honourable relations between the nations of the world. THE DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE Policy in the Constitution of India have been inspired by the Constitution of Ireland. It contains ideals of a Welfare State. The Directive Principles are  contained in Part-IV of the Constitution. RIGHT TO WORK IN THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION Article 41 in Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) in the Constitution of India reads, â€Å"The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want.† The custodian of Fundamental Rights is the Supreme Court of India. The differences between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles are: Fundamental Rights * Fundamental Rights are justiciable * Indian Constitution mentions some of the most important rights of the citizens called fundamental rights. * These rights are necessary if citizens are to act properly and live democratically. * These rights are fundamental in legal sense. If Government passes any law which restricts them, then those laws would be invalid. * The Constitution guarantees us six fundamental rights. * Fundamental rights concern the individual. Directive Principals * Directive Principles of State policy are not justiciable. The provision of Directive Principles thus can not be enforced in court of law. * These are actually directions given by the Constitution of the State to adopt policies which would help to establish a just society in our country. * The aim of these instructions is to create proper economic and social conditions in which citizens of our country can lead a good life. * Directive principles concern State.

Reflective Paper On Human Resource Management Management Essay

Reflective Paper On Human Resource Management Management Essay Human resource management plays an integral role in assisting any organization attains its set objectives. HRM can be defined as the rational and strategic move towards management of a firms workforce. The workforce is the most valuable asset in any organization. Indeed, organizations are constituted by employees and not the processes and technology employed. The goals of any organization can only achieved by entrusting it to a committed workforce. According to Riccucci (2006), HRM functions in hiring people, ensures growth of employees capabilities so as to fully utilize them and compensate them commensurately for their contributions in making organizations goals realization possible. As such, HRM exists to ensure employee productivity by addressing any hindrance occurring on employees performance. This paper explores the functions of HRM, major concerns in those functions and their relevance to the sum total goal of an organization. In addition the paper reflectively focuses on the impacts of the aforementioned functions to the employees current and future career. To achieve the organizational goals, HRM develops the employees and motivates the individual employee via proper communication of the social responsible and ethical behavior thereby expounding any performance gaps in the organization and providing remedies to them to ensure efficient working. Human Resources planning and recruitment/selection issues The process of HRM is guided by a HRM plan which clearly outlines the future of the undertaking. The plan relates the efforts of the employees within an organization with the organizational goals. Achievements of employees can only be relevant to the organization if they continually address the organizational goals. Organizational goals distinguish between organizations in the market and as such provide the competitive advantage of the organization. HRM office projects, in the plan, the human resource (HR) requirements into the future in efforts to enhance the achievement of the goals. The plan considers both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the HR to be recruited and/or maintained. The economic implication of the HR hired is a factor that goes hand in hand with the achievement of objectives of the organization. HR plan has a great implication on the current and future career aspects of existing employees as well as those in the contextual labour market. Indeed, the quality of HR required may mean staff training on the existing employees, retrenchment of those under qualified or stricter selection processes in efforts to match the job and the skills in employee. The recruitment process then follows. During recruitment, HRM office advertises for the vacancy and after applications has been made, selection of the best candidate(s) is done. The right candidate(s) is inducted into the organization via an introduction of the colleagues, organization structure, work station and supervisor. Furthermore, the recruited employee is familiarized with the organizations goals and policies all of which shape the organization culture. During induction there may be need for a training that may last from several days to several months depending on the intensity of disparity between skills level of the recruited employee and the job description. The contemporary society requires certain proportions of composition of genders in the organizations. Many organizations have actually adopted the affirmative action in ensuring equal employment opportunities (EEO) within their organizations. This serves both as legality conformance as well as a social acceptance tool for organizations. EEO and Affirmative Action Affirmative action is a faction of particular and results-oriented undertakings structured towards correction of underutilization of women and minorities in the workstations. The idea is that employers and all involved in controlling employment procedures do not discriminate among candidates on the grounds of physical or mental challenge, nationality, color, sex, ancestry, religion, marital status, age or medical condition (Dowling et al, 2008). The qualified individuals in the job market should therefore access the available jobs equally. Within the working places, affirmative action and EEO ensures similarity in provision of benefits as well as services to the workforce. As such employees are consistently subjected to practices and policies equally. EEO is an all inclusive legal mandate for federal contractors. Affirmative action program is an endeavor to enhance fairness and deal with effects of previous discrimination practices in employment through attracting the target group th at includes women and underutilized minorities. The impact of affirmative action and EEO on its level of implementation seriously impacts on the career aspirations and indeed personal lives of individuals since its implementation benefits the target group while it may compromise quality of the work force in some societies (ZÃ ¼gner Ullrich, 2009). Implementation of the EEO and affirmative action programs implies that the percentage of the unemployed among the target group is increased thereby improving their personal living standards as well as career prospects. The challenge with the implementation of EEO and affirmative action may be the possibility of compromising the quality aspect of the workforce when the level of skills among the target population is wanting yet their percentage in an organizations workforce has to be achieved. However, for social acceptance and legal conformity, the HRM office must try to apply the said policy. In enhancing employee productivity and the subsequent achievement of organization goals, HRM office must ensure proper compensation and commensurate provision of benefits to the employees. Compensation may be defined as the offer of money or a financial convertible material for purposes of remunerating for work done. The remuneration is presented as a compensation package which implies the value /worth placed on an employee. Compensation and Employees Benefits Compensation package is normally presented in three major categories. First, it can be non monetary such that the value intangible. Such compensation comprise of social as well as career rewards expressed as growth opportunity , subsidized housing, enhanced job security, flexible working hours, recognition, and elder care among others. The Second compensation package is direct which expresses the employees base salary/wage. Direct compensation may be in form of piece rate pay, hourly pay or salary pay. Finally, there is indirect compensation that includes provision of facilities like paid leave, health insurance, and child care. Any compensation is either based on time or activity level (Riccucci, 2006). In terms of time, compensation may be long-term or short-term. Short-term and long-term compensation reward performance for upto one financial year and beyond a financial year period respectively. The activity level approach, expresses a compensation package as either variable or fix ed. Variable package is proportionately with employees performance level. This arrangement is usually called ‘pay at risk. The implication is that compensation is re-earned and re-established each performance period. Variable package is availed as team-based pay, bonus programs as well as commissions. On the contrary, fixed compensation does not vary directly as performance and is also nondiscretionary. Generally, corporate consensus advocate for a relation between pay and performance to enhance its effectiveness. This advocacy may however not apply in sectors where performance levels are dependent on factors without employee and organization control. Whichever presentation of compensation package is adopted, the motivation effect as well as implication on financial soundness of the organization must be considered. Compensation package affects the employees perception on the value placed on them and hence is a good motivation element/factor in the workplace. The compensation policy adopted by the organization dictates the living standards of a person as well as future career development of an employee. Some organizations cater for career developments costs for their employees while others reimburse a certain percentage of the cost. Moreover, other factors constant, high compensation packages can enable an employee to advance in career since it would cater for the training and other education expenses coincidental to career advancement. Human Resources Development Human resources require a continuous development to match with the increasing demand for skills and levels of performance. Human resource development (HRD) may be defined as the structure designed to assist workers develop their personal as well as organizational skills, abilities and knowledge. HRD is more often than not a deliberate organizational effort expressed in terms of performance management, employee career development, employee training and mentoring programs geared towards positioning employees to properly face the dynamism of their duties (Dowling et al, 2008). The focus of HRD is to develop a superior workforce that will result to accomplishment of individual and organizational goals in serving customers. HRD may be formal or informal. Formally, HRD is conducted in a classroom setup where a course is offered. Informal HRD involves employee coaching by a supervisor within the working station. In an organizational setup, performance management is defined as the process of putting up a work environment requiring the workforce to perform to the maximum level of their capabilities. Performance management system starts with the communication of duties and responsibilities of an individual employee, the actual performance of duties and an evaluation procedure. The whole process is facilitated by a feedback mechanism that serves to ensure adherence to organizational goals. Effective performance management as an element in HRD ensures the following. First, there is continued improvement in productivity both in the manner employees work and the subsequent outcomes. Secondly, effective performance management ensures a commensurate reward to employees contribution hence improvement in employee morale. Thirdly, top performers are retained when an effective performance management is employed. Retention arises from the employee loyalty and low labour turn over achieved when employees e xperience a sense of achievement (ZÃ ¼gner Ullrich, 2009). Finally, organization enjoys increased profitability derived from employee loyalty which in turn leads to customer loyalty. The HRM office conducts performance appraisals usually on quarterly basis of the performance period. According to ZÃ ¼gner Ullrich (2009), career development can be enhanced through provision of paid study leaves and partial or full reimbursement of training expenses when employees seek training outside the organization. HRD equips the employees with better skills of doing work which boosts their performance levels. High performance levels in return generates better compensation package. Furthermore, HRD raises the self esteem of employees especially if their skills level were extremely low. Employee and various labor relations issues The practice HRM is responsible in ensuring adherence to the set labour relations policy. Employee/labour relation is the concern for the relationship and interaction between lower level employees and the organizations upper management level (Burstein, 1994). Labor relation policy addresses the following issues in the organization. To start with, labour relations policy enacts proper administration procedures within the organization. Employees can correctly project the administrative issues that will be practiced in the organization. For example, workers can expect that they will have a unity of command and a clearly defined chain of command governing them. Moreover, employees are aware of the importance of their participation in decision making in whichever level. Second, labour relations policy ensures maintenance of an effective and positive discipline in the organization. The policy clearly outlines the legal issues that govern discipline and the remedial measures to be taken for correction. When employees commit errors necessitating the need for effective dispute resolution in the workplace, they are not left under the mercies of the organization management alone, but rather labor relations policy provides the required guidelines in seeking amicable solution (Dowling et al, 2008). In case the organization infringes on the rights of the employees, the labour relations policy also comes into effect to define the extent of compensation that the employees are entitled to. Third, labour relations policy establishes the lines of communication in an organization which forms a foundation for employee morale. Fourth, the policies guarantees uninterrupted production since there is a continuous employment for employees and managers and a full utilization of resources. With maximum possible production, there is a predictable continuity in flow of income that enhances smooth running of organization. Finally, labor relations reduce wastage of HR, machines and materials thus protectin g national interest of conservation. Adherence to labour relations is paramount to personal lives of employees as well as on their future career prospects. This is mainly because the policy provides an opportunity for mental revolution (ZÃ ¼gner Ullrich, 2009). In fact the objective of labour relations policy is to enhance a complete mental revolution in the workforce. A peaceful coexistence ultimately lies in a changed appearance both on the organization and the employees. Management of organization needs to formulate relationships that enhance consonance with true democracy spirit. The organization and the employees must perceive themselves as members of a partnership that recognizes the contribution of each. Development of such an understanding improves the affective domain of an employee that is important in the modern social world. Social employees have a chance to develop in their careers as well as fit in their contextual organizations through the normal challenges that exist. Safety and Health On health and safety of employees in the organization, HRM ensures conformance both as a legal requirement as well as a care for humanity. Organizations depend on smooth running of operations as directed by employees. As such, the health and safety of employees need to be guarded. Health refers to the state of being in a human/ worker in an organization Dowling et al, 2008). The state of well being includes mental, emotional and physical wholeness of an individual. Safety may be defined as to the safeguarding of physical well being of a worker. Safety minimizes/eliminates risk of accidents due to fire or diseases as well as machinery. At large, Security encompasses protection of equipments and facilities from damage and unauthorized access. The HRM office coordinates safety programs and enhances awareness of the organizations health and safety policies. In ensuring safety awareness, the HRM office should train the members of organization on handling safety equipments, maintenance of working conditions that are safe as well as developing appropriate safety reporting mechanisms (Riccucci, 2006). Health and safety of employees safeguards their lives thereby giving them opportunities to advance in their careers. Conclusion In conclusion, the HRM function in an integral part of any organization in ensuring the realization of established goals. The said office harmonizes the dream of the founders of the organization, which is expressed as objectives or strategic plans, and the efforts that are applied by the workforce. Indeed, the essence of work is realization of the set objectives without which hard work would be meaningless. The functions of the HRM office are interrelated and interdependent. Their weights/importance is intertwined by the close relationships that they hold. As such no function can be said to hold more weight than the other. Sourcing of the workforce is however important as the first step that determines success and cost of operation in the other functions. Ensuring equality and fair practices under legal employee relations procedures in the workplace boosts firms commitment in attaining the set objectives. References Burstein, P. (1994). Equal employment opportunity: labor market discrimination and public policy. Piscataway, U.S.A: Aldine Transaction Publishers. Dowling, P. J., Festing, M Engle, D. A. (2008). International human resource management: managing people in a multinational context. Florence, KY: Cengage Learning EMEA Publishers. Riccucci, M. N. (2006). Public Personnel Administration and Labor Relations. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe Publishers. ZÃ ¼gner, C. Ullrich, S. (2009). Compensation and Remuneration. Munich, Germany: GRIN Verlag Publishers.

Malaria Essay -- essays research papers fc

Malaria is regarded as one of the world's deadliest tropical parasitic diseases. It claims more lives than any other communicable disease except tuberculosis. In Africa and other developing countries, it also accounts for millions of dollars in medical costs. Malaria, however, is a curable disease if promptly diagnosed and adequately treated. Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the parasite plasmodium. In recent years, most cases in the U.S. have been in people who have acquired the disease after travelling to tropical and sub-tropical areas. Over 200 million cases worldwide are reported each year. Estimates of deaths caused by malaria exceed 1 million each year, with the majority being African children. Other groups at risk include pregnant women, foreign travelers, refugees, and laborers entering endemic areas. Malaria is prevalent in over 100 countries around the world, the most of which located in Africa and South America. Predominance of Malaria Today, malaria is a public health problem in more than 90 countries. Worldwide prevalence of the disease is estimated to be over 200 million cases each year. More than 90% of all malaria cases arise from sub-Saharan Africa. The geographical area affected by malaria has shrunk considerably in the past 50 years. Yet measures to control this epidemic are becoming less and less effective. Increased risk of the disease is linked with expansion projects in undeveloped areas, particularly in the Amazon basin and in Southeast Asia. The rise of malaria is also linked to factors such as global warming, poor health services, political upheavals and armed conflicts. Other causes of this spread include growing resistance of the parasites that cause the disease to new drugs. And with the growing popularity international travel, malaria is now showing up in developed countries. It is also re-emerging in areas where it has previously been under eradicated. Symptoms Symptoms of malaria vary depending on the specific type of parasite involved. These symptoms include high fever, chills, sweats, vomiting, and headaches. This would explain why malaria is often misdiagnosed as the flu. In severe cases the illness can progress to lethargy, respiratory failure, coma and death. If left untreated, the symptoms may persist for weeks or even months. With some types of malaria, relapses may occur for years after treatment. ... ... infection from mosquitoes. Health departments assist travelers in determining what precautions are needed. Drug and Vaccine Development Drugs designed to treat malaria are available on a very limited basis. Because of increasing resistance to drugs in many parts of the world, adequate treatment of malaria is becoming increasingly difficult. Although a few new drugs have appeared in the last 20 years, they are not economically available to many people who need them. In the last decade, considerable progress has been made in the search for a malaria vaccine. An effective vaccine would create a powerful addition to malaria control. More than a dozen candidate vaccines are currently in development, some of them in clinical trial. The hope is that an effective vaccine will be available within the next 7-15 years. REFERENCES A bibliography on the behavioral, social, and economic aspects of malaria and its control. c1978. World Health Organization. Geneva, Switzerland. (April 2000). Malaria Foundation International. [On-line]. Available: http://www.malaria.org/ (April 2000). Travel health online. [On-line]. Available: http://www.tripprep.com/travinfo/timala.html

Essay on The Luck of Ginger Coffey and The Stone Angel :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

The Luck of Ginger Coffey and The Stone Angel    Brian Moore, and Margaret Laurence’s concern for the plight of the individual and their position in society is clearly self-evident in their novels The Luck of Ginger Coffey and The Stone Angel. Finding one’s place in society is a major dilemma many people face every day. Once people find their place in society they understand who they are, what is expected by them and what their roles are. Once a person has found their place in society they understand their life and which direction it is going.   The main characters are portrayed as two different individuals with very different lives who have only one thing in common- their inability to find their proper place in society. Brian Moore, and Margaret Laurence’s concern for the plight of the individual and their position in society is clearly self-evident in their novels The Luck of Ginger Coffey and The Stone Angel . The main characters Ginger Coffey and Hagar Shipley both struggle to survive with dignity even though their overwhelming pride often obscures reality. Throughout the novel it becomes evident that both Ginger Coffey and Hagar Shipley’s overwhelming sense of pride obscures their reality and therefore causing problems for them. Coffey the main character in Brian Moore’s novel The Luck of Ginger Coffey is portrayed as a comic hero who has endless limitations that he does not see. Ginger Coffey believes he is his own man, which is why he leaves his homeland Ireland and moves to Canada . Coffey be lieves Ireland would not allow him to become the person he thought he could be, " What was his aim in life ? Well...he supposed it was to be his own master, to provide for Vera and Paulie, to...to what ?...To make something of himself, he supposed." (Moore, pg.21) Coffey’s values do not seem to be unrealistic or selfish in themselves, but because he sets unobtainable and unrealistic goals he encounters numerous failures. Coffey cannot content himself with a simple job and provide for his family in this way; he wants to become someon! e important, and achieve personal status. Not realizing that these very ideas bind him to a life of repetitive failures. Because of his pride Coffey sees himself not as the middle aged man that he is, but as an attractive young boy out for new adventures.

Eliyahu M. Goldratts The Goal Essay -- Goldratt

The Goal Here are the principles behind the dramatic turnaround story in The Goal. The goal of a manufacturing organization is to make money. Jonah poses this as a question: "What is the goal?" and Rogo actually struggles with it for a day or two, but any manager or executive that can't answer that question without hesitation should be fired without hesitation. But then again, the goal isn't clear to everyone. One of the characters in the book, an accountant, responds to an offhand comment about the goal with a confused "The goal? You mean our objectives for the month?" That's sure to strike a chord with a lot of readers. At an operational level, measure your success toward the goal with these three metrics: Throughput - The rate at which the system generates money through sales. Inventory - The money that the system has invested in purchasing things which it intends to sell. Operational expense - The money the system spends in order to turn inventory into throughput. You could rephrase it this way - and someone does, a bit later in the book: Throughput - Goods out; the money coming in. Inventory - Materials in; the money currently inside the system. Operational expense - Effort in; the money going out. Obviously, your job is to minimize expense and inventory and maximize throughput. Adjust the flow of product to match demand. In particular, don't trim capacity to match demand. It's a standard cost-cutting procedure, sure. But you'll need that capacity later, if you're serious about increasing throughput. Find bottlenecks. If manufacturing is what's limiting your throughput, then the problem isn't that people aren't working hard enough. You have bottlenecks in your manufacturing processes that are holding up everything else. Find the bottlenecks and do everything you can to fix them. Increase their efficiency, even at the expense of efficiency in non-bottleneck places, because the efficiency of a bottleneck directly determines the efficiency of the entire process, all the way through final payment. In the book, a variety of steps are taken to "elevate" and circumvent the bottlenecks. This is where the results start showing up on the bottom line. Soon the plant can actually use information from the bottleneck to do an effective job of scheduling work and (for the first time) reliably predicting when orders w... ...deas in novel form. There were already a dozen essays or articles on manufacturing management paradigms; you couldn't sell those. Novels sell better than essays. They're more readable. Once you realize that managers will buy thousands of copies of a "business novel" and make it required reading for their subordinates, a novel is the only way to go. (Also, The Goal was originally intended as marketing for Goldratt's plant management software company.) My main objection to The Goal is that it's fiction. Rogo makes a few changes, and his problems miraculously go away. It just works. Granted, the policies seem like good sense. But the unrealistic points are glossed over. Maybe plant managers in real life have the authority to adopt dramatic changes in the way they operate, the way Rogo did. Maybe it's easy to convince your top accountant that all his models are wrong, even though you have no accounting experience yourself. Maybe the average plant has an IT department that can create new scheduling software out of thin air in a few days. Maybe not. Goldratt claims a lot of real-life plant managers say they've turned The Goal into a documentary. That's a book I haven't read yet. Eliyahu M. Goldratt's The Goal Essay -- Goldratt The Goal Here are the principles behind the dramatic turnaround story in The Goal. The goal of a manufacturing organization is to make money. Jonah poses this as a question: "What is the goal?" and Rogo actually struggles with it for a day or two, but any manager or executive that can't answer that question without hesitation should be fired without hesitation. But then again, the goal isn't clear to everyone. One of the characters in the book, an accountant, responds to an offhand comment about the goal with a confused "The goal? You mean our objectives for the month?" That's sure to strike a chord with a lot of readers. At an operational level, measure your success toward the goal with these three metrics: Throughput - The rate at which the system generates money through sales. Inventory - The money that the system has invested in purchasing things which it intends to sell. Operational expense - The money the system spends in order to turn inventory into throughput. You could rephrase it this way - and someone does, a bit later in the book: Throughput - Goods out; the money coming in. Inventory - Materials in; the money currently inside the system. Operational expense - Effort in; the money going out. Obviously, your job is to minimize expense and inventory and maximize throughput. Adjust the flow of product to match demand. In particular, don't trim capacity to match demand. It's a standard cost-cutting procedure, sure. But you'll need that capacity later, if you're serious about increasing throughput. Find bottlenecks. If manufacturing is what's limiting your throughput, then the problem isn't that people aren't working hard enough. You have bottlenecks in your manufacturing processes that are holding up everything else. Find the bottlenecks and do everything you can to fix them. Increase their efficiency, even at the expense of efficiency in non-bottleneck places, because the efficiency of a bottleneck directly determines the efficiency of the entire process, all the way through final payment. In the book, a variety of steps are taken to "elevate" and circumvent the bottlenecks. This is where the results start showing up on the bottom line. Soon the plant can actually use information from the bottleneck to do an effective job of scheduling work and (for the first time) reliably predicting when orders w... ...deas in novel form. There were already a dozen essays or articles on manufacturing management paradigms; you couldn't sell those. Novels sell better than essays. They're more readable. Once you realize that managers will buy thousands of copies of a "business novel" and make it required reading for their subordinates, a novel is the only way to go. (Also, The Goal was originally intended as marketing for Goldratt's plant management software company.) My main objection to The Goal is that it's fiction. Rogo makes a few changes, and his problems miraculously go away. It just works. Granted, the policies seem like good sense. But the unrealistic points are glossed over. Maybe plant managers in real life have the authority to adopt dramatic changes in the way they operate, the way Rogo did. Maybe it's easy to convince your top accountant that all his models are wrong, even though you have no accounting experience yourself. Maybe the average plant has an IT department that can create new scheduling software out of thin air in a few days. Maybe not. Goldratt claims a lot of real-life plant managers say they've turned The Goal into a documentary. That's a book I haven't read yet.