Customers Advertisement Decision for Colorscope Case Study

Customers Advertisement Decision for Colorscope - Case Study Example The companies listed in the exhibit 3 have are the largest companies in the areas and many people will go to purchase in those companies. This shows that the companies are congested with many customers to be served at the same time. The customers will take more time waiting to be attendant. The attendants are always busy, since they are few and customers are many. Colorscope has many attended who ensure that customers are served immediately they make inquiry. Colorscope also has many customers but it employees enough people who can handle the customers demand. Customers will opt to go to Colorscope instead of going to waste their time or queuing in order to get services. In Colorscope also customers needs to place an order and an attendant take care of the customers demand. Colorscope employee’s professionals and trains the employees in order to ensure high quality services. Customer needs to be served by professionals and this is the case with Colorscope. Calculating Profitability of Job 61001 Colorscope has a long process in service provision. First, the customer’s places an order and then the customer representative talk to the customers and records the order details. The order is scanned and digitalized to computer pictures, and then an expert contacts publisher services which ensures color quality and appropriate of other picture features. The documents is passed to quality control to ensure it is of high quality and then sent to customer’s desk.

Events in bars and clubs Essay Example for Free

Events in bars and clubs Essay Another source of competition is how an event may have to source out its resources through sponsorship; this means that the event will be marketed to potential sponsors that will believe that the event will create a significant leverage to the companys own marketing initiative. Hence, it is also important to stress to the potential sponsors the benefits of the event. This is discussed by Mack in which the author pointed out that (25):â€Å"[ ] sponsorship allows organizations to reach their target market with less clutter than other communications methods, exposes the product/service directly to the market, and provides an excellent mechanism for the organization to give back to the community by which it is supported. Event sponsorship, or sponsorship marketing, refers to supporting various types of event [..] Whether the type of sponsorship is financial, media, or in-kind support (Cicora 1991), the list of company benefits derived from it can range from publicity, to product sales, image enhancement, or even improved employee morale (Decker 1991). In addition to getting sponsors, companies that are about to hold an event should also take into consideration its capabilities (Silvers). These include the ability to handle the demands of the event and the ability to have the resources. It is also important to have the ability to know how to handle different events; for instance, a bar that may be holding a fundraising concert may be faced with different challenges if organising a battle-of-the-bands. As Silvers pointed, although the core processes of these two events are the same, it should be noted that one of the important elements in events management is the ability to handle the differences in the requirements of different events. All in all, the events management concept can be considered as an important marketing activity in which an establishment or company is able to communicate certain initiatives to the public (Soares). Hence, events serve as an attractor especially if the company utilises popular channels such as concerts, dance events and exhibits,among others; these venues fulfil the curiosity, the wants and needs of the people which is why events continue to be patronised throughout time. Many enterprises venture into the nightlife sector by means of establishing bars and clubs. As Chatterton and Hollands discussed, the demand for these establishments is that these have been a part of the urban landscape; there is always the market among the youth, specifically the young professionals, who are â€Å"in search for the latest cool, chic, fashionable bar or club† (3). Because of this, it can be said that there is business in this industry, especially with the continuous influence of the entertainment and leisure sector. The nightlife scene which comprises of establishments such as bars and clubs can be also said to contribute to the local tourism initiatives (Chatteron Holland). The success of any bar or club requires a significant understanding of the business especially in the aspect of strategy. Lawson provides many guidelines in the success of any club or bar including a good understanding on food service operations (which is a fundamental in any bar or club), the facilities, the design, the themes, and last but not the least, the business aspects. Lawson therefore emphasised the business framework of these bars and clubs which are heavy in the marketing practice; this is because this is a means for companies to get customers into the establishment. Bars and clubs, therefore, do not just have to excel in the food service operations but also in its ability to add value to its basic concept, and that is, to add event concepts to its entire operations. This is further attested by Smith in which the author mentioned that in order for bars and clubs to succeed, it needs to continuously come up with something interesting; hence, in addition to food and drinks and the regular dance floor or in-house performer, it is the specific events that make these bars and clubs special. This is therefore a part not only in the marketing aspect of the bar and club but also these events help the customers to identify what else they can do in the establishment, or at least, have something to look forward to (Smith, 75). Brown and Miron also mentioned the role of events in the success of any bar or nughtclub; these fall in the aspect of marketing and advertising. When an event takes place, the tendency is that the event is supposed to pull more people into the establishment. Hence, events help in the increase in sales and to make the club and bar more memorable to the consumers.

Cultural Literacy According To E.d. Hirsch :: Education Literacy Educational Essays

According to E.D. Hirsch, to be culturally literate is to possess the basic information to thrive in the modern world. It is the "grasp on the background information that writers and speakers assume their audience already has." In his book, Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, Hirsch sets forth 5,000 essential words and phrases of which each person should be knowledgeable. The list ranges from idioms to mythology, from science to fairy tales. Why has this list prompted a notable debate on our country's educational standards? E.D. Hirsch believes that the literacy of American people has been rapidly declining. The long range remedy for restoring and improving American literacy must be to "institute a policy of imparting common information in our schools." In short, according to Hirsch - the answer to our problem lies within the list. Hirsch's book explains the importance of the need of a higher level of national literacy. His main argument is that cultural literacy is required for effective communication and the "cooperation of many people..." Communication is what Hirsch sees is essential for success in today's society. Communication is the key to equality in America. With increased cultural literacy, an egalitarian society is eventually possible. One common body of knowledge for everyone will be the glue that holds society together. Hirsch also points out the senselessness of concepts such as multi-culturalism and multi-lingualism. He acknowledges the importance of the numerous cultures and ethnicities of which United States is comprised. Hirsch mentions the "hyphenated American: the Italo-American, the Polish-American, the Afro- American, the Asian-American and so forth." He points out that he is in favor of each minority's protection, nurture, and respect; however, he strongly feels that people need to decide what "Å’American' means on the other side of the hyphen...what national values and traditions really belong to national cultural literacy." American cultural literacy should be based on our traditions -- morality of tolerance and benevolence, the Golden Rule, communal cooperation, altruism and freedom. It is in this way that Hirsch argues those in opposition of cultural literacy. Many opponents question Hirsch's view by questioning who would decide this common body of knowledge for everyone. People debate what is includedin "the list" on the basis of multiculturism. They ask, is the knowledge equally important to every citizen of the United States no matter what race, gender or religion? Hirsch responds by putting the emphasis on the other side of the hyphen - the American side. When reading Hirsch's book, I strongly agreed with his big picture of cultural literacy and agree that it is important to establish a common body of knowledge

Police and Gratuities: The Slippery Slope Essay examples -- Ethics, L

Gratuity Something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service. (Dictionary, 2010) When does a cup of coffee become a gratuity for a police officer? What is acceptable and what is not acceptable? If a police officer takes a free cup of coffee or a half priced meal does that make him vulnerable to take more. Does that act make the officer a bad officer or a corrupt officer? Does the person giving the gratuity expect something in return or is it just a gesture for the work the officer is doing? Almost every police department has a policy on the acceptance of gifts and gratuities for the officers and the department. Some police departments allow no gifts or gratuities and some may have a policy that states as long as one person is not the recipient and it is available to the whole department then it is acceptable. How does a police department come up with a policy the does not create animosity toward the department from the public that wants to give to them for the services that they provide with no strings attached. You have some business that want to give money to a police department that needs to buy equipment for the officer on the street. Do you tell the business person that you can’t accept the money and that the officer will have to do the best that they can. No, I think when it comes to a safety issue and the gift is not for just one person the department will come out in the good end. Agencies can develop a gratuity policy by seeking the help of many officers and local business owners and by reviewing established policies in other jurisdictions. Such a policy should tie directly with modern law enforcement's strict code of ethics regarding financial gains or rewards. (Sewell, 2007) The slippery... ...cal issue? The caliber of officers that are coming out of the police academies these days are top notch and most police departments have the safe guards in place to keep officers from sliding down the slippery slope that would damage the confidence that the public has in the department. In the end gratuities, gifts and corruption will be a part of the police world as it has been from the beginning of the police community. It is incumbent upon the officers and the administration to keep the checks and balances in place so as not to damage the imagine of the police department and the city. Works Cited Dictionary, M.-W. O. (2010, June 16). Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Kleinig, J. (1996). The Ethics of Policing . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ). Sewell, C. (2007, Apri). Gratuities. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 76(4) , pp. 8-12.

African Trade Routes

African’s were among the richest of people back in the 1000’s. Effects of trade brought cities to faster than they rise. Great civilizations from Ghana to Zimbabwe both flourished but, had their tragic end. But, it provided them with a lot of things such as gold, salt slaves etc. People introduced camels to the desert in 200 a. d. Merchants primarily used them for trade to the Empires in the middle of the desert. They traded things such as gold, ivory, ostrich feathers, animal hides, and slaves.According to document 5 â€Å"The salt trade made the city prosperous; in Africa, salt ranked with gold and slaves in value. For Merchants to risk camels over hundreds of miles of burning sand, the profits must have been enormous† (22). This means that merchants traveled to cities in the desert to make mounds of cash. This trade route was the â€Å"trans-Saharan trade’ which they used camels to travel across. Because, Of the Saharan trade routes many cities like Gh ana rose and prospered.It also bought new crops from south and Southeast Asia such as, sugarcane, coconuts, bananas, asian rice, and vegetables. Another effect is slavery; they used slaves to break up the salt so it could be traded. Also trading had a major effect on Islam. According to document 8 â€Å" The leaders became integrated into African societies by playing religious,social,and political roles similar to those of traditional priests†(447). This means Muslim leaders kind of move in and just sprinkled their religion around until people caught on.And by learning this new religion it opened doors for even more trading by them eventually learning their language. Ghana soon began to fall, people who were under their control fought for the control of the lucrative trade. Mali was established in 1235 by Sundiata. Male became rich off of the Saharan trade routes. King Moses controlled Gao and Timbuktu his power extended also to the Taghaza salt mines. According to document 9 â€Å" They put their children in chains if they show any backwardness in memorizing it, and they are not set free until they have it by heart†(304).It basically means that the power that they had over other people also were towards their children which shows they had a lot of money. According to document 6 â€Å"The inhabitants are very rich, especially the strangers who have settled in the country; so much so that the current king has given two of the daughters in marriage of two brothers both businessmen, on account of their wealth† (112). This means that he cared so much about their money that he ensured they will never lose it.According to document 1 â€Å"Salt is so common, so easy to obtain and so inexpensive that we have forgotten that from the beginning of civilization until about 100 years ago†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Kurlanksy). It shows you that people that wanted salt had to pay and work endlessly until they finally got what they needed. Now all you have to do is pick it up at a store; no effort is needed. According to document 3 â€Å"Behind the King stood ten pages holding shields and swords decorated with gold. †(45). As you can see there was a surplus of gold so they just dressed in it not all

Comparison of Beowulf and another Hero essays

Comparison of Beowulf and another Hero essays Long time ago, heroes were very important people. Only the men who were killing the others in the wars and winning the battles were considered as heroes. Seamus Heaneys book Beowulf is a good example of this kind of man. However, people of today can be called hero if they do something special and significant for their country. Christopher Columbus,who discovered America, is one of these persons. Actually, a hero is a courage man who possesses a special strength and ability, and who manages to do an important accomplishment. The two men mentioned above are equally very important , but also very different. Their actions differ from each other. This difference can be shown by explaining in details what Beowulf did, then what Christopher did, and finally by comparing Beowulf does correspond to the definition of the hero because he has this superhuman strenght and power which distinguish him from the other warriors. He doesnt fight against men , but against some big creatures such as a dragon. Beowulf is the only man capable to beat these enormous monsters. He is always proud of himself when he manages to kill one of these creatures: The man who had lately landed among them, proud and sure, had purged the hall, kept it from harm; he was happy with his nightwork and the courage he had shown. Grendel is actually the first horrible monster-giant whom Beowulf kills. This creature is murdering people for twelve years, every night, but nobody dares to approach him. It is the same when Grendels mother comes to avenge her son. Everybody is frightened except this brave man. The fight is not easy, but again, only Beowulf is able to kill him. Also, when the enormous dragon attacks his people,all the warriors except one ran for their lives to the safety of the wood, and ...

Enviromental Changes essays

Enviromental Changes essays Weather changes all the time. The average patter of weather, called climate, usually stays pretty much the same for centuries if it is left to itself. However, the earth is not alone. People are taking actions that can change the earth and its climate in important ways. The single human activity that is most likely to have large impact on the climate is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. These fuels contain carbon. Burning them makes carbon dioxide gas. Since the early 1800s, when people began burning large amounts of coal and oil, the amount of carbon dioxide in the earths atmosphere has increased by nearly 30%, and average global temperature appears to have risen between 1Â ° and 2Â ° F. Carbon dioxide gas traps solar heat in the atmosphere, partly in the same way as glass traps solar heat in a sunroom . For this reason, carbon dioxide is sometimes called a greenhouse gas. As more carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere, solar heat has more trouble getting out. The result is that, if everything else stayed unchanged, the average temperature of the atmosphere would increase. As people burn more fossil fuel for energy they add more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. If this goes on long enough, the average temperature of th e atmosphere will almost certainly rise. If global warming occurs, not every day or every place will be warmer. But on average most places will be warmer. This will cause changes in the amount and patter, of rain and snow, in the length of growing seasons, in the frequency and severity of storms, and in sea level. Farms, forests, and plants and animals in the natural environment, will all be affected. Other gases and dust also matter. Carbon dioxide is not the only gas released by human activities that can cause warming. Human emissions of methane and nitrous oxide together contribute almost half as much warming. If things go on pretty mu ...

The Motives of Jeffrey Dahmer essays

The Motives of Jeffrey Dahmer essays Its a beautiful day. The sun is out and the birds are chirping. Breakfast is ready and the kids are actually cooperating with their morning rituals preparing for school. You sit down at the kitchen table with a steaming cup of coffee, breathing in serenity, as you begin to indulge yourself into the morning paper. And thats when it happens. HOUSE OF HORRORS UNCOVERED WITH THE ARREST OF LOCAL CANNIBAL KILLER, is what the headline read. To the cynics, this would not create much concern. But, for most of us in the summer of 1991, the horrors that were uncovered in apartment 213 on Milwaukees North 25th St. sent shockwaves through the country. Jeffrey Dahmer commanded the attention of all America, creating a buzz about the term cannibal and resparking debates about the phenomenon of the serial killer. When the carnage was over the body count had risen to 17. All of Dahmers victims were minority men. Typically Dahmer would go to a gay bar, seduce a chosen man, and bring him ba ck to his apartment. He often lured them to his place by offering them money to take nude photos of them. Once they were in his apartment they would drink and have sex. At some point Dahmer would mix up a drink with powdered Halcion and give it to the victim. The Halcion immediately made the victim pass out. Once the victim was unconscious he would continue to have sex with them. His next step was to kill them by strangulation. When the victim was deceased Dahmer would then have sex with them again before the process of dismemberment began. Dahmer chopped up his victims. Some of the body parts were eaten by Dahmer and saved in the freezer. The other parts of the body ended up in a barrel of acid Dahmer had concocted to disintegrate the cadavers. What kind of a human being does this? If we could find what motivates one to commit such atrocities, wouldnt w ...

Unit 6 Big Ideas in Science SEMINAR Research Paper

Unit 6 Big Ideas in Science SEMINAR - Research Paper Example Atmospheric Carbon also comes from decomposition of dead animals. Sedimentary rocks like limestone, as well as seashells also contain carbon. Nitrogen, on the other hand, exists in the atmosphere as nitrogen gas. This nitrogen gas is converted to ammonia gas through the process of nitrogen fixation, and the ammonia is converted to nitrites then oxidized to nitrates through the process of nitrification. Nitrogen fixation is accomplished by nitrogen fixing bacteria as well as lightning. The resultant nitrites and nitrates are converted back to nitrogen gas by denitrifying bacteria through denitrification process. Nitrogen present in organic matter is converted into ammonia gas via ammonification process. Human activities affect the natural processes of water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles. Activities like burning of fossil fuels and coal releases nitrogen compounds, sulfur, and carbon compounds to the atmosphere, which, in addition to causing air pollution, leads to the formation of acid rain. Acid rain causes great damage to plants and animals. Increase of nitrogen in the atmosphere causes imbalance of nutrients available for plants, affecting their health and biodiversity. Other problems like leaching of nitrogen into the soil and resultant pollution and eutrophication results from increasing nitrogen in the air. Furthermore, the use of chlorofluorocarbons, CFCS, causes the breakdown of the ozone layer leading to the formation of Ozone hole. The result is an increase in occurrence of skin cancer due to penetration of ultraviolet light into the

Media of Social Media on the Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Media of Social Media on the Society - Essay Example People do not get the opportunity to experience real life situations because of the social media sites. Social sites lead to individuals believing that they can measure their success using the success of others. They enable most people to feel that they are living a real life because of the activities of a social site. The society expects individuals to act and behave in a particular manner. In addition to, individuals end up equating their success through the likes and comments they get from a social site. It has a negative attitude towards the growth of most young boys and girls in the society. Most societies do not measure their success on the likes and comments on Facebook (Gummow, 22). Social media sites affect the society negatively because it changes the mental set up of most children in the society. Children are the leaders of tomorrow, and they should invest most of their time concentrating on school. The social sites change the perception most people have on the values of the society. Exposure of young children to social leads to the children learning little about their culture (Healey, 32). The society tends to shape their message in a manner to attract many viewers. The social media shapes their messages to attract most viewers. The messages on social media sites are not authentic because they will not reach the intended audience. The social media change the cultures of most societies in the world. It tries to make the life of people better, but it leads moral deprivation of the community (Potter, 23).

Informative Paper on Islam People Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Informative on Islam People - Research Paper Example Islam is not just a religion; in fact, it is a complete way of life which teaches Muslims peace, mercy and forgiveness (Mawdudi 1975). Islam is a relatively new religion as compared to the other religions of the world. Muslims believe that the Holy Prophet was the last prophet and there were many before him starting from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and many more. The Holy Prophet was born in Makah and became the prophet at the age of 40. He was a pious man who had to face many persecutions in order to propagate the word of god. He faced persecutions because Islam taught equality amongst all and people of Makah were not willing to accept that. During his life, he propagated Islam throughout the Arabian Peninsula and beyond. He led his life by example. Today’s Muslims try to follow the footsteps of the Holy Prophet, which is called the Sunnah. They try to live their lives like him in order succeed in the world hereafter. Hadith, the sayings of the Holy Prophet, also provid es Muslims with guidance for how to go about different endeavors. Religions are dogmatic in nature and Islam provides a complete guideline for how to go about our lives in the form of the Holy Quran, Sunnah and Hadith (Understanding Islam and Muslims). Muslims believe that the Holy Quran is the word of the Almighty Allah himself. ... mplete code of life as instructed by Allah and serves as an authentic guideline to Muslims when in need of guidance for economic system, just system, and proper human conduct, therefore, Muslims hold the Holy Quran in the highest regard. Every religion has some basic principles, in Islam; they are called the 5 pillars of Islam. Every Muslim must abide by these principles in order to be a proper Muslims. Firstly, the Shahadah, a person must recite and accept this in order to become a Muslim. It shows that person has submitted to the Almighty Allah. Second, Salat (prayer), all Muslims are to pray to god five times a day in order to get forgiveness and get close to Him. There is no hierarchical order in Islam so a learned person, the Imam, leads the congregational prayers. Third, Zakat (alms giving), all Muslims must give 2.5% of their income to the needy. By doing so, one purifies one’s income and has great benefits for the society as well. Fourth, Saum (fasting), every Muslim m ust fast in the month of Ramadan; it helps one become more resilient and also realize what the less privileged suffer from. Fifth, Hajj (pilgrimage), during the month of Ramadan, Muslims from all over the world travel to Makah to perform the hajj ceremony. This is only obligatory if the person is able to afford the trip. Muslims must perform these obligations to become true Muslims (Understanding Islam and Muslims). There are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages in the world today which is about 23% of the global population. Muslims are divided into 2 major sects: Shiites and Sunnis. Even though their prayer practices are different, but their belief is still the same and worship Allah (Comparison Chart: Christianity and Islam). Islam and Christianity are the two most populous religions in the world.

Rage Against the Machine Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rage Against the Machine - Assignment Example II. Bullet in the Head The following is the opening lyric to the song Bullet in the Head. â€Å"This time the bullet cold rocked ya/A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 2 What Rage is trying to convey with this lyric is that people are needlessly dying, all due to a person who is in power at the top trying to usurp money from the poorer people. If one thinks about it, think about Dick Cheney, who was the Vice President of the U.S. as well as the head of a company called Halliburton, which rebuilt Iraq. Several poor men, desperate for jobs, enlisted into the military because they thought they were fighting for ideals after 9/11. However, this was a scam. It has now been proven that the U.S. was planning to invade Iraq beginning in 2001—two years before the war in Iraq ever began. Halliburton lost millions, possibly billions, of dollars in funds that were never accounted for, in the end. Like Hitler, Cheney ruled over the an entire nation—and conducted the whole Iraq war operation, not to mention profiting quite handsomely from it. Truly, Cheney was a type of dictator—especially because he could not be prosecuted for these crimes after he left office, not to mention the fact that he ordered torture to be used on prisoners of war. That type of behavior goes against the Geneva Convention—but he got away scot-free, all because of his money-hungry power. Dick Cheney is just one example of people who made a lot of young men go to wear, and get proverbial (and sometimes real) ‘bullets’ in their heads in order so that he could become a very rich man, living on a heart pump which helps keep him alive (it’s expensive). III.Year of tha Boomerang Year of tha Boomerang is about World War II history. The lyrics from the song go like this: â€Å"It's dark now in Dachau and I'm screamin' from within/'Cause I'm cell locked in tha doctrines of tha right/Enslaved by dogma, talk about my birthrights†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 3 Worl d War II harkens back to the days when Jews were enslaved in the concentration camps, and the political right’s ideology—which included eugenics—was in control of Germany. Personally, it seems a bit wrong to bring up the Holocaust in the sense that this is definitely not a respectful use of the terminology. The singer is not physically in Dachau, nor is it believed that the singer could ever emotionally experience what was experienced by the concentration camp prisoners—and how they felt. Trying to appropriate that emotion for the sake of the song—even if any of the band members happen to be Jewish—still seems like a grossly inappropriate and wholly misuse of the imagery evoked by bringing up the concentration camp of Dachau. This minimizes the true pain of real Holocaust survivors, especially those at Dachau. How dare this band desecrate a place which is so notoriously sacred, and where real human flesh burned†¦not just being lyrics in a song. Rage Against the Machine may have made its point, but it really struck the wrong chord on this song—not an isolated incident. IV. Bulls on Parade RATM’s next song to be analyzed, the lyrics to Bulls on Parade, reads: â€Å"Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes/Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal/I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a library/Line up to tha mind cemetary now†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 4 It’s interesting that the library here is seen as a place called a ‘

Marketing Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Marketing Ethics - Research Paper Example 104) describe marketing ethics as a dimension of social responsibility that involves principles and standards that delineate satisfactory behavior in marketing. Marketers should be careful and conscious of moral principles for tolerable behavior from numerous stand points such as the industry, company, consumers, society, and exceptional interest groups. When marketing actions diverge from the established principles, the exchange practice can collapse, resulting in consumer frustration, lack of reliance and law suits (Arnold, 2009, p. 113). An ethical issue is an identifiable dilemma that necessitates an organization or individual to decide amongst numerous procedures that must be assessed as wrong or right (Pride & Ferrell, 2011, p. 104). Any time an activity causes marketers or consumers in their target markets to feel manipulated or cheated; a marketing ethical situation exists, despite the legality of the activity. Ethical issues in marketing arise from product, distribution, pro motion, and pricing issues. The concept of segmentation and target marketing has been on the increase in the contemporary world. Market promotion and targeting can generate moral matters in a multiplicity of ways, among them forged and deceptive adverts and controlling sales advertising and targeting a market segment (Moore, 1990, p. 45). Marketers have fragmented consumer markets resulting to increased need for focused target marketing. Despite the role of recognizing and fulfilling customer wants, more target marketing has come with augmented denigration. Though target marketing is widely regarded as the embodiment of marketing conception, it has in certain cases been disparaged as unethical (Smith & Cooper-Martins, 1997, p. 1). Particularly, widespread media focus has been dedicated to the aiming of grown-up customer sections referred as susceptible with manufactured goods mulled over as damaging. This disapproval of targeting has engrossed merchandises such

Rage Against the Machine Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rage Against the Machine - Assignment Example II. Bullet in the Head The following is the opening lyric to the song Bullet in the Head. â€Å"This time the bullet cold rocked ya/A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 2 What Rage is trying to convey with this lyric is that people are needlessly dying, all due to a person who is in power at the top trying to usurp money from the poorer people. If one thinks about it, think about Dick Cheney, who was the Vice President of the U.S. as well as the head of a company called Halliburton, which rebuilt Iraq. Several poor men, desperate for jobs, enlisted into the military because they thought they were fighting for ideals after 9/11. However, this was a scam. It has now been proven that the U.S. was planning to invade Iraq beginning in 2001—two years before the war in Iraq ever began. Halliburton lost millions, possibly billions, of dollars in funds that were never accounted for, in the end. Like Hitler, Cheney ruled over the an entire nation—and conducted the whole Iraq war operation, not to mention profiting quite handsomely from it. Truly, Cheney was a type of dictator—especially because he could not be prosecuted for these crimes after he left office, not to mention the fact that he ordered torture to be used on prisoners of war. That type of behavior goes against the Geneva Convention—but he got away scot-free, all because of his money-hungry power. Dick Cheney is just one example of people who made a lot of young men go to wear, and get proverbial (and sometimes real) ‘bullets’ in their heads in order so that he could become a very rich man, living on a heart pump which helps keep him alive (it’s expensive). III.Year of tha Boomerang Year of tha Boomerang is about World War II history. The lyrics from the song go like this: â€Å"It's dark now in Dachau and I'm screamin' from within/'Cause I'm cell locked in tha doctrines of tha right/Enslaved by dogma, talk about my birthrights†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 3 Worl d War II harkens back to the days when Jews were enslaved in the concentration camps, and the political right’s ideology—which included eugenics—was in control of Germany. Personally, it seems a bit wrong to bring up the Holocaust in the sense that this is definitely not a respectful use of the terminology. The singer is not physically in Dachau, nor is it believed that the singer could ever emotionally experience what was experienced by the concentration camp prisoners—and how they felt. Trying to appropriate that emotion for the sake of the song—even if any of the band members happen to be Jewish—still seems like a grossly inappropriate and wholly misuse of the imagery evoked by bringing up the concentration camp of Dachau. This minimizes the true pain of real Holocaust survivors, especially those at Dachau. How dare this band desecrate a place which is so notoriously sacred, and where real human flesh burned†¦not just being lyrics in a song. Rage Against the Machine may have made its point, but it really struck the wrong chord on this song—not an isolated incident. IV. Bulls on Parade RATM’s next song to be analyzed, the lyrics to Bulls on Parade, reads: â€Å"Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes/Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal/I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a library/Line up to tha mind cemetary now†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 4 It’s interesting that the library here is seen as a place called a ‘

Science and Technology Education for young child Assignment

Science and Technology Education for young child - Assignment Example From a constructivism point of view, it has been discussed that humans acquire understanding through collaborations not just in ideas but also with experiences. This view point is combined with Bloom’s taxonomy of learning which was published during the 1950s which was way outdated compared to technology that is being used in lately in academes. This theory is composed of three domains; 1) cognitive or knowledge, 2) affective or attitude, and 3) psychomotor or skills (Anderson, et al, 2011). This type of teaching has 3 major objectives. The first of which is increasing the involvement of students. Multiple ways of knowing constitute the 2nd major objective while the 3rd aim of inquiry-based teaching is sequential phase of cognition. The inquiry-based teaching is actually a form of inviting students to an active way of learning instead of just being pacified with information (Franklin). Science and technology is not an easy subject to explain in early childhood education. Teachers should be able to get the grasp first of what is need to be taught before actually structuring it to the most basic as it can get for these children to understand. The educators would be faced in a challenge in explaining a sometimes complex subject to children who have so many questions based on what have been observed or explained at their own households. Letting a child to experiment and explore things would be a better way of teaching children of this age bracket the concepts without them having doubts on the educator’s credibility. This is done by observing. As it has been prior known that children tends more to believe what have been seen, if a certain thing or scientific event has been observed by the child, it would be more believable onto them what is being explained by teachers. Though questions may still arise, there is a visible proof that the children can see and get the grasp of the concept which is being taught (Harland & Rivkin, 2004). The

Plato’s Crito Essay Example for Free

Plato’s Crito Essay To justify Socrates’ decision to stay in prison according to the law and obey even the unjust punishment that was given to him by his accusers or to escape from the prison is an issue that has been for debates for long. Socrates was sure to obey the law and accepted the punishment of drinking the poison. Here Plato wants to give the laws its own voice and discriminate it as a separate distinctiveness, trying to make it something close to human where it is believed that Socrates’ punishment is unjust. By going through the dialogues between Socrates and Crito, I disagree with Crito and believe that Socrates as right in abiding by the law and accepting the punishment of drinking the poison. Socrates had his own philosophy and reasons in going by the law and Crito tried his best to persuade him to escape from the prison. Argument between Socrates and Crito Crito said that by accepting the unjust punishment Socrates was in fact siding with his accusers for which Socrates replies that if he escapes from the prison he will be acting against the just law and also against people. He said that if the laws are just and people unjust and both give out the same decision then he must obey the law even if it is ot justified humanly. He was not willing to side against the people because people were his strength and he had accepted the punishment for them. Crito does not believe that if Socrates does not abide by the law it will lead to social destruction and says that a single proceed of noncompliance would be negligible when compared to the justified movements by Socrates in future. Socrates speaks honestly and in a straightforward manner and also indicates Crito that he might face some problems after his death. Socrates gave a new way of belief to philosophy. His teachings are still inspiring for lots of scholars and many philosophers were influenced by his views. Socrates believed in justice and for this he even offered his life. According to his friends and followers the punishment he received was morally wrong but Socrates believed that roaming about from town to town would bring him nothing and he was not ready to disobey the law as the law of Athens had protected him throughout his life. There are moral authorities and their principles should be first and foremost based on protecting human rights. Socrates believed that justice was good and good can be accomplished with the help of self-knowledge by anyone. Socrates was punished because of a social contract, which he himself had accepted and according to that he had to abide by the law and accept the punishment. In fact this idea of a contract between an individual and the entire legal system has a great impact on the modern political system and the world even today. There are some rights as well as duties of people in society towards it and the ‘social contract’ here refers to the unishment Socrates received and his belief in abiding by the law because he said that law is just. He believed that man should do ‘good’ even to his enemies and also that knowledge leads to goodness in man. Plato states Socrates views that ‘morality based on absolute truth or rules is probably not adaptable to practical situations’. Socrates also believed that a good man never harmed anyone and advised wrong doers to find cure of their evil ways and become good. The only thing is that one should try and change self and this is attained through self-knowledge.

Financial performance of microfinance institutions

Financial performance of microfinance institutions Financial Performance of Microfinance Institutions Abstract The paper investigates the financial attractiveness of microfinance institutions (MFIs). With the use of CAMEL methodology is the performance of MFIs analyzed. A comparison with G10 commercial banks shows†¦. Secondly, the systematic risk factors of MFIs are identified. The study * VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam Comments are welcome at: [emailprotected] Introduction This paper investigates the financial performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) from the perspective of a foreign investor. Microfinance institutions offer a broad amount of financial products and services to people who lack access to traditional banking services, also called; ‘the unbankable. Starting from social driven performance measures, the microfinance industry has been arguably effective in reducing poverty worldwide. In the last decades the microfinance industry has developed into an alternative investment class. The sector is characterized by attractive returns, low default rates and an explosive growth. Nevertheless, there is only a small scientific basis about the promises microfinance offers as a financial investment class. The financial attractiveness of MFIs for investors is questioned within this paper. Through analyzing the performance of MFI with CAMEL ratings and identifying the systematic risk factors, enriches this paper the academic field of finance. The study starts from the findings of Krauss Walter (2008). Their empirical results show that MFIs have a low or non exposure with international commercial markets from developed nations. Microfinance investments are for investors thus useful for portfolio diversification. Besides the social benefit that social oriented investors gain, the question arises what is the potential financial gain for a foreign investor? Nonacademic sources present microfinance as a interesting alternative investment class for solely return oriented investors. Institutions as the Consultative Group to Assists the Poor (CGAP) are reporting profits twice as high as their local peers and returns on investments in some parts of the world between 117 and 847 percent (Little field Holtman, 2005). Gonzales Rosenberg (2006) presented evidence of MFIs that outperform commercial banks on the return on assets. The returns are combined with a repayment rate of loans of almost 100 percent. Group liability repayment systems realize the low default rates. The repayment schemes are typical for the microfinance industry since clients lack collateral for the provided loans. The numbers indicate a save investment with a high return for investors. Nevertheless, investors seem to be skeptic about investing in MFIs. As Krauss Walter (2008, p.6) righteously mention: â€Å" Investors appear to perceive microfinance as excessively risky relative to the returns it generates, partially due to a lack of viable foreign exchange hedges, absence of a solid track record, poor reporting standards, heterogeneous products and inadequate liquidity.† The Microfinance Exchange (MIX) tracks the performance of MFIs since 1998. The MIX is a platform which gathers and publishes financial and communal oriented (outreach) numbers of MFIs. The institutions deliver the data voluntary to the MIX. Of the approximately 10.000 MFIs worldwide, only a small percentage (around 8 percent) send reports to independent platforms as the Microfinance Exchange. The incentive to offer data is to attract more funds from investors (Hartarska Nadolnuak, 2008). The attraction of more funds leads to a higher amount of accessible capital for the low-income clients. A high return on investment is promised by MFIs to investors. In combination with the support to poor people, seems microfinance to be the commercial solution for worldwide poverty. In practice, this promise is only rarely fulfilled by the institutions, due to the high operating cost per client and the lack of knowledge and transparency within the institutions. Academic research is necessary to cl assify the sources of growth in microfinance institutions, thereby establishing a valid basis to assess the performance and risk of MFIs. The paper aims to increase the transparency and rationale behind the data of microfinance. Transparency is increased by presenting measures of performance of the institutions in relation with their domestic environment. MFIs are considered as emerging banks in developing countries. A comparison with commercial banks using adjusted performance methods is used as a starting point. Identifying the systematic risk factors within the domestic environment results in a valid basis to assess the performance of MFIs. The financial statements of the MFIs are downloaded from the MIX website. A drawback in microfinance related research is the low quality of the data. Although the MIX offers the best available set of data and puts serious efforts to increase the quality is the dataset relative young. The dataset contains annual data and is subject to subjectivity due to the voluntary basis and a lack of legislation and authorization in the nations were MFIs are effective. To deal with the low quality of the data this paper first checks till which extent the data makes sense. CAMEL ratings as an efficiency parameter are used SYSTAMTIC RISK The rest of the paper is organized as follows: section 1 reviews the literature of the microfinance industry and the recent developments. Section 2 describes the bank performance methodologies to assess the performance of banks. Section 3 describes a comparison of banking ratios between commercial banks and MFIs. Section 4 discusses the results on the performance drivers of MFIs as a result of the systematic risk of emerging nations. Section 5 concludes the paper with a discussion of the main findings found in this paper The Microfinance Promise The success of the book ‘Creating a world without poverty of Muhammed Yunus (founder of the Grameen bank in 1970 Nobel Prize Winner for the Peace in 2006), increased the awareness and popularity in microfinance. Microfinance refers to the financial products as savings, insurance, transfer services, microcredit loans and other products targeted at low-income clients. From origin is microcredit the key product of MFIs. Loans are used to develop local economies to banish poverty from the low-income communities. The difference between traditional banking and microfinance is the level of creditworthiness of clients. Low-income clients in microfinance lack collateral, structural employment and/or a verifiable credit history almost by definition. This disables them to meet the minimum creditworthiness requirements to gain access to traditional finance products and services. Microfinance clients are therefore often referred as: ‘the unbankable. The lending activities of MFIs are characterized as follows: 1) loans are solely available to members of the MFI; 2) loans are relatively small and generally unsecured; 3) assets and liabilities of the MFI are owned jointly by the members (the clients are the owners), 4) internal monitoring and social sanctions (group liability) are used to enforce the loan contracts (Skees Barnet, 2006). Microfinance institutions thus use group lending methods to guarantee repayment of the financial services which is a substitute for the lack of collateral. This innovative and reversed perspective on banking enables MFIs to provide financial support to the poorest people of the world. This considers 1 billion people worldwide or a potential of 1 billion clients. Reducing poverty worldwide is incorporated in the G8 millennium development goals. Microfinance is considered to be a proven way to realize this millennium goal. Judged against the profit maximization ideology of commercial banks in developed countries have MFIs a dual mis sion; reducing poverty worldwide while being financial sustainable (Drake Rhyne, 2002). The success of microfinance increased the interest of developed nations and the mainstream finance industry. Commercial organizations support initiatives in microfinance as an act of corporate social responsibility. For investors and financials is microfinance attractive for its low correlation with commercial markets. Real life examples are the diversification possibilities that pension and insurance funds find in microfinance (Krauss Walter, 2008). The balance between social and financial returns was studied by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) in February 2008. The CGAP identifies a stream of private investors investing in microfinance with no particular interest in the social objective of MFIs since 2006. The entry of private investors in microfinance is seen as one the most important development since institutional investors noticed microfinance in the beginning of 2000. Before this period mainly governments, NGOs and charity funds invested and supported MFIs. In 2006 seventeen billion dollar of loans represented 10% of the potential microfinance market (Swanson, 2007). The money market return in that year was 5.8% in dollars and 3.2% in euros (Reille Foster, 2008). Although multiple sources report extreme returns on equity in microfinance, is investing in microfinance far from riskless. MicroPlace is the first online platform to trade in MFIs developed by Ebay. The average yield on a investment is 3% which matures in 3 years. In order to realize high net return on equity should organizations keep the operational cost low. Especially in the case of MFIs are operating cost high. Still lack of control and transparency makes investing in MFIs risky. Difficulty to comply with regulation standards, if any regulation framework is available MFIs act like banks, by collecting any in developed nations and from local communities and invest them in the area. Criticism is about the lack of transparency and knowledge in the sector. Databases consist of low quality accounting numbers and the absence of legislation, authorization in emerging economies aInsights in this industry will thus not only benefit the poor of the world, but also investors of the world as well as the lessons for the financial systems worldwide. The promise that microfinance offers is a reduction of poverty worldwide, with without any means of charity or subsidy (Cull, Demirguà §-Kunt Morduch, 2007). The poverty line is defined as having less than 2 dollar to spend on a daily basis. Group liability schemes are the response of MFIs to avoid the lack of traceable credibility and liquidity of clients. The group structure of loan repayment proves to secure high rates of repayment. Even with the lack of collateral or means of liquidity of the clients (Cull, Demirguà §-Kunt Morduch, 2007). The backside of this concept is that the industry is characterized by a high amount of transactional and operational cost due to monitoring cost. Also the high geographical distances and spread of clients, without technology standards or infrastructure to bridge these distance, increases the operational costs. A stereotype client of an MFI would be a woman (approximately 97% of all microfinance clients are woman), with a low level or non education. The idea that most clients are entrepreneurs is a biased view. Since microfinance believes in the strength and flexibility of people new entrepreneurial business arise, but everyone with a spendable income of less than 2 dollar a day, could be a client of an MFI. Grootte markt Although the loans and services provided are relative low is the amount of clients enormous. Ownership and governance (Call for legislation and authorization) Technology influences (Mobile phones) Microfinance for investors (brug naar bank performance en systematic risk) Portfolio diversification Return oriented (non academic article) not more than a T bill) Null hypothesis 3: MFIs dont generate excess returns more over equity indices. How to sustain credibility High fixed cost to monitor clients No collateral as a backup in case of default, so MFIs have to define risk management methods in order to control potential default rates. Bank performance From NGO to Commercial bank Null hypothesis 1: MFIs have the same banking ratios compared with commercial banks from G10 nations. Systematic risk of MFIs Impact of macroeconomic indicators on MFIs and visa versa Null Hypothesis 2: MFIs and macroeconomic indicators are not related. Microfinance business and investors MFIs have a different business model than traditional banks. This affects capital structure of the institution. The expectations of investors are also higher. A return hurdle is identified in †¦. Which state that investors expect return on equity of MFIs between 20-25 percent due to additional risk of the underdeveloped markets. Transaction costs are high for investors. Since most MFIs are not publicly tradable investors have to spend relative more time and effort to find, retrieve and monitor funds of MFIs. Exchange rates and effort to buy forgein shares in MFIs The lack of transparency creates information asymmetry Asymmetric information contributes to high transaction costs associated with underwriting, monitoring, and loss adjustment. The very same asymmetric information and transaction costs problems also plague financial markets in rural areas of low-income countries, contributing to high market interest rates. Market interest rates are also affected by default risk. Financial regulations can protect the interests of consumers by reducing information asymmetries. So Camel But for MFIs instead of commercial banks it is very difficult to diversify risk. Since most lenders have a business in agricultural oparetions a nature disaster or a change of policy within the domestic border affects almost the compete loan portfolio. For this reason it is important to understand the underlying sustamtic risk of an MFI with a nation. Bank Performance Measurement Measurement of the financial performance of banks increases the transparency of the banking sector in various ways. First, the performance indicators are warning signals for troubled banks. This increases the safety of the banking system. Secondly the indicators are useful tools for allocation decisions for investors. Especially in the case of MFIs, investors lack perfect information. Compared with developed nations the information asymmetry is greater, since commercial banks from industrialized countries have easy accessible and reliable performance indicators. Monitoring MFI performance decreases the information asymmetry gap for investors, which helps MFIs to attract more funds and increase their performances. A performance model assesses the efficiency of the organization. Efficiency is the ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input of a system. Different methods are available to measure the efficiency of banks. Statistical and intelligent techniques to model bank performance models are extensively reviewed by Kumar Ravi (2009). The most common approaches are data envelopment analysis (DEA) (Liu, 2009) and CAMEL analysis (Cole Gunther, 2008). DEA is a non parametric method which uses linear programming to measure multiple in- and outputs of business units. The business units are compared through creating an efficient frontier of best performing business units. DEA is mainly used to asses the internal efficiency of a bank. On-site examinations are the most precise way to monitor the performance of a bank. In developed nations are banks assessed between every 12-18 months. The ratings are known to CAMELS ratings according to their functional areas: capital adequacy, asset quality, management quality, earnings strength and liquidity. The performance of each area is rated on a 5 point scale (1 strong performance, 2 satisfactory performance, 3 performance that is flawed to some degree, 4 marginal performance that is significantly below average, 5 unsatisfactory performance that is critically deficient and in need of immediate action). From the 5 areas is a composite overall rating constructed. The Commercial Bank Examination Manual produced by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System qualifies an institution consequently as; 1 an institution that is basically sound in every respect, 2 an institution that is fundamentally sound but has modest weaknesses, 3 an institution with financial, operatio nal, or compliance weaknesses that give cause for supervisory concern, 4 an institution with serious financial weaknesses that could impair future viability, 5 an institution with critical financial weaknesses that render the probability of failure extremely high in the near term. Although the CAMEL approach is widely used, Cole Gunther (2008) point out that the reliability of the ratings decays rapidly once published. To deal with the diminishing value of CAMEL ratings, they offer a method to create CAMEL rating based on accounting data. The off-site examination of the CAMEL rating performs better after two quarters since the last on site assessment. The CAMEL approach is a suitable starting point to asses MFI performance, since MFI data is only published annually. The rating enables to benchmark multiple MFIs and filter credible and well performing institutions from the dataset. CAMEL offers thereby the possibility to incorporate the social objective of MFIs within the performance model. Besides CAMEL are seven approaches established to measure MFI performance. The Global Development Research center describes all approaches which find their origin from private and commercial initiatives to rank MFIs. The ACCION Camel approach is comparable to the measuremen t as suggested above. An overview of the systems: PEARLS rating system. This is a rating system developed for credit unions by the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). ACCION Camel. The evaluation guideline for MFIs developed by ACCION International. Girafe rating system. Developed by PlaNetFinance. MicroRate. Developed by Damian von Stauffenberg of MicroRate. MicroBanking Bulletin/ MicroBanking Standards Project. Funded by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP). The Philippine Coalition for Micro-finance Standards.Developed a set of performance standards to serve as guidelines or benchmarks to assess the operations of NGOs involved in microfinance. Institutional Performance Standards and PlansDeveloped by the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development and United Nations Capital Development Fund. CAMEL is suggested as most suitable for investors. The reliance on qualitative measurement through interviews with the MFIs management is a drawback of the above mentioned methods. Although interviews are useful to assess the performance of an institution, it does not allow investors to asses the institution based on free available information (for example from MIX markets). The CAMEL approach offers an objective evaluation method to assess the performance on quantitative measures. CAMEL is thereby widely recognized as a well performance rating method of financial institutions. The areas of the CAMEL approach are defined, but the indicators to generate the rating of the areas vary per organization or study. Microfinance has a different banking perspective compared with traditional banking. To adjust for this basic principle the set of accounting indicators for the CAMEL model is different, compared with models of traditional banks. ACCION is a rating agency which uses CAMEL to measure the performance of MFIs. A combination of qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (accounting data) analysis is used to rate the institutions. The present study solely uses quantitative measures to assess MFI performance. The indicators are adjusted to the amount of the gross loan portfolio to adjust for company size. Capital adequacy is measured by the amount of total equity and the amount of leverage within the organizations. A higher amount of equity reduces the probability of the occurrence of insolvency. A higher reliance on debt increases the financial pressure on the institution. Leverage reduces therefore the overall CAMEL score. Asset quality indicates the quality of the loans. The write of ratio of the loans and the not winnable loans in 30 days, reduces the quality of the assets. The ACCION model and the model of Cole Gunther (2008) do not include a quantitative measure of management. The current study measures the way the management uses the financial resources efficiently to provide as many loans with the same resources. Better management should be able to reach more clients (possibly with a higher amount of an average loan). Operational self-sufficiency is a measure of overall financial performance of the management. The ratio of operational expenses and loan portfolio presents how effective the management distributes loans to clients. This serves as a proxy for the objective of MFIs to reduce poverty. Secondly is the amount of active borrowers an absolute measure of how many clients the management reaches compared to the financial resources. The average loan balance divided by the GNI of the domestic nation indicates how much a MFI offers to clients within the local context. Earnings strength is the most important for return oriented investors. Return on assets and equity are a widely accepted measures of financial performance. Profit margin is included as a profitability measure of the services offered by the institution. Liquidity is a measure of how well an institution deals with short term cash flows and needs. Unfortunately the database only provides annual information of balance sheets. Specific (short term) cash flow information is not available. Liquidity represents the ability of an institution to meet obligations as they come due. In order to create a proxy for liquidity, data is gathered to determine till which extent institutions can meet loan requests of clients. Two ratios are calculated. The first represents the growth of the assets compared with the growth in the total loan portfolio. The second ratio focuses on the growth of equity compared with the growth in the total loan portfolio. If the ratios are above one, institutions are able to meet the obligations of new loans on a short term basis. An overview of the indicators used in the present study is given in table X, together with the expected effect on the overall CAMEL score. BEKIJK CLEAM Winker Tank, 2008 Exponential weighting is used to include past performances of institutions into the model. Other CAMEL models do not incorporate the time dimension, but past performances are a reliable proxy for future performance. Capital adequacy is for example calculated as: CA1 and CA2 are the camel scores on the indicators as discussed above, is the weight of the indicator within the specified CAMEL area. This will be normally equally distributed over the amount of parameters. The is the degree to which the past years taken into the equation. N is the amount of years of available data of MFI performance. The overall CAMEL score is constructed by an equal or adjusted weighting of the five performance areas. The sums of the weights of the indicators have a maximum of 1. Regarding the social objectives of MFIs a distinction is made between solely return oriented investors and more social oriented investors. A customized CAMEL rating on the preferences of an investor is created by shifting the weights of the areas, yielding the CAMEL rating which reflects the preferences of the investor. Within this study we will use an equal weight distributing, a distribution which stresses the financial performance (ES) and a rating which focuses on the social objectives (MQ). Two words of caution have to be made with the use of the current model. The comparability of the ratings is not straight forward when investors adjust weights to their preferences. Traditional CAMEL models use always an equal weighting over the areas, to grant comparability. Secondly, in line with Cole Gunther (2008) the CAMEL ratings are a not interchangeable with the CAMEL based on on-site visits. For investors the model designed for MFIs provides a reasonable indicator to determine the quality of MFIs on various aspects and should be seen complementary with the on site visits. Summarizing, CAMEL is used as a starting point to measures the financial performance of MFIs. Specific indicators are chosen to adjust for the special case of a microfinance institution. The ACCION CAMEL model provided a first start for the current model. The solely quantitative model incorporates proposes a measure for effective management of an MFI, as a reflection of the social objective of MFIs. Secondly the model also considers past performance of MFIs with the use of exponential weighting. Thirdly the model enables to provide weights according to the investor preferences. For MFIs the model presents indicators which could be embedded in the MFIs performance goals. This way MFIs could attract more funds necessary through establishing a better rating and so, become more attractive for investors. In the appendix are the CAMEL rating for the indicators specified. Systematic risk in microfinance Sentivity to market risk as a extension of the CAMEL model. Descriptive statics are used to compare the performance of MFIs with commercial banks. Banking ratios of commercial banks of the G10 are used as a benchmark. The comparison of banking ratios provides a glance of the performance of the MFIs. The return on assets (RoA) and on equity (RoE) is compared to give an indication of the profitability of MFIs. The outstanding loan portfolios and write off ratios, provide a view of the riskiness MFIs, since micro credit represents the largest product class with microfinance. Leverage is used as an additional proxy for the riskiness of the organizations. Operational costs are compared to get a feeling for the efficiency of MFIs. According to Krauss Walter (2008) is the performance of MFIs mainly driven by macroeconomic factors within the domestic borders. The drivers of the financial performance of MFIs are studied with the use of the arbitrage pricing model (APT). The asset pricing model is used to determine the risk premiums of the macro economic factors of MFIs within the nation. Roll Ross (1995) find that the return on assets or equity consists of a system of risk factors. The systematic risk factors are macroeconomic factors. The expected return on a portfolio of assets is given by The betas on the factors represent a risk premium for a systematic risk factor. The alpha, as a residual idiosyncratic factor is canceling out in large portfolios. By using the linear multi factor model an indication of the impact of the macroeconomic factors is revealed on the performance of MFIs. The factors incorporated in the model are the growth of GDP, GNI, inflation and the penetration of the financial sector within the nation. In line with the

Analysis of The Bull Moose :: Bull Moose Essays

Analysis of The Bull Moose "The Bull Moose" by Alden Nowlan is a finely crafted poem which reminds us of how far man has strayed from Nature. Through a carefully constructed series of contrasted images, Nowlan laments, in true Romantic fashion, man's separation from Nature. The strength of the old moose is impressive. On his death march, he nonetheless comes "lurching" and "stumbling" in ponderous and powerful strides to "the pole-fenced pasture''- the edge of civilization. A crowd quickly gathers, a crowd of men and women, old and young - all notable for their insensitivity and lack of respect. They confuse the moose with one of their own domesticated animals, like the cattle or collie or gelded moose or ox, failing to see the nobility and ancient wisdom of this moose from "the purple mist of trees." The scene becomes obscene as men "pry open his jaws with bottles" and "pour beer down his throat." The symbolic crown of thistles hammers home the innocent suffering perpetrated by these giggling and snickering buffoons. But this moose is no "shaggy and cuddlesome" doll. Living in freedom beyond the fences of civilization, this king of the spruce, cedar, and tamarack meets his degraded executioners with overwhelming power. The deep roar of this magnificently horned ancient "blood god" contrasts sharply with the puny and cowardly whine of the automobile horns. Nowlan's sympathy for the moose and his disgust for mankind is forcefully expressed in a natural free verse. This poem calls us to rethink the arrogant self-righteousness we hold toward Nature. By fencing ourselves in, perhaps we shut ourselves away from those qualities necessary to make us truly human. Teachers Comments: This essays strives to be concise, i.

Legion: An Exegetical Analysis :: essays research papers

Legion: An Exegetical Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this analysis I will be drawing from five passages found in Mark 5: 9-13, which is the story of the demonic possession by the demon which is called Legion. I will be drawing on the context of the whole passage which is Mark 5: 1-20, but my main focus and purpose of this analysis is to shed light on verses 9-13. I have referenced three different versions of these passages in different Bibles, the KJV, NIV and the NRSV, but I have found no significant difference, so the context in which I will use these references bares no large concern to the analysis, other than to show a harmony of the translations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While this occurrence is accounted in the other synoptic Gospels, Mark gives us the longest and most detailed account of this occurrence. This is also the longest and most detailed occurrence in the gospel of Mark. This occurrence happens in the country of the Gerasene’s, which is stated in verse one of Mark 5, which it is uncertain exactly where this location is, but the herd of swine found in verse eleven of Mark 5 indicates that this is a territory of the Gentiles. Nothing about this land is kosher; everything was unclean; spirits, tombs, swine and the territory, but Jesus still had power just as much as in the land of the Jews. Which will prove to be of significance in my analysis when I start to touch on verses 9-13. The accounts found in Matthew and Luke is more vague than the account in Mark, which is rich with detail. This could mean that Mark may have had access to an eyewitness account of the event.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In verse 5 Jesus asks for the name of the unclean spirit that has possessed the man in which he replies, â€Å"My name is Legion; for we are many.† This is characteristic of the ancient belief that knowledge of a name gave you power over your adversaries. This was also evident in verse 7 where the demon already knows who Jesus was and says his name to try and have a somewhat of an upper hand. The fact that he replied with the name Legion which is actually a number rather than a name shows that the demons were trying to get out of a situation in which they felt powerless.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This shows significance in two ways, in that Jesus had power over the demons even though he knew not their names and in the fact that this is not only one demon of Satan’s work, but a whole army.

Transforming the Influence of the Media on our Lives

Our goal in this publication is to help our readers lay a foundation for transforming the influence of the media on their lives. It is in all of our interests to critically assess, rather than mindlessly accept, news media pronouncements. Our hope is that we can aid readers to become more independent, insightful, and critical in responding to the content of news media messages and storiesIf objectivity or fairness in the construction of news stories is thought of as equivalent to presenting all the facts and only the facts (â€Å"All the news that’s fit to print†), objectivity and fairness is an illusion.No human knows more than a small percentage of the facts and it is not possible to present all the facts (even if one did know them). It isn’t even possible to present all the important facts, for many criteria compete for determining what is â€Å"impor- tant. †We must therefore always ask,â€Å"What has been left out of this article? †Ã¢â‚¬Å"What would I think if different facts had been highlighted here? †Ã¢â‚¬Å"What if this article had been written by those who hold a point of view opposite to the one embedded in the story as told?†For example, people commonly consider facts to be important to the extent that they have significant implications for them personally: Is any given event going to affect what they want, how much is it going to cost them, how is it going to influence their income, their living conditions, their leisure, their convenience? How some given event is going to affect others, especially others far away and out of sight, is quite another matter. There is therefore a large divergence among the news media of the world as to what is presented as â€Å"significant† in the world.

Political and economic development Essay

The wish of every political authority is to ensure that the state under its jurisdiction is economically and politically developed to an extent that its people are not exposed to vulnerable conditions. As such, every sitting government has the responsibility of ascertaining the wellbeing of its subjects. However, this is not an easy task to achieve. Many governments have failed to develop their states economically owing to various factors, much of which remain structural and organizational. For instance, the countries being referred to as third world suffer from major political and economic crisis which make them totally dependent upon other economically stable nations. However, the question that one is bound to ask is why some nations seem to be stable politically while other nations consider this an illusion, something which needs the mediation of higher powers. This paper looks at the factors that promote and undermine political and economic development of nation states. Economic development cannot be dissociated from political stability. Political stability on the other hand comes as a result of superior organizational and structural set up of the state. Higher political participation of citizens at all levels, manifested in organized political system results in a higher socio-economic development. Higher socio-economic development on the other hand stimulates more political participation. Political participation of subjects within a given state or nation is dependent upon the political attitude of those particular subjects since it is this political attitude which finally determines whether a given clique in office if furthering their own interest or the interest of the subjects. As such, the economic and political development of any nation is dependent upon those individuals responsible for the running of the state. Political participation of subjects is the major factor which determines how a nation or state develop politically and socio-economically. However, for subjects to be active politically, they must be of a higher social status. As a state expands economically, individuals achieve higher status roles as income increase. As such, wealth is created which comes with an element of tension. As old groups become displaced, new groups emerge which will naturally compete for domination within the state. The tensions which exist within these groups resulting into conflicts will heighten political awareness among groups and individuals. This will ultimately lead to an increased political participation among the subjects. The expanding economy will also be accompanied with the creation of multifarious organizations that will root for a greater integration resulting in the desire to control the state. The complexities which characterize an expanding economy will necessitate the expansion of the apparatus of the government making its role be seen by the different social groups as relevant to their interests. As this perception increases, they are likely to take actions aimed at influencing government policies. Ever since the birth of nation states in Europe, the process of modernization has emerged and flourished within them. National development has often been realized through the notion of citizenship as part of the political culture. It is an accepted fact that all citizens have equal rights before the law. The political participation of the subjects is legitimized by national political culture to a large extent. However, as much as economic development brings about increased status and wealth, many individuals use political participation as a means to achieving other goals. As such, they withhold political participation once they recognize that they can achieve these goals through other ways. For instance, an individual may use a political office for personal economic gain while ignoring the importance of that office in protecting or furthering the wellbeing of other individuals in the nation or state (Isbister, 1998). This is however dependent on the ideals of the nation. For a nation to achieve a holistic political and economic development, political participation becomes an integral factor for it is through political participation that subjects become aware of the role of government in protecting and furthering their interest. As such, in a nation state where individuals are politically active, politicians are likely to further the nation’s agenda which is primarily political and economic stability. Many politicians gain office by deceiving the majority and while ion office, lead the state to a state of collapse. It also follows that political and economic development can be tied with leadership skills and visions of such political leaders. Many economically stable nations have collapsed due to poor leadership which has in turn led to serious crises. Honest and focussed leaders who truly understand the problems of their people are the key to economic and political stability. However, this also requires the support of the population whose participation may guarantee the nation’s stability. The organization of individuals and groups into a workable political system which represents the interest of the majority is also a key to economic and political development. According to Lijphart, the best political system is the consensus democracy where even the interests of the minority groups are taken into account when it comes to policy (Lijphart, 1999: 31-33). With this regard, economic and political development is dependent upon political participation described by political organization and governance structure.

Auditing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Auditing - Assignment Example The procedures involved in the investigation include, going through the reports by preceding editors, obtaining information from the management whether any of the officers has been convicted with crime. Carrying out the fact-finding mission of the preceding auditors on management’s integrity, disagreements or any other additional information on why the firm should decline the audit. Finally, there is discussion the potential client with the attorneys and bankers of the entity. The client continuance and acceptance forms facilitate the continuing and prospective client’s investigations. The forms undergo updating and renewal yearly to keep evaluating engagement and association with the client. The investigation of both the new and renewal clients is important for it enables the firm to establish the quality of the client they serve as well as if and they meet the standards. At the same time, the forms are essential in the bid to avoid omissions in the whole process of investigation. On accepting the client or renewing the engagement, the client personnel’s quality should be estimated as high incompetence and integrity. The attributes shape the foundation for evaluating risks at the level of financial statement and gathering facts on audit engagements. Jos A. Bank being a cloth line company, and there are various risks of development of scandals in the business. These are aggravated by the nature of the business. The major factors are those that can lead into fraud and they include the nature of the items in the company, ease with which one can resale the products of the company outside is major risk factor for fraud. The value of the clothes is not so high per piece that makes it easier for the incident of fraud because of the ease with which the products can be gotten out of the premise due to their size. The nature of the environment in the business also is among the risk factors of fraud. There are

Religion and fanaticism in The Kite Runner Essay

Religion and fanaticism in The Kite Runner - Essay Example n is like the biblical David in his childhood, but he takes on a martyr’s ending perhaps to preserve the sainthood the author assigns him (Hosseini 54). These characteristics then set a base for description of some of the celebrated aspects of the Islamic religion. One of the aspects is adherence to love, forgiveness, redemption, and sacrifice to achieve or show honor for the first three mentioned aspects. All these beliefs derive from Allah’s ability to forgive and love even those who out rightly and knowingly transgress against him. Instances where the actions of a character are as a result of religious grounding include Hassan forgiving Amir for the things he did to him. He later on sacrificed his life protecting Amir’s Property while he was hiding from the Taliban in America a clear sign of forgiveness. Courage is also a vital character â€Å"requirement† in the Islamic religion. Some analysts’ confer that, the Islamic religion places women who stay home to protect their families at the same level as men who do not war for the cause of the religion. Amir, the Main character and narrator, lacks courage , and this puts him in an awkward position even with his father (Hosseini 76). Amir’s lack of courage causes him to do awful things. He betrays Hassan’s honor by failing to help him and then cunningly getting rid of him to avoid the guilt. These circumstances lead to the emergence of yet another theme associated with the Islamic faith, redemption. Amir wallows in feelings of guilt from as early as twelve years. Amir, in addition to his cowardice, has not tried to seek redemption. The author explores this theme by relaying that the narrator attributes unfortunate events to punishment. Amir punishes himself in several ways during the course of this book. For instance, he marries a tainted woman because of his personal guilt for his past actions. When Sohrab attempts suicide Amir cries out to Allah let this not be fate! All the while, Amir subtly commits

Nonverbal communication - observation studying Essay

Nonverbal communication - observation studying - Essay Example Moreover, a few of the women surrounding me were also observed to burst into tears due to the sudden outburst of emotion and happiness within the wedding ceremony. Additionally, I also observed that two of the attendees were having conversation from which the person who was having higher level of social status was becoming apparent. The main factor which was noticed was that a person who seemed to be having a lower social status was standing politely, listening carefully and nodding. Conversely, the person apparently having higher social status was quite comfortable to speak his mind. In terms of physical layout, the site seemed to be quite spacious and people were gathering in certain small groups as well as having conversation. This site has been selected in order to determine the variation different body movements and facial expressions of human beings epically at the time of being emotional. On the other hand, the 2nd observation site had been an extremely crowded Starbucks betwe en 8:20am to 10:00am. In accordance with the observation, it has been witnessed that different types of communication among people were taking place. The morning environment of Starbucks brought with it an abundance of mixed emotions and gestures during the process of communication. The environment was quite hurried where one of the women seemed to become quite weary after standing for a long time in the queue, which reflected in her body movement and gesture. There were certain other female guests at Starbucks who displayed a variation of gestures such as enjoyment, distraction driven nodding, formal posture and serious face and body movement. The site was quite cozy where a number of people were sitting close to each other. This site had been selected as it provided a very natural place of observation related to body movement and gesture as people were quite open in their body movements and emotions. B. DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERACTIONS OCCURRED IN BOTH THE OBSERVATIONS In relation to the 1st observation, it had been observed that there were emotionally driven communications and expressions made by the attendees in the wedding ceremony. As per the observation, three interactions have been explicitly discussed in the following section. Firstly, the interaction to be highlighted was of my Korean friend, whom I met in the wedding ceremony, but in quite a different outlook. There was a surprising change in dressing sense from the common attire and outlook she represents. In accordance with the physical expression made by her, it significantly seemed to incorporate major changes relating to her dress within the ceremony as she never used to wear white wedding dress and high-heeled black shoes. In terms of interactions driven out of surprise, a few women were gathering around her and were touching her dress as well arm. This unwanted attention of other women resulted in making my friend quite shy as she was observed to be blushing. Therefore, in this regard, it can be identified that her facial expression had changed because of the gestures and unanticipated expressions of the people surrounding her. The second interaction that has been identified in the

Business Consultants Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Consultants - Assignment Example This is because their skill set in general matches the required skill set of Event Planning in a satisfactory manner. This type of work requires extensive planning and an ability to deal with problems on the spur of the moment. It entails coming up with quick solutions to crises! Most of the team members possess these skills. Team members possess sound negotiation and leadership skills which are mandatory for an event management consultant firm. This is because organizing an event is a multi-faceted task which requires a lot of people working on a project. Without a leader things can get out of hand. Another reason why these members will be appropriate for the above mentioned firm is because their customer orientation and support of others is high in addition to them being assertive as well. In any consultancy firms, customer orientation and regard for customers is essentially required and can never be done without. This is because a touch point between the customer and the company i s the employee. Lastly, this type of work requires creativity and idea generation which most members of the group have. Pharmaceutical Marketing is different from mainstream marketing. Its target market comprises; doctors and medical institutions mainly. Therefore a different skill set is required for such a firm. Since it requires training of sales reps for pharmaceutical companies, an understanding of the sales person's job is required. The team scores high on sales men skills which is therefore fit for the firm. It requires a certain degree of sensitivity to market pharmaceutical goods. Marketers must be sensitive and responsive to the needs of the customer especially in this area because medicines are critical substances, often used in life and death situations. This is also a skill which the team members possess abundantly. Other than that being good with details and attention to details are qualities every consultancy needs. The team members aptly possess these skills. Work Place Etiquette: Work place etiquettes are extremely significant in order to establish ethical guidelines and code of conduct in a company. Consultancies dealing in this area need to have people who are persistent and committed to making things better in the organizational landscape. This is because etiquettes and codes of conduct take time in being implemented in organizations. Therefore; persistence is a key skill, which the team members do have. Also, the ability to be persuasive and to be able to reason with people is essential for this type of firm. This is because people often have conflicting views on work ethics and morals which need to be resolved. The team rates well on this attribute. Lastly, being a problem solver helps in this type of industry. The team members also rank high on this skill and would therefore be highly appropriate for this type of firm. References: 1. (n.d). Business Consultant; Speaker/Trainer/Writer. Retrieved 1st September, 2007 from Job Profiles, Your Guide to Career and Education Website: www.

Human Resources - Needs Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Resources - Needs Assessment - Essay Example Organizational analysis becomes necessary in some cases such as technology changes, environmental shift or when leadership changes For example in GameStop technology changes are frequent. Most important task in improving an organization’s efficiency is performance management which is basically clarifying job responsibilities and priorities to employees and indicating the performance expectations that are required from the employees. To improve the performance the best scenario is appropriate training for the employees in their own fields of work but before that any organization goes through the performance needs assessment in which the desired outcome that is required from the employees and the actual outcome are compared and analyzed. For this first of all the current situation of the present and future employee’s skills, knowledge, talents, capabilities are assessed including the organization’s internal climate provided to the employee (Rossetti,2009). Then the required state is analyzed and this includes the status of the work responsibilities and the skills, potential, efforts and knowledge required to achieve the desired position. In an efficient organization it is very necessary to focus on critical tasks to achieve the long range production goals and not just on current practices. Long range production goals are the desired destination point in future for a company which requires long range strategic interventions. This analysis will produce a list for training and career development but we must first confirm that are needs are actually real and there is a chance for proper and possible intervention. For example we will first asses that whether the problem is costing more then its solution. HR will follow the law during the possible solution and also the influence of this whole effort is analyzed. Now comes the part when we search for the reasons of the low or below desired income and the question faced is whether the employees are w orking hard enough or are they trained properly to do their jobs.(Goldstein,2005). If there are issues indicating and causing the low income then they may be unhappy people(customer, employee, investor) and their complaints are evident when customer satisfaction surveys, annual morale surveys are done ,poor productivity reports(too little work to be done using too many resources) show missed production schedule, poor financial report( cost of sales is too high and there is inadequate cash flow), insufficient communication( lack of feedback system, lack of coordination), lack of compliance having too many violations taking place within the system. Human resource department surveys the employee turn over rate, talent management, complaints etc. If all of this is not satisfactory then the cause are analyzed and then comes the solution part all of which cannot be mended by simple training. GameStop or any company hires already experienced employees so that the issue of training is less frequent but it is not possible all the time plus job requirements change with designation or nature of the job. Needs assessment saves time ensuring that time is not wasted in teaching which is already known. Needs does not refer to the things that are desired, it refers to the difference between the things that are â€Å"present† and those which are â€Å"

PepsiCo’s Restaurants Essay Example for Free

PepsiCo’s Restaurants Essay In the case study, PepsiCo is considering in Carts of Colorado and/or California Pizza Kitchen. Senior Management is faced with the question of whether the necessary capital investment in order to purchase one or both of the businesses can be profitable for each of the acquired businesses, but must also take into consideration that the additional business units will not hinder the profitability PepsiCo itself. Would investing in other companies be the best way to expand PepsiCo? This question is important because it could affect the success of the company. By investing in a company PepsiCo started from Pepsi-Cola and then moved into a more diversified business with mainly soft drinks, snack foods and restaurants. In early 1990s, PepsiCo’s restaurant business is composed of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, all of them are business leaders in their segment. 1By investing in C1a1r1t1s1 1o1f1 1C1o1l1o1r1a1d1o1, it1 1w1o1u1l1d1 1e1n1a1b1l1e1 1P1e1p1s1i1C1o1 1t1o1 1e1n1t1e1r1 1n1e1w1 1m1a1r1k1e1t1 1a1n1d1 1n1e1w1 1c1u1s1t1o1m1e1r1s1 1a1n1d1 1h1e1l1p1 1t1o1 1a1c1c1e1l1e1r1a1t1e1 1t1h1e1 1s1a1l1e1s1 1g1r1o1w1t1h1 1b1e1s1i1d1e1s1 1o1f1 1o1r1g1a1n1i1c1 1g1r1o1w1t1h. The Cart of Colorado’s (COC) industry is subject to strict government regulations and the uncertain demand for carts and kiosks, so the attractiveness to enter this industry is between low and medium. COC had succeeded in purchasing their largest competitor that generated sales of $2.5 million in 1990, which gives them potential to grow in the manufacturing and merchandising of mobile food carts and kiosks industry. PepsiCo will gain competitive advantage for its link with COC because it will be able to customize the carts and kiosk for its fast food chain; it is more aligned with PepsiCo’s current strategies of quick service. However, the tradeoff will be PepsiCo may focus on too many different strategies and product markets. Focusing on the same customer targets can minimize this tradeoff. It will be an advantage for PepsiCo should go and form a strategic alliance with COC. PepsiCo can use the carts to expand their KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut businesses. In my opinion, I think it would be in PepsiCo’s best interest to invest in the two companies because in this case they are both successful and would help boost PepsiCo sales.

Nepotism in the Workplace

Nepotism in the Workplace Introduction Nepotism can be defined as the practice of making employment decisions on the basis of relationship. It can also be defined as hiring or promoting a relative or friend, even if there are other qualified candidates for the position. Nepotism in the workplace is not uncommon, since this is a practice that does not have any universal law attached to it. However, in recent times, states have passed laws to reduce this practice, since it has many ethical issues involved in it. This paper will seek to define nepotism and it would to the international, regional and local organizations where we have seen suspicions of nepotism. It will be difficult to prove that nepotism does in fact occur in any organization; however, based on the link between persons hired and their relations, we have suspicions of the occurrences of nepotism. Nepotism is both seen in the private and public sector. However, based on research, it is more prevalent in the public sector. This paper will also show how nepotism can be detrimental the company on a whole, because there are many consequences which result in nepotism. Some consequences that will be examined include, family conflict in the work place, low staff morale, loss of competent employees, use of the job to carry out unethical acts, use of position to serve their own interest and to the detriment of the company and breach of confidentiality. Nepotism is evident in family owned businesses for the obvious reasons. Families would want to pass the business from generation to generation and this means that the profit will stay within the family and will be inherited by family members. Consequences of Nepotism Although there are consequences of nepotism a pro of this act can create stability and continuity in the organization and this will refer to more family owned businesses. Continuity because if it family owned, the business will continue by passing from generation to generation. Stability because, there will be succession planning which can result in the company being successful. On the flip side of the coin, the consequences out weigh the pros of nepotism. It creates dissatisfaction among employees. When employees are dissatisfied they may have a feeling that their hard work and dedication are not accepted or recognized by the organization. Nepotism can also result in the company losing proficient employees. This can in turn affect the organizations goods and services. Nepotism can also cause fraud in the organization. In addition, family members may bring their conflict into the workplace. Employees may not be able to separate home and work life. This is most seen in cases where hus bands and wives work together and may find it difficult to work together. This may cause a decrease in the morale among staff members. A total breakdown in communication can result because of this, which will trickle down to other employees within the company. Inequity of employees is another issue resulting from Nepotism. Because of this factor, employees tend to show their dissatisfaction by low production of work which has attributed to issues in the work place in terms of upholding discipline among employees. Discipline is an issue because employees believe that since there is no justice in the organization there is no need to follow any policy or procedure. Breach of confidentiality is another consequence of nepotism. This will occur because of the lack of loyalty among employees. Employees may see this as an opportune time for them to practice unethical acts, because they believe because they were hired by a close or relative any practice is appreciated in the organization and they may use this to their advantage to get involved in any kind of unethical behaviour. Where nepotism is prevalent For obvious reasons nepotism is common in family owned businesses and this can be viewed in the more positive terms. Nepotism in family owned businesses can result in continuity in that the business will be passed on from generation to generation. There may be no ethical issues involved in the hiring family members within a family owned business. Nepotism is prevalent in the government offices. For example in the United States of America, Vice President Cheneys wife and his son-in-law Phillip Cheney were hired by President George Bush and were given high level position with the government. The positions given were Assistant Secretary of State and Chief Counsel for the Office of Management and budget respectfully (Congress, USA Today, 2007). President Bush was highly criticized for this, because many believe that were more qualified individuals who fit the job. In Cuba Fidel Castro was President of Cuba for over forty years. His brother Raul Castro is now President and has been in the position from since 2008 to present. Raul was given the position of President without any elections by the people of Cuba. Because of the autocratic leadership style displayed by Fidel and his brother Raul. Many see this as an act of nepotism. In relation to Grenada, we have seen evidence nepotism in the government sectors, in that persons have been employed because of their affiliation and relation to government officials. Research was conducted on some private owned companies in which we saw, a father, wife, daughter and son-in-law were employed within the same organization. Staff members are of the opinion that these individuals were hired because of the family relation. Test Violation The regulations test This test deals with the reaction of your colleagues, if someone made a decision in the presence of an employee, for example to employ your sister-in-law to take up the position of manager of sales. There will be no suspicion or concern, if the business is a small family run business. Since the decision would work and be perfectly understandable considering family owned businesses are normally passed from generation to generation and the continuity relies on the emotional ties within the family. However within any government organization, if the same decision was made some colleagues may start feeling insulted. They may start thinking if there is a fraud plot in the making, and will surely voice their opinion and this will create dissatisfaction. Front page test: What would it look like if we read about it in a newspaper, blog, and twitter? What if the headlines read President of Wal-Mart promotes his nephew as C.E.O. This will no doubt create suspicion in the minds of stakeholders. Also if there is some level of shame or awkwardness about the news, one can assume there is some level of nepotism involved. Exception test: This test seeks to answer two questions. 1. What if everyone did it? If every business owner decided to employ persons that are related to them or persons that are friends, that would cause many implications, for example the skills or qualifications that may be needed at a particular time, a friend or a family may not possess them, which will result in inefficiency. Also that would mean that the main requirement to obtain a job would be on economic terms who you knew, as opposed to being judged on ability or merit. 2. What if they did it to us? There is no doubt that if someone was denied a job because he is not a friend of the employers son, but had all the qualifications and skills necessary to carry out the job would be considered to be nothing short of ludicrous. And this would be impossible for anyone to sit and make sense of. Ethical Approach The utilitarian approach This approach deals with proving the greatest good with the least possible harm. As it relates to nepotism this approach is greatly violated, since nepotism is specifically linked to benefiting only the family members or to close friends of a particular individual and normally causes dissatisfaction to the majority of stakeholders. For example, in a firm where the present Vice President may be contradicting the decision made by the president of that organization, the President may seek to get the Vice President fired so that his friend may become the new Vice President so that the decisions now made by the President can get the go ahead quite easily. (this only benefits the President and the new Vice President) Justice and fairness approach This approach deals with the question, Are we recognizing the rights of those affect? There is no doubt that each employee should be treated equally; there should be no sign of favoritism in the work place. Therefore it would not be ethical for an employer to grant a job to a fishing buddy instead of promoting an employee that is skilled, competent and filled with experience that can confidently fill the vacant position. It is important to note in this case, there will be a chain reaction involved because another employee may be looking forward for the person above him to be promoted, so he will then fill the new vacant position. Therefore when someone on the outside is used to fill the position, there will be a chain reaction of disappointment within the organization. Types of Nepotism Credentials nepotism: This form of nepotism is sometimes concealed but could be very dangerous to both an individual and an organization. In this situation people are given more credit for attending a class and passing but cannot apply what they have learnt. In short credential nepotism means giving someone more credit because they are certified (Young, 2008). They were with us through thick and thin nepotism: This form of nepotism is for the most part perverse and could create a lot of chaos. New performers in an organization tend to realize that old performers (those who have been with organization from inception) are given preferential treatment by management. This clearly shows that old employees are not held to the same employee accountability standards as the new ones (Young, 2008). Referral nepotism: Referral is an employment which is said to be natural. In this case, management asks high performers within the organization to recommend someone for a job opening that needs to be filled. Management hiring someone who turns out to be a poor performer but is tied to a high performer through friendship could lead to chaos in that trying to terminate that poor performer without upsetting the high performer is almost inevitable (Young, 2008). Contribution nepotism: This is a situation where persons within an organization receives preferential treatment because of a one-time contribution that made the organization more successful even though their subsequent performance has been poor or unsatisfactory (Young, 2008). Connection nepotism: is a connection which comes about by virtue of a shared experience such as attending the same school, attend the same church, from the same community, are members of the same sports club or were in the same fraternity. Connection nepotism is inclined to turn a blind eye to low employee performance and poor job fit (Young, 2008). Favoritism: The different types of nepotism mentioned above results in favoritism which is considered to be a killer of the morals o employees (Young, 2008). Ethical Issues Involved Illegal employment discriminations/ inequality Employment discrimination transpires when an employee or applicant is singled out by an employer or their representatives based on factors such as gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability and several other reasons. For example, an employer who hires only relatives of a particular gender and race oppose to hiring persons who are not relatives and are of a different races and gender (Employeeissues.com, 2010). Wrongful termination Illegal discharge Constructive discharge Wrongful termination is the termination of employment because an employee is a certain age, religion, nationality, gender or sexual orientation. For example, an employer dismisses an employee to hire his or her relative because they share the same religious belief and are of the same race. In this instance, the employer has engaged in illegally discharging employees based on the issue of religious beliefs and race (Employeeissues.com, 2010). Constructive discharge is a form of wrongful discharge which occurs when an employee relinquishes his or her job because of nepotism in the workplace which makes working conditions unbearable (Employeeissues.com, 2010). Stakeholders A person, organization that has a direct or indirect interest or involvement in an organization is known as a stakeholder. A stakeholder can affect or be affected by the actions objectives and policies taken by the organization. Different stakeholders are entitled to different considerations since they are not all equal (Gitman, 2009). The key stakeholders who are affected by nepotism are employees, families, management, companies and institutions, shareholders, society and customers. Research has shown that nepotism has a negative effect on job satisfaction, job turnover and Human Resource Management. Any undesirable decision made by any organization impacts heavily on management. Nepotism paralyzes and exposes a company or institution as it undermines their competence, intentions and level of fairness. This could lead to reduce revenue, production, quality of goods and services and company ratings (Arasli, Bavik, Ekiz, 2006) . The stakeholder who is mostly affected by nepotism is the employees. The employees as stakeholders are those who ought to see the direction in which the business is heading. They are the ones who are supposed to point to little changes that have been made that aroused their suspicions. Nepotism is considered to be a practice which is inequitable to workers who are more competent and qualified. Nepotism directly affects an employee level of job satisfaction in such a way that management does not recognize their commitment and effort made to the organization (Arasli, Bavik, Ekiz, 2006). Nepotism created dissatisfaction, makes workers feel offended, lowers employees moral and also low level of discipline (workers who sense unfairness question whether rules should be followed or not) in an organization. This could lead to workers producing unsatisfactory output, breach in the organizations confidentiality and lack of loyalty among employees. Nepotism could also lead to companys reputati on being tarnished since unsatisfied workers could use negative word of mouth to express their dissatisfaction. Company could suffer from reduced revenue, profits and may increase fraud (Bush-Bacelis, 2010). The negative effects of nepotism on the employees could be reflected on their families and subsequently societies. Low morale, poor job satisfaction, job turnover are issues which arise from the work place and could contribute instability within the home. Nepotism could affect a family psychologically (e.g. disgruntled parents taking it out on children) and financially (quitting job because of nepotism, therefore not being able to provide for family). Nepotism could lead to discrimination among community members and those who have suffered from the repercussions of nepotism tend to dislike those who benefited from it, race, sexual orientation and religious beliefs (Morris, 2005). A shareholders main goal is to maximize their return on investments. With an issue such as nepotism which could lead several negative effects which have been mentioned above, investors would become very interested in the issues at hand. This issue could determine the amount of return a shareholder receives on his or her investment. Unhappy share holders may seek to replace management and might even consider taking their investments elsewhere. Executives especially Human Resource Personnel should definitely avoid such situations and should always take into consideration the feelings of the shareholders when making decisions (employment decisions) within the company (Morris, 2005). Customers are primarily concerned with price, quality, or services of product. Customers recognize and evaluate quality based on the behaviour and tone of voice and in particular the attitude of the employees who serve them. Poor service and repugnant attitude could lead to a customer changing their buying habits or choosing another place which provides better service. Dissatisfied and furious customers would lead to decrease in profits, increase job turnover and reduction on returns on investments. Therefore, management has to place job satisfaction for employees at the top of their list so that employees could better serve customers which would lead to increase revenue, profits, production and quality (Bush-Bacelis, 2010). Nepotism, although could benefit an organization but it could easily destroy it. Family members could bring in conflicts into the work place which could hamper the effective functioning of the workplace hence changing the companys main purpose from production of quality goods and services and profitability to love and nurture of one another. Nepotism could create disagreements within an organization that could lead to hatred among employees and management. Loss of valued personnel who contributed significantly to the day to day operations and success of the company could be a severe repercussion of nepotism in the work place. This could to a companys inability to maintain its main goal which is profit and quality of goods and services (Ezhel, 2010). Ethically Correct Actions If Human Resource decides to employ family members either that of Executives or any other positions, they should ensure that they meet the following requirements; Appropriate education for job Work experience between 3-5 years outside of the company Pay and performance should be determined by the position which is being filled. Implement and enforce federal laws relating to nepotism. Anti-nepotism laws have only been implemented in some parts of the world like the United States and it needs to be enforced in places where it is not part of their culture. Anti-nepotism laws will be useless in countries like Saudi Arabia since it is part of their culture (Bush-Bacelis, 2010). Implement and enforce anti-nepotism policies which will differ based on the country. Certain states in the US have implemented policies that prevent qualified couples from working under the same company while some believe that it is merely discrimination (Bush-Bacelis, 2010). Managers should try to go all out to not to play favorites and must also ensure that managers under them do the same (Young, 2008). Human Resource Personnel could start periodic employment surveys (every quarter) which would seek to help employees voice their concerns about potential or actual nepotism acts within the organization (Young, 2008). Conclusion Nepotism is an issue that can be very difficult to control once there are relatives or family members who hold key positions in organizations and who have influence of who is hired and who is not hired. In a small population like Grenada, it will be a difficult task to alleviate the problem, since everybody knows everybody in Grenada. The term pull string will always be an issue in our society. Even in the more developed countries, it could be a difficult issue to combat, since there are also family members and friends employed in high level positions who can be very influential in the recruitment process. However, if policies and procedures are implemented, the practice of nepotism can be decreased, and person will be hired for their qualifications and skills as opposed to being hired because of a friendly or a family relation. It is important that organizations avoid the practices of nepotism. Based on our research conducted, nepotism could be very detrimental to an organization and could cause a loss of profit and this could also tarnish the reputation of the organization.