Equity Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Equity Market - Essay Example The most popular method for stock valuation is the 'Discounted Cash Flow' technique that takes into account the estimated stock price, dividend rates, and the growth rates together with the discount rate or expected return. It is based on the efficient market hypothesis that says that the listed stock price is close to the estimated fair value of the stock. The model takes into account dividend growth rate and price growth rate to arrive at the expected future price of a stock security. The practical adjustments that might be required include a better estimation of the stock price through market based valuation of the stock. In addition, market behaviour of the stock must also be considered to arrive at its fair price. In an efficient equity market, though there is lesser probability of a mis-priced stock and hence lesser probability of generating abnormal rates of returns; however, a financial analyst's job does not only have to deal with generating higher margins on stock. A financial analyst is required to consider the market trend and make a decision of purchasing or selling a specific stock and taking a particular position in the market. This would determine the level of profitability that the company can generate. In addition, he/ she would be responsible to diversify risks in investing into a

Discussion Topic on Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Topic on Technology - Essay Example Over the years, state legislators, district leaders and school administrators face difficulties in ensuring the students use technology in a proper manner. The need to put restrictions on the use of technology by underage children is necessary because of the adult nature of some of the content made easily available by the different types of technology (Cheves, 2012). Lewis refers to the use of the internet. Many sectors especially the education sector continues to improve because of the internet. The internet makes information available to everyone using it providing people physically separated with the opportunity to communicate with ease. Despite this, many students continue to fall prey to the unrestricted streaming of adult content through the internet. Cyber bullying is also an emerging trend affecting young children of which sometimes proves fatal, whereby, children end up committing suicide (Week, 2011). In conclusion, technology use has both endless advantages and disadvantages to the education system. Besides the internet, other forms of technology continue to benefit the education sector, for example, cell phones, televisions among other things. In addition, just like the internet, they also present challenges to the education sector. Despite this, technology still plays an integral part in the education sector (Week, 2011). Cheves, D. A. (2012, May 10). Should High-Stakes Tests Drive the Curriculum? A Perspective from Michigan. Retrieved from National Council of Teachers of Mathematics:

Construction management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Construction management - Essay Example The schedule may specify the specific roles for the unskilled and skilled. For instance, starting time can be set at 7am and ending at 5pm. Similarly, construction manager is required to consider the pay rate of overtime schedule. The major role of the unskilled workers involves preparation of construction material mix, timely. The superintendent is responsible in carrying out the activities as instructed by the construction manager and with the help of the project or center map. The function of the superintendent to perform close examination to ensure that, the laid daily schedule is followed such that, the set down period for the whole construction process can be adhered to. More over, the superintendent ensures that the specified ratio of the materials is followed to the latter. The superintendent, ensures that proper records of equipment is well taken especially when begging the daily schedule and at the end of every day. This practice is endeavored to ensure safety and availabil ity of such equipment as to when and where they are needed in the right condition. Labor situation The concept of labor requires the underlying principle of availability to be embraced. Te superintendent, under the construction manager’s instruction should ensure that, the adequate labor is sustained all through the construction period. The labor schedule depends on the schedule of each day. For instance, less sub supervisors may be required when more work requires the supervisors. The superintendent, who in turn reports to the construction manager, directly does all this labor adjustments with proper consultation of the supervisors. However, in some cases, the superintendent can deny the construction managers’ projected schedule if it appears untenable. A successful completion of this project entirely depended on the cordial and timely coordination of among the supervisors, superintendent and the construction. There should be continuous flow of correct information fro m top to down and vice versa. It should be observed that, the three levels of command have to coordinate all the activities in the site wit all aspects of professionalism and ethics. Construction ethics is necessary follow element because of its fundamental benefits attributed to it. The site and construction ethics ensures smooth coordination and reduced incidents of accidents. Start up considerations At the commencement of the center’s activities, numerous start-up considerations are critical for a good start. Some of these include the operation staff, which includes the management team and the ordinary staff, training of the employees, motivation and general maintenance of the center facilities. The considerations should be carried out with outmost honesty and professionalism, particularly when recruiting the staff to set a pace, which may form the company’s norm. Operations staff The owner of the DMD intends to carry out all the activities involving management recr uitment. These activities include advertisement for various job opportunities. Having been the district human resource manager at the department of Health and sanitation, he has apt experience in recruiting the required team, which will perform assigned duties in tandem with the dynamism in this industry. The center owner will have to select the appropriate

Stroke Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Stroke - Essay Example Stroke has been classified into two main categories where we have ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Ischemic stroke takes place when the supply of blood to some area of the brain is impeded causing malfunction of that part of the brain. Ischemic stroke can result from venous thrombosis, systemic hyperfusion (which refers to a general reduction in the supply of blood such as shock), embolism (impediment/ obstruction caused by an embolus) or thrombosis (obstruction of the flow of blood when blood clots). Cryptogenic stroke is a stroke of unknown origins and lacks clear explanation. Cryptogenic strokes make up a third of all ischemic strokes. Dependent on symptom extents, stroke episodes can be grouped as posterior circulation infarct (POCI), lacunar infarct (LACI), partial anterior circulation infarct (PACI) or total anterior circulation infarct (TACI). These four episode categories can give insight on the area of the brain that has been impacted, extent of stroke, the underlying cause and prognosis. Approximately 85% of strokes are of ischemic nature (Lindley, 2008, 102). Unlike ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, on the other hand, occur due to rapture of a vessel of blood or a vascular structure that is abnormal. Intracranial hemorrhage denotes the accumulation of blood in any part of the skull vault. Extra-axial hemorrhage is accumulation of blood inside the skull but outside the brain whereas intra-axial hemorrhage is blood inside the brain (caused by intra-ventricular hemorrhage or intra-parenchymal hemorrhage). Subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding between the pia mater and the arachnoid mater), subdural hematoma (bleeding in the subdural space) and epidural hematoma (bleeding between the skull and the dura mater) are the commonest kind of extra-axial hemorrhage. Most forms of hemorrhagic stroke posses specific symptoms. Some hemorrhages take place within regions of ischemia in a

Obesity and Responsibility Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Obesity and Responsibility - Lab Report Example The second article is titled "Weighing in on the Issue of Childhood Obesity: An Overweight Child Often Becomes the Target of Discrimination and Ridicule on the Playground. Clearly, the Problems That Overweight Children Encounter Go beyond the Physical" by Cynthia Lynn-Garbe and James L. Hoot. It concludes that the school environments can play a powerful role in influencing children's eating behaviors, especially those of the obese. However, since families and the community are equally important in this regard, schools should link up with them to promote healthful eating and activity patterns. The author's approach is therefore more of choice of methodology and methods. The two articles are relatively impartial as expected of research materials. The first one on "Economic perspectives on childhood obesity" is critical of schools in that schools appear to be making money out of selling food indiscriminately to the detriment of children who can become obese of these foods. It is also critical of mothers who had to work but spend less time to think of the children's intake - whether balanced or not. It is assumed that "researchers are anxious to understand the reasons underlying the trends, policy-makers would like to implement programs to promote a healthier population, and the media reports virtually every glimmer of insight from research and every potential policy remedy." The focus of interest is on national health. The second article on "An Overweight Child Often Becomes the Target of Discrimination and Ridicule" is relatively impartial in that it targets the teachers as capable of doing something for the obesity problem as though schools could stem any obesity problem that starts from the homes. The focus of interest is on what teachers could do over obese children in school. (d) How does the sort of intellectual project being undertaken affect the research questions addressed "Economic perspectives on childhood obesity" gives a thorough explanation of how obesity could start from environmental settings, but it does not point any finger directly in answer the research question. It's interest is to lead the discussion to a need for an effective policy. The second article on "An Overweight Child Often Becomes the Target of Discrimination and Ridicule" also does not answer the research question but rather proposes good practice. (e) How does the sort of intellectual project being undertaken affect the place of theory "Economic perspectives on childhood obesity" doesn't mention about theory at all. It is atheoretical. The second article on "An Overweight Child Often Becomes the Target of Discrimination and Ridicule" quotes Smith (1999:82) as saying that "Experts believe that obesity most probably results from the interaction of an individual's genetic makeup with the environment in which the person lives." And to this they add that educators can influence these two factors (Epstein, 1993). This study is

Food Irradiation Essay Example for Free

Food Irradiation Essay People all over the world are starving for fresh, uncontaminated food. Insects, pests, and invisible microorganisms are not what the public want to find on their dinner plates. Throughout history, life has depended on ways of treating food to reduce or destroy these naturally occurring harmful contaminants and to enable foods to be stored after harvesting so that they can be saved for use at other times of the year. With increasing populations and the growth of cities, it is even more important to be able to preserve food so that it can be transported over considerable distances and stored for long periods before it reaches the consumer. The relentless pressure to supply safe foods to mass markets has led to major contamination problems arising in recent years. The food industry has responded by developing new methods to treat food, such as food irradiation. To some in the food industry, irradiation is a wonderful new technology that could solve many contamination problems without any apparent effects on the treated food. To the consumer, it is a new process that has unknown threats and benefits. Currently, 37 countries, including the United States, permit the use of irradiation and approximately 25 actually use it. Irradiation will remain an expensive and little used technology until there is general acceptance of irradiated foods by consumers. The modern food industry has to make certain choices as to how and when it treats food during the food production cycle. It can start by reducing the level of microorganisms and pests in food by using chemical treatments and pesticides during growth. For this to be effective the food must then be protected against fresh contamination during transport and storage. An alternative approach is to do very little to the food as grown and harvested, but to treat it nearer to the point of consumption. This is common with herbs and spices. The food industry will tend to choose the way it deals with contamination based on the economics of each case, in other words, the cheapest way possible. Even where food is produced relatively close to the point of consumption, it may have to be treated because contamination is inherent in the production process. This is why milk has to be pasteurized. Pasteurization is the most effective way of killing microorganisms with minimal effect on the food itself. Unfortunately, pasteurization can only be used on a very limited range of foods. Poultry in much of the developed world is now infected with salmonella. In Europe, 75% of chicken sold is infected and in the US 60%. It is estimated that the US has some 2,000,000 cases of food poisoning as the result of consuming salmonella costing $2,540 million annually. Even in relatively advanced countries like the United Kingdom the authorities admit that the food contamination problem is out of control stating: the multiplicity of potential routes of contamination makes the elimination of microbiological contamination from poultry being presented for slaughter a virtual impossibility. This need not be the case as has been demonstrated in Sweden. There it has taken 20 years of ruthless killing of any flock with a salmonella infection to achieve 99% of flocks free of salmonella. Poultry costs more as a result but the Swedish authorities and consumers clearly believe this is worth paying. It has been known since the last century that living organisms can be damaged or killed by exposure to certain forms of radiation. The idea that radiation might be used to kill bacteria and other micro organisms in food was seriously proposed in the 1930s but the technology for producing radiation was too expensive and specialized for it to be used other than in experiments. The contamination problems mentioned above have led scientists to try to improve these techniques. The effects of irradiation on food vary much depending on the type of food and on the dosage level. Only a limited range of foods can be irradiated successfully, that is, leaving a food that is still wholesome enough to eat. The main types of food that can be irradiated are meats, seafood, fruit, vegetables, herbs, and spices. In some foods the dose level is very critical, a slight overdose and the food acquires an unpleasant taste and texture. This is the case with eggs, for example. Everything in our environment, including food, contains trace amounts of radioactivity. This means that this trace amount (about 150 to 200 becquerels) of natural radioactivity (from elements such as potassium) is unavoidably in our daily diets. In countries where food irradiation is permitted, both the sources of radiation and their energy levels are regulated and controlled. The irradiation process involves passing the food through a radiation field at a set speed to control the amount of energy or dose absorbed by the food. The food itself never comes into direct contact with the radiation source. The maximum allowable energies for electrons and X-rays two machine-generated sources of radiation that can be used are 10 million electron volts (MeV) and 5 MeV, respectively. Even when foods are exposed to very high doses of radiation from these sources, the maximum level of induced radioactivity, or radioactivity left present in the food, would be just one-thousandth of a becquerel per kilogram of food. This is 2,000,000 times smaller than the level of radioactivity naturally present in food. There are many advantages to using irradiation to process food, for instance: it can kill insects and pests that infest food without harming the food itself. Irradiation can also kill or greatly reduce the levels of microorganisms such as salmonella and listeria. Irradiation also stops normal ripening and decay processes so that foods can be stored longer, as well as sterilizing foods making them fit to eat for sickly patients in hospitals. Currently the FDA allows electron beam irradiation for meat, grains, fruits and vegetables, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, spices, seasonings, eggs, sterilizing medical products, such as surgical gloves, destroying bacteria in cosmetics, and purifying wool. If the food industry could have its way (the way most profitable for them), the only foods that would not be irradiated would be seafood, dairy (which is pasteurized), honey, coffee, chocolate, and oils (fats become rancid easily because of the free radical creation, so they wont be irradiated if they could be eaten raw). Baked goods and dried legumes do not need irradiation. The advantages to food irradiation cannot be far in front of the disadvantages so here they are. Irradiation can only be used on a very limited range of foods, and it is expensive when it is being used. Irradiation also affects some important parts of a persons diet like the level of vitamin E. When irradiation is used, the level of vitamin E can be reduced by twenty-five percent and vitamin C by five to ten percent. Recommended doses of radiation will not kill all of the microorganisms. Ninety percent of the germs and none of the viruses are killed so after the irradiation the food still has to be treated with care to avoid rapid reproduction by the remaining microorganisms. Irradiating foods can also cause new substances that were not in the food before. These substances are called radiolytic products, such as benzene, formaldehyde, and lipid peroxides. While not radioactive themselves, there is considerable controversy over whether these products are dangerous. Some opponents of food irradiation state that if irradiation is put into wider use, people may become more careless about sanitation in food production facilities. Irradiation does not kill all the bacteria in a food and in a just few hours at room temperature, the bacteria remaining in meat or poultry after irradiation can multiply to the level existing before irradiation. Some bacteria, like the one that causes botulism, as well as viruses and prions (which are believed to cause Mad Cow Disease) are not killed by current doses of irradiation. Free-market economists say irradiation is efficient, that it provides the cheapest possible food for the least possible risk. However, these economists are not concerned about the impaired nutritional quality of the food. They are not considering the environmental effects of large-scale corporate farming, the social costs of centralization of agriculture and loss of family farms, the potential long-term damage to human health, and the possibility of irradiation-resistant super-bacteria. If irradiation is to be more widespread, a cheap and reliable detection system should be developed for monitoring organizations to use. The UN should also establish as set of skeletal regulations to ensure that every county irradiating consumer goods is labeling them as such. The priorities of worldwide governments should also be focused on farming clean, thereby eliminating contaminants as thoroughly as possible from the production chain, rather than killing off the harmful organisms at the last stage of production with radiation. Clearly, the public needs to become better educated about the food we are buying. Too many times do we go into supermarkets and buy things because of their price, without really taking a good look the package, and put our trust solely in the people who are trying o turn a buck. While reading about the problem of food irradiation, I was reminded of the novel The Jungle where the greed of people like Gustavus Swift turned meat-packing plants into death traps and sold ground cardboard, rats, and fingers to the public as ? fresh meat while sweeping the floors of the plant to recover the sliced-off bits and package them as potted meat. Clearly the food industry is driven by capitalism, and not by concern for the consumer, and although I am wholeheartedly in favor of capitalist businesses, I do think federal regulation needs to come into play not just in the United states, but in other countries where most of the people have no legal recourse at all if they fall ill or die as the result of unclean food. Education of the consumer is the key to this problem, as is objective research. Governments around the world should be made to adhere to guidelines recommended by people whose main concern is the safe and healthy production of food, instead of the cheapest way to produce it, or what would be best for the businesses already irradiating food, as is the case for the federal government. Without measures taken during all aspect of food production to ensure cleanliness, the consumer is doomed to a lifetime of choices between dirty food, and dirtier food.

Approaches to Strategic International HRM (ISHRM)

Approaches to Strategic International HRM (ISHRM) Managers are not aware of the severe consequences treating their employees like that? Is it because of a deficit in managing people within an opposed cultural working environment or is it because of an inconvenient HRM strategy? Skinner, B. (1971) argued, that people are simply a product of the stimuli they get from the external world. Interestingly, negative reinforcement causes behavioral change in undesirable ways, whereas positive reinforcement causes rather intended change. General management is therefore not only accountable for defining such stimuli according the corporate strategy, but also its degree of involvement is a prerequisite for a successful HRM (Baron, J. Kreps, D., 1999). What difference does it actually make to augment the word international to HRM? Needless to say, as corporations globalize, HRM activities like HR-planning, staffing, developing, and retaining employees goes far beyond a national scope. Thus, IHRM broadly covers all issues related to the management of people in an international context (Stahl, G. Bj rkmann, I., 2007). Morgan (1986) developed a three-dimensional model of IHRM (Figure 1), which expose firstly the broad human resource activities of procurement, allocation and utilization, secondly the national or country categories involved in IHRM activities (host, home, other), and lastly three categories of employees of an international firm (HCNs, PCNs, TCNs). Morgan defines IHRM as the interplay among these three dimensions. Generally, IHRM involves the same activities as domestic HRM, for instance, procurement refers to HR planning and staffing; however, domestic HRM focuses only on activities within only one national boundary. Many firms underestimate the complexities involved in international operations, a nd there is some evidence to suggest that business failures internationally may often be due to poor management of HR (Desatnick, R. Bennett, M., 1978). Strategic International Human Resource Management in Multinationals Alfred Chandler highlighted once, structure follows strategy. Hence, a holistic  corporate strategy is not only based on a precise knowledge of internal and external factors  or can be measured along financial and non-financial KPIs. In fact, a sustainable corporate strategy must be a reference point towards every part of the value chain. Thereby, the functional-level is typically concerned with maximizing efficiency; and particularly the HRfunction addresses the question, Are the current HRM policies sufficient enough to support the strategy? Schuler, R. Jackson, S. (1987), took up Porter s framework of competitive strategies in order to develop a model of its idea in SIHRM (Figure 2). Their model concludes that business performance will increase, if HR policies mutually reinforce the firm s strategy. According to Dowling, P. Welch, D. (2005), MNEs operate in the context of worldwide conditions, including the external contexts of industry, nation, region and interorganizational networks and alliances. De Cieri and Dowling (1999) developed the model of strategic HRM in MNEs (Figure 3). The internal organizational factors are shown in order of most tangible to most intangible. Pointed out by Dowling, P. Welch, D. (2005), following developments in the literature, such as that of Taylor et al. (1996), (), the model suggests that there are reciprocal relationships between organizational factors, SHRM and multinational concerns and goals. For instance, HR activities such as expatriate management are influenced by both factors of procedures from in- and outside the company. Contrasting Two Approaches of Strategic International Human Resource Management Any convergence will be balanced by divergence (Harzing, A. Ruysseveldt, J., 2004). Its sound so simple, however, since MNEs globalize and their structure change rapidly, managers should decide upon two major issues; firstly, to which extent key decisions have to be made at the parent-country HQ or at the subsidiary units and secondly, which type of management control system the parent could execute in the subsidiary unit. Thus, the main distinction is whether to standardize or customize SIHRM. In case of standardizing SIHRM, the HQ decides upon HR policies and standards independently from their foreign subsidiaries. Forces towards standardization are mainly driven by the need for control and sustain of competitive advantage. Assuming that a generalized approach leads to conformity and unity among all employees, while neglecting cultural differences, the standardization may ensure adoption of corporate values und promotes the corporate strategy above national boundaries. However, the probability of a successful standardized approach depends very much on the openness of the foreign subsidiary to cohere, for instance, with the corporate work practices and cultural differences (Dowling, P. Welch, D., 2005). Since a standardized SIHRM approach is not only influenced by cultural differences that may facilitate resistance of the foreign subsidiary, Bae, J. Lawler, J. demonstrated (Figure 4) comprehensively which factors influence standardization of work practices (2000). Discussing issues about customization, the statement `Think global and act local pops up frequently. As customization of SIHRM considers the specific demands of the hostcountry, the involvement of foreign subsidiaries in managerial decisions is in comparison to a standardized SIHRM very high. By involving host management, parent firms should do both, acknowledge different cultural attitudes and take actions in order to incorporate them when feasible. Obviously, there is more than one correct way to manage people; thus, the HQ and the foreign subsidiary can gain from customization due to knowledge-sharing, resulting in cross-cultural learning. Another interesting point is the implication of corporate language. Even though, within most MNEs English is the corporate language, Marschan-Piekkari et al. puts it, companies do not have languages, people do. Therefore, language standardization in contrast to customization increases burden on foreign subsidiaries since being competent in the c orporate language is considered to be important for career development (Dowling, P. Welch, D., 2005). Conclusion Effective ISHRM is expected to assist the firm in achieving its goals and objectives. The managerial challenge for HRM is thereby not only the implementation of the corporate strategy, but also to define a meaningful balance between standardization and customization of its activities and policies. Heading for sustainable corporate values, MNEs should focus on managerial consistency. However, due to thinking global and acting local, they should not deny regional and cultural differences; rather heading for knowledge-transfer in order to  achieve a comparative advantage. Clearly, like Dowling, P. Welch, D. argued, while the global nature of the business may call for increased consistency, the variety of cultural environments may be calling for differentiation (2005). Reference List Baron, J. Kreps, D. (1999). Strategic Human Resources. John Wiley Sons: Hoboken Bae, J. Lawler, J. (2000). Organizational performance and HRM strategies in Korea. Academy of Management Journal, 43(3): 502-517. Chandler, A. (1996). Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Clavell, J. (1983). The Art of War: Sun Tzu. New York: Dell Publishing. Desatnick, R. Bennett, M. (1978). Human Resource Management in the Multinational Company. New York: Nicholson. Dowling, P. Welch, D. (2005). International Human Resource Management: Managing People in a Multinational Context. Toronto: Southwestern College Publishing. Morgan, P. V., International Human Resource Management: Fact or Fiction. Personnel  Administrator, Vol. 31, No. 9 (1986) p. 44. Skinner, B. (1971). Beyond Freedom and Dignity. New York: Knopf. Stahl, G. Bj rkmann, I. (2007). Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Schuler, R., Dowling, P.J. de Cieri, H. (1993). An Integrative Framework of Strategic International Human Resource Management. Journal of Management, 19(2): 419 60. Schuler, R. Jackson, S. (1987). Linking competitive strategies and human resource  management practices. Academy of Management Executive, 1(3): 207-9. Taylor, S., Beechler, S. Napier, N. (1996). Toward an Integrative Model of Strategic International Human Resource Management. Academy of Management Review, 21(4): 959 86.