Effective leaders Fiedler contingency model

THE EXTENDED FAMILY A SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND HOPE essays

THE EXTENDED FAMILY A SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND HOPE essays THE EXTENDED FAMILY: A SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND HOPE In his books Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck captured the reality of the struggles that struck mankind in different forms and in various levels as he had observed during his lifetime. Steinbeck observed mainly Californians and migrants who had suffered from poverty and distress brought to them by the Depression and the Dust Bowl, the dust storm that brought drought to the Great Plains during 1932 to 1939. He began to write books to sympathize with and encourage the many downtrodden people whom he had watched. Steinbeck suggested a method of comfort and relief to those who were alone and suffering; he discussed the significance that an extended family has in providing its constituents the strength to cope with their economic insecurities and social problems. Due to the Dust Bowl and the Depression that hit the United States in the thirties, many Oklahomans experienced a sudden abandonment from their landlords. Since most Oklahomans were farmers, many were left jobless once they were kicked off their land. For the sake of survival, this economic catastrophe resulted in two different cases of reactions: that of Muley Graves and that of the Joads. Steinbeck introduced a character, Muley Graves, who became a beggar because he was too attached to the land to leave and too independent to abide with his family that had left, travelling to California. Too stubborn to budge, Muley just scowled, If they throw me off, Ill come back... I aint a goin...An I aint a-going while remanding behind by the land that no longer was under his family control or estate, eating wild animals to survive. However, a different mentality of the farmers was shown through the Joads. When their land was taken away, for the sake of survival, Joads did not hesitate to leave their land at once: their houses were left vacant on th...

How and why did Greek writers, painters and sculptors compare and Essay

How and why did Greek writers, painters and sculptors compare and contrast the values and virtues of Greeks and Barbarians - Essay Example Greek history has uncertain beginnings and varying boundaries because it encompasses eras of expansion over many centuries.In this context Greek authors, artists and sculptors took it for granted that Greek culture was superior to the othercultures When the Greek civilization was at the height of its powers in the archaic and classical periods, from around 800 BC until about 300 BC it ruled vast areas of the Eastern Mediterranean and much further inland, exacting tribute from conquered peoples and passing on its illustrious literature and culture to many other tribes and nations. In this context Greek authors, artists and sculptors simply took it for granted that Greek culture was superior to the cultures that could not demonstrate the advanced technologies that the Greeks possessed. Some cultures like the Egyptians, for example, had great cities, stone monuments and works of literature which earned the respect of the Greeks, but those who preferred a nomadic lifestyle were regarded simply as ‘barbarians.’ Very often this label was used in ignorance, and it served to make as big a distance as possible in Greek minds between those who were within its extended territorial reach, and those who were beyond it. In short, all that was culturally good and proper and admirable was Greek, and all that the barbarian cultures represented was depicted in opposite terms. In modern language we would call this a stereotype, and then, as now, there was some truth in this stereotype, but it was by no means the full story. This paper explores the way that Greeks define and depict themselves and the barbarians through various artefacts including literature, painting and sculpture. It covers the values and the virtues of Greek and of barbarian as seen from the Greek point of view, both positive and negative, as demonstrated through actions and outward appearance. Hall points out that there were hundreds of tragedies written for fifth century Athenian theatre and that more than half of them introduce barbarian characters, choruses and locations, even when there is no need for these details in the main plot: â€Å"Supernumerary foreign characters or choruses, and the ubiquity of allusions to the other, inferior, world beyond Hellas, therefore provide evidence that barbarians were a particular preoccupation of the Greek tragedians. 1 Hall identifies two main areas of difference between Greeks and barbarians. The first is political, thanks to the Greek commitment to democracy as a form of government for a modern state: â€Å"Greeks are democratic and egalitarian; the barbarians are tyrannical and hierarchical†2 although this conveniently overlooks the fact that Greek wealth and leisure to depended upon a large underclass of slaves who were mostly non-Greeks. The second area of difference that Hall observes is harder to define, and lies in the area of psychology and attitude, whereby the barbarian is cast in the role of â€Å"other.† T his notion permeates Greek thinking and this kind of polarization is a tendency which has been present in European history ever since. It is important to remember that our modern understanding of race and nationhood may not exactly match the way that these ideas were understood in early Greek history. Greece was made up of a collection of small city states, and they had ties with the center of Greek culture in Athens, but they also had ties with the geographical areas surrounding them, some of which differed greatly from the Athenian norms. Different Greek cities had different perspectives. Geary notes that the fifth century Greek historian Herodotus indulges in a certain amount of simplistic â€Å"us and them† thinking, but at the same time probes the backgrounds of the peoples such as the Persians whom the Greeks encountered as enemies in long and bitter wars: â€Å"Herodotus invented both history and ethnography.† 3 This is not, however ethnography as we would under stand it today. Geary explains that for Herodotus it is not biological or political factors that connect a group

Death penalty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Death penalty - Research Paper Example In response to the argument that capital punishment deters crime, opponents point to a substantial body of research that suggests otherwise. Prior to Ehrlich's work and the subsequent application of econometric methods to the question of deterrence, few criminologists believed that there was strong evidence to support this argument. Recent surveys of criminologists have found that they still overwhelmingly believe that capital punishment does not deter crime; in 2009, a study of leading American criminologists found that 88 percent thought the death penalty was not a deterrent. Critics point out that a large number of studies on the topic have found no deterrent effect, and that the attitudes of criminologists reflect this evidence. Sellin's work on the deterrent effect in 1959 was one of the first primary studies that compared states with similar populations and crime rates, and found that those with the death penalty had, on average, no significant decreases in homicide rates. This work was followed by dozens of published studies that compared states with or without the death penalty, and notably after 1972, compared homicide rates before and after the halting of executions within specific states, and concluded there was little deterrent effect. Beginning in the 1970s, there has also been a substantial body of work that has focused more extensively on rebutting the methodologies and findings of Ehrlich and later econometricians. In response to Ehrlich's findings, the National Academy of Sciences appointed a panel of experts to review his work and concluded in 1978 that his methodology was flawed, and his conclusions were not sustainable. Critics have pointed out that his findings were largely dependent upon the specific variables he chose to include in his studies, as well as the specific time frames he focused on, and even minor changes to these inputs and parameters have resulted in radically different outcomes. More recently, the work of Jeffery Fagan and several colleagues has demonstrated that the use of econometric methods by researchers who have found a link between executions and deterrence are equally susceptible to large variances through small changes to variables or time frames. Aside from the argument that capi tal punishment does not deter crime, critics also argue that the death penalty does not in fact result in increased justice for either victims or society. Many critics are opposed to the idea of retribution on moral or religious grounds, and argue that for a variety of reasons, the death penalty constitutes a violation of the Eighth Amendment's

American International Group Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American International Group - Case Study Example The major business line of American International Group are functions, supports, services, and operations. The failure of these lines would result on the huge material loss of profit, revenue and franchise value for the organization as a whole. Therefore, American International Group prepared a resolution plan and for that purpose 22 companies as material entities were identified, from which one is AIG Markets, Inc; and the type of this entity is derivatives intermediaries. Fear of revenue, profit and franchise value loss motivated organization to be a part of derivatives market. American international group utilizes derivatives as a part of the company’s risk management framework. The major purpose of the company in entering in a derivative market is to mitigate the risk either by providing a profile of the investment or by hedging exposure. American international group is no longer engage in activities of derivatives that contributed materially to concerns throughout the fin ancial crisis or also not act as a market for the contracts of derivatives. The exposure of derivatives and derivative portfolio is examined on a regular basis in order to avoid any risk and fulfill the market standards of investment. Interest rate derivatives are used to deal with interest rate risk that is associated with insurance assets and liabilities. The company is involved in making investments in hybrid securities in order to generate more income. Therefore, company is involved in such derivative activities that are associated with investment operations for risk mitigation (AIG, 2014). After the financial crisis of 2008 the insurance industry like other industries faced backslash, this crisis and other infamous events proven as threat for the economy of the country. Many of American people rely on financial services for ability to get more mortgages, for investment opportunities and retirement savings. When ethical analysis taken into consideration, and the

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF VODAFONE

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF VODAFONE Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone) was founded as a subsidiary of Racal Electronics Plc in 1984. It became independent of the company in 1991 then changed its name to Vodafone Group Plc. Today, as a British multinational mobile network operator with headquarters in Newbury, England, it is known as one of the worlds leading telecommunication companies by revenue. It operates across the globe where it offers a range of communication services dealing directly with consumers and offering services for businesses. Its consumer customers are classified into prepaid and contract and its business customers range from small office-home-office (SoHo) and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to corporate and multinational corporations (MNCs). Its products and services includes messaging, voice, data, devices to help customers in meeting total communication needs and fixed line solutions. In all, its customer base total 341.1 million proportionate customers all over the globe (www.vodafone.com). The companys vision is to become the world leader in communications (www.vodafone.com). In this paper, we look to evaluate the performance of Vodafone for the periods ending 31st March 2009 and 2010. Evaluation will be based on financial and non financial factors including key ratios and SWOT analysis for a more coherent outlook. Recommendations will then be made based on the performance analysis. CALCULATION OF KEY RATIOS (all figures are in  £m) Profitability ratios Gross profit margin: this is calculated by expressing the gross profit made in the year over sales multiplied by 100. 2010 2009 (15,033/ 44,472)*100 = 33.80% (15,175/ 41,017)*100 = 37.00% Operating profit margin: calculated by expressing profit before interest and tax over sales multiplied by 100. 2010 2009 (9,480/44,472)*100 = 21.32% (5,857/41,017)*100 = 14.28% Return on Capital Employed (ROCE): calculated by dividing profit before interest and tax over total asset less current liabilities all multiplied by 100 2010 2009 (10,186/156,985-28,616)*100 = 7.93% (6,608/152,699-27,947)*100 = 5.30% Gearing: calculated by dividing long term debt over equity 2010 2009 (28632/90381)*100 = 31.7% (31749/86162) = 36.8% Liquidity: calculated as current asst over current liabilities and the acid test ratio calculated as current asset less stock over current liabilities 2010 2009 (14,219/28,616) = 0.5 (14,219-433/28,616) = 0.48 (13,029/27,947) = 0.47 (13,029-412/27,947) = 0.45 Price earning (P/E): calculated as average share price for the period over earnings per share (EPS); EPS is calculated as profit for the year over number of issued share 2010 2009 P/E: (132/16.11) = 8.19 (136/17.17) = 7.92 http://www.vodafone.com EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS FINANCIAL Profitability ratio Gross profit margin relates to the trading profit of a firm to its sales. Generally, it should be steady year and year and any wide variation investigated (Cox and Fardon, 2007). In the case of Vodafone, there was a fall in this ratio from 2009 to 2010 from 37% to 33.8%. This fall can be attributed to the increase in cost of sales of 13.92%, nearly twice as high as the increase in sales of 8.42%. Further investigation is need to ascertain the increase in cost of sales. On the contrary operating profit margin nearly doubled from 14.28% in 2009 to 21.32% in 2010. This margin highlights how effectively a firm has managed its cost of operations. It would look like Vodafone has managed cost effectively; however the increase is due to a fall in impairment loss of approximately 64% on goodwill. In 2009 there were a lot of adverse events e.g. economic down turn. Otherwise all cost remained fairly the same only slightly higher in 2010. ROCE increased from 5.3% to 7.93% in 2010. It is good as it reflects that Vodafone has the ability to earn a return on all capital employed increasingly. Investors should be happy in this respect as it means their investment is been put to good use. What will be more helpful is a five year trend and knowing that the 7.93% is at least equal to the return on a bank account (Cox and Fardon, 2007). Gearing ratio This ratio decreased by 13.9% to 31.75% in 2010. Long term borrowing fell 9.8% over the period, mainly due to a sharp fall in other liabilities, while equity increased by 4.9%. Higher gearing means less secure equity capital; partly because repayment and interest make debt costly and partly because strictly speaking it can be recalled at any time. Although there is no clear standard to judge acceptable gearing level, when gearing exceeds 100% it tends to worry investors (Cox and Fardon, 2007). Thus, in this case Vodafone has done well although five years figures will give us a clearer trend. Liquidity/acid test ratio Liquidity is the ability of a firm to pay off current obligation. Both the acid test and current ratio increased from 2009 to 2010. However, both ratios fall short of the rule-of-thumb that current ratio should be 2:1 (0.5 in 2010 and 0.47 in 2009) and acid test 1:1 (0.48 in 2010 and 0.45 in 2009). It shows Vodafone is not liquid. This is not a problem as such because in the telecommunications industry there are relatively few current assets and this contributes to low current ratios (Costea, 2006). For a meaningful conclusion a five year tread and industry average is needed. P/E ratio This ratio represents the markets view of the growth potential of the company, its dividend policy and the degree of risk involved in the investment (Alexander, Britton and Jorissen, 2007). High P/E ratio means investors have good feelings about the factors mentioned, i.e. good growth opportunities, relatively safe earnings etc (Brealey, Myers and Allen, 2008). In the case of Vodafone there has been an increase in the ratio by 3.4% to 8.19 which highlights that investors are confident in the company. Again five years trend and comparison to the industry average will give a more meaningful conclusion. NON FINANCIAL SWOT analysis forms the basis of this section. Analysis of the financial statement and research by datamonitor show that there has been little change in the SWOT of Vodafone between 2009 and 2010 (see appendix 1). Strengths Vodafone has strong international brand recognition. in an age where branding is key element of marketing this is a key strength. In 2009, in Brand finance global ranking, the Vodafone brand came 8th as most valuable brand. In 2010 it moved up to 7th position. It has developed a set of guidelines, to enable the consistent use of the Vodafone brand, in areas such as advertising, retail, online and merchandising and ensured it has a strong customer focus. The company also has extensive global reach and diversified revenue base. It has equity interests in over 30 countries and over 40 partner markets worldwide. It operates in three geographic regions Europe, Africa and Central Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East and also has an investment in the United States. This reduces business risk and provides synergy. Furthermore, it is a leader in its markets meaning it understands its market. Weaknesses The company continues to be a part of legal proceedings which eats into the companys profits. In 2004, Vodafone 2, one of the subsidiaries initiated a legal action to an enquiry by HMRC with regard to the UK tax treatment of its Luxembourg holding company, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg SARL (VIL), under the CFC Regime. The enquiry is ongoing and a provision of  £2.2bn has been and was made in 2010 and 2009 accounts. This event shows Vodafone as an irresponsible company trying to evade taxation. Opportunities Strong growth has been forecast for the mobile advertising market with mobile phones becoming the centre of digital convergence. Indeed, compounded growth forecast for the USA alone is 70% for 2008-2013. This is good news for Vodafone as it has been focusing here in recent times and thus, offers the potential to increase revenue in the future. The penetration of third generation technology (3G) has been increasing in recent times. It allows service providers to provide many services including mobile TV and VoD. The penetration rate of 3G in advanced economies is forecast to increase from nearly 30% to 60% between 2008 and 2013. At present Vodafone is an active leader in this market and thus is taking advantage of this. Threats The telecommunication industry is highly competitive. In addition technology is constantly changing and if one is not careful one can be out of competition. Competition is also very high because markets are becoming saturated and thus marketing is shifting towards customer retention rather than acquisition. This is particularly so in the European market where Vodafone generates considerable revenue. RECOMMENDATION Comparing the companys performance over a 2year period with the ratios can result in a highly inaccurate conclusion. For instance, is the fall in gross profit a one off occurrence within five years or has it been falling only rising in 2009 and falling again in 2010. If this is the case then there is a big problem. This being the case, it is recommended that the company develop the analysis over 5 years for more informative conclusion. This is not to say that the one off occurrence in gross profit margin does not need attention. Also although the company may be doing well it may be below industry standards and thus industry average is needed to ensure this is not so and if it is then the company will know where to work on. This is particularly the case for Vodafones liquidity. The company is not liquid. Is this in line with industry average? Perhaps further liquidity test is needed. It is also recommended that the sharp rise in cost of sales is investigated. A breakdown of the cost is needed to know which element(s) is the culprit to determine what can be done about it. CONCLUSION Overall Vodafone performed better in 2010 than it did in 2009. This should be commended as the economic environment has not been all that favourable. The company was profitable improving in both its operating profit margin and ROCE with the exception of gross profit margin falling. This has been commented on above. Improvement in the ROCE showed Vodafone to have made extensive use of capital employed. It has kept its gearing level under control and according to the price earnings ratio, investors are confident about the future prospect of the company and this is reflected in the increase in current share price of the company as is in appendix one. Once again Vodafone can be commended for maintaining and building on its strength; extending global reach, maintaining its lead and increasing its brand value. This has definite impact on its ability to improve its profitability and do well despite performing in a mature, highly competitive environment with a dire climate. It is rather unfortunate that none of its strength or opportunities can eradicate or minimise its weakness. Vodafone needs to take care when calculating and recognising tax ensuring that it has proper internal controls to ensure all rules and regulations are adhered to as fully as possible. References: Alexander, D., Britton, A. and Jorissen, A. (2007) International Financial Reporting and Analysis, London Thomson Learning. Brealey, R. A., Stewart, C. M. and Allen, F. (2008), Principles of Corporate Finance Singapore: McGraw-Hill. Costae, Adrian The Analysis of the Telecommunication Sector by means of Data Mining Technique, 2006, Journal of Applied Quantitative Methods, pp.144-150 Cox, D. (2007) Accounting: the basics of financial and management accounting. Worcester: Osborne Books Ltd DATAMONITOR (2009) SWOT analysis, April 2009. London; DATAMONITOR http://www.lse.co.uk/SharePrice.asp?shareprice=VODshare=vodafone_grp http://www.vodafone.com/etc/medialib/agm_09.Par.22820.File.dat/VF_Annual%20Report_2009.pdf http://www.vodafone.com/etc/medialib/agm_10.Par.86506.File.dat/vf_ar2010.pdf London Stock Exchange (2010), 3 months Vodafone Share Graph. London Stock Exchange, Accessed 11 August 2010. Vodafone Group Plc. (2009) Annual Report For the year ended 31st March 2009, Vodafone Accessed 10 August 2010. Vodafone Group Plc. (2010) Annual Report For the year ended 31st March 2010, Vodafone Accessed 10 August 2010.

The Internet and Rapidly Developing Technology :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Internet and Rapidly Developing Technology The recent revolution of internet and dot-com boom has brought more people familiar to computers and the Internet. It seems like that we can hardly find our way through everyday life with out using or having an internet connected computer next to us. The way we think, live, and communicate was changed once for all with the invention of networked communication of computers. Computers are no longer a piece of machine that sits on top of our desk for us to admire the marvelous technology brought by the geeks and freaks of 80's, but for us to constantly use and put in to work. And in a way, environment which we live in, the society, schools, jobs, forces us to make friends with that technology. Just like when you don't have a telephone you will have hard time communicate with meeting with your friends, absence of instant messaging programs, or ability to use one, will place you out of the circle of events happening with the friends, or don't let you do the work as fast or as good as the one who uses the technology. This is one of the reasons why increasing number of people choose to have computers and internet as a prime communication tool not only between friends and for socialization, but for everyday life. People are increasingly finding new ways of getting things done not by the waiting at the other end of the phone line, but clicking the way through a certain web pages, or typing their message on emails and messenger program. On-line part of the business of almost all industries, not only limited to the dot-com companies but other 'traditional' businesses as well, has been increasingly finding it self positioning more valuable and growing in potential. We are all too familiar with the online shopping sites and class websites that we use almost everyday in a very handy way of getting things done. But where did this all came from? Just when did we start using the internet the way we use it today? Clearly, these sorts of questions can be answered in simple, concise way. The internet was born in 1969 as a segment of research project of Department of Defense. Back then, the internet was known as ARPANET, a forerunner of the internet. Since the birth of the internet up to 1980's, Internet was used mostly by Universities and experts who knew their way around its complex systems and workings. The Internet and Rapidly Developing Technology :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers The Internet and Rapidly Developing Technology The recent revolution of internet and dot-com boom has brought more people familiar to computers and the Internet. It seems like that we can hardly find our way through everyday life with out using or having an internet connected computer next to us. The way we think, live, and communicate was changed once for all with the invention of networked communication of computers. Computers are no longer a piece of machine that sits on top of our desk for us to admire the marvelous technology brought by the geeks and freaks of 80's, but for us to constantly use and put in to work. And in a way, environment which we live in, the society, schools, jobs, forces us to make friends with that technology. Just like when you don't have a telephone you will have hard time communicate with meeting with your friends, absence of instant messaging programs, or ability to use one, will place you out of the circle of events happening with the friends, or don't let you do the work as fast or as good as the one who uses the technology. This is one of the reasons why increasing number of people choose to have computers and internet as a prime communication tool not only between friends and for socialization, but for everyday life. People are increasingly finding new ways of getting things done not by the waiting at the other end of the phone line, but clicking the way through a certain web pages, or typing their message on emails and messenger program. On-line part of the business of almost all industries, not only limited to the dot-com companies but other 'traditional' businesses as well, has been increasingly finding it self positioning more valuable and growing in potential. We are all too familiar with the online shopping sites and class websites that we use almost everyday in a very handy way of getting things done. But where did this all came from? Just when did we start using the internet the way we use it today? Clearly, these sorts of questions can be answered in simple, concise way. The internet was born in 1969 as a segment of research project of Department of Defense. Back then, the internet was known as ARPANET, a forerunner of the internet. Since the birth of the internet up to 1980's, Internet was used mostly by Universities and experts who knew their way around its complex systems and workings.