What Does It Mean to Be Professional at Work - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1194 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/04/12 Category Career Essay Level High school Topics: Professionalism Essay Did you like this example? Professionalism can easily be defined by how one carries and conducts him or herself in the workplace. A huge goal, specifically in the healthcare workplace, is to maintain a proper level of professionalism, especially when working in patient care. It is a skill that is developed with practice, experience and a lot of patience. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What Does It Mean to Be Professional at Work?" essay for you Create order In order to maintain such a level, one must carry certain characteristics within himself or herself. Professionalism is extremely important and something that people, specifically supervisors and patients, really look for in their employees and the people that are taking care of them. Below are some characteristics described in further detailed descriptions. A professionals attire says a lot about them. It is important to dress up the jobs standards, whether that be a suit and tie or just a normal pair of work scrubs. A work uniform should always be pressed or ironed. Ripped clothing of any kind is never appropriate. No matter how long someone has been at their job, he or she should always dress to impress. One should always make sure that they look clean and appropriate as well. Personal hygiene is key as well. A shower is very important and so is brushing ones teeth and hair. These are things that are not at all hard but that some people lack and need help with. No appearance is complete without a good, friendly smile. Without a smile to greet colleagues, patients, or bosses, a person looks angry or unapproachable. A nice smile really completes a good look and says a lot about a good appearance. (Fuller, 2013) Reliability is a big part of being professional, especially in the workplace. Reliability simply means that someone can count on someone else for any particular thing, whether it be for being to work on time, or doing something correctly every time. Always show up to work everyday. And, always show up to work on time. Try to show up early if one is able to because it looks better. In healthcare, there are going to be a lot of emergency situations, so being a person that someone else can can rely on, will be a really big deal. If one can be relied on, that usually means that he or she can be trusted. Its always good to be trusted, especially in the workplace setting. Patients really want someone taking care of them that they can trust with their life and that they can really rely on; try to always be that person. Phone etiquette, such as talking over the phone, or netiquette (network etiquette) is a characteristic that is growing to be more of a big deal now-a-days with the growth of technology. People rely heavy on the use of technology now. Email is the main way people communicate with each other within the workplace now. It is very easy to misinterpret how someone means something over the phone or over a text message and/ or email because we cannot see faces. An email is a legal document and should always be treated as such. Flaming, which is typing in all capital letters, is never ever an appropriate thing to do. When using email, never use abbreviations. Always spell out full words and try to avoid using conjunctions. Always try to use shorter sentences and get straight to the point, avoid long sentences. (Fuller, 2013) Accountability is a term that means taking responsibility for ones actions, even in a professional sense. Accountability is extremely important in a professional workplace. Showing accountability when one makes a mistake or does something wrong will show a supervisor or manager will speak volumes. It will show the supervisor that one is serious and really cares about the job at stake. Delegation is when someone puts his or her task or job duties onto someone else. The accountability lies still with the delegator and the person being delegated. An accountable person is a person that someone wants to work with, no one will have to worry about that person making a mistake and putting the blame on anyone else. They will automatically take the blame themselves. (Half, 2014) Communication is probably one of the most important characteristics of professionalism that there is. Communication can be broken into two categories- verbal and nonverbal. Verbal communication can either be written or spoken. Verbal communication is critical in patient care. Patients want to know that they are being listened to and being well taken care of. They really want to know what is going on with them so being able to speak clearly and understandably is important. When speaking, the tone of voice is very important. That can give away how one really feels at the moment; whether or not the person is really engaged in that conversation or just does not care. (Fuller, 2013) Non verbal communication would be best described as body language. Body language can be gestures, ones posture or ones facial expressions. Someones body language can be a dead giveaway for how they really feel about what is going on around them. No matter what is being thought about inside ones head, the body language will tell the receiver how that person really feels. For example, if someone rolls his or her eyes, that usually means that they are irritated or bored with what is going on around them and would rather be doing something else at the moment. Being a competent person is being a person that is able to do most things efficiently and successfully. Efficiency is huge in the workplace, especially in healthcare. Healthcare is a very fast pace setting and things need to get done at a rapid pace. So, efficiency is key. Those that are the least competent tend to hang lower on the totem pole and get pushed to the side. Supervisors look for competency within their employees. Competent people usually get promoted and hang on to higher positions. (CareerBliss, 2011) With professionalism, sometimes comes people that are unprofessional. Unprofessionalism can definitely alter the workplace. Someone being unprofessional can affect the people around them at work and just make work flat out miserable. If everyone at work acts appropriately, dresses appropriately, communicates appropriately, takes accountability for their actions, is reliable and is just an all around great team player, then that would be a great and smooth professional workplace to be in. It really helps when certain rules and regulations are set in stone at work for the employees to follow, that way no one is under any wrong impressions of what to do and nothing is up in the air. The way one should act should always be kind of a given. Professionalism makes the workplace run smoothly and when one person ruins that, it kind of ruins the entire workplace. It throws everything off balance. Be reliable, be accountable, be on time, be punctual, but most importantly, no matter what, alway s remain professional. Bibliography CareerBliss. (2011, December 13). Business Insider. Retrieved from Businessinsider.com: https://www.businessinsider.com/be-perceived-as-competent-in-the-workplace-2011-12 Fuller, J. K. (2013). Surgical Technology Principles and Practice 6th ed. Macon, Georgia: Elsevier. Half, R. (2014, June 6). Professionalism: An essential career skill. Retrieved from Careerbuilder.com: https://www.careerbuilder.com/advice/professionalism-an-essential-career-skill

Essay Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - 847 Words

Afraid New World Aldous Huxley’s â€Å"Brave New World† highlights the theme of society and individualism. Huxley uses the future world and its inhabitants to represents conflict of how the replacement of stability in place of individualism produces adverse side effects. Each society has individuals ranging from various jobs and occupations and diverse personalities and thoughts. Every member contributes to society in his or her own way. However, when people’s individuality is repressed, the whole concept of humanity is destroyed. In Huxley’s â€Å"Brave New World†, the concept of individualism is lost through hyperbolized physical and physiological training, the artificial birth and caste system, and the censorship of religion and literature by a†¦show more content†¦The drug creates a false dichotomy of being happy, therefore nobody deviates from taking it and nobody is encouraged to. Despite the physiological alterations, there are also many physical modifications made. The citizens appear young and remain energetic their whole lives. There is a set of physical specifications that nobody’s appearance fluctuates beyond, restricting each individual’s personal style and personality. Women are also issued a â€Å"pregnancy substitute† to regulate bodily hormones if needed. Citizens are essentially powerless and have no control over their own bodies and minds, making it impossible to oppose the government or the idea of conformity. Huxley paints a future world in which biochemical technology has advanced to the possibility of artificial human birth—ninety-six per batch. Each individual is set into a group of the caste system that prevents integration of different levels of the caste. They are separated into five castes: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. Alpha, being the upper echelon governmental workers of society and each decreasing in status. Citizens placed in lower castes are assem bled in large batches. The Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning explains, â€Å"Bokanovsky’s Process (mass production of twins) is one of the major instruments of social stability†(18). Members of each caste are designated a color, and are required to wear the respective color, even the high class Alphas.Show MoreRelatedA Brave New World by Aldous Huxley668 Words   |  3 PagesIn Brave New World, there are similarities that have a deeper meaning that we can understand. There are personal effects in Aldous Huxley life that contribute to what he has written in the book. Aldous Huxley throughout his life have seen, done, and events have happened to him, just like all of us, but he has expressed it in his book. So when Aldous wrote the he had so many ideas. I have read the book; it’s notRead MoreBrave New World by Aldous Huxley811 Words   |  3 Pages Brave New World is based around characters who gave up the right of freedom for happiness; characters who ignored the truth so that they could live in a utopian civilization. The deceiving happiness was a constant reminder throughout the book. Almost every character in Brave New World did whatever they could to avoid facing the truth about their own situations. In this society, happiness is not compatible with the truth because the World State believes that happiness was at the expense of theRead MoreBrave New World By Aldous Huxley1525 Words   |  7 PagesA Brave New Feminist The novel Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley in 1932 is known for its social satire, utopian values, and unusual standpoints on stereotypical gender roles. In this time where futuristic technology has completely taken over, and men and women are given the same opportunities for everything, â€Å"the genders appear equal within the social order; both men and women work at the same jobs, have equal choice in sexual partners, and participate in the same leisure pursuits† (MarchRead MoreA Brave New World by Aldous Huxley664 Words   |  3 Pagesfor the fact being in the future and in the past time has changed and many differences were made. In his Dystopian Society Huxley portrays masses of niches where the government produces clones for specific reasons. Huxley decides throughout Brave New World that cloning humans is unethical. He then becomes in contact with the society’s most powerful Alphas and Betas clones. Huxley suggest in BNW that lower class groups in clo ning humans to act like servants to terrorize them into working hard conditionsRead MoreA Brave New World by Aldous Huxley1189 Words   |  5 Pages In the world of sex, drugs, and baby cloning you are going to be in many situations where you feel like the world we live in should be different. In the story Brave New World, they had sex with multiple partners along with a very bad use of drugs. It is weird that Aldous Huxley wrote this book in 1931 about the world he was living in during that time and how it is similar to the world we live in today. Nowadays, drugs are still being used and people are still engaging in sexual encounters withRead MoreBrave New World By Aldous Huxley968 Words   |  4 PagesAldous Huxley’s utopia in Brave New World foreshadowed and illuminated the complications within modern day society. Upon its release, the narrative became widely banned all over the United States due to the unorthodox thoughts and actions of multiple characters in it. Early readers, as well as modern day audiences, feared and rejected the ideals that Huxley incorporated into his perfect society; however, our society today is heading towards the dark paths the older generations desired to avoid. Read MoreA Brave New World by Aldous Huxley895 Words   |  4 Pagesthe novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley tells of a society where everyone is the same but, compared to t oday’s society, everything is different. Huxley tells of a world where everything that happens or takes place is because of one’s own desire and nothing more. The hero in the novel, a â€Å"savage† named John, is Huxley’s main focal point. It is through his eyes and mind that the reader sees what’s going on. Now when I read this novel, I began to think, â€Å"Could this perfect, conformed world actuallyRead MoreA Brave New World by Aldous Huxley1684 Words   |  7 Pagesimperfect world and is usually only a hopeful dream. These types of worlds can greatly be described in detail through the world of science fiction. Aldous Huxley was an English writer who lived during a time when war and chaos were engulfing the world. His works reflect his view and thoughts on a dystopia, which is a false utopia, and describes what could occur in possible governments of the world. The ability to understand and dive into the thoughts of the author is what make s world literatureRead MoreA Brave New World by Aldous Huxley614 Words   |  2 Pagesthem truly happy. What if someone were to tell you that what you thought was true happiness was all an illusion. In a Brave New World by Aldous Huxley people in the world state are conditioned and drugged up by soma to not experience true happiness. In a world that is perfect, human beings do not have to depend on drugs to keep our world in balance. In a Brave New World by Aldous Huxley there is always a perfect drug called soma that keeps everyone happy, which they have based their society on. ThisRead MoreA Brave New World by Aldous Huxley948 Words   |  4 PagesWelcome to a world were â€Å"Brave† is not just a word; It has a true meaning. This is a story were everything as you know it, doesn’t seem to be right and will completely change your way of thinking. When this story was written, life was very harsh for many people†¦.Mostly for the author who wrote â€Å"Brave New World† During this time (1930s) they didn’t have much sexual content Living The Future Of The Past In The Present†¦.. In the air; But Aldous made a future full of sex for them and we are the

C-Direct Insurance Company Free Essays

201KM GROUP PROJECT CASE STUDY 3 Case Study 3 The C-Direct- Insurance Company Developed by Peter Race, Henley Management College Call centres have fast become one of the most important channels for organizations and their customers to interact. There are around 4,000 call centres in the UK today,employing over 400,000 people. The direct sell insurance industry is increasingly using call centres to access and service its market. We will write a custom essay sample on C-Direct Insurance Company or any similar topic only for you Order Now The C-Direct -Insurance Company has its call centre in Newcastle, England. The company itself is just 6 years old and specialises in selling automobile insurance policies direct to customers. The process Advertising and promotion initiatives attract customers’ interest and generate enquiries to the CD Call Centre. These lead to the provision of quotations for personal car insurance. In order to provide the quotation, CD operators need to collect the customer’s personal and vehicle related data (in total 17 items) and input them to the computer. The process is as follows: Customers call the CDCall Centre (the focus of this case) by a freephone telephone number and submit the required information. This is entered directly into a computer terminal during the call, their questions answered, and quotation provided within 12 minutes. Customers can pay by credit card and receive immediate insurance cover. Customers receive their personal insurance offer confirmed in writing by mail, about 23 days after initial contact. Mr Small, the Operations Manager, is responsible for all operations in the Call Centre. The Call Centre employs 105 people in three shifts over a core day between the hours of 0800 and 2000. The resources for the Call Centre are:  · its facilities – for example the buildings and the staff’s workspace/workstations  · the equipment – for example, computers/systems the People who use them. Car insurance is compulsory in the UK, so customers are price sensitive and tend to shop around to compare the company’s offer with those of competitors. Only about 17% of CD’s offers are converted into policies. The operations management strategies of scheduling, capacity and quality management were reactive rather than proactive; for example, poor forecasting of demand resulte d in excess manpower being under utilised. Staffs were inflexible and showed little sympathy or understanding to frustrated and angry customers. The interfaces with support functions such as Marketing or Information Systems Department tended to be confrontational rather than supportive. Fortunately, in the early days, competition was not very tough and Mr Small had no special performance targets or formal control mechanisms – he was literally his own boss. The policy change After five years of high growth, over the last twelve months sales have only grown by 3% and the company is beginning to struggle with diminishing profits. The main reasons for the slowdown have been identified:  · New Entrants: 15 companies in the last 2 years, producing a wave of ‘direct insurance startups’. These companies have targeted the same customer segment as CD, the market for which has remained stagnant.  · Customers are more price sensitive and new entrants offer extremely low prices.  · Substitute Products are unchanged – customers still require car insurance. The new situation has forced management to review business policy options to provide a competitive advantage. Research has shown that for direct selling insurance products, the key market drivers are to:  · Offer a wider range of insurance products, so minimising the need for customers to deal with many suppliers. Offer low prices  · Provide excellent service. A recent internal report showed that the CD Call Centre still had potential to improve service levels and cost efficiency. The decision was therefore taken to extend the product range and improve service by addressing: Product flexibility CD will respond to customer’s demand by launching a new product – household insurance – and deliver it via the Call Centre, alongside car insurance. Household insurance is often requested by customers and they have been in the past disappointed not to source it from CD. Furthermore, the product margin for household insurance is high, thanks to low average claims. Since only a few competitors currently offer household insurance, management believed they could generate an above average profit margin in the first year after launch. Responsiveness In order to make the new product successful, it will also be necessary to fulfill customer expectations for ‘time’ response. Consequently, operations management will need to ensure quick access to the Cal Centre and efficient treatment of customers for both products. Quality Improve customer service – at least to match competitors’ standards. Internal analysis has shown that the auto insurance ‘lapse rate’ (customers not renewing their policies) – which is an indicator of customer satisfaction – was above the market average. To avoid this trap with the new product, significant improvements in service delivery of all CD’s activities is needed (including settlement of claims, which is not part of the Call Centre’s responsibilities). Cost Ensure price decrease of insurance premiums by reducing internal costs. All possibilities for further cost reduction must be exploited to permit a price level lower than the top five price leaders. By launching this policy change, senior management believe a successful implementation will lead to higher customer satisfaction and consequently to profitable growth. Influences on the operations The change in business policy will have an impact on M. Small’s current operations strategies. The policy change has been developed at corporate level but the benefits will have to be delivered by Mr Small, the Operations Manager, in the future. Therefore, Mr Small will need to address the changes to operating systems structures and operations management objectives. The determination of the tradeoff between customer service and resource utilisation will be a key factor for sustainable operation, especially in this competitive environment. The new business policy decision will affect Mr Small’s current practice in two ways. First, he will have to interface with the project setup to manage the launch of the new product and modifications to the delivery processes. Second, Small will have to establish operations management strategies to allow the business to meet the objectives of the policy change. The Project phase Workforce The existing staff will be responsible for the new product, alongside the existing offering. Therefore an intensive training programme on Information Technology (IT); enhancements and new product features will be required. To improve the overall quality and service provision, customer acquisition techniques and friendly handling of difficult customers will be covered during the training. Mr Small will work with the training department to develop a training plan which will take at least four days per group to deliver (each group has about 10 employees). Therefore, he will have to schedule the training so that the normal business will not be hampered by too few staff in the Call Centre. The new training approach will also have a long term influence, because training updates for employees will be held at least once a year. One of the aims of the training is to reshape corporate culture so as to engender a commitment to high efficiency and excellent ervice. This will demand empowering the workforce to focus on customer service, together with better collaboration between staff, by using more teamwork, to raise the overall efficiency levels of the operation. Mr Small will also have to install a feedback process to evaluate the satisfaction level of the staff, to help identify continuous improvement areas. Better motivation will be achieved by introducing a new incentive sy stem, using positive customer feedback as a measure for rewards. Facilities equipment The current workspace/workstation for a Call Centre staff member is a small, open ‘boxlike’ area (less than one square metre), containing a terminal, keyboard and telephone. The boxes are very close together and do not have a proper noise protection. Staff complains about the workstations, because with the background noise of five or more colleagues, concentration is difficult, and the number of data input errors are high. Staff have little space to write notes, so for example, noting down a telephone number to return a call to a customer is very difficult. After looking at the staff’s workspace, Small realised they would have to modify the building in order to create more space and provide noise protection. He thought that only by providing a convenient and ergonomic workspace would he be able to ensure his staff’s full commitment to performance improvements. A careful forecast of future demand will be necessary in order to install the right number of new workstations and avoid under/over utilisation of resources. Technology A new terminal mask (template or standard screen) for the Call Centre needs to be developed by the Information Systems Department (ISD). This mask must contain all questions that need to be answered by the customer. To ensure service quality, ISD would have to create a flexible IT system, which would enable the Call Centre staff to quickly switch from one screen to another, according to customer’s demand. The competitor benchmark for ‘time to switch’ screens is less than 3 seconds. Furthermore, high IT reliability is vital, because breakdowns in the past have stopped all activities of the Call Centre, (since they depend on online access to the mainframe) and customers could not be served during that time. Mr. Small wonders if an ISD/Call Centre staff taskforce should be setup to explore the main historical problems for poor reliability, define development areas and try to find the best possible solution. Organisation Experience in the past has shown that the first few months after a product launch to be critical. Therefore, a new role of a ‘first alert support person’ needs to be established. The ‘first alert’ person will help improve service by patrolling the Call Centre and helping the staff during busy times, in cases of difficult customer questions or with technical problems. Furthermore, they would have a coaching role for new employees and also support staff training. The Human Resource Department (HRD) will need to develop the job description, provide a career plan for that role, manage the necessary recruiting and training process and determine how this new position fits into the organisation. Questions 1. Prepare the Project Definition Report for implementation of the policy change. This report should cover: vision; purpose (including a stakeholder analysis); objectives; scope; strategy; project phases; and project organisation. 2. What are the risks for the project and how should they be managed? How to cite C-Direct Insurance Company, Essay examples

The Effects of British Colonisation on Indigenous Australians free essay sample

There are many effects of British colonisation on Indigenous Australians. One of the worst impacts was the loss of land. The land is the sole provider of food, medicine and other basic needs to Indigenous Australians. It is also the main part of their spiritual and cultural beliefs. The Indigenous Australians lived ‘nomadic’ lifestyles. They lived in tribes that moved around, using only what they needed, recycling what they could, and moved on when they felt that the resources at the site had been exhausted. This gave the site time to recover and recuperate, and so, their resources never ran out. To the Europeans, land stated how wealthy the owner was, and they linked land ownership with power. The more fertile land you owned, the wealthier and more powerful you were considered to be. This, of course, did not apply to all Europeans who came to Australia, as most were convicts who were given land to farm and provide food for their community. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of British Colonisation on Indigenous Australians or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When the Europeans came to Australia, their main aim was to build another colony, as well as find another place to situate their convicts. There were many reasons for the British to build extra colonies. These reasons include politics, religion and economics. Politics plays a very important part in colonialism. Extra colonies provided status, power and influence over the settlers, for the colonizer. This power enabled other effects of colonisation to take place, e. g. the spreading of religion Religion was a vital part of everyday life for the British. They felt that they had been ‘burdened’ with the task of having to spread their faith – Christianity. When the British had come into contact with the Aboriginals, they tried to ‘save’ them by introducing them to their religion, however, the Aboriginals had their own religion – the dreamtime. Building extra colonies also provided access to more natural resources, goods for trade and opened new markets for trading around the world. This provided even more wealth, and increased the economic status of many countries. When the British had ‘invaded’, many indigenous communities were forced off their land, which they considered sacred. In the early 19th century, many settlers took vital parts of the Aboriginal land, such as waterholes and soaks. By the 1870’s, all fertile land had been distributed. Many communities were reduced to living on the borders of British owned land, or on lands that were infertile, and considered unsuitable for settlement. As a result of the loss of land, the number of Aboriginal communities and the number of Aboriginals were greatly reduced. Consequently, they lost essential resources such as food and water, as there was less land to move around in, and less time for the land to recuperate. There are many effects of British colonisation on Indigenous Australians. Some of these were good, some others were bad, but the loss of land was one of the worst.

Australia and Japan essays

Australia and Japan essays They were the aggressor in World War 2; the foe that was inches away from occupying Australian soil. But despite everything, they are now the largest export market of Australia. This, coupled with Australias growing relationship with Japan certainly points to a bright future, both for Australia and Japan. This essay will examine firstly, the strain between Australia and Japan during World War 2; secondly, the export of Australian goods to Japan; thirdly, the import of Japanese goods to Australia; thirdly, problems about the trade relationship and future predictions. In the days when Japan was the supreme military power in the Australasian region, Australia did not have any sort of formal trade relationship with Japan. The Japanese were rather pictured as marauding yellow hordes, ready to launch an imminent invasion on Australia. This nightmarish image turned reality on 20th February 1942 after the bombing on Hobart. Due to the Japaneses effort in invading the US, Australia was able to repel the attack in New Guinea. The Australia-Japan relationship since has changed. Today, millions of Japanese visit Australia each year, many settling permanently. Nonetheless, it is trade that forms the key part of the bilateral relationship. Japan is, by far, the biggest market for Australian goods, buying in 1998 approximately AU$17.5 billion. This figure is also increasing by an average of AU$1 billion annually. The exports are mainly composed of raw materials, such as food (AU$22 million), mineral fuel (AU$4626 million) and other inedible crude material (AU$3636 million). These items play a major role in sustaining Japans large economy. In particular, mineral ores and fossil fuels from Australia have helped create Japans hi-tech products. But it has to be noted that manufactured goods are also exported to Japan from Australia (AU$1623 million). On the other end of the Pacific shore, Japan exported around ...

Subordination with Adjective Clauses

Subordination with Adjective Clauses In English grammar,  coordination is a useful way of connecting ideas that are roughly equal in importance. But often we need to show that one idea in a sentence is more important than another. On these occasions, we use subordination to indicate that one part of a sentence is secondary (or subordinate) to another part. One common form of subordination is the adjective clause  (also called a relative clause)a word group that modifies a noun. Lets look at ways to create and punctuate adjective clauses. Creating Adjective Clauses Consider how the following two sentences might be combined: My father is a superstitious man.He always sets his unicorn traps at night. One option is to coordinate the two sentences: My father is a superstitious man, and he always sets his unicorn traps at night. When sentences are coordinated in this way, each main clause is given equal emphasis. But what if we want to place greater emphasis on one statement than on another? We then have the option of reducing the less important statement to an adjective clause. For example, to emphasize that father sets his unicorn traps at night, we can turn the first main clause into an adjective clause: My father, who is a superstitious man, always sets his unicorn traps at night. As shown here, the adjective clause does the job of an adjective and follows the noun that it modifiesfather. Like a main clause, an adjective clause contains a subject (in this case, who) and a verb (is). But unlike a main clause an adjective clause cant stand alone: it has to follow a noun in a main clause. For this reason, an adjective clause is considered to be subordinate to the main clause. For practice in creating adjective clauses, try some exercises in Sentence Building With Adjective Clauses.   Identifying Adjective Clauses The most common adjective clauses begin with one of these relative pronouns: who, which, and that. All three pronouns refer to a noun, but who refers only to people and which refers only to things. That may refer to either people or things. The following sentences show how these pronouns are used to begin adjective clauses: Mr. Clean, who hates rock music, smashed my electric guitar.Mr. Clean smashed my electric guitar, which had been a gift from Vera.Mr. Clean smashed the electric guitar that Vera had given me. In the first sentence, the relative pronoun who refers to Mr. Clean, the subject of the main clause. In the second and third sentences, the relative pronouns which and that refer to guitar, the object of the main clause. Punctuating Adjective Clauses These three guidelines will help you decide when to set off an adjective clause with commas: Adjective clauses beginning with that are never set off from the main clause with commas. Food that has turned green in the refrigerator should be thrown away.Adjective clauses beginning with who or which should not be set off with commas if omitting the clause would change the basic meaning of the sentence. Students who turn green should be sent to the infirmary. Because we dont mean that all students should be sent to the infirmary, the adjective clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence. For this reason, we dont set off the adjective clause with commas.Adjective clauses beginning with who or which should be set off with commas if omitting the clause would not change the basic meaning of the sentence. Last weeks pudding, which has turned green in the refrigerator, should be thrown away. Here the which clause provides added, but not essential, information, and so we set it off from the rest of the sentence with commas. Now, if youre ready for a short punctuation exercise, see  Practice in Punctuating Adjective Clauses.

Motivation - Methods of Motivation use to excel in a College program Assignment

Motivation - Methods of Motivation use to excel in a College program - Assignment Example Motivation may push a student to spend countless nights studying for a course to excel in the marketplace. Psychologists believe that human beings are not the same. Thus, it is important to understand different types of motivation to capture different type of people, personality, and character. People are different on the way they perceive or view things, thus it follows that motivation has to be different. The three methods of motivation used to excel in college program include incentive, change, and extrinsic motivation. Primarily, incentive motivation is a strong force used in the learning institution. This method involves rewards. Through incentive motivation, students believe that they will obtain rewards for working hard or doing something. This motivates them to do everything they can to attain certain goals. This method of motivation bases its argument on the fact that human beings need to attain their set goals and objectives. To Anderman & Anderman (2010), learning institut ions utilize incentive motivation to reward the best performing or well-behaved students. By offering rewards, the management hopes to increase their performance and motivate their students to work harder in school programs. It is crucial to note that, there is high morale and motivation when people are working as a group in a given task. A continuous interaction in college programs increases friendship, unity, and mutual association. Motivation and morale help students to accomplish school programs faster and at an easy pace. For instance, incentive motivation may trigger students to work as a team and in turn creates a healthy competition. Teamwork or group discussion may help students to compete with each other and excel in all ways. It may also boost satisfaction and a sense of belonging. According to Karabenick & Urdan (2010), change motivation is a strong medium used to excel in college program. Sometimes, students, teachers, and other workers may do things to bring changes in the immediate environment. Change motivation pushes an individual to work tirelessly, hoping that one-day things will be better in their immediate environment. It is important to note that, change motivation help students to be tired of how things are and thus, think of a program to improve the entire environment. People are more likely to succeed when they understand their need to bring value to their organization. In the school set-up, external and internal factors that can sustain, intensify, start, or discourage bad behaviour. At this point, internal factors include human characteristics that trigger certain behaviours in the learning environment. For instance, students are fearful or confident when they approach new tasks. However, they are motivated when they live in a pleasant environment that fosters positive behaviours. It is crucial to understand that, external factors can affect learning conditions and personal development. For instance, certain schooling practices can h inder or promote motivations. These features include peer groups, classrooms, instructional practices, and school activities (Malloy, Marinak & Gambrell, 2010). At this point, helpful instruction may motivate a student to have good conduct. Change motivation is crucial in the school set up as it shapes students’ ability to learn experiences at school and in the large

Montery Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Montery Policy - Essay Example Monetary expansionary policy is traditionally used to combat unemployment during recession, by lowering interest rates and increase in the total money supply. This is done with a view to increase consumer spending, creating demand for goods and services. However, if checks and balances are not kept in place, increased money supply with inadequate increase in supply of goods and services may lead to inflation, which in turn may accentuate demand contraction and therefore, recession! Mackay and Evans article, ‘Recession fears weigh heavily on the markets’ (WSJ, Nov 26, 2007) deals with the situation of the US economy in the background of mounting worries of market players about the sluggish economic growth and sub-prime crisis in the housing and mortgage markets. The 8.4% drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index, during the third week of November 2007 from its all time high and increased interest in the bond market are pointers to the market worries. The Federal officials do not share this gloomy prediction and expect the economy to clock 1.8 to 2.5% growth in the next year and that the sub-prime crisis should bottom out soon. This view is also supported by the Commerce Department, which is revising the Jul. – Sept. 07 GDP growth to 4% and confirming positive income and job growths. J.P.Morgan on the other hand, predicts a much lower growth rate of 1.5% in the first three quarters of 2008. Both The article points out to the delicate balance in the various sectors of the economy which could be upset, if institutions reduce lending to the housing sector and if this is coupled with reduction in spending by consumers on gasoline due to rising fuel prices. A slump in consumer spending is bad for the US economy as well as for the economies around the world, which export their products to the large US market. The contagious effect of the US housing crisis to the European

Construction of Nuclear Power Station Case Study

Construction of Nuclear Power Station - Case Study Example Besides the special protected area under the Birds and Habitat Directives, it is testing time to get all the owners to agree on the development. I work for the EDG Energy and I have to comment on three aspects of development and these are: The international legal drivers behind the development of which the largest driver is the Kyoto protocol, how the development will be regulated between central and local government, and how the compulsory purchase mechanism is likely to work for this project. The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted on 11th December 1997 is the biggest single international driver behind the development. This treaty contains legally binding quantitative commitments for industrialized countries, in force from 16 February 2005. The European Union is signatory to the Kyoto Protocol. As such, the construction of the nuclear power station on the banks of the Six Estuary must satisfy the provisions of Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding agreement making it mandatory for industrialized nations to reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to the year 1990. The goal is to lower overall emissions from six greenhouse gases namely, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs). The national target for the reduction in the European Union is 8%. Nuclear energy does not require coal or any other element that emits greenhouse gas. However, nuclear energy produces nuclear waste and it is the disposal of this nuclear waste that requires to be handled with abundant care as it can be hazardous to the environment. The issue of handling nuclear waste is exacerbated as a foolproof method has not yet been found. The damaging effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster during the 1990s are fresh in people's minds everywhere. Such disasters push back any prospect of nuclear venture right at the proposal stage. In order for favorable decision, it is necessary for the European Union to provide adequately satisfactory record on complying with the Kyoto Protocol directives. The data provided by the European Union on current nuclear facilities usage in Europe does not make satisfactory reading (UNFCCC chief sees Kyoto Protocol countries on their way to reach emissions target). The use of nuclear energy on long time basis does not appear to be the best idea if there is no satisfactory consensus on the safe disposal of the nuclear wastage. Thus, Europe's compliance to Kyoto Protocol is fraught with controversies. There are

The Concept Of Governmentality

The Concept Of Governmentality The concept of governmentality is a neologism used by Michel Foucault in his work on modern forms of political power. It is a term that combines government and rationality, suggesting a form of political analysis that focuses on the forms of knowledge that make objects visible and available for governing. In Foucaults terms, governmentality refers to a distinctive modality for exercising power, one which is not reducible to the state. Governmentality is understood to work at a distance by seeking to shape the conduct of conduct. This in turn implies that governmentality refers to a wide range of points of application, including fields of action not ordinarily thought of as political, such as medicine, education, religion, or popular culture. Governmentality is a notion that develops Foucaults distinctive approach to the analysis of power relations. His work not only relocates power, dispersing it away from sovereign actions of centralised state agencies. It rethinks the type of action through which power is exercised (see Brown 2006b). In fundamental respects, the significance of the notion of governmentality for social theory turns on the interpretation of just what sort of theory of action this notion presupposes. The next two sections explore just where this significance lies. Lemke (2002) argues that Foucaults work on governmentality provides a means of understanding the relationships between knowledge, strategies of power and technologies of the self that can usefully augment narratives of neoliberalism. From this perspective, neoliberalism is understood as a political rationality that tries to render the social domain economic and to link a reduction in (welfare) state services and security systems to the increasing call for personal responsibility and self-care' (Lemke 2001, 203). On this understanding, governmentality is a concept that augments the political-economy approaches outlined in the previous section. For example, Ongs (1999) account of the distinctive forms of governmentality deployed by post-developmental states revolves around the assumption that various regulatory regimes manipulate cultural discourses to selectively make people into certain sorts of economic subjects consistent with the objectives of particular national strategies of acc umulation. Jessop (2007, 40) has also argued that the convergence between Marxism and governmentality studies follows from the mutually supportive emphases of the two approaches: while Marx seeks to explain the why of capital accumulation and state power, Foucaults analyses of disciplinarity and governmentality try to explain the how of economic exploitation and political domination. This formulation acknowledges Foucaults own observation that he was concerned with the how of power, but assumes that this descriptive focus merely augments the explanatory project of Marxist political-economy. What is covered over here is a fundamental philosophical difference between these two approaches: the concept of governmentality implies an analysis that focuses on the description of practices instead of causes and explanations. The Marxist and Foucauldian approaches are not necessarily as easily reconciled as it might appear. There are two main areas of difference between these approaches: their respective understandings of the state and of discourse (Traub-Werner 2007, 1444-1446). Political-economy approaches assume fairly static models of the state and the market, and view their relationship in terms of contradictory movements of de-regulation and re-regulation; they also assume that discourse is a representational concept, and focus upon how discourses are theorized differentially materialised in particular contexts. In contrast, governmentality refers to modalities of power that stretch far beyond the state; and discourse is not a representational system so much as a distinctive concept of action, referring to the combination of technologies, means of representation and fields of possibility. Despite the underlying philosophical differences between governmentality and Marxist political economy, Foucaults notion has become an important reference point in recent debates about neoliberalization (Larner 2003, Barnett 2005). If there is such a thing as a neoliberal project, then it is assumed that it must work by seeking to bring into existence lots of neoliberal subjects (cf. Barnett et al 2008). Work on this topic assumes that extending the range of activities that are commodified, commercialized and marketized necessarily implies that peoples subjectivities need to be re-tooled and re-worked as active consumers, entrepreneurial subjects, or empowered participants (e.g. Bondi 2005, GÃ ¶kariksel and Mitchell 2005, Mitchell 2003, Mitchell 2006, Sparke 2006a, Walkerdine 2005). In this interpretation, the dispersal of power implied by the notion of governmentality is re-centred around a sovereign conception of state action, now able to reach out all the more effectively into a ll sorts of arenas in order to secure the conditions of its own (il)legitimacy. The reduction of governmentality to a mechanism of subjectification marks the point at which Foucaults historical, genealogical approach to issues of subject formation is subordinated to presentist functionalism of theories of neoliberalization. This reduction follows from the ambivalence around subject-formation in the formalized models of governmentality that have developed Foucaults ideas. Roses (1999) analysis of advanced liberal governmentality argues that forms of social government, of which the classical Keynsian welfare state stands as the exemplar, are being supplanted by the de-socialisation of modes of governing. The rationalities of advanced liberal welfare reform take the ethical reconstruction of the welfare recipient as their central problem (ibid. 263). They seek to govern people by regulating the choices made by autonomous actors in the context of their everyday, ordinary commitments to friends, family and community. This rationality is visible in the proliferation o f the registers of empowerment and improvement, in which both subjects participating in welfare or development programmes are geared towards transforming the relationships that subjects have with themselves (Cruickshank 1999, Li 2007). In analyses of advanced liberal governmentality, these shifts in political rationality are the result of the efforts of a diverse set of actors pursuing plural ends. They do not reflect the aims of a singular, coherent neoliberal project pursued through the agency of the state. This emphasis is lost in the functionalist appropriation of governmentality to bolster theories of neoliberalization. This is compounded by the tendency in this work to presume that the description of political rationalities also describes the actual accomplishment of subject-effects. The vocabulary of theorists of neoliberal governmentality theorists is replete with terms such as elicit, promote, foster, attract, guide, encourage and so on: The key feature of the neo-liberal rationality is the congruence it endeavours to achieve between a responsible and moral individual and an economic-rational actor. It aspires to construct prudent subjects whose moral quality is based on the fact that they rationally assess the costs and benefits of a certain sort as opposed to other alternative acts (Lemke 2001, 201). The point to underscore here is the emphasis on a rationality that endeavours and aspires to bring about certain subject-effects. Narratives of the emergence of neoliberal governmentality display little sense of just whether and how governmental programmes seek to get people to comply with projects of rule or identify with subject-positions. This is in large part because the Foucauldian approach to neoliberalism continues to construe governmentality in terms of a politics of subjection (Clarke 2004d, 70-71). Such an assumption leads almost automatically to the conclusion that neoliberalism degrades any residual potential for public action inherent in liberal democracy (e.g. Brown 2003). Equipped with the concept of governmentality, this sort of presentation of neoliberalism is able to avoid any serious consideration of what sort of action can be exercised on subjects through acting on them at a distance. The idea that governmentality is a distinctive mode of political rule which seeks to hail into existence its preferred subjects, which are then only left with the option of resistance, needs to be treated with considerable scepticism. Understood as a mechanism of subjection, governmentality is assumed to work through the operation of norms. However, Foucauldian theory is chronically unable to acknowledge the work of communicative rationalities in making any action-through-norms possible (Hacking 2004). Theories of governmentality consistently fail to adequately specify the looping-effects between knowledge-technologies, practices, and subject-formation which are implied by the idea of governing at a distance (Barnett 2001). This failure leads to the supposition that governmentality works through representational modes of subjectification rather than through the practical ordering of fields of strategic and communicative action. At the very most, the governmentality approach implies a probabilistic relationship between regulatory rationalities of rule and the transformations of subjectivities, mediated by the rules of chance (Agrawal 2005, 161-163). It might even imply a reorientation of analysis towards understanding the assemblage of dispersed, singular acts rather than on psycho-social processes of individual subjection (Barnett et al 2008). The recuperation of governmentality as a theory of subject-formation, modelled on theories of interpellative hailing, overlooks the distinctive modality of action through which the Foucault addresses questions of subjectivity. Whereas liberalism and neoliberalism are understood in political-economy approaches as market ideologies, from the governmentality perspective liberalism (and by extension neoliberalism) should properly refer to a particular problematization of governing, and in particular the problematization of the task of governing free subjects. While a free market ideology might imply a problematization of free subjects, it does not follow that the problematization of free subjects is always and everywhere reducible to the imperatives of free market ideologies. Ong (2006) suggests, for example, a definition of neoliberalism in which long established technologies for administering subjects for self-mastery are only contingently articulated with projects directed at securing profitability. But this clarification still presumes that neoliberalism extends and reproduces itself primarily through a politics of subjection (see also Brown 2006a). It might be better to suppose that the distinctive focus in governmentality studies on modes of problematization should reorient analysis to the forms of what Foucault (1988) once called practices of ethical problematization. This would direct analytical attention to investigating the conditions for individuals to recognize themselves as particular kinds of persons and to reflect upon their conduct to problematize it such that they may work upon and transform themselves in certain ways and towards particular goals (Hodges 2002, 457). Two things follow from this reorientation. Firstly, it presumes that subjectivity is the product of situated rationalities of practice, rather than the representational medium of interpellative recognition (Hacking 2002). Secondly, it implies that the proposition that liberal governme ntality seeks to construct self-regulating subjectivities should not be too easily reduced to the proposition that these subjectivities are normatively self-interested egoists (Du Gay 2005). For example, Isin (2004) argues that the distinctive style of problematizing contemporary subjects of rule is in terms of so many neurotic subjects faced with various risks and hazards. One implication of this style of problematizing subjects is that state agencies continue to be the objects of demands to take responsibility for monitoring such neurotic subjects or securing them from harm. In this section we have seen how the third of the approaches to conceptualising neoliberalism identified by Larner (2000), which appeals to the concept of governmentality, can be more or less easily subsumed into the prevalent political-economy interpretation. The assumption that governmentality is a concept that refers to the inculcation of certain sorts of mentality into subjects is the prevalent interpretation of governmentality in geographys usage of this concept to bolster theories of neoliberalization, not least in the proliferation of work on neoliberal subjects. The marriage of political-economy and governmentality therefore generates a shared space of debate that defines state-of-the-art research into neoliberalization (Barnett 2005). While in the political-economy approach, discourses are treated as expressive of other levels of determination, in the governmentality approach political economic processes recede into the background; whereas political-economy approaches privil ege class relations over other social relations, the governmentality approach reduces the social field to a plane of subjectification. But these differences converge around a shared assumption that reproduction happens: that subjects live out their self-governing subjection as ascribed by governmental rationalities, or subordinate classes live out their regulatory roles as ascribed by hegemonic projects of consent (Clarke 2004c). And so it is that the social is reduced to the repository of a mysterious force of resistance waiting to be activated by the revelatory force of academic demystification. Foucauldian analysis of neoliberal governmentality remains unclear whether either tradition can provide adequate resources for thinking about the practical problems of democracy, rights and social justice. This is not helped by the systematic denigration in both lines of thought of liberalism, a catch-all term used with little discrimination

Enzymes :: Free Essays

Enzymes are proteins, composed of polypeptide chains and non-protein groups. Their function is to help with the reactions of many cells and molecules by serving as catalysts. A catalyst is a substance that allows the activation energy required for a reaction by forming a temporary association with the molecules that are reacting. During this process, the catalyst itself is not permanently altered in the process, and so it can be used over and over again. Because of catalysts, cells are able to carry out chemical reactions at a great speed and at comparative low temperatures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Almost 2,000 different enzymes are now known, each of them capable of catalyzing a specific chemical reaction. The molecule (s) on which an enzyme acts is known as its substrate. For example, sucrose is the substrate for the enzyme sucrase. Enzymes have specific structures that only its specific substrate will fit into. The polypeptide chains of an enzyme are folded in such way that they form a grove or pocket on the surface. The substrate fits in to this grove, which is the site of reactions catalyzed by the enzyme, or active site. Recent studies of enzyme structure have suggested that the active site is flexible. The binding between enzymes and substrate appears to alter the shape of the enzyme. This induces a close fit between the active site and the substrate. It is also believed that this may put some strain on the substrate molecule facilitating the reaction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another characteristics of enzymes are competitive inhibition and non-competitive inhibition. Competitive inhibition is the binding of a competitive molecule to the active site of the enzyme. This prevents the proper substrate from reacting with the enzyme. In non-competitive inhibition the binding of a non-competitive inhibitor to another site on the enzyme induces an allosteric change, or conformational change, that prevents the active site from binding to the proper substrate. Enzymes :: Free Essays Enzymes are proteins, composed of polypeptide chains and non-protein groups. Their function is to help with the reactions of many cells and molecules by serving as catalysts. A catalyst is a substance that allows the activation energy required for a reaction by forming a temporary association with the molecules that are reacting. During this process, the catalyst itself is not permanently altered in the process, and so it can be used over and over again. Because of catalysts, cells are able to carry out chemical reactions at a great speed and at comparative low temperatures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Almost 2,000 different enzymes are now known, each of them capable of catalyzing a specific chemical reaction. The molecule (s) on which an enzyme acts is known as its substrate. For example, sucrose is the substrate for the enzyme sucrase. Enzymes have specific structures that only its specific substrate will fit into. The polypeptide chains of an enzyme are folded in such way that they form a grove or pocket on the surface. The substrate fits in to this grove, which is the site of reactions catalyzed by the enzyme, or active site. Recent studies of enzyme structure have suggested that the active site is flexible. The binding between enzymes and substrate appears to alter the shape of the enzyme. This induces a close fit between the active site and the substrate. It is also believed that this may put some strain on the substrate molecule facilitating the reaction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another characteristics of enzymes are competitive inhibition and non-competitive inhibition. Competitive inhibition is the binding of a competitive molecule to the active site of the enzyme. This prevents the proper substrate from reacting with the enzyme. In non-competitive inhibition the binding of a non-competitive inhibitor to another site on the enzyme induces an allosteric change, or conformational change, that prevents the active site from binding to the proper substrate.

Being a Professional Teacher

â€Å"Education is a powerful weapon which you can use to change the world† –Nelson Mandela- The term education above is having so powerful role for human’s life described by Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa. It means that education has a very important role for everything in this entire world. No human beings are able to survive properly without education. Education tells us how to think, how to work properly, how to cook, how to survive, how to make a decision, etc. through education only one can make separate identity.It is the most important thing besides our basic needs such as: Clothes, food, shelters or houses. For the first we learn to interact each other, as we know that we are social creature created by God. We learn to make friends because of education too. Since we were enrolled to a school by our parents, we didn’t learn only alphabet, number, reading etc, but we also made friends. We interacted with them with teacher. It shows us how important the role of education is. According to Wardiman Djoyonegoro, the ex of Ministry of Education affair â€Å"At least there are three aspects which are able to develop education properly. ) facilities, 2) The quality of the books, 3) professional Teachers and educational staffs†. From the above explanation from Wardiman, I ound it interesting to write about professional teacher and why teacher is being favorite job for me. From Dutch colonization era, there have been the term teacher, so close, so important and seems like spearhead rather than just â€Å"a smart and experienced people†. They’re so sharp, so kind even so hard. But that’s a teacher. Being a professional teacher is so interesting and will be respectable.But it’s not as easy as tearing a paper. It needs a lot of sacrifices, morally and materially. This country needs so many professional teachers and staffs. So that educational development will be as wonderful as snow in the des ert. Here some characteristics of professional teacher: Teachers should have a load of energy for their students. They care the students in every conversation or discussion they make with the students Having obvious purposes. They know the purpose each their lesson they will give and work all out to fulfill the purpose.Having a good creativity to make the students discipline and having a good class management They are able to communicate with the parents and also keep in touch with the students’ parents. They have a high hope from the students and encourage students to have a good achievement. If we have applied those all, surely we are being favorite teachers and will be respected by all. This is the reason why teacher should be our favorite job. Being a teacher is my decision when I enrolled to my collage STKIP PGRI Jombang.I decided to be a teacher when I’d graduated from this collage. When I was child, my mom told me that the smartest people is teacher. The preside nt became a president because of teacher. On that time I just imagined how wonderful they are and I decided that teacher would be my dream when I grew up. Hat’s only a piece of funny thought of mine. Now I realize I should be a professional teacher. Why? Looking back at the educational system of Indonesia, it’s so heart-touching when I see there are so many children have no chance to going to school, especially in remote area.Education now seems just for the high class people. Although there have been a law rule in UUD 1945 about Educational budget is 20%, education is free for the poor people. Thos are so far away if we look back the education in remote area. So how come the government does ask to the citizen to have higher education if the fee is not payable? That’s why I really want to be a teacher in remote area especially. At least I can contribute for my beloved country although I’m not a soldier or police who keep this country.

Free Essays on Employment At-Will

Employment at Will The industrial revolution changed the status of workers and employment soon became a purely economic relationship. By 1877, Horace G. Wood wrote an authoritative treatise on the law of master and servant and expressed the American rule as follows: "with us the rule is inflexible, that a general or indefinite hiring is prima facie hiring at-will...". Under the at-will-employment rule, an employee was free to terminate his or her employment relationship at any time for any reason and the employer was likewise permitted to terminate the employee with no reason. This employment-at-will rule remained the law until the rule began to be eroded through statutory exceptions. The employment-at-will doctrine is not absolute. As soon as it was developed, the courts recognized that a strict employment at-will doctrine could be unfair and contrary to policies established by the legislature. While many employee and employers know that states recognize the employment at-will doctrine, they may not be aware that this doctrine is not a Federal employment law, it is a common law. Since the first announcing of the at-will rule the courts have established several common law and statutory exceptions to at will employment. In his book, Heneman explains: Common law is court-made law based upon case by case decisions which over an extended period of time sets a precedence in determining permissible and impermissible actions. Every state develops and administers its own common law. Employment at-will is treated at the state level. However, there are Federal laws that dictate legal exceptions to employment at will. Many legislatures have gradually entered into protection statue areas and began chipping away at the employment at-will doctrine. Some of the many more common exceptions protected by the Federal Law include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, American Disabilities Act. Alone, these a... Free Essays on Employment At-Will Free Essays on Employment At-Will Employment at Will The industrial revolution changed the status of workers and employment soon became a purely economic relationship. By 1877, Horace G. Wood wrote an authoritative treatise on the law of master and servant and expressed the American rule as follows: "with us the rule is inflexible, that a general or indefinite hiring is prima facie hiring at-will...". Under the at-will-employment rule, an employee was free to terminate his or her employment relationship at any time for any reason and the employer was likewise permitted to terminate the employee with no reason. This employment-at-will rule remained the law until the rule began to be eroded through statutory exceptions. The employment-at-will doctrine is not absolute. As soon as it was developed, the courts recognized that a strict employment at-will doctrine could be unfair and contrary to policies established by the legislature. While many employee and employers know that states recognize the employment at-will doctrine, they may not be aware that this doctrine is not a Federal employment law, it is a common law. Since the first announcing of the at-will rule the courts have established several common law and statutory exceptions to at will employment. In his book, Heneman explains: Common law is court-made law based upon case by case decisions which over an extended period of time sets a precedence in determining permissible and impermissible actions. Every state develops and administers its own common law. Employment at-will is treated at the state level. However, there are Federal laws that dictate legal exceptions to employment at will. Many legislatures have gradually entered into protection statue areas and began chipping away at the employment at-will doctrine. Some of the many more common exceptions protected by the Federal Law include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, American Disabilities Act. Alone, these a...

Free Essays on Miranda

Miranda v. Arizona This Supreme Court case deals with the rights of accused. This case mainly encompasses one’s Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate one’s self. Ernest Miranda, a twenty-three year old drifter was arrested and taken directly to a Phoenix, Arizona police station. There, after being identified by the victim of a rape kidnapping, he was taken to an interrogation room, where he was questioned about the crimes. At first, Miranda maintained his innocence, but after two hours of questioning, the police emerged from the room with a signed written confession of guilt. At his trial, the written confession was admitted into evidence and Miranda was found guilty of kidnapping and rape. The United States Supreme Court was then faced with Miranda’s claim that the confession was self-incrimination and in violation of his constitutional rights. The police’s admission that neither before nor during the questioning had Miranda had been advised of his right to consult wi th an attorney before answering any questions or his right to have an attorney present during the interrogation solidified Miranda’s argument. The Court decided that prosecutors could not use statements stemming from interrogation unless proper procedure, such as the notification to the accused of his right to refuse to answer the questions given by the police and his right to have an attorney present, the ruling was in favor of Miranda; 5-4. The decision of the Miranda case has three parts, which have changed the procedures of police stations across the United States. The Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment privilege is available outside of court proceedings and serves to protect persons in all settings from being coerced to incriminate themselves. The privilege also applies to questioning after the accused has been taken in to custody. The Court also ruled that a confession by the accused could only be admitted if it is voluntary and no coercion ... Free Essays on Miranda Free Essays on Miranda Miranda v. Arizona This Supreme Court case deals with the rights of accused. This case mainly encompasses one’s Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate one’s self. Ernest Miranda, a twenty-three year old drifter was arrested and taken directly to a Phoenix, Arizona police station. There, after being identified by the victim of a rape kidnapping, he was taken to an interrogation room, where he was questioned about the crimes. At first, Miranda maintained his innocence, but after two hours of questioning, the police emerged from the room with a signed written confession of guilt. At his trial, the written confession was admitted into evidence and Miranda was found guilty of kidnapping and rape. The United States Supreme Court was then faced with Miranda’s claim that the confession was self-incrimination and in violation of his constitutional rights. The police’s admission that neither before nor during the questioning had Miranda had been advised of his right to consult wi th an attorney before answering any questions or his right to have an attorney present during the interrogation solidified Miranda’s argument. The Court decided that prosecutors could not use statements stemming from interrogation unless proper procedure, such as the notification to the accused of his right to refuse to answer the questions given by the police and his right to have an attorney present, the ruling was in favor of Miranda; 5-4. The decision of the Miranda case has three parts, which have changed the procedures of police stations across the United States. The Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment privilege is available outside of court proceedings and serves to protect persons in all settings from being coerced to incriminate themselves. The privilege also applies to questioning after the accused has been taken in to custody. The Court also ruled that a confession by the accused could only be admitted if it is voluntary and no coercion ...

The unconventional and powerful women of uncle tom's cabin Research Paper

The unconventional and powerful women of uncle tom's cabin - Research Paper Example The behaviors that are described are used specifically to create a different understanding of the women in the book and to provide a different sense of insight to the women of the time period and the roles which were carried out with the responses to slavery. The main ideologies which are seen in â€Å"Uncle Tom’s Cabin† are based on showing the conventional women as a main identity juxtaposed against those that don’t have the same ideals. The concept of the conventional woman is based on those who are submissive in society and which have a demeanor that is below men and is known for beauty. The unconventional women reject this ideal and move against this to create an outlook that is tough, rigid and which doesn’t conform to the submission that is a part of the social acceptance of gender. A point that shows this is when Marie becomes angry with her cousin. â€Å" ‘Delicacy! Said Marie, with a scornful laugh – ‘a fine word for such as s he! I’ll teach her, with all her airs, that she’s no better than the raggedest black wench that walks the streets! She’ll take no more airs with me!’† (Stowe, 366). This is an important line in the story as it shows the difference between the women. The identity of one is based on beauty, delicacy and the ‘lady-like airs.’ However, Stowe sides with the Marie who is interested in making the woman into a ‘wench’ and to teach her a lesson about the realities of life. The identity of gender leads from the conventional to one who rebels against this because of the values that are learned with gender. The unconventional ways in which Stowe focuses on the women in the book leads to one of the main controversies, specifically because of the time frame in which this was written in. The sentimental value doesn’t come from the lady like airs, but rather the toughness of the women. The value which is created among male scholars is one which would be associated with the lack of gender identity among the women. However, for women, there is a sense of identity, feminine power and value to the women which creates a type of sentiment and understanding to those that are in this condition. The representation of the women is then able to speak to an audience that moves beyond male scholars and instead speaks to the women who have the same conflicts with the belief that they are inferior because of their gender (Tompkins, 123). The concept of speaking to women, creating sentimental value and going against the convention all work together with several examples through â€Å"Uncle Tom’s Cabin.† Stowe is able to show how the idea of being unconventional is the only thing which allows the women to overcome their condition that is noted throughout the book. It also gives a sense of acceptance to those that don’t stay in the normal identity and which are able to create their own power by remaining ou tside of this. For instance, when Miss Ophelia and Marie are speaking, there is reference to Marie’s past life and her children. Marie states â€Å"Well, of course, I couldn’t bring them. They were little dirty things – I couldn’t have them about; and, besides, they took up too much of her time; but I believe that Mammy has always kept up a sort of sulkiness about this† (Stowe, 192). Marie then refers to her children as selfish and her need to take care of herself. The unconvention

Pro's and Con's of Telework from the Employers Perspective Research Paper

Pro's and Con's of Telework from the Employers Perspective - Research Paper Example Teleworking is an instrument that can alter the organization’s competencies (Illegems & Verbeke, 2004). Teleworking has multifaceted implications for the individual, for the organization as well as for the society. This paper evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking from an employer’s perspective. Lim and Teo (2000) define teleworking as a work arrangement where employees can work out of home during or outside office hours. Teleworking has also been defined as â€Å"Periodic work out of the principal office, one or more days per week either at home, a client’s site, or in a telework center (Nilles, 1998 cited in Hill, Ferris & Martinson, 2003). It involves working through different satellite offices or other remote locations away from the company office (Golden, 2006). Contact is maintained through different office equipments powered by communication and information technologies such as through computer modems, facsimiles and electronic and voic e mail systems. This is the reason that teleworking is more prevalent in countries that have more use of electronic communication. Teleworking is done part-time from home or other remote locations and this results in best output as it can prevent social isolation of the workers (Perez, Sanchez, & Carnicer, 2003). ... The IT industry has a high employee turnover rate globally. Frequent displacement of employees affects the morale of those who remain in the organization. Teleworking can be beneficial to the organization if the employees have a positive attitude towards it. The potential advantages include reduction in office space requirement, capital savings for the organization, and possibility of retention of scarce skills and talents in the organization (Lim & Teo, 2000). All of these in turn could boost the morale of the remaining employees. However, it is important that the employees have a favorable attitude towards teleworking. This has also been found in the case of Spanish firms where the organization can benefit only if the employees are involved in design and programming their own tasks (Perez, Sanchez, & Carnicer, 2003). If employees focus on self-management skills and are able to organize their schedules, set priorities, meet deadlines and asses their own performance, teleworking can be beneficial in Spain. This is because the HR managers are not familiar with technology and its implications. However, the same may not work in the UK as it requires shift in management culture (Perez, Sanchez, & Carnicer, 2003). To encourage teleworking initiative and adoption, an innovative culture is essential to foster and stimulate change as this makes adoption easier. Teleworking provides the organization to improve the way they manage their working activities in all areas of the value steam. To beat the talent war and scarcity of skills, offering such flexible working system enables the organization to offer something beyond the remuneration â€Å"deals† (Morgan, 2004). Telework helps to attract, motivate and retain

Guillermo Furniture Store Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Guillermo Furniture Store Concepts - Essay Example The labor component in furniture manufacturing, in case of Guillermo, is substantial because all its products are hand-crafted and the company has no way to control its labor cost. On the contrary, it is on increase due to influx of other businesses for the favorable conditions in the region. Financial Concepts Involved Guillermo has to view the whole business scenario from a different perspective. If the company decides to be high-tech just like its competitor to replace its costly labor, then the company needs to estimate the risk-return trade-offs as making the company automated will require huge capital investment. In this process, Guillermo will need to apply numerous financial concepts to arrive at the conclusion whether it is worth investing huge capital to thwart the challenge posed by the competitor. First of all, the company needs to undertake a detailed budgeting exercise to evaluate the viability of high-tech model of manufacturing in its case. The company would need to e stimate the total fund requirement for going high-tech in this business. The company will have option of financing this capital expenditure either through equity or through mix of debt and equity. In the case of later, important thing will be to find appropriate debt-equity ratio for financing the project. Guillermo being a running and profitable company can certainly attract banks and other financial institutions to lend them for this project but leveraging should be within the prevailing norms as applicable for these kinds of businesses. High leveraging (high debt) creates higher business risk and that must be avoided as often occurs during economic slowdown. In a bid to ascertain financial viability of the investment, the company will need to estimate the break-even point in terms of volume (no. of pieces of each product variety) and value both. Break-even volumes will mean all revenue earnings meet all expenses of the company including fixed and variable ones. The break-even cal culations (Break-even analysis, 2012) will also force them to chalk its marketing and sales strategy – the distribution channels, number of retail shops and the geographical reach necessary to achieve those sales. The financial budget formation, capital required, capital structure deciding about equity-debt ratio, break-even volume analysis, cost of capital including weighted average cost of capital (Weighted Average Cost of Capital – WACC, 2012) present value of all expected future streams of revenue (Present value, 2012) until the useful life of machines, internal rate of return (Internal Rate of Return, 2012) will finally decide whether it is worth investing in the automation process so as to compete with the overseas firm effectively. Conclusion It is certain that Guillermo has gone through above mentioned detailed financial viability analysis to ascertain whether the company should go for this new business model or not. Having found the return on investment not lu crative, the company thought of outsourcing entire supply from a second competitor who has similar business model of manufacturing process

ICT and an Adult in Education Essay Example for Free

ICT and an Adult in Education Essay Mr Williams is a teacher at my school, he teaches ICT and Business Studies at KS3, ICT at KS4, Form Tutor, Production, Collection and Collation of Reports for the whole of my school. He produces information on students and for staff to help in teaching and learning, he also produces statistics for staff, senior staff, LEA and DFES. He also produces information to do with effort grades ad target setting information. So he uses a lot of technology, this includes; * PCs on a Network * Apple Macs on a Network * Internet via 10MB broadband * E-mail * Laptop also on Network * Digital Video Camera * Digital Still Camera * Digital LCD Projector * Palm m515 PDA * Wireless Notebooks Window/MAC OS * USB Memory sticks * Data Logging Hardware * Control hardware/software * Fax * Also available Interactive Whiteboard Mr Williams is a teacher of I. C.T and business studies at Key Stage 3, teacher of I.C.T at Key Stage 4, Production, collection and collation of Reports for the whole school, effort grades and target setting information he produces also. He produces of information on students for staff to use which will help in teaching and learning. He has achieved the Electronic registration system for the whole school within 12 months for people to use and view. He performs general backup for staff using RM software, he also performs General Network Administration which is adding new pupils and staff users. He gives advice on purchasing new equipment for the whole school and departments. He selects, purchases and setups laptops for teachers using E-Learning. Mr Williams analyses exam results so senior staff and heads of years or departments so they are aware of achievement compared to the expected results. Staff are also able to view these results so they can be aware of performance issues. Subject staffs, heads of years and de partments, senior staff and form tutors are also able to access these results, grades and comments. Extra software is available which will help staff by using the system that was introduced by Mr Williams, (software produced using Microsoft Visual Basic). The RM Network The RM network system allows Mr Williams to access the information on students and is able to update it if needed such as if the student changes address or phone numbers. Mr Howells can now, after Mr Williams has set the network up, can get access to LEA Management Information System and the school records. Data bases are creates to hold student information on staffs users names or folders on their laptops. Mr Williams has also enabled access from home, using the internet and school passwords. He has also updates the Pupil Achievement Tracker software which allows staff to store progress of students within classes or year group. The RM connect system enables Mr Williams and two other members of staff, who are supervisor users, to access students work areas to solve problems and to check appropriate use of programmes and internet. The E-mail system is also filtered so inappropriate E-mails are redirected and staff are able to view them, the access of websites with inappropriate langua ge or content such as pictures, Mr Williams and the other two members can check. The RM system is set up to allows staff to open Read only documents so they can give students access to related subjects. Mr Williams uses this for providing information, revision materials, coursework guides and modelling situations and simulation materials. Also used is a Virtual CDROM software and a multimedia server this allows staff and students to access CDROM images, such as the Applied ICT On-Line course used in years 9, 10 and 11. Digital Multimedia Technology Mr Williams also uses digital multimedia technology to help provide teaching and learning resources. Mr Williams used a digital camcorder, a still camcorder and Video editing software on Apple computers on a programme called IMovie and Windows, Microsoft Movie Maker2 to interview staff in local company. The final video clips were used on Matchware Mediator, which helped him to produce a series of web pages which students now use for their coursework tasks. Digital LCD Projector Mr Williams uses a digital LCD projector to allow students to use and interact with progressing work. Either Mr Williams or a Student will control the PC being used in the demonstration or teaching session. Mr Williams also uses this technology with teachers on Inset days for staff. School Internet Network Mr Williams uses the internet the school provides for teaching and learning and links on the school system. The internet is used for research for topics and to help Mr Williams keep up to date with the education and subjects. Students and staff use the school e-mail system to communicate or send work for marking or that has been marked via E-mail. Mr Williams can view students progress on GCSE grades by using created databases in DataPower which stores coursework marks, comments and examination marks. Formulae is used to estimate the final grade the student may be given to the student, he can do this by using board supplied information. This information is shared with students and used to report back to parents. Virtual Learning Mr Williams has helped in the introduction of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The VLE allows students to upload web pages to the school system and also as a secure data and information storage area for students work. PDA Mr Williams uses PDA in school; this holds a lot of useful information such as Diary information, pupil performance information, examples of E-book for future reference by students in the school. Software and information can be beamed using Infra Red technology to members of staff or to certain Infra-Red equipped printers in the school. USB Stick Mr Williams has introduced the use of USB stick technology which enables transport of large amounts of data in a compact secure form (32 or 128 Mb at present). Data Logging and Control Hardware Mr Williams uses Data Logging and Control hardware in teaching and provides INSET days for ICT and Science staff, these days are needed to improve the quality of teach Wireless Mr Williams uses the wireless (55Mb) notebooks with students in school and with adult learners to allow them to experience new technology. The advantages are obvious, a lot more space recommended for each machine, extra infra form is required, (Wireless access points can be plugged into network sockets, for easy movement), students can also work in groups in a more adjustable way. The School Network The School Network System enables Mr Williams to access information on students or necessary by students or staff anywhere in the school. Software He uses a lot of software such as Microsoft Word Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Publisher, DataPower 2, Macromedia dreamweaver, Macromedia Fireworks, Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Freehand, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, Pupil Achievement Tracker (PAT), IMovie, Microsoft Movie Maker 2, QuickTime Pro, Microsoft Visual Basic, Internet Explorer, EasyMail and Outlook Express. Hardware and Network, Windows Desktop PCs, Windows Laptop, Apple IBooks (wireless) Apple G4 desktops, Apple Network using MACOS Xserver, RM Connect network using 5 NT4 servers and a multimedia server, Fibre Optic spine connecting four cabinets which contain Hubs and Switches, 100Mb Ethernet to the desktop, 10Mb Broadband Internet access with RM SmartCache technology, Palm m515 PDA using IR and USB technologies for transferring data. He also uses a Promethean Interactive Whiteboard, Sony digital video camera, Canon digital video camera, Sony digital still camera, Canon digital still camera. The Internet Mr Williams uses the internet for research, if he did not have the internet he would have to get information from textbooks, and use more textbooks during lessons while he teaches. If he had to do this it would be expensive. If he was not able to have access to the internet it would mean he would have to photocopy from books so he would have to arrange time before and after lessons to photocopy the information needed. To do this more money is needed to be spent and more time would be needed, so other jobs will not be able to be completed as time would be wasted on photocopying. As Mr Williams will always be up to date with resources as he uses the internet. Mr Williams also uses the internet to buy gifts for friends and family, such as buying tickets fro the cinema or theatre, with his friends and family. He likes using the internet to but gifts as he gets an online discount, that isnt available in the shops and by using the internet he doesnt have to waste time waiting in queues. Al though there is a disadvantage about purchasing online as he doesnt always get to see all the objects in the shop, and he also has to pay for delivery, but that works out the same as the amount of money he would of spent driving to the shop and parking. The PDA The PDA had several facilities this means Mr Williams will have all the information he needs for the day. If he didnt have this piece of technology Mr Williams wouldnt be able to travel around school to see students and teachers as he would have to carry lots of papers with him if he didnt have this technology. Sometimes he is not able to take his laptop into meetings but with this programme he is able to save work to his area, this is handy as he will never loose his work or information, like he would if he had to carry paper around with him. The PDA has facilities which a useful to Mr Williams, such as alarms and a diary, this meets his needs as he is never late to an appointment or meeting and never misses a private party or function, like a family members of friends birthday party. Digital Camcorder He uses a digital camcorder to create applications for his students ICT classes. This allows Mr Williams to download the resources directly to the system. Mr Williams can now uses student friendly resources in his teaching schedules, enriching and improving the experience of his students education. Memory Stick Mr Williams uses a memory stick which allows him to be more resourceful and more flexible in his job. This means Mr Williams can hold data on and be able to transport it around school easily. As he can store more work it means he can do more work at home in his own time in the evenings and at the weekend. This means Mr Williams can now spend more time at home as before he had a memory stick he would have had to spend more time at school, which before he felt he was missing out on his family life. Notebook Dell D810 He uses a Notebook Dell D810, this means he now has more freedom than he used too. Before he had this laptop it meant that he had to sit at a desktop, which is usually in a classroom, and could not get much work finished. This programme means that he can move around during school, as long as it has a wireless connection to the network, having this means he can complete all of his work. Microsoft Word This Microsoft programme can give Mr Williams a variety of options and facilities. One of the facilities is mail merge is useful for producing reports for students. If Mr Williams did not have this option of using Microsoft Word, it would take him an awful long time to add addresss and reports for students. The word processing software also checks his spelling and grammar so it looks professional and correct. Power Point is also used by Mr Williams to create presentations for students. Having this programme allows students how to create different fun pieces or work. E-Mail Mr Williams uses E-mail for school and his social life he uses this so he can send work to and from home, also he can sends work to students via e-mail, with suggestions on how to improve their work. He also uses this to communicate with his family and friends to arrange events in his social life. He likes e-mail because he knows that when he sent an e-mail, it will be viewed by the person he has sent it to, when they open their inbox. This therefore means he can communicate. This means he can communicate with anyone when he is on his computer and isnt near a phone. Doing this means he doesnt have to wait until the person turns on their phone or leaves a message or is at home. Mr Williams feels that when he leaves a message on a phone, he doesnt feel he can communicate properly. He knows that if he sends an e-mail, all of the necessary information will be displayed once read. Network System Mr Williams is able to access information anywhere in the school. This means that he can complete his work anywhere and any time, when he has spare time.

Performance of Goldman Sachs and Financial Ratio Analysis

Performance of Goldman Sachs and Financial Ratio Analysis Conventionally the Bank performance is evaluated by analysis of the financial ratios. However, despite of quite a few number of ratios being calculated, a sculpt that completely convinces the analysis of requirements and bank operations efficiency evaluation is yet to be developed. Hence for these reason, the financial ratio analysis is balance with unlike eminence evaluations, with characteristics such as organization quality, equity structure, spirited position and others which are incorporated in the concluding assessment. In this piece of work we are going to evaluate overall performance of Goldman Sachs and critically analyse how financial ratios are used to evaluate banks performance. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a American investment banking and securities organisation which slot in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and erstwhile financial services principally with institutional clients. Goldman Sachs was founded in the year 1869 and its headquarter is at 200 West Street in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City. It has additional offices in major international financial hubs. The Goldman Sachs offers mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting services, asset management, and prime brokerage to its clientele, which include corporations, governments and individuals. The Goldman Sachs also engages in proprietary trading and private equity deals, and is a primary dealer in the United States Treasury security market (Goldman Sachs Website). Bank Internal Performance Evaluation Strategic planning Goldman Sachs ability to address and tap into important economic and financial trends through roles such as advisor, financier, market maker and asset manager are critical for fulfilling their mission to help spur growth and perform strongly as a firm. Technology Technology is a core part of GS product offering and client experience. GS ability to respond quickly and effectively to address its clients needs with customized systems, products and services helps differentiate the firm. A technological advantage for GS is that they have only one central risk system, which is partially a byproduct of not having done multiple, major acquisitions that often require merging and retrofitting platforms. Personnel development The success of the GSs efforts are measured by how effectively their people act. Over time, effective training and development have enrich their corporate culture and strengthen the values of client service and focus on reputational risk management. Recognition includes compensation, promotion, assignments and mobility opportunities. They have made it clear the link between the behaviour expected of its people and the recognition used to encourage it. This is critically important because it signals broadly the way GS expects its people to behave and conduct business (Goldman Sachs Annual report 2010). Bank External Performance Evaluation Market share GS has frequently performed above the market despite worsening economic conditions. Since the 2008, the company has outpaced the market enough to draw public admiration. With strong profits and expected strong returns, the company has set aside $500M to invest in small businesses. These efforts are a combination to both improve the economy and their public image. Regulatory compliance The Dodd-Frank legislation and new capital and liquidity requirements under Basel 3 are two of the more significant outcomes from the recent focus on enhancing financial stability. Given regulatory implementation is only just beginning, and unclear on how the new rules will ultimately impact the industry. The broad contours of new regulation, however, are clear: improve the safety and soundness of the global financial system, increase the transparency of derivatives markets, limit certain investing activities and reduce the consequences of a failure of a large financial institution. Public confidence Goldman Sachs announced in May 2010 that it formed a Business Standards Committee to reshape its business practices and mend its reputation. Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said at the time that there is a disconnect between how we view the firm and how the broader public perceives our roles and activities. GSs shareholders, BoDs, clients and customers have supported Mr. Blankfein through all the crisis and this shows their faith in bank (Goldman Sachs Annual report 2010). 4.0 Analyzing Bank Performance with Profit Ratios Goldman Sachs financial performance was better in 2009  than 2010 and Q4 2009 was the best quarter since the recession. 4.1 ROE Return on equity (ROE= net income after taxes/total equity) reveal GS capability to produce profits from shareholders equity (further referred as net assets or assets minus liabilities). In other words, ROE shows how effectively a company uses the shareholders money. As seen in graphical representation above, it is clear that Goldman Sachs is tendering a lower return on shareholders equity as compared to year ended in2009. The ROE of GS for the last year was 18.93% as compared to 10.08% this year. There has a been a significant decrease in the ROE which suggests GS is not utilising shareholders money properly. GS return on equity has declined substantially due to deleverage and is only marginally higher than its current cost of capital. 4.2 ROA Return on assets (ROA = net income after taxes/total assets) is how resourcefully a firm uses its assets. From the formula it is quite obvious that higher the ratio, the company is performing more efficiently and thus is generating more profits. A low ROA with enormous assets designate that the firm is handling its asset at a poor rate. As seen in graphical representation above, it is seen that Goldman Sachs has provided a lower ROA of 0.91% this year over 1.58% last year. There is one key differentiation between ROE and ROA and it is debt. In absence of debt, the shareholders equity is same as total assets of the firm which means that in this case, ROE and ROA are identical. Now if the firm come to a decision to take a loan, ROE exceeds ROA. A elevated ROE does not always guarantee a extraordinary performance of a firm. Incidentally, ROA is then a healthier pointer of the financial performance of a firm. With a high ROA and manageable debt, if ROE is also high it means that the company is generating decent profits using shareholders money. But if ROA is low and there is huge debt carried by the company, even a high ROE can only be a misleading figure. 4.3 Net Interest Margin 4.4 Leverage ratio Debt to Equity Ratio 4.5 Decomposition of ROE DuPont Analysis As revealed in Appendix B, The ROE of a bank is dependent on a various factors and thus change in any one of these factor can affect the rate of return on shareholders equity of the bank. As Net Income is the main source to calculate ROE in conjunction with the shareholders equity in the bank, every alteration in the Income and Expense of the bank openly affects the net income and thus influence the ROE of a bank. The detailed DuPont analysis of Goldman Sachs for year 2010 is presented in Appendix B. The ROE is decomposed as follows wrt dupont identity. Now assuming that changes are made in Income or Expense levels of the Goldman Sachs, its effect will be seen on ROA and ROE. Let us consider a case where the Interest Expense for Goldman Sachs goes down by 10% and there are no changes in its Interest Income, following are the effects on ROA and ROE of the bank. Scenario 1 : -5% change in interest expense Change Values after change Interest Expense -10% 6125.4 Interest Income 0% 12309 Effect on NI 6680.6 39841.6 Effect on ROA +0.07% 0.99% Effect on ROE +0.88% 11.68% A few other situations with amendment in Total Non-interest Income and expenses and their outcome on the ROA ROE of bank are given away in the chart below. Scenario 2 : -5% change in non-interest expense Change Values after change Total Non-interest Income -5% 31975.1 Effect on NI -1682.9 37478.1 Effect on ROA -0.19% 0.73% Effect on ROE -1.46% 8.62% Scenario 3 : +10% change in non-interest expense Change Values after change Total Non-interest Expenses 10% 27962 Effect on NI -2542 3160 Effect on ROA -0.31% 0.27% Effect on ROE -4.44% 3.78% Bank Performance Evaluation Based on Economic Profit 5.1 Risk-Adjusted Return on Capital (RAROC) In risk- adjusted return on capital the capital is allocated for two vital motives: (1) risk management and (2) performance evaluation. In support of risk-management rationale, the banks most favourable capital structure can be establish by allocation of capital to individual business units. This course of action entails assessing the amount of the risk (volatility) each business unit chip in to the total risk of the bank and hence to its overall capital requirements. Now, for performance-evaluation function, RAROC structure allocate capital to business units as part of a procedure for shaping the risk-adjusted rate of return and, eventually, the economic value added of each business unit. The EVA of every and each business unit is its adjusted net income minus the amount of equity capital allocated to the unit times the required return on equity. The purpose is to compute a business units input to shareholder value and so to provide a source for effective capital budgeting and incentive compensation at the business-unit level. RAROC is calculated by dividing risk-adjusted net income by the total amount of economic capital assigned which is dependent on the risk calculation. Risk-adjusted net income is calculated by taking the financial data allotment to the bank and fine-tuning the income statement for expected loss. A further modification is also required to take into account the effects on the net interest margin because the attention is moved from book profitability to economic profitability. Thus RAROC = Risk adjusted income / Allocated Capital RAROC for 2010 of Goldman Sachs therefore comes to 2.24 %. Let us consider some scenarios where the risk adjusted income for Goldman Sachs are changed by {-2%, +2%, -5% +5%}, The effect on its RAROC is represented as below. Change in Risk Adjusted Income 2 % + 2 % 5 % Effect on RAROC 2.20 % 2.29 % 2.13 % Economic Value Added (EVA) EVA (Economic Valued Added) is a present day financial dimension instrument which concludes whether a business is earning greater than its true cost of capital. EVA stands out apart from ROA ROE which are most accepted measures of bank performance. This is because it includes cost of equity capital employed. On the other hand, net banking income and the efficiency ratio, also, do not consider the cost of equity capital employed. Therefore, these ratios possibly will propose a banks performance as healthy but in fact it could be deteriorating its value to its shareholders. EVA is essentially a tool that focuses on maximizing shareholder wealth. EVA = Adjusted earnings Opportunity cost of capital {Net operating Profit after Taxes} {Cost of Equity X Equity Capital } With an aim of creating values, the return on invested capital (ROIC) for a bank must be greater than cost of capital. So, the EVA can be possibly increased in quite a few ways, by: 1) Increasing Net operating Profit after Taxes; 2) Lowering the Cost of Equity and 3) Reducing Equity Capital Conclusion Year on year Goldman Sachs revenues have descended by 11.04% from $51.67bn to $45.97bn. This along with an increase in the cost of goods sold expense has contributed to a reduction in net income from $13.39bn to $8.35bn, a 37.59% decrease. In 2010, Goldman Sachs did not generate a significant amount of cash. Cash Flow from Financing totalled $7.84bn or 17.05% of revenues. In addition the company used 6.16bn for operations while cash used for investing totalled $185m. Goldman results were also dragged down by a $465 million one-time expense to cover a U.K. payroll tax and a $550 million outlay to settle  SEC  charges that it favoured certain clients over others.