Dejah Purnell Essays - Education, Educational Psychology, Psychology

Dejah Purnell Professor McKinley English 116.23 21 November 2017 Fine Arts Vs Sports There are many extra curriculums activates in a high school, many people wonder where the money comes from and what will happen if they do not reach their money quota? Public schools receive their money from there town through taxes, if the town do not pay enough taxes the high school will have to do a budget cut. In this case the high school will have to pick between the arts which includes music or sports like football. The a rt and music should stay in many high school curriculums, art and music can help children with developments of the body, children with disabilities, therapy, social skills and more. Art and Music can help children with disabilities a study form S usan Honeyman book Child Pain, Migraine, and Invisible Disability, in the book it explains how higher levels of achievement in school settings. Honeyman quoted form a chairman in the American Educational Research Association noted that "the arts may contribute to students with special needs as the arts increase their involvement and as a result, gain self-confidence through the arts, their classmates, and enhance teacher perception of these students" (Honeyman 93). Art is an expre ssion or application of human creative skill and imagination, art can also be useful to the human body for example, art t herapy is a form of a psychotherapy healing treatment that encourage patients to have an open mind while they are painting, drawing or any other art activists, it is also a treatment for those who haves a mental dieses or disability such as Parkinson, schizophrenia and more. Art Therapy also can promote some form of brain plasticity that, to some extent, might compensate for the brain damage caused by the disease (1) .For example, about 420 schizophrenic patients were involved in the MATISSE trial. They were subdivided into three subgroups of equal size. Group art therapy was administered to one subgroup while the other two received active treatment or standard care treatment (2) ( some active treatments may include patients being in engaged in collective activity, such as board games, watching and discussing DVDs, an d more ). E vidence of a population-level effect of group art therapy over the other treatments was found in terms of global functional improvements in mental health or other health-related outcomes. A follow-up anal ysis on the same data found e vidence for improvement even among specific subgroups of pati ents. Art can be used for devel o p mental benefits like motor skills, language, d ecision making, visual learning, inventiveness, culture awareness and improved academic performance. Usually motor skills, visual learning and decision making the most. Motor skill can be defined as hold something or to do any physical actions: for example, holding a paint brush or scribbling with a pencil uses motor skills. When you pick up an object your brain sends signals to your arm, so you can use the item. Motor skills is also a huge help with the growth of a child and they continue to develop stronger as the child grows and learn more. Language development starts off young and helps understand the difference between each shape as a child grow into a young adult their language skills will comes from learning different shapes to understanding how to socialize and interact with one another. Decision making should be encouraged in school to help strengthens problem-solving and critica l-thinking skills for example, if an art student gets in trouble in school he or she would have to make the decision of dealing with his consequences and learn not to make a bad mistake again or do the same mistake and having a possibilit y of getting in trouble, another example how art can help with making positive decisions are grades. Most students who are in art want to stay in art, they know if their grade average go below a certain number they cannot participate in any art activities. To prevent this action most students makes a wise decision to keep their grade-point- average above standards. Art can help the future generation with culture and culture can help understand art. Each culture

Free Essays on Prolife

An aborted organism, this is one definition of an abortion. Look at that twice. How terrible does that sound? I can't even begin to wonder how people call themselves moral and compassionate human beings when they believe in destroying an innocent life to make their own easier. You make the choice when you choose to have sex. Some say it is ok in cases of rape or incest, because the mother did nothing wrong and did not consent to sex. This is very true, it is not ones fault who is raped. And it is not the baby's fault that it was made. It had no decision, no say, it was just created. People who argue for abortion in these cases are backwards. I always argue with friends about this issue. Their primary argument is that the fetus is not actually a human being unless it has a brain, sensory organs, or a heartbeat, which seems to be the "big question" in any abortion argument. It is a life in the lowest stage of development, but a life non-the less. Who are we to decide when it has value? An apple seed will grow into an apple tree if it is planted and given water and sunlight. The seed is in the first stage of becoming a full-grown tree, and just because it doesn't have branches or fruit yet doesn't deny the fact that it is an apple tree just in the first stage of development.... Free Essays on Prolife Free Essays on Prolife An aborted organism, this is one definition of an abortion. Look at that twice. How terrible does that sound? I can't even begin to wonder how people call themselves moral and compassionate human beings when they believe in destroying an innocent life to make their own easier. You make the choice when you choose to have sex. Some say it is ok in cases of rape or incest, because the mother did nothing wrong and did not consent to sex. This is very true, it is not ones fault who is raped. And it is not the baby's fault that it was made. It had no decision, no say, it was just created. People who argue for abortion in these cases are backwards. I always argue with friends about this issue. Their primary argument is that the fetus is not actually a human being unless it has a brain, sensory organs, or a heartbeat, which seems to be the "big question" in any abortion argument. It is a life in the lowest stage of development, but a life non-the less. Who are we to decide when it has value? An apple seed will grow into an apple tree if it is planted and given water and sunlight. The seed is in the first stage of becoming a full-grown tree, and just because it doesn't have branches or fruit yet doesn't deny the fact that it is an apple tree just in the first stage of development....

Jane Eyre Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jane Eyre - Coursework Example On the very first page it is made clear that the prevailing upper class view of childhood is one of repression and dominance, since Jane finds herself in a new family, but not of the same status as the original children in that family. The mother, Mrs Reed makes it clear that Jane is an outsider, because of her birth, and that she is inferior and must learn to submit to those who are in some indefinable way superior to her when she says: â€Å"Jane, I don’t like cavillers or questioners: besides, there is something truly forbidding in a child taking up her elders in that manner. Be seated somewhere; and until you can speak pleasantly, remain silent.† (Bronte: 1922, p. 1) The tone of this cold mother figure is that of criticism and command, making it quite clear that Jane does not deserve the privileges of upper class childhood, because she does not possess the ability to hide her own feelings, keep quiet, and submit to the will of adults. The other children in the famil y, and their nurse Bessie, conspire to treat her with contempt and, at times violence, but the blame for any conflict always falls upon Jane. Appalled by the unjustness of it all, Jane’s instinct to use her reason against this â€Å"unupportable oppression† (Bronte: 1922, p. 9) is what saves her from being completely overcome. This shows a child who has developed a strong sense of right and wrong, and a firm determination to endure the hardships of childhood so that she can escape into a time where she can make her own decisions. There is a long tradition in European literature of works about childhood, and they often take the form of the Bildungsroman which is a German term meaning a novel of education. Kern defines this genre as follows: â€Å"The central feature of the Bildungsroman is the protagonist’s progress of psychological and moral growing and developing from childhood until finally maturity. The central figure has a good look at certain fields in lif e and works out his relation to them until he finally achieves true self-knowledge and is in accord with the world and himself.† (Kern: 2007, p. 4) The purpose of childhood in this genre is to provide a starting point for this journey of self-discovery. Jane’s unhappiness in her adoptive family is soon replaced by another kind of institutionalized unhappiness at the dreadful boarding school called Lowood. Here all the proper and dutiful attitudes of female childhood are drummed into the girls. The language used by the first person narrator makes it seem like a prison, and the religiosity of the regime is linked again and again with the extreme cold: â€Å"Sundays were dreary days in that wintry season. We had to walk two miles to Brocklebridge Church, where our patron officiated. We set out cold, we arrived at church colder †¦ â€Å" (Bronte: 1922, p. 55) Bronte stresses the cold and the poverty partly to emphasise the warmth and consoling power of human relation ships. In the absence of parents, Jane finds inspiration in her admiration for Miss Temple, and in the absence of brothers and sisters, she finds affection for Helen Burns. Eyre shows a childhood that is filled with physical hardship and yet an inner core of humanity remains within the child Jane,

Investigating the Relationship between Changes in Weight Loss and Essay

Investigating the Relationship between Changes in Weight Loss and Triglyceride Level - Essay Example The change in weights and triglyceride levels were computed by subtracting the value taken at baseline from the values obtained at week 8. Averages, trimmed means, median, mode, and standard deviation were calculated from the population data. The relationship between weight loss and triglyceride level of each patient were shown using a 2-axis combination graph. Correlation between the two parameters will also be calculated. A linear regression analysis was conducted to predict the association between weight loss and triglycerides. The regression equation was used to determine the decrease in the amount of triglycerides for every kilogram decrease in weight. Thirty-five obese patients participated in the study. At baseline, their weights ranged from 69.4 to 133 kg (Table 1). The same range was observed at Week 8 after the completion of treatments. Triglyceride levels at baseline shows that the range was at 57 – 446 mg/dl; however, the range was very wide after treatment, ranging from 54 – 795 dl/mg. The wide range was due to a very high increase in the triglyceride level of patient 231, who was also the only one to gain weight during the treatment. The data also shows that the median, which is the middle number in the range of values, was not far off from the average or the means. However, the mode, which is the most repeated number in the array, was not close to the average values. Trimmed means (the practice of a chosen percentage of the values) were also close to the average values. These show that the data are clustered close together, hence the similar median, averages and trimmed means for the measured parameters. At eight weeks after treatment, the average loss in weight was estimated to be 3.93 kg with a standard deviation of 2.76 kg. This large deviation can be attributed to the wide range in the weight loss

Fundamental health law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fundamental health law - Essay Example Mr. Russell wants to go ahead and sue the state that giving him the vaccine against his will is a complete violation of his personal autonomy under the 14th amendment of the constitution of the United States. Mr. Russell has a valid argument in his wish to file for a case against the state, despite the fact that the U.S constitution does not have any direct rights to privacy, however one is entitled to a right of privacy under the personal autonomy, an individual is allowed to choose whether to take part in precise activities, or subject themselves to particular acts. This precise personal autonomy is a liberty that is safeguarded by the due process clause of the 14th amendment; this liberty is defined in a general and narrow way whereby one is entitled to the rights of privacy in the family, child rearing ad other social activities. With this in mind, it is legal for Mr. Russell to refuse to be vaccinated. A good references case to why Mr. Russell have a viable argument in court the Jacobson v. Massachusetts in 1905 at the United States .Supreme Court. The implication of the Jacobson v. Massachusetts in relation to the one of Mr. Russell’s vs. the State is the rights to pressure citizens in circumstances that are not applicable. The case at hand was whether the state had the right to force Mr. Jacobson to receive a vaccination. This is after a law had been passed in the Massachusetts sin the year 1902 that required all people who had not received any vaccination for the last five years to receive one, failure to that would result to a fine. Jacobson declined to this order and the fine as well and filed for a case against the state, his argument was the state invaded on his personal autonomy. The Supreme Court in Massachusetts ruled in favor of the state, this was because despite the legal personal autonomy rights that an individual

Change Management Compulsion Or An Option British Airways Business Essay

Change Management Compulsion Or An Option British Airways Business Essay There is a famous saying stated by an unknown author The only thing that is constant is change (Berman, 2007). With the current changing customer requirements and external environment necessities, organisations which behave as closed systems and do not constantly change themselves to fit the market requirements and customer demands will fail in the long term (Harigopal, 2006). Organisational change is an ongoing process which brings the systems and procedures of the organisation in line with the factors prevailing in the external and internal environment of the organisation (Nemetz and Fry, 1998). As business management gurus argue, external forces of change require not only adaptive, flexible organisations and new management approaches but also competent managers able to adopt to changing times and to manage organisational change (Beckhard and Harris, 1987). It is essential to understand how organisations in the real world implement and deal with organisational change. One such organisation which has implemented various change methodologies in the past few years in response to the changing business environment is British Airways. British Airways is the UKs flag carrier and one of the largest airlines in the world. Like many large organisations, the airline has had to change its strategy, technology, structure and culture in order to achieve competitive advantage in todays rapidly changing global business world. 1.2 Aims Objectives of Research The main objective and strategic aim of this study is to explore the role and significance of Change Management in this era of globalization and changing market needs by taking the case study of British Airways in specific. Research Question- The primary research question of this research study is: To explore the extent to which change management is necessary for a firm to achieve sustainable competitive advantage? Additionally, the secondary research question is to examine the change management initiatives previously taken by British Airways to attain competitive advantage and profitability. 1.3 Literature Review This chapter will highlight the various aspects of change management. It will use academic research to understand the concept of change management by looking at its definition and determining the various approaches of change management. It will then describe the framework for change and various change management initiatives taken by organisations. The various change models will also be listed and analysed and the organisational background of British Airways will be provided along with a SWOT analysis of the organisation. 1.4 Methodology This chapter will determine the methodology used to conduct this research and the reasons for various data collection methods chosen. It will also look into the philosophical aspects of the research study. 1.5 Research Findings and Discussion During this chapter the researcher has analysed the findings and compared these with the literature review and methodology to establish the extent to which change management is necessary for an organisation to sustain competitive advantage and the role and significance of Change Management initiatives taken by British Airways to attain profitability. 1.6 Conclusion The last chapter is the Recommendations and Conclusion chapter. This chapter will list the recommendations generated from the research study findings while also bringing to light the limitations of the research study. The references used and the research related appendices will then be presented at the end of the research study. CHAPTER 2 Literature Review This chapter will review the existing literature on change management. It is important to understand current research on the subject area, to enable the reader to understand the nature of the existing knowledge of the subject (Denscombe 1998, p.15). Specifically, this literature review will focus on the following issues; Firstly, it will determine the definition of change and list the various types from the typology of change. Secondly it will describe the framework for the change process, generic model of change and the various change management diagnostic models are discussed. Thirdly the importance of communication in Change Management is explained. Fourthly the SWOT analysis is also described along with the various change initiatives taken by organisations in the aviation industry. 2.1 Typology of Change Change in academics is defined as the substitution or succession of one thing in place of another. As per research studies conducted, it is identified that the patterns of change repeats and is recurring in every industry. These patterns of change constitute of incremental and radical changes. The increasing frequency of these patterns of change in various industries over the past couple of decades has necessitated for organisations to predict the pattern of changes in their external industry environment so that they are better equipped with the resources and capabilities required to embark upon change and maintain their competitive advantage. A typology of change was developed by Nadler and Tushman to outline the various abilities of organisations to predict the patterns of change in the external industry environment. They have divided the ability to predict changes into two types of proactive and reactive while listing the scope of change as being transformational or incremental in nature. The typology of change is created by Nadler and Tushman by developing a matrix of the type and scope of change. They have differentiated the change strategy among organisations into four types of fine tuning, adaptation, re-orientation and re-creation. These strategies have been described in the following paragraphs (Hayes, 2007 and Chaffey, 2006). The first two changes of fine tuning and adaptation in organisations which occur are incremental changes. Fine tuning is the change process where organisations are proactive and will try to fill in the inefficiencies and gaps internal to the company when compared to the changing external environments which act as reducing agents to the effective performance of the business processes of the organisation. Adaptation is a reactive change process where the organisations have to make changes to their internal processes after they have felt a threat in their competitive position due to the changes made in the organisation. These changes are limited and do not affect the core functions or business processes of the organisation but are targeted towards reducing or removing the threats from the external environment and competition in an effective manner (Cook, Macaulay Coldicott, 2004). The two changes although occur for a long duration, are only basic changes and do not impact the fundament al aspects in which the organisations operations work (Hayes, 2007). The change processes of re-orientation and re-creation are both transformational in nature since they impact the fundamental operations of change. They occur when the need for change is vital to survive (Poole Van de Ven, 2004). The re-orientation change process in organisations basically requires organisations to change or re-define their existing corporate or business strategy (Chaffey, 2006 and Hayes, 2007). This change is conducted for two reasons. The first is to pro-actively prepare the organisation for the future changing external environment or to change the external environment itself by innovation such that the core competency of the organisation is increased over its competitors (Hayes, 2007 Potter, 2004). In Re-orientation, since there is no external threat to the organisation and it is being pro-active, it is difficult for the employee workforce to understand the need for such a drastic radical change. This change process requires the management of the organisation to create a sense of urgency and a necessity for change among the organisational employees so that the change process can be enforced. Otherwise it is difficult for organisations to implement this change. The last type of change process is Re-creation. This is a forced change and is transformational in nature. This type of change is implemented by organisations when they feel they need to change their core operations in order to sustain in the changed external environment. In most scenarios, the success of these re-creation changes can determine the survival of the organisation. These changes however are high risk changes since the organisations do not plan these changes ahead and do not, in most scenarios, have the required time and resources for their successful implementation. The change impact is mostly lower than expected for many reasons such as low involvement and motivation among employees, inadequate readiness in management etc. This change if not tackled effectively can lead to employee resistance and de-motivations (Chaffey, 2006 and Hayes, 2007). 2.2 Framework of Change The framework of change as developed by Lewin (1951) constitutes of the same three steps in all change processes. These steps are unfreeze, change and refreeze. Unfreeze is where the organisation tries to create an urgency for change so that the employees and the management are ready for change. Change, as the name indicates, is the second stage where the change occurs. Freeze is the final stage where the change made is now ensured to become part of the organisation. As per the framework, every change process has a higher level of uncertainty leading to resistance among employees. However, certain techniques can be adopted in order to avoid this resistance. One of these techniques is to introduce additional steps such as identifying the future state prior to implementing the framework of change (Weick Quinn, 1999). There have been many new models which have evolved in the past few years which have tried to add more steps or make modifications to this model. One of them is the generi c model of change created by (Hayes and Hyde, 1998) however, the general concept and baseline in all these change models is still the same. The generic model of change signifies the change process to be continuous in nature. It states that the change results of one process act as the triggering factor for some new required changes. Change process begins by determining the internal inefficiencies and improper capabilities of the internal organisation and the external environment in the industry the organisation operates in and using this gathered information to develop the new organisations strategy. This new strategy will now automatically implement the new anticipated change in the organisation (Johnson, Scholes Whittington, 2008). The ability to determine the correct strategy is the most crucial step in any change process since an incorrect change strategy can also be implemented successfully however it will not deliver the same benefits and fill in the required market inefficiencies as required and the overall change process can in turn be a failure (Buttrick, 2005). After looking at the above studies, the change process is modified as below. The initial aspect of the change process is now moved to identifying the resources required to implement the change process and the various techniques which can be used further to begin unfreezing the organisation. While this is being done, the organisations inefficiencies and gaps with the external environment are determined in order to develop the change strategy. This change strategy is designed that such that it achieves the anticipated future state of the organisation and reviewed to make any modification such that it is aligned towards realising the future state. The next step is to create a change plan before directly implementing the change. This change plan is implemented on a step by step basis and upon completion of each step, it is reviewed to determine if it is still aligned or the future state and rectify any identified deviations. Once this is completed and the future state is realised by the organisation, new techniques in order to merge this change with the organisations culture will be implemented. This is when the final stage of refreezing appears and the success or failure of the change process and the involved resources is determined. It is also used to collect feedback of the change process and reward the resources who had performed effectively towards achieving the future state (Jones, 2008). This generic model of change created by Hayes Hyde in 1998 and the change framework developed by Lewin in 1951 are both effective models which can used to implement change. However, both these models ignore one crucial aspect of change management which plays a vital role in the success of any change event, people management. Without effective people management, it is impossible to implement change in any organisation successfully. 2.3 Change Management Models There are various models which can be used to diagnose the success of a change event or the need for a change event. These models reduce the overall change process into a few key factors which need to be taken into consideration while implementing the change process in any organisation. They allow the management to determine the key aspects from both the process and the people perspective which need to be looked into. This in-turn increases the ability of change managers firstly to implement the change process successfully and secondly to evaluate its success and take necessary actions (Hayes, 2007). One of these models is the McKinsey 7S model. This model divides the change process diagnosis into seven elements which can be used to determine the existing internal environment status in a firm. These seven elements are strategy, structure, systems, staff, style, shared values and skills. The internal organisational efficiency of an organisation is determined successfully using this model and its results can be used to develop the internal strategy of the organisation (Saunders, 2007). This model can be used to develop change initiative programmes in organisations and develop a strategy which will achieve the overall internal fit in the firm however, it cannot be used to determine a fit between the internal capabilities of the organisation and the external environment in which it operates leading to a necessity for another model which takes this into consideration (Burke Litwin, 1992). The model which takes this into consideration is The Burke-Litwin causal model of organisational performance and change. This model is used for many purposes such as to identify the type of change implemented, whether it is incremental step-by-step change or a radical change or to determine the overall effect of using change management procedures in organisations while determining the performance of these management initiatives. This model constitutes of various elements which are crucial for a change process. The input element is the organisational performance and the output element is the individual and organisational performance. The other factors in the model are the through-put of the model. The models elements are further divided into two types of factors. The five factors of external environment, leadership, mission and strategy, organisational culture and the individual and organisational performance are the transformational factors while the remaining factors are the increme ntal factors. They are distinguished so based on the ability of the factors to influence the type of change. One of the successful applications of this model was to determine the success and performance on the change processes implemented in British Airways in the year 1983 (Burke Litwin, 1992). (Burke Litwin, 1992). This model will again be used in this study to determine the performance and effectiveness of the change management strategies used in British Airways in the past year. 2.4 Communication in Change Management: One of the key aspects of any change process in terms of people management is communication. If the communication is ineffective or missing, then the employee resistance to embrace the change only increases further. The communication strategies used by various organisations are different and this determines the amount of information shared by them with their employee workforce. Another factor which affects this amount of information shared with the employees is the managements personal views and understanding on the subject of change management and importance of communication. The Spray and Pray strategy used by management is where the information provided to employees is not considered or evaluated by the management to determine if it is actually relevant to them or not. This sort of communication can allow the vital and relevant information to be buried under irrelevant and not so vital information and reduce the overall necessary impact of communication on the employees. The manag ement which chooses to share the relevant information with their employees and also provides them with the various benefits of the change implemented to these employees use the communication strategy of Tell and Sell. In this scenario, the communication effectiveness is higher than the previous strategy and the amount of the information shared is lower. One of the most effective communication strategies which can be adopted by management in any change organisation is the Underscore and explore strategy where the information is provided to employee workforce in exact reference to the change situation and the various inputs provided by the management are considered at the same time. This ensures that the employees feel to be a part of the change being implemented and reduce their overall employee resistance. In the other two communication strategies of Identify and reply and withhold and uphold, the information shared with the employees is not adequate and the management withholds som e crucial elements of information which can increase the employee resistance to accept change. The below diagram represents the various communication strategies in accordance with the communication effectiveness and the amount of information shared by the management (Clampitt, DeKoch and Cashman, 2000). Figure-2 : Communication Strategy Continuum   (Clampitt, DeKoch and Cashman, 2000) 2.5 SWOT Analysis To determine the inner fit of an organisation with an external environment, one of the techniques which have proven successful on numerous occasions is the SWOT analysis. This SWOT analysis is divided into two segments, the internal factors segment which constitutes of the strengths and the weaknesses of the organisation and the external factors segment which constitutes of the opportunities and threats presented by the external environment in reference to the organisation. The role of strengths and opportunities is to determine the internal capabilities and inefficiencies of the business processes and the employee talent of the organisation. The role of opportunities and threats is to determine the external environment that the organisation is functioning in and find ways in which it can either support or act as a danger to the organisations functions. Once these are determined, it is then determined how the internal strengths of the organisation can be used to benefit from the exte rnal opportunities of the industry environment. The weaknesses are also looked into to determine if there is a possibility to change into a threat and how this movement can be avoided. The threats are looked at from the perspective of changing them into opportunities or reducing their possible impact on the organisation. The weaknesses are also worked upon in a similar way, to reduce their impacts and risks to the organisation or to remove them altogether by changing them into opportunities (Briggs, 2001). 2.6 Change Management in Organisations in the Aviation Industry: Some of the change initiatives which have been experienced by organisations in the Aviation industry are the privatisation of companies such as Qantas airlines. This happened at the same time as most industries in various nations were moving towards privatisation and de-regulation while moving away from the shadows of the public sector. The change process was rapid and radical in nature. Another change in the aviation industry which was not just restricted to one organisation was the agreement of global alliances among the various international and domestic airlines in the global market. This changed the structure and process of operations in the Aviation industry while also bringing in harmony the use of labour and the strategies adopted by management across various airlines in the industry (Fairbrother, 2002). Another change initiative which was related across airline companies was the use of part time and casual employees so that they can benefit from using them when required and paying them only for the number of hours employed. This has allowed them to reduce the overall labour costs however, in most airline companies; most of the part time employees did work overtime just as much as full time employees leading to no change in the overall labour costs (Dawson, 2003). The privatisation of the airlines is not just limited to Qantas airlines but has increased further to British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM etc (Delfmann, 2005). An additional change management initiative is the collaborative effects among most airline companies to ensure a reduction in the carbon footprint overall and thus support the climate change initiatives along with the various other industries and governments (Bishop Grayling, 2003). Steve this is the other introduction to the research study I written, but Im unsure if this is perhaps too current as it relates to the current global economic recession. Could you advise if it is maybe best to delete the information I have highlighted in bold and continue with the original introduction I have written on page 3. Introduction to the research study There is a famous saying stated by an unknown author The only think that is constant is change (Berman, 2007). With the current changing customer requirements and external environment necessities, organisations which behave as the closed systems that do not constantly change themselves to fit the market requirements and customer demands will fail in the longer terms (Harigopal, 2006). The punctuated paradigms irregularities frequency has increased over the past decade implying that the change in organisations is not as fast or as paced as the change in external environments which in-turn is increasing the gaps between the customer requirements and products/services provided by organisations (Hayes, 2007). This has made it crucial to study the significance of change management internally in organisations so that this building gap can be reduced and organisations can benefit from these constant changes through adapting their culture. The recent economic recession and credit crunch with a decreasing GDP rate across the United Kingdom in 2008-09 (Statistics, 2009) has forced organisations to find new ways to reduce costs for the products and services generated by them so that they can survive in this difficult climate. Organisations responses to these necessary changes being forced upon them is being tackled using various techniques such as economies of scale (Grant, 2005), internal re-structuring and creating new operational processes which will reduce their operational and maintenance costs. This in-turn has led to need for effective change management in such organisations so that the changes implemented are widely accepted by the workforce which in-turn ensures that success from the implemented change techniques are achieved (Cameron Green, 2008). One such organisation which has implemented various change methodologies in the past few years in response to the changing industry environment is British Airways. The organisation like many others has undergone some changes in their strategy, technology, structure and cultural aspects in order to survive in the changing environment and maintain the organisations core competency. British Airways will be used as a case study in this research study in order to achieve the aims and objectives of the research study. Many literatures focus on change management in organisations enforced due to various reasons and either at the beginning or at the end of the change management procedures being implemented. However, most of these researches have not taken into consideration the change management forced by external environments due to an economic recession especially since this scenario is not very common or recurring constantly. This research will contribute to the existing literature by using economic recession as one of the external factors leading to implementing changes in the airline industry. This research study will attempt to act as a guide to further researches who wish to identify the necessity for effective change management in the airline industry organisation especially when the external contributing factor is the economic recession. Sharon, This is a very well written first draft of your dissertation. I think there are some very good elements but there are also quite long passages where there are no references cited. I think if you do a little more reading and address these gaps then you will have the basis of a very good literature review. Steve

Essay --

Humans have long been evolving physically and mentally in order to survive on earth. They have evolved their physical attributes as well as their intelligence to properly prepare them for the changing environments on earth. Since the Old Stone age, human intelligence has allowed them to continue to adapt to various tasks that were commonly performed by the Old Stone age people. These common behaviors and lifestyles of the prehistoric times would eventually help the human communities to survive in this dangerous world as a successful species. Most of our everyday activities and common behaviors such as living in homes, having a nutritional diet, inventing new innovations, and particularly surviving as a group, are derived from the lifestyles of the Paleolithic people. Although there may be some differences between the aspects of life from the prehistoric and modern times, much of the features of how people lived back then have played a significant role in securing the survival of huma nity today. There are countless differences and similarities between the behaviors of the paleolithic people and the people of the twenty-first century. While the people of the Old Stone age lived in dark caves filled with nothing but cold wind, people today live in houses and apartments built with air conditioning system and readily accompanied furniture. The prehistoric people are able to find comfort by staying in caves that prevent them from the dangers of the wilderness while people of the modern time find comfort by being at home, not exactly because it is safe, but because they can relax to their hearts’ content. Although both places have completely different appearances in terms of a place for shelter, humans that live in these places can stil... ... different times eating food in totally contrasting environment, group survival has always been applied to modern day people and their way of living. The history and the existence of the Old Stone Age, or the Paleolithic era, has an undeniably large effect on our society today. Living in the harsh environment of the world without the technological advancements seems hard enough, but surviving without the elements for living prepared for them is even more difficult. With all the common behaviors that were translated to our everyday life, healthy diets that prevent humans from disastrous results, new innovations that remained useful to us today, and surviving skills that were passed down from generation to generation, our whole society owes everything to those of the Paleolithic era. Without them, there would be no â€Å"us† today to walk the earth as a prosperous species.

Malaysian Economics Essay

Differences in education During the British rule, each ethnic group also generally experienced different education systems. Most Malays were educated in the government school system located in the rural areas that used the Malay language as the medium of instruction. The Chinese on the other hand sent their children to the Chinese medium schools, which mere established by Chinese voluntary associations. Nevertheless , the elite segment of each ethnic group generally sent their children to the English medium schools located in the urban areas, where the quality of education was far better than the rural Malay-medium school. Furthermore, most secondary and tertiary education was available in the urban areas with English as the medium of instruction. Those who were educated at the English medium schools tended to gain positions in the civil service, commerce, business, and professions. Since most of the Malays were educated in the rural Malay medium schools, this indirectly limited their upward social mobility. . 2 Differences in skills Since Malay only received the education from government school in rural areas, the skills were limited. Lack of skills and knowledge were the factors of unemployed. This will worsened the situation of poverty and income disparities between the ethnic groups. Sectoral employment of Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera (%) in peninsular Malaysia, 1970. Sector| B umiputera| Non-Bumiputera| Primary| 67. 6| 32. 4| Secondary| 30. 8| 69. 2| Tertiary| 37. 9| 62. 1| Notes: Primary (agriculture) Secondary (mining, manufacturing, construction, utilities, and transport) Tertiary (wholesale and retail trade, finance, government, and other services) 3. 3 Differences in access to capital A majority of non-malays are usually found to be living in the southern and western states of Malaysia , such as Pulau Penang and Kedah. These states form modern urban sectors and also modern rural sectors which are playing the important roles in the economic activities. On the other hand, the Malays lived in the northern states of Malaysia, and they are indeed in the traditional rural sector. This imbalanced development had result the imbalance capital gain among the ethnic groups. Wealth Decomposition by Asset Classes in 2007 Asset Classes| Bumiputera| Chinese| Indian| Savings| 567| 2 795| 1 026| Investment Assets| 1 853| 4 629| 2 058| Financial Assets| 2 419| 7 423| 3 083| Real Estate| 70 453| 120 903| 84 146| Wealth| 72 873| 128 326| 87 229| 3. 4 Differences in unemployment pattern The supply of skilled manpower in their own field is the main problem in employment restructuring. Despite the limited success of bumiputera students, the presence of skilled and qualified bumiputera workers and professionals are inadequate. A few factors that contribute to this problem are such like limited accessibility to modern educational facilities and quality educational or even low family income. Bumiputera are mainly attracted to the public sector and lately the bumiputera states the record for having the highest employment rate among malay university graduates. Although the manufacturing sectors display a tremendously high rate or malay labor force, most of them are employed in the lower level or non-manegerial level of occupations.

Implikasi Strategis dari Teknologi Baru essays

Implikasi Strategis dari Teknologi Baru essays IMPLIKASI STRATEGIS DARI TEKNOLOGI BARU Sampai saat ini, hanya beberapa perusahaan mulai menyadari kebutuhan akan strategi dan teknologi aliansi, dan masih banyak yang belum mengerti dan menyadari pentingnya strategi ini. Namun perusahaan yang menyadari akan kebutuhan ini, belum sepenuhnya menghargai semua isu yang terlibat. Hal ini disebabkan karena konsep dari teknologi ini masih relatif baru dan belum dikembangkan. Bab ini akan membahas mengenai peran dari manufacturing sebagai fungsi dan teknologi sebagai sumber daya dalam strategi perencanaan proses, keuntungan strategi potensial dari teknologi baru, dan komponen-komponen utama dari strategi teknologi. Apa yang dimaksud dengan Perencanaan Strategis? Pada umumnya, strategi sesuai dengan tujuan dari perusahaan, focus dari produk/pasar, dan daya saing perusahaan. Perencanaan strategis adalah sebuah proses yang berlangsung dimana perusahaan mengembangkan sebuah strategi yang konsisten dengan lingkungannya ( contohnya, industri dan lingkungan kompetitif), sumber daya, nilai managerial, dan organisasi. Hax and Majluf (1984), dan Hamermesh(1987) mengidentifikasikan empat level strategi : Strategi institusional mengarah ke pengembangan dari karakter dasar dan tujuan dari organisasi. Strategi ini dapat disebut juga dengan misi perusahaan. Strategi ini meliputi visi kedepan untuk menjawab pertanyaan seperti : Siapa kita? Kemana arah perusahaan Strategi kerjasama ini mengarah pada praktek dari kerjasama. Strategi ini meliputi penentuan bisnis dalam perusahaan yang harus dilepas, bisnis mana yang dapat diperoleh untuk memperkuat organisasi, dan bagaimana bisnis individual akan berinteraksi dalam pembagian sumber daya, focus pasar. Strategi ini mengacu pada pengembangan perencanaan yang jelas dan detail dari tujuan dan objektif unit bisnis individual(pertumbuhan, pangsa pasar, pengenalan produk baru), dan cara apa yang akan digunakan untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut (biaya ...

Management of financial resource and performance at Vodafone The WritePass Journal

Management of financial resource and performance at Vodafone Introduction Management of financial resource and performance at Vodafone IntroductionTypes of communication system and Its ImportanceRole of stakeholderFinancial AnalysisConsolidated statement of financial position  Information SystemsStrategiesMarket StrategiesProductPriceAdvertisement and offersFinancial risk managementForeign exchange managementLiquidity risk ManagementConclusionReferencesRelated Introduction Being the largest mobile company of the world it is giving job opportunities to more than 65000 people.It is succeed to popularised its name as a   new largest communication company of the world.Around 130 million people are being the costumers of this company.It   does not see its business and service only but a best and effective communication too provide all over the world.It’s increasing its level of selling power to high status.Vodafone has made its aim   to grow its revenue and improve its profit margin by adding value to its products and services i.e. earning more from each product sold and to be the leadingcompany in the communicationsmarket. Vodafone also has a commitment to  Corporate  Responsibility (CR). This is when a business tries to ensure its activities have a positive influence on the people and places where it works. Vodafone is planning to reduce the company’scarbonfootprint by encouraging therecycling and re-use of old phones.   The Voda fone live! service enables customers to use picture messaging and to download   ring tones, colour games, images and information, through an icon-driven menu.This service will soon be further enhanced by picture messaging libraries, video clips and video telephony (seeing the person youre calling) and improving download speeds. Another service is the Vodafone Mobile Connect Card, which enables customers to access their normal business applications on a laptop when out of the office. Such services add value to the product, and high profile effective promotion will help sell these services to existing and new customers. The head quarter of this company is in London.It operate more than 30 milllion subscribers by the year 2010and largest company is in United States also. As we go to the history of vodafone ,we find its progressive report since 1982,extending from Racal strategies Limited.The Racal got its name change as Racal telecommunication Group Limited in 1995 and in 1996 Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB £110 million.The name Vodafone comes from voice data fone, chosen by the company to reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phonesThe name Vodafone comes from voice data fone chosen by the company to reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones.(Anderson,T.J.,2006). Types of communication system and Its Importance One-way communication involves a company distributing information via brochures, letters, or with an exchange of information and ideas among stakeholders and the company.   Information is usually exchanged. The next type of communication is stakeholder engagement or stakeholder dialogue.   The intent of stakeholder engagement is learning stakeholdersà ­ issues and concerns. If well designed, dialogue leads to knowledge being gained by both the company and stakeholders.   The company commits itself to considering stakeholder input in making its decisions with an exchange of information and ideas among stakeholders and the company.   Information is usually exchanged The next type of communication is stakeholder engagement or stakeholder dialogue.The intent of stakeholder engagement is learning stakeholders issues and concerns. If well designed, dialogue leads to knowledge being gained by both the company and stakeholders.The company commits itself to considering stakeholder input in making its decisions. Vodafone operates a global Performance Dialogue process for every employee. The process ensures that employees can make a clear connection between their goals and the business objectives. Each individual’s performance is discussed with their manager and career development goals are set. 93% of managers completed the Performance Dialogue process in the 2007 calendar year and 83% of employees approved development goals with their manager. Finally, with participatory/interactive decision making, a company collaborates with stakeholders in making decisions.   Shared decision making is not appropriate in all situations, but can be effective in helping a company design a plan that, when implemented, will be acceptable to its stakeholders. communication and stakeholderTo be a good corporate citizen, your company should be communicating with and involving its   stakeholders to determine their issues concerning a particular facility.   There are costs associated with conducting these activities; however, costs to the company can be even greater if stakeholders take action against the company (e.g., hurting the company’s image through a media campaign, holding up permits, suing the company).   Being aware of issues and concerns and working to resolve them early before they turn into negative action is time and money well spent.   On a positive note, ideas and suggestions from stakeholders can often be insight ful and useful in improving a facilities planning and operation. In this light, stakeholders can be seen as consultants to a company. The basic principles of stakeholder involvement are   Voluntary involvement:   Everyone involved should be committed to progress and full participation.   Openness, honesty, trust:   Open and honest communication is a requirement for mutual trust. Inclusiveness:   Strive to include all interested parties in some form of dialogue.   Common information base: Participants should have access to the same information.   Mutual learning: All parties, including host and stakeholders, should come to the discussion  Ã‚  with a willingness to learn.   Creative options: Have a diverse set of stakeholders as a catalyst for creative thinking.   Collaboration in decision making: Build ownership to increase the likelihood of implementation, and future collaboration.   Coordination of stakeholder feedback: Communicate how you will use stakeholder feedback. Even if consensus is not possible, it is important that stakeholders feel their concerns are heard. Communication and stakeholder involvement should be a continuous activity conducted at a facility level and then augmented during periods of change or crisis when major decisions are being   considered.   This guidebook describes the overall process, which can be tailored to fit the circumstances at your site à ± resources, history of community interaction, the role of the facility in the community, and decisions being contemplated.†This is a new venture for many if not most   cement companies so don’t be discouraged if your communications plan is basic and lacks the involvement of stakeholders†(Barne J,1991).Theenvironmentalandsocialperformanceofcompaniesisincreasinglyunderscrutinyfrominternalstakeholders (e.g. employeesandstockholders) andexternalstakeholders (e.g. localcommunities, activists, regulators).   Greaterscientific, economicandsocialknowledgeisf uelingstakeholders   demandsforincreasedinformation, clarity, andinvolvementinbusinessoutcomes. Role of stakeholder The basic principles of stakeholder involvement are Voluntary involvement:   Everyone involved should be committed to progress and full participation.   Openness, honesty, trust:   Open and honest communication is a requirement for mutual trust. Inclusiveness:   Strive to include all interested parties in some form of dialogue.   Common information base: Participants should have access to the same information.   Mutual learning: All parties, including host and stakeholders, should come to the discussionwith a willingness to learn.   Creative options: Have a diverse set of stakeholders as a catalyst for creative thinking. Collaboration in decision making: Build ownership to increase the likelihood of implementation, and future collaboration.   Coordination of stakeholder feedback: Communicate how you will use stakeholder feedback. Financial Analysis If we talk aabout financial seector of the company we get that It had amarketcapitalisation of approximately  £93 billion as of 9 March 2011 and it is making itself as   the fourth largest company on the London Stock Exchange.Vodafone Group plc is providing its products in Europe, Africa, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and the United States. The company offers various handsets; voice and messaging services; data services comprising Internet, email, music, games, and television; and fixed services, including fixed voice and fixed broadband solutions. It also offers value added services, such as Vodafone Email Plus and Windows Mobile. It also offers value added services, such as Vodafone Email Plus and Windows Mobile Email, which provide enterprise customers with real time handheld access to email, calendar, and address book; Vodafone PC Backup and Restore that enable users to remotely store data automatically through their Internet connection.Training and development Consolidated statement of financial position 2010  £m 2009  £m Non-current assets Intangible assets 74,258 74,938 Property, plant and equipment 20,642 19,250 Investments in associates 36,377 34,715 Other non-current assets 11,489 10,767 142,766 139,670 Current assets 14,219 13,029 Total assets 156,985 152,699 Total equity shareholders’ funds 90,381 86,162 Total non-controlling interests 429 (1,385) Total equity 90,810 84,777 Liabilities Borrowings Long-term 28,632 31,749 Short-term 11,163 9,624 Taxation liabilities Deferred tax liabilities 7,377 6,642 Current taxation liabilities 2,874 4,552 Other non-current liabilities 1,550 1,584 Other current liabilities 14,579 13,771 Total liabilities 66,175 67,922 Total equity and liabilities 156,985 152,699      Information Systems Vodafone Information Systems depends on service level agreements (SLAs).according to this system it provides srvice through central reporting system.and brings the different datas from differrent sources.and rpovides them all the time to the employees and costumers.For a long time, Vodafone Information Systems used a combination of two applications for reporting purposes, both of which ran on an IBM mainframe. Training and development Using SAS, Vodafone Information Systems employees are now able to bring together data from a wide range of sources with a few mouse clicks and to create sophisticated reports in a very short period of time. At the heart of the new system is SAS, which allows IT system managers to have a single point of control over all the IT processes. Measurement data from sources. The system also offers completely new ways of presenting the information. Employees and customers can access the reports via the company intranet or the Internet using a Web browser anywhere and at any time. As the SAS solution has been integrated into the V.E.C.T.O.R. reporting system developed by Vodafone Information Systems, the company can guarantee that employees and customers can only display the information that is relevant to their needs. Customers themselves are able to choose the level of detail in the reports and therefore receive only the necessary information that they need to be able to complete their tasks . The simple archiving process means that developments can be tracked over a longer period without any additional work being involved. IT service providers like Vodafone Information Systems depend on service level agreements (SLAs) as a measure of their success. In order to ensure that the agreed service level is provided at all times, the service provider needs a central reporting system, which brings together measurement data from a wide range of sources. The increasing heterogeneity of the IT environment – which includes a host, UNIX and Windows operating systems – makes central access to the relevant data essential. For a long time, Vodafone Information Systems used a combination of two applications for reporting purposes, both of which ran on an IBM mainframe. In spite of the capabilities of these applications, they werent scalable and were no longer able to keep pace with the most recent   requirements.. Strategies Vodafones Partner Network strategy represents an increasingly significant development in the delivery of Vodafones mobile services and Og fjarskipti will be an ideal partner for the further development of mobile services. Vodafone is already established in many regions   through its operator like Vodafone Sweden, as well as Partner Network Agreements with TDC in Denmark and Radiolinja in Finland, and this new agreement will increase one after another.Vodafone will continue to develop the Partner Network strategy, so the customers and partnerscustomers can use Vodafone services in an increasing number of countries.Following todays announcement, Vodafone global services, supported by its global brand communication, will be available in eight Partner Network countries: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Kuwait and Slovenia, in addition to its subsidiary and associate markets.In course of making strategies it has forwarded the following points. A regionally focused Group: Europe, Africa and India Mobile data: accelerate exploitation of mobile data growth opportunity Enterprise: selective expansion in growth segments Emerging markets: drive penetration and data across attractive footprint Total Communications in Europe: continued capital efficient approach New services: growth opportunities including machine-to-machine and financial services Exploit scale to enhance efficiency and deliver cost benefits Generate free cash flow or liquidity from non-controlled assets building on the China Mobile and SoftBank disposals Rigorous application of capital discipline to enhance shareholder returns Market Strategies Product A product with many different features provides customers with opportunities to chat, play games, send and receive pictures, change ring tones, receive information about travel and sporting events, obtain billing information and soon view video clips and send video messages. Vodafone live! provides on-the-move information services. Vodafone UK operates over 300 of its own stores. It also sells through independent retailers e.g. Carphone Warehouse. Customers are able to see and handle products they are considering buying. People are on hand to ensure customers needs are matched with the right product and to explain the different options available. Price Vodafone wants to make its services accessible to as many people as possible from the young, through apprentices and high powered business executives, to the more mature users. It offers various pricing structures to suit different customer groups. Monthly price plans are available as well as prepay options. Phone users can top up their phone on line. Vodafone UK gives NECTAR reward points for every  £1 spent on calls, text messages, picture messages and ring tones. Advertisement and offers Advertising on TV, on billboards, in magazines and in other media outlets reaches large audiences and spreads the brand image and the message very effectively. This is known as above the line promotion. Stores have special offers, promotions and point of sale posters to attract those inside the stores to buy. Vodafones stores, its products and its staff all project the brand image. Vodafone actively develops good public relations by sending press releases to national newspapers and magazines to explain new products and ideas. There is good balance, 70/30 consumer/enterprise, and good balance, more or less 70/30 mature/emerging.the new strategy is composed of five elements. The first one is clear focus of the companyis in three areas – Europe, Africa and India.The second will be   growth; coming from data in different ways.   The vodefone Groupl talks a lot about mobile data, and what internally it call   ‘Supermobile’, but also enterprise and also some regional differences between Europe and emerging markets, and some investment in new services, which, in the future, will be appealing to the customers. Continuing to leverage on our scale advantage, it can really create a difference for our customers in terms of lower costs. It will deal with the assets below the line in an approach to generate liquidity or cash flow from all of our non-controlled assets, in terms of portfolio strategy. Then it continuing to apply capital discipline, financial objectives and commercial tests to al l investments it   makes, internal and external. Financial risk management The Group’s treasury function provides a centralised service to the Group for funding, foreign exchange, interest rate management and counterparty risk management.Treasury operations are conducted within a framework of policies and guidelines authorised and reviewed by the Board, most recently on 1 February 2011(Mc,Hee). A treasury risk committee comprising of the Group’s Chief Financial Officer, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary, Corporate Finance Director and Director of Financial Reporting meets at least annually to review treasury activities and its members receive management information relating to treasury activities on a quarterly basis. The Group accounting function, which does not report to the Group Corporate Finance Director, provides regular update reports of treasury activity to the Board. .Risk management purposes only that are transacted by specialist treasury personnel. The Group mitigates banking sector credit risk by the use of collateral sup port agreements. Financial risk management:Under the Group’s interest rate management policy, interest rates on monetary assets and liabilities denominated in euros, US dollars and sterling.are maintained on a floating rate basis except for periods up to six years where interest rate fixing has to be undertaken in accordance with treasury policy where assets and liabilities are denominated in other currencies interest ratesmay also be fixed. In addition, fixing is undertaken for longer periods when interest rates are statistically low. Foreign exchange management As Vodafone’s primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange.Its share price is quoted in sterling. Since the sterling share price represents the value of its future multi-currency cash flows, principally in euro, US dollars and sterling, the Group maintains the currency of debt and interest charges in proportion to its expected future principal multi-currency cash flows and has a policy to hedge external foreign exchange risks on transactions denominated in other currencies above certain de minimis levels. As the Group’s future cash flows are increasingly likely to be derived from emerging markets it is likely that more debt in emerging market currencies will be drawn. As such, at 31 March 2011 130% of net debt was denominated in currencies other than sterling (55% euro, 47% US dollar and 28% other) while 30% of net debt had been purchased forward in sterling in anticipation of sterling   denominated shareholder returns via dividends and share buybacks. This allows euro, US dollar and other debt to be serviced in proportion to expected future cash flows and therefore provides a partial hedge against income statement translation exposure, as interest costs will be denominated in foreign currencies. Yen debt is used as a hedge against the value of yen assets as the Group has minimal yen cash flows Liquidity risk Management At 31 March 2011 the Group had â‚ ¬4.2 billion and US$4.2 billion syndicated committed indrawn bank facilities and US$15 billion and  £5 billion commercial paper programmes, supported by the â‚ ¬4.2 billion and US$4.2 billion syndicated committed bank facilities, available to manage its liquidity. The Group uses commercial paper and bank facilities to manage short-term liquidity and manages long-term liquidity by raising   funds in the capital markets. â‚ ¬4.2 billion of the syndicated committed facility has a maturity date of 1 July 2015 and US$4.2 billion has a maturity of 9 March 2016 which may be extended by a further year if agreed by those banks who have participated in the facility. Both facilities have remained indrawn throughout the financial year and since year end and provide liquidity support. The Group manages liquidity risk on long-term borrowings by maintaining a varied maturity profile with a cap on the level of debt maturing in any one calendar year, the refore minimising refinancing risk. Long-term borrowings mature between one and 26 years.Liquidity is reviewed daily on at least a 12 month rolling basis and stress tested on the assumption that all commercial paper outstanding matures and is not reissued. The Group maintains substantial cash and cash equivalents which at 31 March 2011 amounted to  £6,252 million (2010). Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis, e.g. if an operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that equals 3 million proportionate Vodafone customers. This is a common practice in the mobile telecommunications industry. Year ended 31 March Turnover  £m Profit before tax  £m Profit for the year  £m Basiceps (pence) Proportionate customers (m) 2010 44,472 8,674 8,618 16.44 341.1 2009 41,017 4,189 3,080 5.81 302.6 2008 35,478 9,001 6,756 12.56 260 2007 31,104 (2,383) (5,297) (8.94) 206.4 2006* 29,350 (14,835) (21,821) (35.01) 170.6 2005 34,073 7,951 6,518 9.68 154.8 2004 36,492 9,013 6,112 8.70 133.4 Conclusion Valuation plays a key role in many areas of finance – in corporate finance, in mergers and acquisitions and in portfolio management. The value of the company can be directly related to decisions that it makes – on which projects it takes, on how it finances them, and on its dividend policy. Understanding this relationship is the key to making value†increasing decisions and to sensible financial restructuring. In the focus of this thesis was the value of Vodafone Group, who is operating the biggest mobile network worldwide with presence in both emerging and mature markets. Drawing from the analyses of Vodafone and its environment, the major influencing risks, that are the most critical in terms of the future profitability and hence the value of the company, were found as following: 3G market take†up, fixed mobile line substitution and level of regulations. The equity value of Vodafone was calculated using the discounted cash flow scenario method ( £87,954mln) (Domadaran,2008). Provided that the assumptions on which the forecasts were based and the probability distribution are correct, the Vodafone is currently under priced by almost 11%.The following actions could constitute the strategy that will maintain strong performance and deliver value to both customers and shareholders of Vodafone Group: cost reduction and revenue stimulation in mature markets, development of new products and services, extension to new emerging markets and selling unprofitable businesses. As a concluding remark, one has to keep in mind that although the discounted cash flow framework, along with other valuation models, is a quantitative tool, but the inputs leave plenty of space for subjective judgements. A mixture of financial theory, accounting methodology, industry knowledge and sound assumption was used to evaluate the equity of the company. As the underling assumptions change, the estimated value of the firm may change as well. References Andersen, T. J. (2006). â€Å" Global Derivatives   A Strategic Risk Management Perspective†, Pearson  Ã‚  Ã‚   Education,   Harlow, England. Andersen,   J. (2006). â€Å"Perspectives on Strategic Risk Management†,   Copenhagen Business School Press N.P. Barney, J. (1991). â€Å"Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage†, (In Journal of Management, 1991, vol. 17, no. 1, pg. 99†120). Damodaran, A. (2002). â€Å" Investment valuation: Tools and Techniques forDetermining the Value of Any Asset†, John Wiley Sons, New York. Damodaran, A. (2008). â€Å" Strategic Risk Taking†,   Wharton School Publishing,New Jersey. Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R. (2005). â€Å" The Environment In Exploring Corporate Strategy†, Earson Education, pp. 64†87). McGee, J., Thomas, H., and Wilson, D. (2005). â€Å"Strategy Analysis Practice†, McGraw†Hill Maidenhead, UK Miller, K. D. (1992).†A framework for integrated risk management in international business†,( In: Journal of International Business Studies.vol. 23, no. 2, pg. 311†331) Wise, D. (1991). Vodafones solo debut could boost share price,The Guardian (Guardian Newspapers). Cane, A. (1996). Companies and Finance: UK: Vodafone acquires Talkland in Pounds 60m deal,Financial Times. p. 22. Reguly, E. (1996). Vodafone pockets Peoples Phone.The Times (Times Newspapers).   News Digest: Vodafone snaps up Astec. Investors Chronicle: p. 55.

Comparing between 3 companies ( semco , google , apple ) Essay

Comparing between 3 companies ( semco , google , apple ) - Essay Example Moreover, despite having numerous product lines, both Google and Apple are in the IT industry. Hence, these companies are overly dependent on their capabilities to use information and communication technology skills. (Kahney) Semco has more focus on Brazil while Google and Apple are rivaling various IT organizations throughout the global markets. Further, Semco has seldom entangled in political issues though it has a declared socio-economic mission of ushering workplace democracy. On the other hand, Apple maintains a strict corporate tone. Further, Google often raises ideological issues such as freedom of expression. Hence, it had to withdraw its business from China due to political reasons. In the context of business diversification, Semco did not select to follow any rigid industrial segment. Hence, it appears to have minimized the major business risks by diversifying its investments and specialties across different industries. According to The Leigh Bureau, Semco is aggressively expanding its market shares in the sectors like real estate, energy, legal services, etc. But Apple diversified its products and packages in the same business segment. At the same time it created a â€Å"proprietary ecosystem† (Kahney). It maintained its technology and business secrets and embarked on a policy of using license agreements and copyright protection. Google has a totally different marketing strategy. It does not venture in cross industry diversification like Semco. It also does not excessively emphasize on protecting its intellectual properties. It largely operates through open source technologies providing highly flexible and accessible IT platforms to its customers. Experts like Lashinsky describe the company to be aggressive but generous in handling the market challenges. Unlike Semco, Apple is orthodox. It follows a command and control framework with clearly defined

Real Sex and Pornography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Real Sex and Pornography - Essay Example The decision of being social or anti-social as to the choice of sexually explicit materials is being guided by their lifetime experience as to what is acceptable and what is not. There were studies supporting the fact that viewing pornography and practicing internet sex has become addictive to majority of the population. Kimberly S. Young (2008) of The Center for Internet Addiction Recovery said that "Internet sex addiction typically involves viewing, downloading, and trading online pornography or engagement in adult fantasy role-play rooms". According to the author, adult web sites have become now the biggest segment of electronic commerce offering wide choices of sexual interests. Due to the readily available sexually explicit material online, internet sex addiction has become a major problem among users. Internet sex addiction is now being considered as a form of infidelity and has caused numerous family break-ups and marital problems (Millner, 2008). There were reported instances that an internet sex addicted husband prefer cybersex over real sex with their wives (Craine 2008). This paper aims to support the position that internet sex addiction should be avoided and the practice should be done devoid of emotional attachment. Causes of Internet Sex Addiction Young (2008) reported that Internet sex addiction start with discovery that sex sites do exist. 2 The author reported that normally, the new user discover the existence of such sites by accident. Due to the overwhelming number of internet sex sites, there will always be a chance that a surfer will discover its existence. Young reported that according to Internet Filter Review of Pornography Industry Statistics, There were about 4.2 million pornographic websites in existence today; the size of the industry is $57 billion worldwide and $12 billion of that is in the US. The daily hits on these websites total 372 million with additional 68 million pornographic search engine requests (Caroll et al, 2008). This represents about 25% of total search engine requests (Ropelato, 2006). For the first time user, surfing the internet with a press of a button is so exciting, much so if one accidentally press a button and enter a cybersex chat room. With complete unanimity through username and handle, one can rewind after a hard work or simply relieve stress and personal problems.The next phase according to Young is experimentation. Due to the fact that one can access the internet at the privacy of one's own room or office plus the convenience of being anonymous and without the danger of being recognized or the truth be divulged, one can effectively pose according to ones fantasy (Barak & Fisher, 2005). In short, all the inhibitions and shame that an action may result in real life can all be prevented under the internet scenario. It was for this reason that according to Young (2001), more than 60% of on line users developed sex addiction exclusively on the internet. The third stage of addiction development according to You