Employee Benefits Essays (1803 words) - Employment Compensation

Employee Benefits Rob Barr Benefits that will come with a job might not make you take the job just because of that. But It could have major influence over your decision. Flexible scheduling, paid time off, and child care were singled out as key programs that impress job candidates. (http://www.amcity.com/)3 Employee benefits are becoming a major part of what employees are looking for from their companies. And in return companies are looking at their benefit packages trying to trim benefits that are not benefiting anyone. Or basically trying to get the most for their buck without upsetting their employees. Benefits also can be a way to motivate employees into better enjoying their jobs. By employers surveying their employees to see what kind of needs they have, they can better suit the benefits for their employees. Surveying is a primary tool for better understanding employees' desires, and the migration of those desires.1(http://www.amcity.com/) And it is a good way of getting rid of unwanted benefits without upsetting the employees as much, because this is what they wanted. This paper will cover the topic of employee benefits, How they have evolved through time?, What types of benefits are being offered now?, and What benefits are required by law and which are not? EVOLUTION OF BENEFITS Employee benefits, once known as fringe benefits, use to be only given to a select few employees. During World War II, there was a pay freeze in effect. Employers wanting to pay more to attract employees couldn't, so the stepped up the benefits offered to the employees. It was at this time that employee benefits started to grow and bring us to where we are today with all kinds of benefits. DIFFERENT TYPES OF BENEFITS Over time there has been a large increase in the different types of benefits introduced into the workplace. With benefits initially introduced to attract potential employees, there have been some very good ideas and some very bad ones. To start out lets first list the benefits that are out there. Retirement and Savings Plans Life Insurance and Death Benefits Medical Coverage Paid Vacations and Holidays Sick Leave Personnel Time/Flex Time Parental Leave Discounts Child care Employee Assistance Programs Most companies have some type of retirement plan set up. It could be in the form of a savings plan, 401k, pension plan or whatever they call it. There are two category types of pension plans. They are 1) contributions from the employer and 2) amount of pension benefits to be paid. Under these different types there are four different types of plans. They are: Contributory Plan- A pension plan where contributions are made jointly by employees and employers Noncontributory Plan- A pension plan where contributions are made solely by the employer Defined-Benefit Plan- A pension plan in which the amount on employee is to receive upon retirement is specifically set forth Defined-Contribution Plan- A pension plan that establishes the basis on which an employer will contribute to the pension fund2 A spinoff of the pension plan is the 401k plan, which is named after the section in the Internal Revenue Code. This plan is becoming more popular since its introduction because it is tax deferred and it is taken out by payroll deductions. Since the 1992 Presidential election, health care has been on the hot seat for a lot of companies. There are usually two different types of health care available for employees. Health maintenance organizations(HMOs) which are organizations of physicians and health care professionals that provide a wide range of services to subscribers and dependents on a prepaid basis. And Preferred provider organization (PPO) which is a hospital or group of physicians who establish an organization that guarantees lower health care costs the employer.2 And since health care costs are on the rise companies are finding ways to combat this. Their result are wellness programs. Studies show employee absenteeism is reduced when wellness programs are implemented. In a study at Prudential Insurance, disability days were 20 percent lower and disability-per-capita costs were 32 percent lower after implementing a wellness program. In addition, annual medical costs fell by 46 percent.(http://www.amcity.com/)4 The whole reasoning behind wellness programs is to lower health costs, but in return they have also reduced absenteeism, on the

The network society Essays

The network society Essays The network society Paper The network society Paper With this rise in the service sector employment there was an inevitable rise in stability in that sector. However this, lead to an increase in both upper and lower levels of the occupational structure. There was an upgrade of the occupational structure in terms of jobs that require increased skill and higher levels of information. (Castells, M. 1996: pp229) The dominance of service sector employment through information technology has lead to significant managerial developments. Call centres and telecentres are workplaces, which are designed and operate with the aim of providing telephonic customer service. These workplaces depend upon state of the art communication and information technology. (Wyatt et. al, 2000: pp184) By incorporating these technologies into the once purely human service the employer is able to monitor the agents efficiency and output in terms of customer interaction. The demand of for customer service outside working hours (Wyatt et. al 2000: pp185) has actually reshaped the working day of the call centres agents and in doing so they have reshaped and it could be said that they have taken control of their social patterns. The ambition to make every form of work controllable in order to gain a clear indication of efficiency, which can be accounted for on balance sheets, has been an ongoing process since the industrial revolution. This goal of achieving some sort of measurement system has always been achieved through technology. The question is can we attach any form of economic valuation system to a human service? The technology that is used in telecentres are being specifically designed to supply demands for technology which will be able to generate high levels of management information on performance of the individual telecentre agents (Wyatt et. al 2000: pp186) The unpredictability of the of human element in the workplace has been a taunting management ever since the workplace came into being and attempts of gaining control has been pursued ever since. Here again we see the controlling feature of a capitalist system. The question lies whether this was the reason for the transformation. Previous control of efficiency and output was gained trough the commitment of the worker which was determined by job satisfaction, in these call centres however the commitment toward the job is gained through control which is achieved by the monitoring which are common on a Fordist assembly line. In a common factory setting the worker is required to detach himself from his emotional state and attitude and adopt one that will allow them to perform the job most efficiently, this system is being brought into service sector employment by training the agents on specific techniques and attitudes in order to achieve maximum output. There isnt so much a move from manufacturing sector employment to service sector employment but merely a transformation of the service sector to ensure the control and output principals that the manufacturing sector works under. With this flexibility that the network society demands comes the issue of weakening of social intuitions and organisations that served to speak for the worker and even represent the worker. With outsourcing and contractual employment there has been a significant reduction of representation power. The fragmentation of work makes the worker to an extent expendable hence removing their control of the job itself. This fragmentation coupled with the outsourcing of labour renders unions and those they represent powerless. Castells also claims that the unions inability of unions to adapt to the changing worker and organisation has rendered them powerless. He goes on to emphasis that the new network technologies could be just as helpful the unions as it is to organisations in that they can organise labour anywhere and any time. (Castells, M. 1996: pp278). There is said to be strength in numbers, and the capitalist system has noticed this and adopted the warfare strategy of divide and conquer by this I mean there has been a polarisation of the individual in the work environment. With heightened surveillance options at their fingertips management has no need to have workers collectively together to ensure supervision hence work is organised to ensure greater autonomy. It is this transformation of work, the individualisation of labour that Castells (1996) underscores in his work on the Information Age (Castells, M. 1996: pp265). Castells emphasises that this technological transformation especially exacerbates the trend towards increased flexibility of labour. This flexibility is hidden behind the illusion of home-based work and the ability for a work environment to co-exist in a social environment. Capitalism deceptive nature is thus shown again. From control of the occupational environment capitalism goes to the next stage with an attempt to control the culture of society. Culture plays a vital role in the way we think which determines what we consume. The capitalist system has used technology of the Network Society to shape our cultures to suit their needs and objectives. It is an indirect way of shaping and directing our thoughts and emotions. According to Castells our culture is shaped by communication. Previously our languages were our form of communication in the written and heard form, however with the emergence of network technologies the earliest of which was the television (networked through the media channels) the heard written and seen are combined in order to grant the ability to convey views, beliefs and emotions (Castells, M. 1996: pp328-329). Through his writing on The culture of real virtuality Castells shows how communication technologies have become part of our lives (Castells, M. 1996: pp327-375). He however fails to address the avenue of the liberation of society due to the abundance of information and media avenue available. I on the other hand feel that it should be address due to the fact that people have that frame of mind instilled in them which is misleading. Sure there is the element of choice in the media and we choose what we watch, but the communication industry, mainly the media (which includes the internet) is a business like any other and it will broadcast what is profitable. This profitability is determined by information on individuals. It acts on human characteristics such as curiosity and amazement. So whatever amazes us and whatever we enquire about is always best for us. By feeding human character traits our thoughts and in turn our cultures are reshaped to that which exists in the virtual world and suits the capitalistic system. Pierre Levys book, Cyber Culture, (Levy,P : 1997) provides one of the most coherent and persuasive expressions of the contemporary technocultural vision. Levy argues that knowledge is no longer abstract but has become the visible and the tangible expression of the individual and groups who inhabit it; interactive networks work towards the personalisation or incarnation of knowledge (Levy, P. 1997: pp184). This ability to reshape our cultures in effect influences and affects our political ideals. The ability of the Networks and Society to be accessed by politicians has made it a vital breeding ground for election campaigns. The media space has become a battlefield for politicians with weapons such as negative messages, scandal, spin, political marketing and legitimacy (Castells, 1996 : pp362). The political struggle is dependent on the media to such an extent that the media determines consequences, actions and ideals. (Castells. 1996 : pp476). This leads me to the issue of access to the media; by this I mean that media campaigns cost allot money and if the outcome of a campaign is determined by the best media campaign, which in effect depends on the availability of capital, we can assume that those with the money determine political outcomes. We covered all the elements of the network society except for the concept of time which is linked to Castells theory of the space of hows. I have left these two aspects to the end because they actually reveal the capitalist ambitions for control through the network society. Time and space has always been factors of production, which have only been regarded as such fairly recently. New technologies and initially compressed geographical space by reducing relay time of communication. The whole ordering of meaningful events looses its internal chronological rhythm, and becomes arranged in time sequences depending upon the social context of their utilisation (Castells, M. 1996: pp462). Here we see that time itself, an uncontrollable element of human existence, which was thought to be uncontrollable is manipulated to suit consumer trends in order to achieve the ultimate goal of the capitalist system. The capitalist system has thus gained control of the time, which governed the consumers purchasing habits. With new network technologies there is now a twenty-four hour day, which does not consist of, designated times to do specific tasks (Evident in the flexible workers of the network society). This pursuit for control has lead to the relinquishing of control that space has over us. This has lead to the movement from Castells (1996) space of places to the space of flows (Castells, M. 1996: pp276). Space has been a concept, which has been used to emphasize time simultaneity which is based on physical distance between actions, which determine the ability to accomplish various tasks simultaneously. This concept however has changed with technology in the sense that the ability to accomplish more than one task at the same time is no longer bound by vicinity between tasks (Castells, M Inch. 2003: pp56). This space of flows is not just about telecommunication technology but also the pursuit of technology to link places together to achieve the common ambition (eg. Stock Markets). Castells argues that the reason access to this technology in order to form part of the network is not a matter of availability but a matter of choice (Castells, M Inch.2003: pp58). He emphasises the fairness of the space of flows by stating that the first is linked to the third world via the space of flows. This justification however is sceptical and contradicts with his theory of nodes (Castells, M. 1996: pp413). Castells space of flows is made up of nodes. These are information gathering, communication and analysis hubs. These nodes are dependant upon the Network and their inclusion in the network is determined by their value to the network (Castells, M. 1996: pp413). My argument lies in Castells (1996) mentioning the link between the first world and third world, if inclusion into the network is determined by the value to the network then it isnt a matter of fairness but a matter of exploitation, something that has been common in capitalist systems. Under ideals and principles of a capitalist system, from evidence throughout the essay we can see capitalisms fundamental tool, which is control, has been a result or cause for the various elements of the Network Society. So as a concluding point, I would say that the Network Society is a more advanced form of capitalism, which is international, and carefully hidden. IOLS 2B Technology and Work Essay Name : Kubendran Govender Student Number : 202522553 Topic : Castells Network Society. REFERENCE 1. Castells, M. (1985) High Technology, space and society sage publications, inc 2. Castells, M (1996) The rise of the network society Blackwell publishers. 3. Castells, M and Inch (2003) Conservation with Manuell Casteller- blackwell publishers.4. Levy, P (1997) Cyberculture Paris, Edisions Odile Jacob 5. Stanier, T (1983) the wealth of information: a profile of the Post industrial economy London Methusen 6. Susser, I (2002) the Castells reader on cities and social theory Blackwell publishers. 7. Sylvia Downs, (1982) who learns whom training and development 8. Visvanathan, S (2001) knowledge and information in the network society indiaseminar. com 15/09/03 9. Webster, F (2002) Routledge 10. Wyatt et al (2000) technology and inequality Routledge.

Impure public goods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Impure public goods - Essay Example For example, people can pay to enter a showground to witness fireworks but the ones who failed to pay can still watch the fireworks being launched through their windows. Alternatively, people pay for cable television services however some may decide not to pay but still watch the same programs from free to air channels (Bulte, Van Kooten and Timmothy, 2003). Non- rival condition applies in the context that an individual’s consumption of a product does not affect another person’s opportunity to utilize the same product. For instance, a person watching a football match on his/her television will not deny another person in a different setting who wants to watch the same game. The needs of both people can be satisfied simultaneously without any form of competition. However, the company managing the cable television can decide not to connect homesteads that do not pay for its services thus discontinue provision of those services to those people hence being referred to impure public goods (Arriagada and Charles, 2011). An externality is the impact of a monetary movement felt by those not straightforwardly included in the financial action. Externalities are regularly more negative, and thus it is the negative externalities that catch our consideration. Positive externalities are frequently depicted as overflow impacts to propose their belongings, and are felt by customers who were not specifically expected by their makers. The business sector trade, presumes that brokers have aggregate control over every part of their item, the costs and expenses they charge elaborate to the full cost of generation in addition to benefit, and that they can be considered responsible through the instalment of fines and different punishments for the harm brought on by their items (Arriagada and Charles, 2011). In any case, the way that their items may have positive externalities implies that the

Children's rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Children's rights - Essay Example Despite the fact that politics takes a central place in deciding which way children rights take in given nations, it has always reeled against the lack of consensus among stakeholders marginalising political science in discussions of children rights as Beetham (1995:1) observes. As Forsythe (1991: 174) postulates, a significant majority of political scientists do not contend the perception that children rights and human rights in general are critical aspects of international relations. According to Lukes (1993:20), there are very peculiar trends that register in children rights assessments; among them is the prevalent characteristic where virtually nobody rejects the promotion of the idea of preservation of children rights yet reports of abuses of children are wrought in news agencies. One aspect worth noticing is the inverse relationship between the high political will to promote human rights and the waning philosophical commitment. Primarily, philosophy has been conspicuously scept ical about the idea of human rights with its undesirable ontological status of human rights and more specifically children rights. Conservatives that constituted the French aristocracy, as Burke (1964:25) observes, contended that astute human rights and thus children rights could only prosper on a platform of distinctive state cultural frameworks enshrined in the nation’s legal framework which form the basis for their formation and as such their appropriateness. The United Nations Children’s Fund with its endeavour entrenched in the Convention on the rights of the child is the pioneer penal code that spells the broad diversity of the rights that individuals are entitled to throughout the world. These rights vary from person to person and constitute civil, economic as well as social together with political and cultural ones. The differing needs that characterise adult needs when compared to children’s were the motivation

Leadership applied to Human Resource Management Essay

Leadership applied to Human Resource Management - Essay Example This paper discusses different leadership styles along the concept of change management. Throughout human history there have been individuals who have stepped up and accomplish great things by leading people. In the 1960’s Martin Luther King was an inspirational leader that was instrumental in the civil rights movement. Organization such as Microsoft which was founded in 1984 started as small start-up companies, but thanks to the efforts and commitment of its leader Bill Gates Microsoft become the world largest software company. People that become leaders achieve such abilities through their efforts, self-study, formal education, training, and experiences (Clark, 2008). Leadership in itself is an organizational behavior topic that is taught at all major universities. There are different theories, concepts and styles associated with topic of leadership. Three theories that attempt to explain how leadership is developed are trait, behavioral and contingency theories. It is also important to know that leadership can manifest itself in formal and informal ways. Managers are typically the employees who job description requires them to display leadership shills, but sometimes a employee within a company may exert informal leadership by methods such as leading by example. The trait leadership perspective assumes that traits play a central role in differentiating between leaders and non-leaders or in predicting leader or organizational outcomes (Schermerhorn, et al., p.287). Some of these traits include self-confidence, energetic personality, tenacity, high intellectual and emotional intelligence among others. The behavioral theory perspective places a high level of importance on the impact leadership has on the performance of a company. The theory deals with the capability of a person to manipulate others by understanding human

Financial Derivatives Advantages and Disadvantages

Financial Derivatives Advantages and Disadvantages CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND Financial derivatives are often an efficient policy of the risk management as they are been used in modern economy worldwide. Financial derivatives grow on huge scale and very significant into well accepted definitions, measurement and the revelation of the conventional financial accounting essentials. Financial derivatives have many advantages and they have been used worldwide. Though, some risks occur in the use of financial derivatives, the management of the financial derivatives become more essential in the modern economy. With the rapid growth of the modern economy, more financial risks exists during the development process which involves the frequent use of financial derivatives, the use of the derivatives assist against potential risks and use of financial derivatives also reveals to the user a huge risk. Financial derivatives are also important through the progress of financial derivatives. Globally, the world economy is fast growing which is leading to so many difficulties in the financial derivatives worldwide which are creating more problems for financial derivatives. However this problem requires the introduction of regulatory body such as government to take over in order to supervise the financial derivatives. The supervision of financial derivatives plays a vital role in modern economy while lack of regulation in financial derivation will lead the financial market into disorder, chaos and confusion. This might destroy the entire nations economy. Financial derivatives without regulation will attract a big potential economic risk. For the financial market globally, such economic crisis affects the economy worldwide. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The Peoples Republic of China has a huge economy which is growing rapidly. There are various types of financial derivatives in china, which are widely used in the financial market. This research will analyze the financial derivative in Chinas financial market and also discuss the classic supervision (regulations) and the analysis of the performance of the supervision procedure. China financial market, its advantage and the risks that exist in the classic financial derivative in China will also be reviewed. This research will reveal major classic in the various types of financial derivatives in china and verify the uses of all the financial derivatives in order to demonstrate its performance of those financial derivatives. The supervision of financial derivatives will also lead to reviewing the Chinas financial environs. The major purpose of this research is to establish the usage of financial derivatives against the financial derivatives. The findings of the research from both the financial derivatives and role of supervision in China will provide an overall insight in the China financial market and also conclude by making some recommendation on the usage of financial derivation and the status of the supervision of financial derivatives in China. STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH This research reviews the overall literature on financial derivative in the past with a focus on the impact of the financial derivative, the benefits of the practise of financial derivative and the potential risk of the use of financial derivative. The supervision of the financial derivative analysis will be reviewed with the use of Journals and report. Subsequently, this research work will focus on the case study for the research methodology; the case study is Chinas financial market. This research model information is gathered from both Chinas financial market and the supervision of the financial derivatives in China. Information is however collated in china using the position of a standard financial derivative in China. Using the position of a standard financial derivative in China, the analysis of financial market in China is reviewed with some journals and reports which were used as the data in support of the research and the most vital data is collected by the Chinese national statistics. The research will use both the qualitative and quantitative analysis method, this used to analyse the research data. From the research of classic financial derivative that is practised in China and the supervision of its financial derivatives. This research will adopt the SLEPT method (Social factor, Legal factor, Economic factor, Political factor and Technological factor) to review the countrys financial markets while the SWOT (Strengthen, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) method will be used in reviewing the financial derivative in the direction of the Chinas financial market, the functions of the supervision of the financial derivatives in China will also be reviewed. Finally, there will be brief conclusions and provide some recommendations on both China financial for market and supervision of the financial derivatives. The limitations of the study will be highlighted and references for further reading will also be listed at the end of this research. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL DERIVATIVE Financial derivatives have direct influence on the organization as it is a good policy of risk management. Froot et al (1993) observed that the peak level of investment and capital spending are selected at the same time. They recommend that financial cost risk management should have a particular dominant goal; this enables the company to have access to cash to make price improving investments. The risk management model rely on the fundamental premises that the essentials of establishing corporate value is creating good investment and the essentials to creating good investment is generating adequate cash within, in order to use it to find those investments. Nance et al (1993) and Mian (1994) discover statistically important clear relationship between the tax credits and the practise of risk management instruments. Dolde (1995) reported a clear and an important relation between tax loss carry forwards and the practise of risk management instrument which include hedging. Bhandari (1997) found that calls for supervision through a rise in legislation are not generally accepted. Although the main focus of the supervisory body is that the stability of inter market could be strictly undermined without greater supervision. Guay (1999) studies financial derivatives responsibilities in organizations by initiating derivatives practises. The outcomes were consistent with organization practising derivatives to hedge and not to expand, entity risk. Organization risk is measured in different ways which reduces following the use of derivatives. The study observes a decrease in risks and decisions to introduce derivatives programs vary from hedging. The outcome highlights the significance of hedge accounting laws that incorporate the influence of derivatives and hedged items at the same time. Fender (2000) discovered some basics of corporate finance of monetary economics examine the influence of corporate risk management policies on the monetary transmission system. They employed an easy model of a financial speed up to sort the information asymmetries, they are the core of the entire models of the transmission system, it establish motivation for corporate hedging activities, that is cash flow administration, they realise that these principles, in turn, reduce the influence of monetary policy degree which is lower to the clear cost of capital effect. Billing (2002) described the reasons behind the protection and enlightened on how auditors should review the different problems raised from the utilisation of financial instrument. Heilliar et al (2004) accessed the influence of financial reporting standard 13: Derivatives and different financial instruments, implementations and disclosures which focus is on the treasury department responsibilities. The researchers deliberately conduct interviews with the workers of the UK treasury department in order to review their behaviours towards and observed the impact of FRS 13. At large, the treasurer reply at an advantage to the standard and carefully reviewed the narrative disclosure to be specifically useful. The numerical disclosures were comprehensive and focused. The rapid growth in the financial derivatives also has an influence on Chinas financial market. Ba Shusong (2004) believes that financial derivatives have played a vital role in the growth of Chinas market. Subsequently, El-Masry (2006) stated that big firms often used derivatives than average or smaller firms, public companies often use derivatives than the private companies. The use of derivatives is ultimate in the midst of international firms. The findings reveals that most firms that do not use derivative instrument is attributed to the fact their experiences are not important and the major reasons they avoid derivatives are, they focus on the experiences required by FASB rules under derivatives activity, fees of creating and sustaining derivatives activities go beyond the expected profit, foreign exchange risk is often managed with derivatives and interest rate risk is often managed with derivatives and interest rate risk is risk that is subsequently managed risk and the study reveals that the main reason for the use of hedging with derivatives is supervising the volatili ty in liquidity. Bartram (2006) explores the incentive and use of non financial firms with respect to using options in managing risk activities. The study realized that an important number of 15 55% of the companies not within the financial sector practise the options which shows the fact that options are very flexible risk management instrument which can be useful to hedge different types of exposures both linear and non-linear, it also discovered that it rely on the correlation between price and quantity risk, the optimal hedge portfolio involve different combination of both linear and non linear risk management instruments. The accounting ways and the effects of liquidity can influence the selection of derivatives. Eckstein et al (2008) studied the impact of organization using derivatives which applies Statement of Financial Account Standards (SFAS) no 133; it shows the degree of cumulative effects of differences in accounting formulas from the annual income statement adopted, market response to earnings pronounced and the major effect of financial ratio. The outcome reveals that the important negative unpredicted returns were noticed around earnings pronouncement dates. Abnormal earnings correlate with the cumulative effect instead of the differences in earnings per share from operations which reveals that surprises connected to changes in accounting, it is also established that companies with resources unrealized profit and losses are connected to hedging with derivative instrument. THE MERITS OF FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES There are several advantages of financial derivatives from 1990s McAllister and Mansfield (1998) studies the responsibilities and ability of financial derivatives investment property portfolio management and also focus on the difficulties of direct investment in commercial property. They also analyse and the major principles and all different types of derivatives, they rounded it up that the possibilities of financial derivatives to mitigate most of these difficulties which are connected to direct property investment that are studied. They also decided on Property Index Certificates (PIC) have been narrowed by down with shareholders and ought to produce rise in interest rate and the use of derivatives product within the assets both in the UK and global institutional shareholders. Tyler and Stanley (2002), Counter Sheedys call for further readings through the practical examination of the equity derivatives market in US and UK, quarrelling that while link in this market do, to a certain degree, showing features a typical of broader and indeed inherent, to over-the-counter derivative exchange. After that, Zivney et al (2006) discovers the possibilities of using dividend plans by individual shareholders. This plan was raised from the 2003 tax law changes which reduce tax rates on dividends received while abandoning the short term tax rate on capital losses unaffected. Freeman et al 2006, realize that the credit derivatives market is control by high ranking banks and insurance firms that engage in business among themselves. The growth of credit derivatives market develops into more liquid and transparent. Freeman emphasized that there are various easy and practical ways in which organisation can use credit derivatives to manage risk to show the empirical strengths and weakness of a particular approach. Klimczak (2008) produced a detailed assessment of the main contemporary firms hedging theories. The study focused on a sample of 150 companies listed on the Warsaw stock exchange which shows features shared by companies using hedge. RISKS ATTACHED TO FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES From the above literature review it is no gain saying that financial derivatives are advantageous on risk manages of finance. However, some risk occurs in the operation of financial derivatives. Financial derivatives have been faced with so many criticisms this mostly is due to large loose because of leverage and borrowing. Laker (2008) examined that as the derivatives permit shareholders to earn huge returns from small movement in the basic assets price. Though shareholder might lose more money if the basic asset price moves against them drastically and the financial derivatives might expose shareholders to counter party risk and all types of financial derivatives have different risks at different level to this effect. Also financial derivatives will stand as an unsuitable large amount of risk for little and mostly for shareholders who lack experience as financial derivatives offers chances of huge rewards and so many attractions even to individual shareholders. However, speculation under derivatives most presumes a great deal of risk consisting commensurate experience and good market idea which favours a small shareholders, this is the purpose why some financial advisers are opposing the use of these instruments. Derivatives are complicated instrument as forms of insurance in transferring risk among a ll parties involve which presume an additional risk. Laker further identified that financial derivatives often have a huge estimated value, as a result of that there is a high level of risk and shareholders might lose much without been compensated. As stated by Berhire Hathaway inc. (2002) on the annual report, that there is a possibility that this could result in a chain reaction and subsequently in an economic crisis. Also Rawles (2006), financial derivatives enormously leverage within the economy, which makes it more complex for the basic real economy to facilitate its debt requirement and restricting the real economic functions which often lead to economic recession. THE SUPERVISION OF FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES ANALYSIS The supervision of the financial derivatives should be acknowledged as both the advantage and risk that are present in financial derivatives. Though, there are few journals which analyse the supervision of financial derivatives, in the late 1990s, Shah (1996), identified that in the rise of huge losses from derivatives dealers and end users in modern years, many issues are being highlighted as regards the regulatory structure that is necessary to supervise and control the use of derivatives, it disagree that the principle in which the issue can be resolved by strict internal policies whereas regulators assume it is necessary for more precise oversight is misplaced though it still can be use for hedging, Derivatives involves high risk technology which often pose problems for regulations and its functions. Recently, Kern (2001) identified that the global regulation of financial markets became obvious in the 1970s with regards to post Bretton Woods liberalisation of financial markets. The removal of the fixed exchange rate equal the outcome of gold in the privatisation of finance risk, which established tension to eliminate the functions of cross border capital movements and more deregulation of the financial market. However, there is need for general regulatory body to build safe and reliable financial institutions such as bank through an efficient management as systemic risk in general market. Also it is necessary for international standards of supervision to also be acknowledged to avoid solvent in the financial institutions in one jurisdiction from the business to collapse to a less reputable institutions functioning in other jurisdictions whose rules only allowed cut rate financial services and more risky financial functions. The privatization of financial risk leads to establishme nt of financial institutions to blow out their risks over to many resources and functions which lead to an important rise in short term cross border portfolio asset which could reveal capital importing nation to increase system risk which was cause by volatility of such investments. Gilnen Tabak (2007) established a new substitute for gathering information on risks that exists in financial institutions which assist in analysing the risk tools which are found in risk management. This method assists risk managers, supervisors in analysing the potential risk in financial institutions because of derivatives position. The main idea is the linear financial instrument which is also referred to the traditional method often used by management risk system it assist in decreasing roles in risk factors and defend the responsibilities of financial derivatives while the non-linear instrument have roles with different options which are represented as clear as European options. The study shows the proposed method captured the risk occurrence in policies that consists of options with an accepted error margin. CHAPTER 3 DATA ANALYSIS AND METHODOLOGY CASE STUDY The case study of this research will be the the Republic of Chinas financial market; this research analysis will focus on the Chinas financial market, together with the growth of the socialist market of the real economic structure. Chinas financial market is growing with the ongoing exploration. Currently, Chinas financial Market is essentially established as a pure division of the financial system. Chinas financial Market has started forming and many financial commercial have been developed, this includes Bonds, Stock and commercial bills. The capital loan and a bargain securities markets were established steadily after 1985. During the 1988, treasury bonds were established in the transfer market in major and average cities in china. In 1990 shanghai stock exchange was created and 1991 Shenzhen stock exchange was also created. Both stock exchange in 1999, release 98 A shares and 117 subsidiary shares, increasing 87.7 billion Yuan, which increase the total number of companies listed to 976; the aggregate increase in foreign capital is about US$610Million with the use of issuing B and H shares. China releases 1.5Billion Yuan of A shares which can be transferred into bonds. In 1994, 94.1 billion Yuan was realised from issuing and selling stocks. The level of the transaction in the stock exchange by 1999 surpass 5,000 billion Yuan and it was summed up to about 401.5billion Yuan which was the value of government bonds issued and 191.1 billion Yuan was government bonds value in cash. This fund has successfully improved the financial status of the listed companies and a rise in the sources of money for technological transformation of the public banks and financial markets. In recent years, the financial market in China has been undergoing a rapid growth, Neftci and Yuan, Michelle (2006), stated that China financial markets shows about $2 trillion and are anticipating the market to grow to about $10trillion by 2008, the china financial market continues to expand its investment with a view to ensure that their operations are successful. RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION There are different types of financial derivatives found in Chinas financial market which are vital for the growth of Chinas financial market. The use of the financial derivatives has led to many financial difficulties in the rapid growth of the financial system, there is need for regulators to be more effective and implement more laws on the supervision of the financial derivatives. This will help to determine and regulate the stability of both the China financial market and the supervision of financial derivatives in china. Classic materials similar to the financial market and financial derivatives in China will be used as a guide. Other source of materials will be from the internet, textbooks and journals. This research work is structured to determine the supervision of the financial derivatives in China. The China financial market is chosen as a case for the analysis. The source of the main data is from China, National Statistics of China; and few of the firms annual report will be used for the data analysis. This research work will further focus on the nature of the Chinas financial market and the outcome of the financial derivatives in China and the supervision structure of the financial derivatives in China. The SLEPT (refer to Social factor, Legal factor, Economic factor, Political factor, Technological factor) method will be used to examine the general system of the China financial market, it will also focus on the classic findings of financial derivatives and also on China financial system in order to examine the nature of the financial market in China. From the results, the research will be based on the nature of the financial derivatives in China to examine the impact, introdu ction, growth, transactions and practise of the financial derivatives on the Chinas financial market. This research will also examine the supervision of financial derivatives in Chinas financial market in agreement with related articles and also to make some recommendation on the supervision of the financial derivatives in China. DATA ANALYSIS The qualitative and quantitative methods are both used to analyze the data. Under the qualitative analysis method, the materials such as journals and all information gathered from the internet are related to Chinas financial market and the supervision of financial derivatives, the report of the classic financial organisation will all be gathered as part of the qualitative assistance to the analysis. Some major dialogue by the classic economist in China will also be the main issues for the qualitative analysis; this is due to lack of interviews by government officials and financial managers of most firms. Generally, the secondary materials used will be part of the quantitative analysis, which will certainly show the problem of this research. As far as the quantitative analysis method is concerned, data and information will be gathered from different firms. The most significant data is gathered from the China National Statistics. Other information and data are gathered from various reports from different firms. It is difficult to make a questionnaire with this research because the research problem is comprehensive. The major source of information and data are gathered from the internet and few reports from the government are the main structure for the quantitative analysis. The major limitations are the quantitative method in this research is the lack of an individuals observations and analysis on financial markets and the supervision of the financial derivatives. CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS CLASSICAL FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES USED IN CHINA China commissioned a model in financial future exchange in 1990s. Ba Shusong (2006) stated that the core financial derivatives are the foreign exchange futures, stock index futures, warrants, convertible bonds and national debt future. Few of them do not function any more, although model is not so successful, it was importance for a lot of valuable experiences. However, with the growth in China financial market, the financial derivatives perform well and will return to China financial market and a fresh product which correspond to the requirements of the growth of economy; this will be additional expansion and will certainly play a vital role in the Chinas financial market. Foreign Exchange futures; Gregory (1995) stated that inside the foreign exchange market, each price in a market is a relative price, which shows an equal rate. In the late 1980s and from the beginning of 1990s, China was completely accommodating for financial derivatives and control method of suitable opened. From 1984, the local enterprises and companies can trade the offshore foreign exchange futures via the stock broking company. This will assist in requirement for hedging of local banks corporations and swap the foreign exchange role. The first ever foreign exchange swap of China exchange market was commissioned June 1992 in shanghai. The transaction in the foreign exchange futures in local have been displayed and developed from time to time. Later on, the Shenzhen foreign exchange centre was due for approval of foreign exchange futures transactions. (Ma Qingquan 2003). Ma Qingquan (2003) later on accessed the inner and external foreign exchange future and realized that they all have some difficulties which enabled the government of Chinese to take a bold step to resolve and restructure the foreign exchange market. From 1993 to 1995, during this era, the Chinese government has continuously ordered the closure of unlawful foreign exchange futures brokerage firms. All the local foreign exchange in China did not operate extensively due to absence of regulators which lead to failure of the implementation. National debt futures; the national debt future is another method of interest rate futures; it is after the most growth of financial futures in China. The national debt future was originally found December 1992 in china. The shanghai stock exchange commission was the first contact of national debt future. In the year 1993, the transaction scope of the general debt futures had been worn out mainly, the individuals and brokers was given access to the market. The Beijing commodity exchange also welcomes the transaction of national debt futures. However, the national debt future was unripe for development; this followed the 314 contract irregularities storm in Shanghai stock exchange in Sept 1994 and 327 contract irregularities storm in February 1995 also emerge. May 1995, concluded the transaction of national debt future which finally collapse. Convertible Bonds; Convertible bonds are part of growing process of the growth of Chinas Stock market. Basically convertible bonds have a slight resemblance with stock options. (A stock option is also known as executive stock options). Little (2008) refer to a convertible bond is a kind of bond that can be switch into shares, bonds in an issuing firm. Mostly a few pre-announced proportion which is hybrid safety with same debt and equity characteristics. Ba Shusong (2006), the convertible bonds have experienced and discovered in over a decade since its first implementation in China, they have been known with many groups and they continue to progress and grow since the growth of the recent social economy of China. The convertible bonds are financial derivatives which agree with state of the growth of China economy. It will grow more and further along with the growth of the Chinas financial market. Warrant, this is a type of derivative protection that gives the owner the ability to buy security direct from the issuer at a given price within a specific period. Warrant are mostly part in a fresh issue which is refer to sweetener this is just to attract the shareholder. Between 1992 to 1996, China has commissioned a lot of warrants, which include sock warrant La Dai Fei, others are Ba oan 93 and Fuzhou East in Shanghai stock market while others warrant was also commissioned in Shenzhen stock market. This include Gui Liugong, Xia Haifa, Min minding, Xiang Zhongyi. However, because of the uncontrolled speculation of warrants, there are important speculations in the drop prices of warrants. The operations of the warrants were dismissed by the national regulatory body in June 1996. The reason for the dismissal is due to the absence of regulators of the financial derivative. Hence, it is observed that the supervision and regulation on all types of Financial derivative is very important than the operation of the financial derivative. As soon as financial derivatives is in operation there is need for government to present a supervision in order to regulate the operations and function of financial derivatives therefore the financial derivatives will grow with health except if it will be dismissed at the closing stages due to the disorder of the financial market. In conjunction with the reform of the part construct of warrants, the issue of the warrants were present in the outline again. This is due to bearish and bullish choices with the features of the warrants. It has been an efficient way in the movement for safety of the interests of investors and simultaneously, it leads to a rise in flexible payment of the price of the movement of non-investors. According to Xu Peng (2007) since 2007, 27 warrants have been registered in shanghai and Shenzhen stock market. Stock Index Futures; In March 1993, stock index futures surfaced in Chinas Hainan securities and exchange center, which showed as Shenzhen composite index and Shenzhen A share index. This is in line with the global practise, such as creation of deposit system. Unfortunately, stock market was not huge enough; the trading activities stopped functioning in the same 1993 due to speculation inside the market. Ba shusong (2006) further stated that 14years after, (April 2007), After the official commissioning of the Future Exchange Management Regulations, the stock index futures has reverted given that it has been compelled to shut down 14years earlier. This revert will certainly become an important discussion for everyone and local institutions. STANDARD SUPERVISION OF FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES USED IN CHINA The standard supervision of financial derivatives in China can be categorise into 3, namely, the Risk management, this is the major body of the supervision of financial derivatives, the core regulator of the financial market which is a vital way to regulate the financial derivatives and the creation of rules for financial derivatives which is protection for the supervision of the financial derivatives. RISK MANAGEMENT This involves the risk management of the market, the risk management of credit, risk management of liquidity, risk management of operation and legal risk management. Risk management of market; this is referred to as the loss in the rise and fall of interest rates, exchange rate and stock prices. Market risk management shows the status of a bank in a market in order to increase the number of frequency and duration of the market estimation. Lu wendao (2007), refer this technique of market risk appraisal used in China financial market is to compute the potential of changes in the market price, the exposure of risk and to grow contingency policies in order to enable the right of assessment and to accept the changes in the market. Risk management of credit; The risk management of credit failure is to implement derivatives agreements or breach of contract of financial derivatives credit risk which means when the financial institutions such as banks decide to emulate a transaction which is in agreement with certain regulations. It is recommended that bank should focus more on risk diversification rather than avoiding more concentration of transactions. The risk management of liquidity; Xu and Peng (2007), man

A Mans Struggle to Heal Himself in Big Two-Hearted River Essays

A Man's Struggle to Heal Himself in Big Two-Hearted River Ernest Hemingway's "Big Two-Hearted River"* is such a rich text that it has probably received more literary critical attention than many novels of several times its length. Hemingway's ardent use of intricate detail and his intentional, calculated use of short, simple sentences help to make "River" a treasure chest of critical ideas and possible interpretations. Historically, much of the criticism of "River" has examined the dark underlying themes of the story, such as the alleged omission of some preceding, devastating event and Nick's wounded spiritual and mental state. These sentences, such as "There was no town, nothing but the rails and the burned-over country," are representative of the abundance of similar language throughout the story and make it easy to understand why many critics focus on dark themes, devastation and mental instability. Without denying or dispelling any of the valid "dark" critiques, I intend to show that "River" may also be easily understood in a more posi tive light as an account of one man's struggle to heal himself by returning to what he knows and loves. The intense detail that abounds within the story makes an easy job for the deconstructionist. The intricate descriptions of Nick's actions are susceptible to deconstructive criticism, as may be seen in James Twitchell's "The Swamp in Hemingway's 'Big Two-Hearted River." Twitchell focuses on the physical improbability of the swamp existing adjacent to the river as it is described in the story. A swamp is an area where the water moves very slowly, if at all; however, Nick describes the river as being lined with boulders, having a pebbly bottom, and "fast moving water" (209). Twitchell po... ... Green, James L. "Symbolic Sentences in 'Big Two-Hearted River.'" Modern Fiction Studies 14 (1968): 307-312. Kyle, Frank B. "Parallel and Complementary Themes in Hemingway's Big Two-Hearted River Stories and 'The Battler.'" Studies in Short Fiction 16 (1979): 295-300. Smith, B.J. "' Big Two-Hearted River:' The Artist and the Art." Studies in Short Fiction 20 (1983): 129-32. Stewart, John F. "Christian Allusions in 'Big Two-Hearted River.'" Studies in Short Fiction 18 (1978): 194-96. Svoboda, Frederic J. "Landscapes Real and Imagined: 'Big Two-Hearted River.'" Hemingway Review 16 (1996): 33-42. Twitchell, James. "The Swamp in Hemingway's 'Big Two-Hearted River.'" Studies in Short Fiction 9 (1972): 275-76. Weeks, Lewis E. Jr. "Two Types of Tension: Art Vs Campcraft in Hemingway's 'Big Two-Hearted River.'" Studies in Short Fiction 11 (1974): 433-34.

Dracula Essay

As Seward was called into the room, Renfield was found extremely injured, lying in a pool of blood that glistened under the light. His face was bashed and bruised, he had suffered severe damage to his head and it was evident that his back was broken as well. Renfield was kept in a straitjacket and his injuries left everyone wondering they could have been self-inflicted. As the story progresses, Seward sends the attendant to bring Dr. Van Helsing, who, after examination, later performs an emergency operation to the skull that would allow Renfield to regain consioucness and recount what had happen. As Renfield weakily began to recount the events that took place earlier that night. His story starts at the night Seward refuses to let him leave the asylum. Renfield admits to being visited by Dracula, who had appeared in a mist outside the asylum. After much attempt to resist the Count, Renfield was associated with Dracula for a period of time after he was promised several lives. Upon the presence of Mina Harker, Renfield notices that she appears extremely pale and seems to have lost alot of blood. This allows him to conclude and warn Seward and Van Helsing that Dracula had been visiting Mina. Prior to the moment Renfield was found on the floor, he explains that he encountered and tried to resist giving into Dracula, only to have been beaten up and thrown violently to the ground, crushing his head. The tale told by Renfield serves as new discovery that allows the characters of the book to carry out new ideas in order to bring down Dracula. His story seems to be the birth of a new discovery that represents the grande idea of resisting and going against Count Dracula. During his story, he appears to have been infuriated once he realized Mina was being violated by Dracula. This could represent how inaccepted actions that deteriorated purity were during the Victorian Era. Overall, his story serves as the final fuel that sets not only an ultimate goal but a time constraint as well, now knowing that Mina Harker’s life was at risk. What can Mina see and hear when Van Helsing hypnotizes her? † What does this indicate? Do you think Dracula can detect Mina’s â€Å"interferance†? Includes the October 11th entry of Dr. Seward’s diary; the October 15th, October 16th, October 17th, and October 24th entries of Jonathan Harker’s journal; telegram from Rufus Smith of Lloyd’s in London to Lord Godalming, dated October 24th; the October 25th, 26th, and 27th entries of Dr. Seward’s diary; telegram from Rufus Smith to Lord Godalming, dated October 28th; the October 28th entry of Dr. Seward’s diary. Mina makes the five men promise that if she becomes a vampire, they will kill her rather than allow her to be damned. She also asks her husband to read the burial service for her now, in case it should come to the worst. The heroes secure passage on the Orient Express from Paris to Varna, arriving there early to await the Count. Hypnotism of Mina brings the same news constantly: the sound of waves, masts, the movement of a ship at sea. Finally, they receive news that the ship has boarded at Galatz instead of Varna. The group takes the setback grimly, but they board the next available train to Galatz? knowing that they now may have to face Dracula on land. Van Helsing believes that the Count’s unholy connection with Mina may have allowed him to discover their plans. He is optimistic, however, that the Count will not expect them to track him into his own country. A change comes over Mina, and Van Helsing believes that Dracula has released some of his hold over her spirit. The clue is in Dracula’s past, which Mina and Van Helsing analyze together: back when he was a mortal warrior invading Turkey, when the invasion failed he fled home and left his army to be cut to pieces. In the same way, he now thinks only of escape and has cut himself off from Mina? not realizing that because she has tasted his blood, Van Helsing can still hypnotize her and learn of Dracula’s whereabouts. Analysis Chapter 25 Although the Count is able to elude them at Varna, he makes a critical error when he cuts himself off from Mina (note, however, that Mina is still not free from the threat of becoming a vampire). He assumes that he is safe in his castle, and he does not understand that Van Helsing’s hypnotism, combined with Mina’s connection to the vampire, will give Dracula’s enemies a critical edge over him. Van Helsing and Mina both use the terms of physiognomy in this chapter, referring again and again to the Count’s â€Å"child brain. † He is a criminal â€Å"type† (Mina even refers to two renowned physiognomists to back up her classification of the Count), and thus he has predictable limitations. He is selfish (he thinks of escape at all costs), and he uses the same strategy whether he is a mortal invading/escaping Turkey or an undead invading/escaping England. Here is another example of the heroes’ use of science as a weapon against the Count. It must be remembered that many intelligent people took physiognomy very seriously during Stoker’s time, and that for Stoker physiognomy was a viable tool for understanding and classifying human nature. Its racist/classist biases and unscientific methods are much easier to see in hindsight.

Free Essays on Scarlett Letter

Punishment has always revolved around the same ideas, to discipline an individual, and to set an example for the rest of society, discouraging them from following in a convict’s footprints. Either way, the end result is to set a criminal apart from the rest of society. Today we publicize the effects of our judicial system to a great extent, whether it is an open courtroom, or a televised execution, people tend to feel some type of relif watching the hand of the law in action. In the begining of the book The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, when Hester is upon the scaffold in the marketplace in front of the whole town, women in the crowd are heard gossiping. They remark about the fact that Hester has received a reduced sentence: "At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead. Madame Hester would have winced at that, I warrant me†¦"(49). The women in the crowd see her as a horrible woman who has committed the ultimate sin. But they are also threatened by the fact that she did receive a reduced sentence. This is just like what happens in our society today when we hear of an accused childer molester, or robber walking away as a freeman. Even as innocent as they may be, it scares us when they move into our neighborhoods and come in contact with our own children and lives. It takes them 100 times the effort to win our trust as it would any other person.... Free Essays on Scarlett Letter Free Essays on Scarlett Letter Punishment has always revolved around the same ideas, to discipline an individual, and to set an example for the rest of society, discouraging them from following in a convict’s footprints. Either way, the end result is to set a criminal apart from the rest of society. Today we publicize the effects of our judicial system to a great extent, whether it is an open courtroom, or a televised execution, people tend to feel some type of relif watching the hand of the law in action. In the begining of the book The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, when Hester is upon the scaffold in the marketplace in front of the whole town, women in the crowd are heard gossiping. They remark about the fact that Hester has received a reduced sentence: "At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead. Madame Hester would have winced at that, I warrant me†¦"(49). The women in the crowd see her as a horrible woman who has committed the ultimate sin. But they are also threatened by the fact that she did receive a reduced sentence. This is just like what happens in our society today when we hear of an accused childer molester, or robber walking away as a freeman. Even as innocent as they may be, it scares us when they move into our neighborhoods and come in contact with our own children and lives. It takes them 100 times the effort to win our trust as it would any other person....

King Surname Meaning and Origin

King Surname Meaning and Origin King generally comes from the Old English cyning, originally meaning tribal leader. This nickname was commonly bestowed on a man who carried himself like royalty, or who played the part of the king in a medieval pageant. Occasionally, the King surname was used by a man who served in a royal household. King is the 35th most popular surname in the United States and the 36th most common surname in England. Surname Origin: English Alternate Surname Spellings: KINGE Famous People with the KING Surname: Dr. Martin Luther King - American civil rights leaderStephen King - popular American author, best known for his horror booksB.B. King - American blues guitar legend Genealogy Resources for the Surname KING: 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? King Genealogy of Colonial VirginiaA Web site dedicated to using DNA to prove/disprove that the parents of Thomas King (1714-1798) of Louisa County, Va. were William Alfred King (1685-1779) and Sophia Burgess of Stafford County, Va. King Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the King surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own King query. FamilySearch - KING GenealogyFind records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the King surname and its variations. KING Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the King surname. Cousin Connect - KING Genealogy QueriesRead or post genealogy queries for the surname King, and sign up for free notification when new King queries are added. DistantCousin.com - KING Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name King. - References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Evaluate A Companys Foundation for Execution Assignment

Evaluate A Companys Foundation for Execution - Assignment Example Thus, operating model comprises elements of business model and tactical abilities of an organisation (Deloitte Development LLC, 2011). Operating Model of IBM IBM is an international leader in information and technology segment. IBM performs in a stable business market, having a large number of competitors such as HP and Dell among others. A successful operating model depends on several external factors such as economic environment, market context and industry conditions along with internal factors (IBM, n.d.). IBM has identified three abilities which are also termed as Three A’s that can enhance the execution of operating model namely aligned, analytical and adaptable as demonstrated in figure 1. Fig 1: The Three A’s of Operating Model Source: (Giesen & et. al., 2009) Aligned Aligned operating model leverages core competences of an organisation and implements consistency across every dimension of business (such as external and internal facets). Traditionally, the core c ompetencies of IBM were its exclusive hardware and software solutions along with strong after sales services. However, the low price strategy of leading competitors has significantly contributed towards fading away the core competencies of IBM. In order to revitalise itself, IBM has changed its core competencies by diversifying the business to certain other segments such as insurance, financial services, retail and transportation in order to provide better information technology (IT) solutions. Furthermore, instead of competing with other rivals, IBM has moved towards the establishment of a strong network, facilitating to strengthen its core competencies with regard to better customer services (Harreld & et. al., 2006). Strategic Alignment of IBM: In operating... Thiss paper stresses that architecture maturity comprises different characteristics which are essential for assisting IT infrastructure of an organisation. The infrastructure exists for helping different operations of an organisation. Adaptive and active enterprise architecture allows organisations to change and manage business process complexities inherent in large organisations such as IBM. As architecture matures, likelihood, process control and efficiency also increase. The enterprise architecture model of IBM comprises organised industry leading functions, industry standards, industry rules, and established solution building blocks. It influences the widespread business domain understanding, along with leveraging fruitful industry skills, technical know-how and thought leadership that IBM possesses and utilises for value creation. This report makes a conclusion that the operating model of IBM helps to deliver a set of reliable and positive business outcomes with proper association amid different components. The operating model of IBM typically contains artefacts demonstrating strategic transformations, business procedures and service based architecture. The operating model demonstrates details about different core dimensions of the business which help to differentiate the organisation from other competitors. It is believed that IBM should constantly innovate and refurbish the operating model in order to seize the ever-present business opportunities.

Internal and External Environment of Nestle Research Paper

Internal and External Environment of Nestle - Research Paper Example The paper will address the key issues challenges affecting Nestle Co by conducting an environmental analysis. Organizations face various challenges in their operations both internal and external and to develop the right business strategy, these issues need to be addressed. The report will make use of different environmental models such as SWOT, PEST and Porter’s five forces. After carrying out an analysis, the report will identify a key business challenge and develop a plan for leadership and management as a means of addressing the issue. Conclusions and recommendations and limitations to implementation will be discussed. Nestle Co is the world leading nutrition, health and Wellness Company established in 1867 with its headquarters at Vevey Switzerland. It is a multinational corporation employing over 328,000 people worldwide in over 160 countries. Its sales volume as at the year ended 31 December 2011 amounted to CHF 83,652 and it has 2 billion customers in over 180 countries . It deals with various brands such as chocolates and confectionaries, baby foods, cereals, coffee, dairy products, healthcare nutrition, bottled water, and cereals among others. Overall, the company has over 120 brands. Its mission is to provide customers with products that provide nutrition, health, and wellness. It is committed to increasing the quality of life for all people by ensuring healthy nutrition through a slogan named ‘Good Food, Good Life.’ Its performance is driven by its capacity for innovation and renovation. It has a flat and flexible organizational structure with few management levels and a broad span of control. (Nestle, 2012).It is headed by the CEO, Paul Bulcke who has been in the organization and driven it to where it is since 1998 who according to Raisch & Ferlie (2008) thinks globally and acts locally to penetrate the mature market.  The organization markets its products in almost every country and operates in six geographical locations; Europ e, the Americas, Asia/Oceania/Africa. It operates in the food and beverage industry with main competitors being PepsiCo, Unilever, Kraft, Procter & Gamble, among others. Nestle is a world leader of nutrition, health and wellness products. Its success is made possible by frequent innovation and renovation and the use of environmentally sustainable practices. The CEO is committed to ensuring the customers get quality of life through brand and product diversification and additional nutrition. The company operates in a very competitive environment with major competitors being P&G, Unilever, and PepsiCo. It has products in almost all countries and has over 500 brands in six continents; Europe, the Americas, and AOA. All its operations are guided by the corporate business principles and the suppliers have to adhere to this code of conduct. Nestle environment is very complex as the organization operates globally. The possible strengths include; strong brands, corporate brand, its structure , and cost advantage while weaknesses include; barriers to entry, competition, complex structure, and minimal rewards. It has an opportunity to venture into new markets due to its reputation and can also engage in a joint venture to diversify its products. The company is also affected by changing consumer demands hence buyer power. The major challenge that may impact on the effectiveness of the organization is to retain workers in a globally competitive environment using its cost-cutting strategies and still add value for shareholders. The threat of worker turnover due to poor performance management is crucial and should be addressed.