Wednesday, August 26, 2020

David Suzuki, The Big Picture- the enviormentalist dilemma Essay

David Suzuki, The Big Picture-the enviormentalist problem - Essay Example He discusses the various parts of this issue and the conceivable protection instruments that the planet may have so as to battle the infringements of innovation. For Suzuki, it is likewise significant that one comprehends the significance of mankind’s position on the planet. The way that man is one of the numerous animal types that exist on this planet is noteworthy for Suzuki. There are a few new speculations that Suzuki advances including the possibility that it is essential for the biological to be evaluated in the financial feeling of the term. This would then squeeze individuals to make a reality where the biology is esteemed in wording that are recognizable to the current market economy. This at that point makes us mindful of the significance of making an existence where the biology is definitely not a superfluous ware however something that gives us a comprehension of man’s connection to his condition and different animals who have equivalent rights over the asse ts of the earth. Suzuki’s principle contention is that the nature should be given his due and incorporated with the logical undertakings of man and in the financial system of the world, without which there would be no practical development on the planet in any division. One of the primary contentions that Suzuki makes all through his vocation is that humankind needs to grapple with the way that it exists on the earth and would not have the option to get by without the earth being a spot that can continue them. The distinction that man uncovers with regards to the earth can be seen from the way that soil is constantly viewed as something that is bothersome. Notwithstanding, this abhorrence for soil is careless in regards to the way that whatever develops on the earth flourishes in earth and can be believed to draw its sustenance from the earth that is respected with such scorn by man (Mast). This at that point uncovers an endeavor with respect to Suzuki to take a gander at the small things in one’s life that demonstrate the perspectives that one holds towards the earth. Such perspectives at that point make a circumstance where the biology is underestimated and not given its appropriate due. Its life-continuing quality is then muddled and not given due significance. Regardless of man’s headway as far as science and innovation, there is still a great deal that should be done as far as the protection of nature. The preservation of the nature is an unquestionable requirement for the supported improvement since the assets vital for advancement at last originates from the earth itself. This can be seen from this explanation that is made by Suzuki in The Big Picture-†¦all of these things that so rule our features and our lives-these things are only social develops made by people. Eventually they despite everything rely upon something different: the proceeded with presence of a steady and solid planet to furnish us with the nuts and bolts of l ife. Without a solid planet to purify our squanders and give us assets, we will wilt. Except if we can figure out how to live in offset with the common frameworks that support us, our species will at last arrive at an impasse (3). The thoughts that are communicated in this section are significant as they don't recommend that improvement of the sort that is fuelled by mechanical advances is inconsequential. What it proposes, be that as it may, is that there should be an attention to the ecological effect that specific projects of improvement have. As indicated by Suzuki, one must not debase science and its consequences for humankind. Notwithstanding, one must

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Monopoly and Microsoft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Imposing business model and Microsoft - Essay Example As will be exhibited in this concise scientific reaction, it is the conviction of this creator that a restraining infrastructure, paying little heed to its shape, size, or structure, is at last ruinous to the market and unsafe to the end purchaser (Kapoor, 2009). All things considered, the instance of Microsoft and a conversation of monetary hypothesis, just as the conduct that Microsoft has shown in the course of recent decades, will be locked in as a methods for understanding this specific methodology. Besides, it is the expectation of this writer that the peruser will go to an increasingly significant degree of comprehension as for the way that imposing business models are eventually hurtful and don't speak to a net advantage to the general public all in all (figures 1 and 2 inside the reference section of this short work exhibit the damage that a syndication can have with respect to expanded costs paid by the end buyer). Imposing business model and Microsoft: In understanding the restraining infrastructure that Windows has on the client experience of working a PC, one ought not just look to the manner by which the firm overwhelms the working framework itself. Rather, a snappy thought of ongoing history uncovers that Microsoft has since quite a while ago developed the imposing business model that it currently holds (Ohlhausen, 2004). For example, Microsoft deliberately bundled Internet Explorer inside Windows 95 and after as a methods for diminishing the market nearness and generally speaking degree of benefit that Netscape could have in the market (Gisser, 2011). As this was a viable instrument towards diminishing rivalry, and Microsoft before long took in the advantage of bundled software’s capacity to additionally characterize the market that it had just caught, much a similar strategy was utilized with respect to the sound/video player of Windows Media Player (Vogelstein, 2004). Understanding the a reiteration of various new companies were taking steps to take piece of the overall industry from Microsoft, a similar technique of bundling Windows Media Player into the working framework as a methods for coordinating the item with what must be portrayed as a hostage showcase (Greene et al. ,2004). As can be immovably noticed, the monopolistic model of rivalry is at last hurtful to the market and to the buyer. The main substance that profits by such a model is clearly the maker. As figure 1 and figure 2 both mean, a specific degree of deadweight misfortune is predicted by the syndication. As a graphical portrayal encourages the peruser to comprehend, this deadweight misfortune is really taken from the harmony cost and request; subsequently making the great under monopolistic rivalry significantly more costly than it would be in ordinary rivalry. As recently signified, this all by itself is locked in by the syndication vender as a methods for acquiring further benefits. Figure 1: Figure 2: Microsoft’s Approach to Profitabil ity and the Engagement of the Monopoly as a Function of Capitalist Drive Likewise, in trying to comprehend the methodology that Microsoft has connected with, it must be characterized as one that is limited by discerning personal responsibility in the feeling of proceeding to collect further degrees of benefit and keep on incorporating into further markets (Cohen et al., 1999). Indeed, even a quick survey into the present time doesn't uncover a Microsoft that permits its destiny to be stuck upon the achievement or disappointment of a working framework; rather, when one ganders at the essence of Microsoft, one can see a firm that has as of late extended to buy a controlling

Friday, August 21, 2020

Are you scared to track your progress on your 2017 goals

Are you scared to track your progress on your 2017 goals At the beginning of last week, I received a letter in the mail â€" from myself. I had written it three months ago at a quarterly planning day with ActionCOACH, and I knew it was a cheerleading letter asking me how I was doing with my  goals  for the quarter. I let the unopened letter sit on my dining room table, my repository for mail I’m avoiding. I was afraid I would discover that I  hadnt made any progress on  the things I said I would do. In fact, I was fairly well on track, and felt encouraged. This experience gave me some strength as I went back to look at my New Year’s “Ressaylutions” for 2017. I’ve honestly been dreading looking back at my New Year’s Resolutions, because I’ve had a more challenging year than expected, and thought I would be reminded of all the things I promised to do and didn’t get done. Does this sound familiar? I could have not looked, but I have a tradition of sharing my progress at this time of year. It keeps me honest. So, dear reader, here’s my list of resolutions from January, along with a report on how 2017 has been going so far. 1. Publish the 14th edition of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile, updated with the new face of LinkedIn. It turns out I can’t count so well, and the next edition is actually the 13th! That said, I have been furiously editing How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile, and I expect to release the 13th edition within a month. Unfortunately, the recommendations section is under construction, so I’m being held up by that. In the meantime, if you have ideas about how to get the word out, I’d love to hear them! Here’s just a taste of what’s new in the 13th edition: Revised images and instructions throughout to match LinkedIns new redesign Update on which features have really disappeared and which have moved Mobile-specific instructions Special advice from a past recruiter How to create an All-Star profile The new face of LinkedIn Jobs And that’s just some of the changes. I think you’ll love the new edition and intend for it to be the best, most up-to-date LinkedIn book available on line! 2. Publish a trade edition of How to Write a WINNING Resume It turns out the trade edition will be of How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume. I negotiated a contract with Skyhorse Publishing to create a trade edition of this book, geared toward executives. I just received the edited manuscript last week and sent my response back to the publisher. We’re on our way! 3. Launch Writely, a Client Management Portal In an effort to improve communications for both writers and clients, I moved all client communications over to Writely. While I succeeded in following through with my resolution, I quickly determined that Writely was not the solution I needed. In fact, while the program helped to solve some issues, it also created a lot of them, and I simply could not justify the cost. In the end, I reversed my decision and went back to InfusionSoft. I may revisit this one next year. 4. Find that editor. I identified two possible editors to do some of the work to bring The Essay Expert’s resumes to the high standards I hold. Then volume slowed for the first half of the year, so I only worked with one of the editors on a couple of projects. As volume increases, I look forward to having some of the editing portion of our work done by these talented women! 5. Write a marketing plan â€" including SEO enhancements While I did not write a marketing plan, I did make progress with some new strategies, including my favorite: starting to wish my LinkedIn connections Happy Birthday! I think all contact is good contact, and it keeps The Essay Expert top of mind. I reached out to some past connections as well, and I sent out an announcement about an upcoming price increase. I believe all these steps increased brand awareness for The Essay Expert. Probably the most effective step I’ve taken is the new way I’m holding conversations with new clients. I’m taking more time and being more consistent in these conversations, and I think a greater sense of trust is resulting. 6. Explore the possibility of moving to the East Coast I took a trip to New York and New Haven in May, and had a great time! I’ll probably go to explore more in October. Stay tuned! Have you looked back at your 2017 resolutions in order to track your progress? How are they going so far? Are they realistic or might you want to adjust them so you can succeed? Please share â€" putting your promise and progress out to someone else creates accountability and makes it more likely that you will stay on track. Here’s to finishing up the year proud of your achievements, and content with your course corrections. Let’s all finish the year strong!

Sunday, May 24, 2020

The Various Principles of Marketing - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2892 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Essay any type Did you like this example? Introduction The five core concepts of marketing are; consumer needs/wants/demands, products and services, value/satisfaction/quality, exchanges/transactions/relationships and markets (Kotler, et al., 2008). To be able to understand and cater to all these factors, an organisation can use a variety of marketing theories. This report will outline and critique the various principles of marketing, noting the advantages and disadvantages of each. The theories that will be covered are; 4Ps, marketing, ambush marketing, buzz marketing, market segmentation, targeting and positioning, Ansoffs matrix, PESTEL analysis, porters five forces and micro-environment factors. 4Ps Successful marketing is based upon addressing some very basic, key issues. The 4Ps aims to address these issues, and allows a company to understand some very important aspects of their internal operations. The 4Ps are comprised of; product, price, place and promotion (CIM, 2009). Analysing these factors allows an organisation to put their customers at the centre of their marketing, and the company must do everything in their power to deliver the upmost quality and service to all of their customers. Booms Bitner (1981) provide a list of attributes that each of the 4Ps may include. Although an old model, it is still very much applicable to todays business environment. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Various Principles of Marketing" essay for you Create order Product: Quality, brand name, service line, warranty, capabilities, facilitating goods, tangible clues, price, personnel, physical environment and process of service delivery. Price: Level, discounts and allowances, payment terms, customers own perceived value, quality/price interaction and differentiation. Place: Location, accessibility, distribution channels and distribution coverage. Promotion: Advertisements, personal selling, sales promotion, publicity, personnel, physical environment, facilitating goods, tangible clues and process of service delivery. Furthermore, for the service industry, the 4Ps was extended to the 7Ps. This was mainly due to the higher degree of collaboration between the organisation and the consumer, which the original 4Ps were not taking into consideration(Webster, 1984). This resulted in the framework being extended, to take into account the variety of service attributes that come into play when devising marketing strategies. Service quality is becoming more significant to an organisation, as they can no longer only rely on the benefit of a good to attain and retain consumers (Lusch, et al., 2007). Booms Bitner (1981) provide many of the attributes that the extra 3Ps encompass. These are; Participants: Personnel training, discretion, commitment, incentives, appearance, interpersonal behaviour, attitudes and customer behaviour/degree of involvement. Process: Policies, procedures, mechanisation, employee discretion, customer involvement, customer direction and flow of activities. Physical Evidence: Environment, furnishings, colour, layout, noise level, facilitating goods and tangible clues. Ambush Marketing There is a lot of moral uncertainty surrounding the use of ambush marketing. It is predominantly related to big events and sponsorship deals. Ambush marketing became such a prominent strategy because of the increase in sponsorship deals. This mainly happened because event owners wanted higher returns and it made advertising more effective (Meenaghan, 1998). Furthermore, Meenaghan (1994, p. 79) defined ambush marketing as the practice whereby another company, often a competitor, intrudes upon public attention surrounding the event, thereby deflecting attention toward themselves and away from the sponsor. Although ambush marketing would appear to hold many benefits for a company, at basically no cost, there have been many academics that criticise its uses. Payne (1998) believes ambush marketing jeopardises one of the fundamental facets of business activity, namely truth in advertising and business interactions. On the other hand, other academics criticise the weak-minded view that competitors have a moral obligation to step back and allow an official sponsor to reap all the benefits from a special event (Meenaghan, 1996). In general, ambush marketing comes down the moral perceptions of the marketing manager. As the majority of companies are in business to make profits, then capitalising on any means necessary will be acceptable, and ambush marketing will be a prominent strategy for them to use. Buzz Marketing Word-of-mouth marketing and buzz marketing are very similar, and is a marketers dream (Balter Butman, 2005, p. 161) if successfully implemented. However, it is incredibly difficult to define and implement buzz marketing, as everyday word of mouth conversations tend to be random and spontaneous in nature, occurring in a natural, unpredictable pattern of communication (Ahuja, et al., 2007, p. 152). Buzz marketing is usually implemented through building suspense and tensions around the release of a new product, thus causing media and consumers to constantly talk about the product. It is a relatively free way of marketing, and can reap incredible benefits for the company. The only negative for buzz marketing is the fact that it cannot really be controlled in any way, as it is heavily reliant on consumers spreading the message on behalf of the organisation. The intentions of buzz marketing is obviously meant to be positive, by generating effectively free advertising for an organi sation or their products (Ahuja, et al., 2007). However, word-of-mouth works in both a positive and negative manner, as a bad PR story can quickly be spread across the globe. Furthermore, it is most effective across a young audience, meaning that the message will be spread amongst a certain demographic, but not everyone the organisation was hoping for (Leila Abderrazak, 2013). It is the inability to measure the reach of this type of marketing that makes buzz marketing very risky for an organisation. The message could easily be misinterpreted, there is little control over the direction of the campaign, and it may actually end up causing negative impact on organisation performance (Bloomberg, 2001). Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Market segmentation has become an essential element of marketing, especially in developed countries. This is because goods can no longer be sold without considering the specific needs of consumers, and who is likely to purchase the product (Wedel Kamakura, 2000). The main use for market segmentation is to provide guidance on which marketing analysis or strategy an organisation should pursue. Furthermore, Wedel Kamakura (2000) provide a classification of different market segmentation groups that companies should aim to cater to. This is in regards to a general and product-specific view. Combining segmentation with targeting and positioning allows an organisation to learn information about their target markets, consumer preferences, competitors strengths and customer segments (Natter, et al., 2006). Furthermore, the process of STP should be completed in order, with a segmentation analysis being used as the basis of targeting, which can then be used for positioning. Unfortunately, this can make the process long-winded, as an organisation may want to identify only who they target, or where they should position their product (Kotler, et al., 2006). There is also a great need for behavioural profiling throughout S TP, forcing an organisation to conduct even more analysis than they may actually want to (Dholakia Dholakia, 2001; Kotler, et al., 2002). Although and STP analysis can be time-consuming, it does provide an organisation with a comprehensive overlook on a variety of factors that are intrinsic to an organisations success. Ansoffs Matrix In a 1957 report, Ansoff provided a comprehensive definition for product marketing as a joint statement of a product line and the corresponding set of missions which the products are designed to fulfil (Ansoff, 1957, p. 114). This resulted in the creation of the Ansoff Matrix (1965), which is a comprehensive marketing theory to help guide a companys strategic growth decisions. It is comprised of four quadrants, with each giving a general direction as to how a company should proceed with their desired growth. The four quadrants of Ansoffs Matrix are (AM, 2015); Market Penetration: This is about further exploiting a product that exists in an already functioning market. Market penetration is usually made possible through the clever use of promotions, or increasing the attractiveness of a product Product Development: The product development growth strategy focuses on introducing new products into existing markets. This can either be in the form of a complete new product, or the modification of an existing product. Market Development: Sometimes referred to as market extension, this factor of the Ansoff Matrix involves an organisations selling its existing products in a new market. This can be aided by market segmentation, which can help identify potential new markets. Some approaches to this strategy include, new geographical markets or distribution channels. Diversification: Generally known as the most risky growth strategy, diversification involves an organisation developing new products into new markets. There is a lot of risk in this strategy because an organisation will not be knowledgeable on either the product or the market they are entering. Heavy planning and research are vital for a diversification strategy to be successful. Different organisations benefit from different strategies. For example, a study conducted by Watts, et al., (1998) concluded that the most appropriate strategies for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) would be product development or market development. This is because most of these organisations would not have the resources to successfully implement a diversification strategy, and the growth from market penetration would be too slow. A larger organisation may well be more successful in diversification, as they have more expendable resources. Macro Environment Marketing PESTEL PESTEL stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal. Furthermore, it is a comprehensive framework used by organisations to help analyse the macro-environment factors that are affecting daily operations. A PESTLE analysis is in effect an audit of an organisations environmental influences with the purpose of using this information to guide strategic decision-making (CIPD, 2015, p. n.p.). After a company has conducted a PESTLE analysis, they should use their findings to help guide any strategic decision making to minimise the impact of external forces. Political: The main political factors of PEST deals with the effects government can impose on an organisation. This can include things such as, new legislation, changes in taxation, minimum wages, and employee benefits. Economic: Some of the most important economic factors that a PESTEL analysis will investigate are the economy systems and structures, resource status, the level of economy developingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Yingfa Hong, 2010, p. 563). If an economy strengthens, then it would usually have a positive effect on the majority of companies performance, however this can be largely dependent on what areas of the economy strengthen. Social: One of the most significant factors of the PESTEL is the socio-culture factor. The socio-culture factors are usually in continuous change, and have a massive impact on how organisations are managed, and how leaders have to behave if they want any followers (Hussey, 1998). Technology: One of the fastest growing and most rapidly changing factors of the PESTEL analysis is the technological environment (Henry, 2008). Some examples of technological factors include; RD activity, Automation and Technological Developments (NetMBA, 2015). A company must ensure they are maintaining top quality equipment to produce the most competitive products. Environmental: The main environmental factors that a company will look at through a PESTEL analysis are, green issues that affect the environment, renewable energy sources and waste/disposal (App Rao, et al., 2008). Consumers are becoming more concerned with their environmental impact, thus affecting their purchasing choices. Legal: Similar to political, legal factors look at how legislation affects a company. This can include, competition law and government policy, employment law and safety law. It is of vital importance for a company to keep up-to-date with all relevant legislation (App Rao, et al., 2008). Porters Five Forces Porters Five Forces model can have a huge impact on the direction and shape of an organisations decision making. If conducted successfully it is a great tool to guide all strategic marketing activities. The five components of Porters Five Forces are: Threat of new Entrants: New entrants to an industry bring new capacity, the desire to gain market share, and often substantial resources (Porter, 2000, p. 138). Threat of Substitutes: A substitute performs the same or a similar function as an industrys product by a different means (Porter, 2008, p. 17). Bargaining Power of Customers: Powerful customers can capture more value by forcing down prices, demanding better quality or more service, and generally playing industry participants off against one another, all at the expense of industry profitability (Porter, 2008, p. 14). Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Suppliers can exert bargaining power over participants in an industry by threatening to raise prices or reduce the quality of purchased goods and services (Porter, 1998, p. 27). Rivalry among Existing Competitors: Rivalry among existing competitors takes many familiar forms, including price discounting, new product introductions, advertising campaigns and service improvements (Porter, 2008, p. 18). Micro Environment Marketing One of the most widely used and comprehensive frameworks for analysing the micro-environment is the SWOT analysis. This analysis measures the internal strengths and weaknesses of an organisation, and the external opportunities and threats. Having identified these factors, an organisation should build strategies which may build on the strengths, negate the weaknesses, exploit the opportunities or counter the threats (Dyson, 2004). These strategies can be further guided by the use of the macro-environment analysis, and can supplement the variety of different marketing techniques mentioned above, such as ambush marketing or market segmentation. Furthermore, these strategies can be generated through the use of a TOWS matrix, with forms relationships between the different variable to draw up a variety of strategies that the firm can utilise. Conclusion Overall there are a variety of methods that an organisation can utilise in order to successfully analyse the market, and market their products. It is imperative that an organisation knows how to implement both of these methods, as it will have a huge impact on the overall success of the organisation. The 4Ps is a great analysis for a company to conduct first, as it outlines all the fundamental aspects that effect an organisation. Furthermore, an external analysis should always be conducted, especially the PESTEL and Porters Five Forces analysis. This is because it outlines all important external factors, such as competitions activities or new legislation. Understanding these factors will shape the marketing strategy that a company wishes to pursue. Depending on what the external analysis shows to a competitor, they can then choose which market strategy they wish to pursue. This could involve using an Ansoff Matrix, or just pursuing an ambush, buzz, push and pull or market segmen tation strategy. One strategy cannot be anchored to a certain industry or company, as it is only through extensive analysis that a company will know which the optimum strategy is. Bibliography Ahuja, R. D., Michels, T. A., Walker, M. M. Weissbuch, M., 2007. Teen perceptions of disclosure in buzz marketing. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(3), pp. 151-159. AM, 2015. What is the Ansoff Matrix?. [Online] Available at: https://www.ansoffmatrix.com/ Ansoff, I., 1957. Strategies for Diversification. Harvard Business Review, 35(5), pp. 113-124. Ansoff, I., 1965. Corporate Strategy. New York: McGraw Hill. App Rao, C., Parvathiswara Rao, B. Sivaramakrishna, K., 2008. Strategic Management and Business Policy. 1st ed. New Delhi: Excel Books India. Balter, D. Butman, J., 2005. The Grapevine. London: Penguin Group. Bloomberg, 2001. Buzz Marketing. [Online] Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2001-07-29/buzz-marketing Booms, B. H. Bitner, M. J., 1981. Marketing strategies and organization structures for service firms. In: Marketing of Services. Chicago: American Marketing Association, pp. 47-51. CIM, 2009. Marketing and the 7Ps, s.l.: Charte red Institute of Marketing. CIPD, 2015. PESTLE analysis. [Online] Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/pestle-analysis.aspx Dholakia, R. Dholakia, N., 2001. Social marketing and development. In: Handbook on marketing and society. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Dyson, R. G., 2004. Strategic development and SWOT analysis at the University of Warwick. European Journal of Operational Research, 152 (3), pp. 631-640. Henry, A., 2008. Understanding Strategic Management. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Hussey, D., 1998. Stategic Management: From Theory to Implementation. 4th ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Kotler, P., Armstrong, G. Saunders, J., 2008. Principles of Marketing. 5th ed. s.l.:Prentice Hall. Kotler, P., Roberto, N. Lee, N., 2002. Social marketing: Improving the quality of life. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Kotler, P., Roberto, N. Lesiner, T., 2006. Alleviating Poverty: A Macro/Micro Marketing Persp ective. Journal of Macromarketing, 26(2), pp. 233-239. Leila, C. Abderrazak, G., 2013. The Impact of the Effectiveness of a Buzz Marketing Campaign on the Image, Awareness and Purchasing Decision: The Moderating Role of involvement, s.l.: Journal of Marketing Research Case Studies . 2013. pp. 1-8Lusch, R. F., Vargo, S. L. OBrien, M., 2007. Competing through service: Insights from service-dominant logic. Journal of Retailing, 83(1), pp. 5-18. Meenaghan, T., 1994. Point of view: Ambush marketing Immoral or imaginative practice?. Journal of Advertising Research, 34(3), pp. 77-88. Meenaghan, T., 1996. Ambush marketing A threat to corporate sponsorship. Sloan Management Review, 38 (1), pp. 103-113. Meenaghan, T., 1998. Ambush marketing: Corporate strategy and consumers reactions. Psychology and Marketing, 15(4), pp. 305-322. Natter, M., Mild, A., Wagner, U. Taudes, A., 2006. Planning new tariffs at tele.ring à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the application and impact of an integra ted segmentation, targeting and positioning tool,Marketing Science, 27. 600-609 NetMBA, 2015. PEST Analysis. [Online] Available at: https://www.netmba.com/strategy/pest/ Payne, M., 1998. Ambush marketing: The undeserved advantage. Psychology and Marketing., 15(4), pp. 323-331. Porter, M. E., 1998. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. New York: The Free Press. Porter, M. E., 2000. How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review, p. 138. Porter, M. E., 2008. On Competition. Boston: Harvard Business Review. Watts, G., Cope, J. Hulme, M., 1998. Ansoffs Matrix, pain and gain: Growth strategies and adaptive learning among small food producers. Behavior Research, 4(2), pp. 101-111. Webster, F. E., 1984. Industrial Marketing Strategy. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley Sons. Wedel, M. Kamakura, W. A., 2000. Market Segmentation: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations. 2nd ed. Norwell: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Yingfa, S. Hong, Y., 2010. The Risk Study of E-Governance Based on PEST Analysis Model. Guangzhou, International Conference on E-Business and E-Government.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Theology of Grace - 852 Words

Theology of Grace There are many different ways to interpret the theology of grace. In this paper, I will be discussing four major theologians who have the most popular insights on grace. These theologians include Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, and Rahner who all have their own unique perspective on grace. All of their theories seem to intertwine with one another but each individual one has a different twist that makes them slightly different. The first theologian I’m going to discuss is Augustine. Augustine was known as the ‘Father of Grace.’ He believed that all human nature is in disorder due to universal sin of Adam and Eve. According to Augustine, sin is passed on by sexual acts, even if a married couple engaged in sexual†¦show more content†¦He thought that grace is forgiveness of god in which salvation comes through God. Trust of God was expressed in God’s merciful love. Luther believed that a merciful god would deliver anyone from the evil they did. Only by the grace of God can forgiveness of sin be achieved. Even after you are graced, you are still partly a sinner. He believed that you could not merit grace and could not learn grace through works, it is all given. Grace is totally undeserved and only through God’s choice can you be graced. Lastly is Rahner, who was a Neo-Thomist and a student of Aquinas. Rahner believed in the supernatural existential and obediential potency meaning that as we’re born we have the ability and capacity to receive the love of God. He said that grace was God’s self-communication in love. Also, grace is not an extra addition to human nature. â€Å"Karl Rahner developed a theology that views grace as the offer of God’s love that is intrinsic to existent human nature (pg. 1).† He believed that you can either accept or reject the honor of grace. â€Å"According to Rahner, human beings ‘freely choose to ratify or to reject that orien tation which is itself the free gift of a loving God, but the orientation remains structured into their being (pg. 2).† You’re only free when you love. If you decide to love then you are authentic but if you decide not to love then you are disgraced. Rahner believed that like God, we can know and canShow MoreRelatedOrganizing Wesleyans Postion of Inquiries and my Panorama Theology1167 Words   |  5 PagesMy Theology II I do not believe that my theology has changed very much on the contrary it has fortified even more. It is interesting about the Wesleyan’s position of theology among the other queries.. 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He considered his method â€Å"depth exegesis, and† attempted to avoid dualism, believingRead MoreThe Lifelong Goal Of Saint Thomas Aquinas1692 Words   |  7 Pagesindependence of philosophy and theology, but at the same time show their symbiotic relationship with each other. Throughout his life Aquinas was known as a theologian but many of his works carry strong philosophical undertones as well. The beauty of theology is it can enlighten us through its leap of faith. Philosophy was required to precede theology. The truths laid down from philosophy are concrete and coherent. These philosophical truths are the shoes in which theology can walk. Without philosophyRead MoreThe Relationship Between Philosophy And Theology1444 Words   |  6 PagesToday, philosophy and theology are contrasted by some members of society, specifically those who think that faith and reason can never coincide. Other peo ple, though, see the two subjects of study as collaborative instead. 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Lonergan, Method in Theology, 338. â€Å"Intellectual conversion is †¦ the elimination of †¦ [t]he myth is that knowing is like looking, that objectivity is seeing what is there to be seen and not seeing what is not there, and that the real is what is out there now to be looked at. †¦ Moral conversion changes the criterion of one’s decisions and choices from satisfactions to values. †¦ Religious conversion is being grasped by ultimateRead MoreJohn Wesley s Sermons And The Theologies That He Holds1323 Words   |  6 PagesResponsible Grace was a book that was designed to speak about John Wesley’s sermons and the theologies that he holds. â€Å"Wesley’s convictions about revelation appear to be more in line with early Greek perspectives than with later Western theology. They usually assumed that there was a continuing (weakened) influence of the grace of creation even after the Fall† (pg. 28-29). In our group discussion, we talked a bout this book emphasizing John Wesley’s practical theology and how it applies to lifeRead MoreThe Relationship Between Philosophy And Theology1433 Words   |  6 PagesToday, philosophy and theology are put at odds by some members of society, those who think that faith and reason are opposites and can never coincide. Others, though, see the two subjects of study as collaborative instead. And just as intellectuals of our Church today support the relationship which is otherwise seen as faith and reason, so too did the intellectuals Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure reinforce it in the thirteenth century. However, both Aquinas and Bonaventure have their own differentRead MoreThe Doctrine Of Original Sin1537 Words   |  7 PagesUncontestably, Augustine is the most prominent and influential church father, for the Western Church. As the last of the ancient Christian writers, his theology not only formulated medieval scholarship; conversely, Augustine considerably impacted the the ology of the Protestant Reformation. Regarding original sin and hamartiology, Augustine is the fountainhead, for both Protestant and Roman Catholic’s; however, he was not the originator of the doctrine. Depicting humankind’s solidarity with AdamRead MoreThe Doctrine Of Salvation And Grace1327 Words   |  6 PagesThesis Statement The purpose of this thesis is to provide an understanding of the meaning of Soteriology and the relation to the Doctrine of Salvation and Grace (Free Grace). Soteriology is â€Å"the study of the doctrine of salvation.† Basically, the teaching of Soteriology is part of Systematic Theology. This paper will approach each aspect of God Divine decrees, from a biblical standpoint and His plan of salvation. The working of God’s plan includes three periods in time: †¢ Eternity Past †¢ Earth’sRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Renewal 1055 Words   |  5 Pagesof forcing out evil from within someone by any means necessay, the invitation to a banquet images a welcoming of the other to come into one’s own space. The image is non-coercive and establishes the freedom of the other. From this text, Firmicus’ theology of conversion affirms salvation as an open offer extended from Christ. In the most creative section of De errore, Firmicus writes a speech personified as the sun assembling all human beings together before itself. The aim of the sun’s corrective

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Never Before Told Story About Geography Essay Topics That You Need to Read

The Never Before Told Story About Geography Essay Topics That You Need to Read Vital Pieces of Geography Essay Topics Writing a research paper in Geography can be a rough task because all of the info you use have to be valid, authenticated, and recent. Essay writers' service in your budget Cheap college papers don't always supply you with the very best quality. Most students have a hard time writing papers on geography as a result of its complexity. Rather, our papers are completely custom-made. Your paper ought to be original and distinctive. Your environmental paper might have an empirical or theoretical strategy, together with qualitative or quantitative one. So, you receive a fantastic paper in your small budget. A study in glaciology may look to examine polar ice sheets, for instance, dependent on the satellite data and current information supplied by geographic databases. 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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Human Capital Management System

Question: Discuss aboiut the Human Capital Management System. Answer: Introduction With the increasing dynamic of the global business industries, conflicts remain on the clear difference between the human resource management, personnel management, and the human capital management. Regardless of the major course of the conflicts, it is essential for an organization to adopt strategic business models that will delineate the roles, and responsibilities for the specific areas within the organizational operations according to Chuan (2017). This paper evaluates and identifies the major similarities and differences between the personnel management, human resource management, and the human capital management in the organization. However, the emphasis of the paper is based on the human capital management as an essential factor of the organization. The paper hence examines how the understanding of the renowned and seminal human resource competencies can be integrated into the human resource and human capital management practices. It also presents some of the primary challeng es facing the HCM within the organization and the recommended steps that can be adopted to ensure an effective sustainability and visibility in the organizational operations. Comparison of the management positions Personnel management is an administrative discipline that is concerned with the development and hiring of employees while ensuring that they become more valuable and relevant to the operations of the organization as pointed out by Varzaru (2016). The functions of the personnel management hence include recruitment, training and orientation, selection of the right individuals for specific duties within the organization, and planning of the needs of the personnel. The personnel management is also responsible for the determination and management of salaries and wages, provision of incentives and benefits, performance appraisal for the employees, resolving disputes, and ensuring effective communication with all the employees at different levels (Varzaru, 2016). According to Sengupta (2011), personnel management is often considered as the old version of the current human resource management. The same study denotes that there are distinct differences that can be identified between the human capital and resource management and the personnel management. However, the differences are often similar in comparison with both HRM and HCM. As personnel management on the administration of personnel, labor relations, and welfare of employees within the organization, human resource, and capital management focus on development, acquisition, maintenance, and motivation of human and capital resources respectively according to Chuan et al. (2017). The personnel management often assumes employees as inputs for achieving the desired output and its functions are undertaken under the satisfaction of employees. However, human resource management is focused on assuming employees as valuable and important assets of the organizational output achievement, and hence administrative functions are undertaken for goal achievements. Personnel management is also considered a routine function and focuses on increasing the production and satisfying employees while human capital management focuses on culture, effectiveness, employees participation, and productivity. Human resource management is defined as a term describing the formal systems that are devised for managing people within an organization. The roles and duties of the human resource management fall into three main categories i.e. employee benefits and compensation, staffing, as well as defining the work design. According to Chuan (2017), the main purpose of the human resource management is the maximization of the organizational productivity through the optimization of the employees effectiveness. In comparison to the personnel and human capital management, Chuan et al. (2017) point out that the human resource responsibilities are classified into individual, career, and organizational functions. The individual roles aim at assisting employees to identify their weaknesses and strengths so that they can correct their shortfalls and make their best contribution to the organization. The organizational development aims at fostering an effective system that maximizes human capital and resources as part of the larger strategies of the business. Scapolan and Montanari (2013) denote that the organizational development works with the HCM in creating and maintaining possible changes in the programs of the organization so that it can effectively respond to the evolving internal and external influences. Lastly, the career development responsibility involves matching the employees with the most effective and suitable roles and career paths within the organization depending on their respective skills, qualifications, and requirements of the position. As a result of the roles, there are major similarities required for the personnel, human resource, and human capital management. These include extensive industrial knowledge, effective negotiation skills, as well as leadership capabilities that are required are core qualities for the effective performance of the management pos itions within an organization as pointed out by Zavydivska, Zavydivska, and Khanikiants (2016). Human capital is defined as the sum of the abilities, personality, knowledge, values, experiences, motivation, skills, and behaviors owned and offered by the individuals within the working environment of an organization according to Lloyid (2012). With all factors constant, the higher the quality of the human capital of the organization, the more successful the performance despite the global challenges facing different facets of organizational industries. Human capital management is hence focused on managing the human labor force within the organization, an aspect that is essential as a result of the crucial trends of challenges of management. HCM is hence essential in; Helping the organization to recognize that HCM is the primary source of a sustainable competitive advantage as it determines the means of production and access to capital within the organization. Increasing the importance of the organizations intangible assets such as reputation, leadership strategy, and brand that are mainly dependent on the skills and the efforts of the employees within the organization. The identification of innovation, knowledge, collaboration, and adaptability as the primary or key factors that drives the success of the organization. In his study, Higgins (2010) also points out that leaders should recognize that the primary source of organization success are the values, believes, and ability that resides within the organizational workforce. Increasing focus on growth primarily for improving the bottom line of the business, as an aspect that then requires a renewed focus on the leadership and the subordinate for successful performance. Understanding the demographic changes affecting the internal and external environment of the organization. For instance, Higgins (2010) denotes that an aging workforce, advanced technological innovations, along with increasing diversity are increasing the war for talent within the workforce. In the general function and operation of an organization, Human Capital Management (HCM) and the Human Resource Management (HRM) often have many similarities and differences. For instance, both HRM and human capital management deal with the human resource department of an organization. Both HRM and HCM form the foremost solidarity department that has the responsibility of carrying out the organizational responsibilities within the business environment (Higgins, 2010). They both deal with terms and functions related to training, recruitment, orientation, performance analysis, and payroll for the employees of an organization. In his study, Higgins (2010) denotes that employees are often an essential aspect of the management of an organization and hence should be framed by the human resource department within the organization so as to obtain the quality of work as per the objectives of the organization. However, HCM is adopted as a software program and a core element of the human resource management of the organization. Human capital management associates with elements and provides an ambiguous response with different human resource elements such as the organizational management and the personnel management Sengupta (2011). It is also related to the strategy of the employees development as well as other operational objectives hence defined as a tactical approach aimed at the systems, processes, and essential organizational practices. Despite the difference between human resource management and human capital management shown in Table 1, both their functions hold the significance of their impact on the opera tion of the organization in carrying out the actual business processes with its internal and external environments. Table 1: The differences between the human resource management and human capital management in an organization (Adopted from Higgins, 2010) Human Resource Management functions Human Capital Management functions HRM never defines its true objectives HCM defines its true goals and objectives with a perfect reputation Has functions that often delivers perfect ended major solutions within the organization Is not effective in delivering solutions for minor organizational instances Its functions are regularly driven by the availability of human resources within the organization Its functions are often driven only under special or specific cases affecting the performance of the organization The human resources department ensures that its functions are performed as per the laws and regulations governing the operation of the company. Human resource capital is often related to all issues affecting the employees with a focus on elements such as utilization, employment, developmental agendas, and compensation of employee amongst other elements. Uses simple bench-marking techniques to execute its functions Adopts the use of complicated evaluation techniques Steps of ensuring the realization and optimization of the HCM practices The major question should be what are the leaders and managers of businesses and organizations expected to do in the attempt of realizing and optimizing the HCM practices. Carmeli (2017) points out that the first major step is making the working environment and the whole organization a talent magnet for employment. The same study presents a thought experiment that can be adopted by any organization with the desire of increasing its employment preference for the workforce despite the challenges in the market. These include; a) Listing the primary three characteristics that are unique and sets the organization apart as a perfect place of employment; b) Listing of the top three primary employee attributes needed by the organization to execute the set business strategies; c) finding answers to the extent at which the characteristics in #a allow the organization to employees with the #b values and attributes. It hence means that the step taken by the organization will depend on the answer in #c as it will help the management to understand the internal factors affecting the human capital aspects of the organization. In other words, the above thought experiment is essential in illustrating the importance of the employer brand of the organization, an aspect that Lloyid (2012) points out as the primary determinant of the human capital management practices within the organization. The realization and optimization of the HMC needs to focus on the realization of the employer brand that determines how the organization builds or packages its identity. Depending the industry of operation of the organization, the promises the organization focus on delivering will motivate an emotional connection with the employees who will then work towards achieving what the organization promises to deliver to its customers. According to Zavydivska, Zavydivska, and Khanikiants (2016), HCM practices need to focus on an employment brand that shares what is differentiating and compelling about working within the organization, passes across the message of what it offers, and provide a true recruitment story. The realization and optimization of the HCM practices hence require the organization to focus on the employer brand that will; Attract the skillful and right candidates Increase the employers reputation Effectively communicate vision, mission, and values to the employees and the customers Increase vacancy or employment acceptances Increase employees retention and skills Develop a reputation of being the employer of choice Integrating the understanding of renowned and seminal HR competency models into HCM and HRM practices According to Schlitte (2016), the concept of the organizational Human Capital Management has been transformed through a many aspects as a result of the constant dynamics of the human resource functions as well as the ever-changing global business environment. The same study denotes that the transformation has occurred based on different analytical models from normative, prescriptive, to the competency-based models. The understanding of these models can be integrated into different ways within the human resource and human capital management. One such model is the Ulrich theory that defined different aspects within the functionality of the human resource management as pointed out by Olofsson and Ohman (2007). Ulrich was a known human resource professional who had great ideas in many human resource aspects such as corporate growth and company leadership. He was the author of the Ulrich model is mainly focused on the role of the human resource management in an organization, ideas that ar e still influencing the thoughts surrounding the general concept of human resource management as pointed out by Schlitte (2016). Ulrichs framed human resource model has formed a big part of a virtual method of predicting the future performance of an organization, and the ideas are adopted in different organizations to keep the workforce hardworking, happy, and dialed-in to the long and short-term goals and objectives of the company. According to the model, it is essential that the human resource managers integrate the idea of viewing the employees as a vital part of the success of the organization according to Scapolan and Montanari (2013). The model focuses on four main roles as the key components that are essential for every human capital and resource department. These roles include; Business partners- As a business partner, the HR department has the responsibility for ensuring effective communication with the people who have a direct connection with the organization such as the creditors, shareholder, employees, and employees among others. The department is hence the point of contact and the channel used by most internal members of the business. As a business partner, the HR gives feedback to the internal partners concerning the quality of their performance and experience, helping in filling job vacancies, sharing HR goals, with the employees so as to ensure their implementation across the organization. The department as well promotes harmony and overall productivity within the workplace. Change agent- in case the organization requires evolving, expansion, or alteration of its objectives and goals, the human resource becomes the change agent that internally communicates the organizational challenges. Integrating this concept within the HR and the HCM requires the responsible managers to organizer training opportunities that will help the employees to learn new skills that can help in achieving the desired changes as pointed out by Engelhard (2012). Preparing the employees for the required change helps them to adapt to the new roles for its next level of evolution or stage of growth (Audea, Teo, Crawford, 2015). Administration expert- according to the model, this is an administrative role that helps in executing different tasks. While performing the administration expert role, the human resource department follows any change in the regulation, legislation, or occupational safety rules; they help the organization adapt to the changes so as to remain compliant with the relevant laws. Olofsson and Ohman (2011) point out that it is an aspect that should be adopted by the human resource and human capital managers so as to ensure the organization remains compliant. Employee champion or employee advocate- according to the Ulrich Model, the human resource should stay aware of the interests of the employees and ensure the interests are protected so as to ensure moral satisfactions and positive image of the organization. Integrating this aspect hence requires the organization to adopts strategies that will help in measuring the employee's performance so as to sport any possible outcomes to ensure equity and effective performance. Challenges facing HCM and recommended steps for viability and sustainability in the organizational operations According to Lloyid (2012), it is often clear for leaders and managers of organizations that a successful operation of a business or organization requires clear strategies that will enable the business to meet the set goals and objectives. The strategy adopted by the leadership should also have clear plans that can be used to solve different organizational challenges facing the business while capitalizing on the strength of the labor force. However, as pointed out by Jones et al. (2017) in his review, even the best strategy often fail when the organization has not placed the right people in different responsibilities for ensuring a successful execution of the strategies. It is hence a clear aspect that one of the major challenges leaders face in organizations is the human capital challenge. In their study, Zavydivska, Zavydivska, and Khanikiants (2016) denote that there are three major challenges the human capital management within an organization. These include developing leaders, sustaining the organizational competitive advantage, the attraction and retaining of good and skillful employees. Carmeli (2017) also points out that many organizational HCM have challenges with developing strategies that will effectively manage the talents of the organization. The failure of recognizing these factors leads to the following challenges; Insufficient supply of skillful candidates Recruitment and integrations challenges when dealing with younger employees Challenges from competitors recruiting the best candidates Provision of attractive career paths within the respective industries of operation of the organization It is difficult to deploy experienced talents worldwide Lack of creativity and flexibility among the talents with the right and relevant technical skills The focusing, identification, and understanding of the talent availability within the internal and external global emerging markets. Boyun (2016) points out that for an organization to successfully increase its sustainability and operational visibility, the stakeholders of the organizations e need to realize that the human capital can only be increased within the organization when it focuses on other factors. These include the increase of more non-financial rewards for the employees motivations, working with the government systems and agency bodies to increase the knowledge and skills of the organizational talent pool. Exposing the employees to a more challenging environment such as deploying more staff to international assignments can also boost the HCM. Varzaru (2016) also points out that the organization should focus on expanding its workforce skills and enhancing the expertise on different aspects of its operation. The organization hence needs to focus on developing organizational change for increased productivity, quality, and employees satisfaction (Vaiman, Brewster, 2015). It will hence involve the construction of an effective training program, design a motivational compensation system for employees, structuring benefits packages while measuring their success, and the identification of the principles for utilizing, developing, and conserving human capital resources. Chuan (2017) also identifies the need of using statistics and data in making informed HCM decisions while leveraging technology aimed at enhancing the contribution of human capital management functions within the organization. Conclusion With the rapid transformation of the global business landscape, organizations are facing tough human resource, operational, and capital challenges that still continue to be more complex due to the evolution of the technological business landscape. It is hence required that HCM, HRM, and operational management focus on the identifying and adding real values within the business. With the continued realization of the need of retaining the workforce, there is a need for increasing the emphasis on increasing engagement programs and training. Personnel management, HCM, and HRM are all concerned with productivity and are vital aspects of the organizational performance. The aspect can be achieved when businesses and organizations invest in areas that will primarily optimize expenditure such as improving candidate attraction schemes and integrating technological systems. Adopting such strategies will not only foster the growth of the human capital within the organization but will be a sign th at the primary managerial departments of the organization are in the preparation of maximizing its staff and resources with the focus of growth of the company. List of references Audea, T., Teo, S. T., Crawford, J. (2015). HRM professionals and their perceptions of HRM and firm performance in the Philippines.International Journal Of Human Resource Management,16(4), 532-552. doi:10.1080/09585190500051589 Boyun, W. (2016). Effects of perceived support and collectivism on sport instructors' affective commitment, work effort, and intention to leave.International Journal Of Applied Sports Sciences,28(2), 89-100. Carmeli, A. a. (2017). Fostering Members' Creativity in Teams: The Role of Structuring of Human Resource Management Processes.Psychology Of Aesthetics, Creativity The Arts,11(1), 18-33. Chuan, L., Christina Yu-Ping, W., Chen-Yu, W., Jaw, B. (2017). The role of human capital management in organizational competitiveness.Social Behavior Personality: An International Journal,45(1), 81-92. Engelhard, P. (2012). ULRICH Fehl's Contribution to Temporal Capital Theory.Quarterly Journal Of Austrian Economics,12(3), 79-88. Higgins, N. (2010), Human capital management vs HR [internet] available at URL https://www.personneltoday.com/blogs/hcglobal-human-capitalmanagement/2008/06/hcm-versus-hrand-the-winner-is.html [accessed on April 18, 2012]. Jones, G. J., Edwards, M., Bocarro, J. N., Bunds, K. S., Smith, J. W. (2017). Collaborative Advantages: The Role of Interorganizational Partnerships for Youth Sport Nonprofit Organizations.Journal Of Sport Management,31(2), 148-160. Lloyid, F. (2012). Key Human Capital Challenges Facing OrganizationsToday, Retrieved from https://smucoxexeced.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/key-human-capital-challenges-facing-organizations-today/ Olofsson, A., Ohman, S. (2011). Views of Risk in Sweden: Global Fatalism and Local Control - An Empirical Investigation of Ulrich Beck's Theory of New Risks.Journal Of Risk Research,10(2), 177-196. doi:10.1080/13669870601122451 Scapolan, A., Montanari, F. (2013). How to Attract and Retain Artistic Talent though Human Resource Capital: The Case of an Italian Ballet Company.International Journal Of Arts Management,16(1), 4-19. Schlitte, A. (2016). Volker Steenblock/Hans-Ulrich Lessing (Eds): Vom Ursprung der Kultur. Mit einem Gesprch mit Gnter Dux.Journal For General Philosophy Of Science,47(1), 241-245. doi:10.1007/s10838-015-9300-1 Sengupta, K. (2011). Human resources roles: ideal versus practiced: a cross-country comparison among organizations in Asia.International Journal Of Human Resource Management,22(13), 2665-2682. doi:10.1080/09585192.2011.560865 Vaiman, V., Brewster, C. (2015). How far do cultural differences explain the differences between nations? Implications for HRM.International Journal Of Human Resource Management,26(2), 151-164. doi:10.1080/09585192.2014.937969 Varzaru, A. A. (2016). The Contribution of the Human Resources Information System to Human Capital Performance Management within the Organization.Ovidius University Annals, Series Economic Sciences,16(1), 429-434. Zavydivska, O. I., Zavydivska, N. N., Khanikiants, O. V. (2016). Self-management as a condition for creating a health culture among students.Journal Of Physical Education Sport,16592-597.

Friday, April 3, 2020

Artist vs. Artisan

Artist vs. Artisan Artist vs. Artisan Artist vs. Artisan By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between an artist and an artisan? This unnecessarily sensitive question is equivalent to the issue of what constitutes art and what is designated as craft. In both cases, the former word essentially refers to the making of tangible or intangible products as an expression of creativity and imagination for purely aesthetic reasons. An artisan, meanwhile, though spurred by the same impulses, produces crafts, which, though they may be acquired only for decoration, are designed to be practical. Therefore, though some tension between artist and artisan between producers of art and designers of crafts may exist because of a perceived differential in their relative cultural status, the technical definitions are just that: precise distinctions not in quality or artistic achievement but in function. The word for the creator of art is the gender-neutral term artist. (The French form of the word, artiste, came to apply more broadly to creative professionals, especially performers, though it also has a pejorative sense of â€Å"pretentious artist.†) By extension, one talented in any endeavor even a con artist may earn the term. By contrast, makers of crafts have gender-specific labels craftsman and craftswoman but though craftsperson is the natural neutral term, many such practitioners prefer to be called artisans. (The Latin ancestor of this term is artire, which means â€Å"to instruct in the arts.†) Other words that ultimately derive from the Latin word ars (â€Å"art†) include artifact, which comes from the Italian word artifatto and ultimately from the Latin terms arte and factum (meaning â€Å"thing made†), originally having primarily an archaeological sense but now referring to anything left behind or remaining, and artifice, which originally meant workmanship but, from a secondary sense of â€Å"cunning,† came to refer to deceit or trickery. (However, artificer remains a synonym for artisan, although it can also refer to one who contrives or makes things or ideas.) Artificial, the adjectival form of artifice, broadly refers to anything not produced in nature. Artful once referred exclusively to artistic skill but later primarily came to mean â€Å"dexterous, wily†; in that sense, the term is best known in the moniker of the Artful Dodger, an adroit young pickpocket in Charles Dickens’s novel Oliver Twist. The antonym, artless, likewise was originally a reference to a lack of talent but now usually refers to clumsiness in word or deed. Arty and artsy both describe artists, but the terms have developed a pejorative sense of pretension, and artsy is hyphenated in combination with craftsy and, worse, fartsy, to refer to someone with such airs, or a creation of theirs. Art is used in combination with other terms to denote subgenres with serious artistic ambitions (â€Å"art film,† â€Å"art rock†) as well as artistic movements, as in â€Å"art deco,† a truncation of the French phrase art dà ©coratif (â€Å"decorative art†), and art nouveau (â€Å"new art†); the first letter of each word in these phrases is often capitalized, especially when associated with other initial-capped designations. Another movement, named arts and crafts, is usually initial-capped to distinguish it from generic references. The liberal arts are the academic subjects also known as the humanities. The term liberal stems from the idea that knowledge of these subjects and the attendant skills are necessary for free people to know in order to be productive members of society. From the phrase â€Å"liberal arts† comes the designations for mastery of coursework known as the bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees (truncated, alternatively as â€Å"bachelor’s degree,† or bachelor’s, and â€Å"master’s degree,† or master’s). These terms have no specific relation to art itself, though study and/or practice of art may be a component of the coursework. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Religious Terms You Should KnowRunning Amok or Running Amuck?10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for â€Å"Leader† or â€Å"Official†

Sunday, March 8, 2020

The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Stranger by Albert Camus The Stranger by Albert CamusMeursault is a shipping clerk whose mother has just died but he does not seem very upset about it. He takes a few days off work to attend his mother's funeral. He catches the bus to the nursing home where his mother's body is. The doorkeeper of the nursing home starts to open the lid of the coffin but Meursault stops him because he does not want to see his mother's body. Mr. Perez, his mother's friend, is the only person from the nursing home to attend the funeral. Meursault sees Perez crying but all he thinks about is going home to his apartment so he can sleep.The next day he decides to go swimming and he meets Marie Cardona, an old coworker. They swim together and then they go to see a movie that night. She spends the night at his house but when Meursault wakes up she is gone.Franà §ais : Une des rues de Meursault (21)He goes to work the next day and when he is walking into his apartment he meets an old man named Salamano who always beats his dog. He a lso meets Raymond Sintes who is known as a pimp. Sintes invites Meursault over for dinner and Sintes talks about how he is mad at his girlfriend because she is not being faithful to him. Sintes says that he has already beaten her up but he wants to punish her more.Sintes asks Meursault to write his girlfriend a letter so she would come over and he plans to kick her out while they are having sex. Meursault has nothing better to do so he agrees. A week later, he goes to the beach with Marie again and when they go back to his apartment, she asks him if he loves her. He tells...

Friday, February 21, 2020

Finance Course Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Finance Course Work - Essay Example (Gitman, 2011) Finance is often defined as the art of managing financial resources, which includes activities such as arranging these resources in the least expensive manner and, investing any surplus resources in order to reap extra margins. (Gitman, 2012) Moreover, it also includes the understanding of the basic operations in order to ensure the best management of the funds that are available to the manager. Finance also helps in assessing the financial strength of the company through the use of ratio analysis that helps one understanding various aspects of the firm such as liquidity, efficiency, profitability and leverage, while the most important principle of finance is based upon discounting the value of financial resources such as money, bonds and expected cash-flows with respect to time. (Brigham, 1998) The collapse of Lehman Brothers on 15th September 2008 had devastating impact on the confidence of the general investor throughout the world that led many financial managers to question the rules and regulation that dictate the environment of the business (The Guardian, 2011) Financial crisis have hardly known to be isolated to themselves, in fact they spread like any contagious disease that often triggers the collapse throughout the world. ... However, the scope of financial environment is not limited to technical institutions only as it also includes various other organizations with which one may enter in any kind of financial transaction, as financing and investment activities are never limited to the listed companies only. (Gitman, 2012) TIME VALUE OF MONEY Suppose that Mr. B borrowed an amount of ?100 from Mr. A in the year 1987. Today, Mr. B came back and returned that ?100 to A and exclaimed that he had finally paid off all his old debts. Would one consider the act of Mr. B as just and sound? The answer would be negative as the same amount of money is more worth than it would tomorrow. (Van Horne, 2008) Thus the concept of time value of money is based on the fact that money loses its worth every second due to factors such as inflation and reinvestment risk, therefore a ?1 of today is lesser worth of ?1 of yesterday. (Brigham, 1998) Future Value of a Sum As we already mentioned above about the reinvestment risk, it is the rate at which money can be reinvested for a specific period of time. (Brigham, 1998) Therefore, future value is the nominal amount of money that one will possess after a certain period at a given reinvestment rate, usually an interest rate. To illustrate with an example, consider that A invests ?100 at 10% interest rate for two years. In the first year A will earn ?10 on ?100, however at the start of the second year, the balance in A’s account will be ?110, therefore the interest that A will earn in the 2nd year will be on ?110 which should come out as 11. Thus A’s account balance at the end of the 2nd year will be ?121. This nominal value of ?121 is the future value of ?100 at the interest of 10% after the period of 2

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Food Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Food Policy - Essay Example I refer to the year 1992 when the "Single European Market" (SEM, one supposes!) is due to take effect as most trade barriers within Western Europe, or at least in the Common Market, are to be dismantled. The UK government is currently investing over ten million pounds in television campaign to promote all businessmen to be ready to take benefits of these great news sales opportunities. With respect of this, all EEC countries crave to increase their exports into a static consumer market. Certainly, in some sections in the UK business industry there will be winner or looser. Confederation of British (CBI) industry, are already crying foul because to some extent they think that Western Europeans countries will try to buy the UK base corporations. If it happens, simultaneously the British mergers legislations will deter domestic companies in hope to get competitive advantages over international based organizations. This explains the fact, why so many British organizations have setup their business in the USA. But how will SEM affect the quick frozen food industry within the Common Market Maybe not nearly as much as it will some other markets partly because of the strong share of the total market held by Unilever and Nestle. Easily the largest slice of that total is Unilever's with their Birds Eye brand in the U.K., the Findus brand in Italy and Igloo just about everywhere else. Nestle, the Switzerland-based Corporation, use the Findus brand in the U.K. and in some of the other Common Market countries. Nestle use the Stouffer brand in the U.S.A. It has been proved that there is a big difference between brand name and corporate name. This is further evidenced by the variety of brand names used by the United Biscuits frozen food subsidiary, UB-Ross-Youngs, who apart from the brands Ross and Youngs use McVities and Mama Mia--and one or two others--in the U.K. Similarly another U.K.-based enterprise, Rank Hovis McDougal, use the brands Sharwoods (Indian specialties), Tiffany's (pies), Heinzel (cakes) and have now begun to use Mr. Kipling, a brand they have made renowned in the ambient cake sector, for a new variety of frozen hot puddings.' One does marvel what strategy these two major food groups will follow in preparation for the SEM. In contrast the Campbell Soup Company has given some sign as to their intention because having bought the U.K.-based Fresh bake Foods, one of the top three or four domestic frozen food companies; they have renamed themselves in Europe: Campbell's Foods. Campbell's were already using the brands Ungers in the U.K. and Groko on the Continent, but this writer imagines it is going to be Campbell's on everything from now on. At least Sara Lee and McCain's have a one brand strategy for Europe. Heinz has, more recently, entered the European QFF scene with a heavily supported launch of their Weight Watchers brand--of course they use the Ore-Ida brand on potato products in the States. Then there remains the mystery as to what the frozen food marketing future holds for the Pillsbury and Kraft companies under new managements. Pillsbury had just given up using the Fiesta brand in the U.K. to concentrate on Green Giant, and may continue to do so in Europe. Meanwhile, Kraft's new owners, the Philip Morris Group, also own General Foods but the Birds Eye brand

Monday, January 27, 2020

Impact of Privatization on Firms Performance

Impact of Privatization on Firms Performance 1.0 Introduction Privatization throughout the 1980s has been considered to be the solutions to the problems associated State Owned Enterprise (SOE)s both in the developed and developing economies and even in the socialist economies (Vickers and Yarrow 1995). In reality privatization is an economies policy and other times a political policy that is difficult to achieve mostly when is implemented in a corrupt setting like in most developing countries. However it is wise for a competitive and well regulated business environment structure to be established before privatization takes place. In recent times there has been a significant increase in the privatization of SOEs. Megginson et al (2004), suggest that political persuasion by government as a result of poor and unsatisfactory financial and operational results by SOEs has cause the transfer of ownership to private investor who will impact their business discipline in order to improve the level of performance for the newly privatized SOEs. While Aktan (1995) suggest that privatization goes beyond the sale of SOEs, assets or shares to individuals or private firms but in a broad meaning, it is to restrict government role and function in providing economic activities and put forward some methods or policies in order to strengthen free market economy. Privatization is often meant to be the transfer of control and ownership of government asset or firm to private investors. It could be partial or whole, through private placement or public offer of share via the capital market as well as through the distribution of vouchers. The major purpose of privatization is to grow and develop the economic by creating competition that can bring about efficiency ***. It will be right for the logical argument of this research study to compare or examine the different view of academics on what privatization means. Parker et al (2005) states that privatization is used to cover many arrays of different policies like liberalization, commercialization but in one of its studies, Privatization in Developing Countries: A Review of the Evidence and the Policies lessons, suggest that privatization means the transfers of productive asset from the state to the private sector, but also stressed that the most important factors to be considered is the introduction of effective competition and regulatory measures alongside with existing firms and for government to accept the political changes that occurs when privatization takes place. While, Beesley (1997) suggest that privatization is the formation of a companys act company and the subsequent sale of at least 50percent of the total shares of a company to private shareholders. However it is obvious now that privatization starts with the government transfer of its assets or a controlling share to private investors or shareholders in order to stimulate econom ic development. Privatization as an inherent part of government efforts to rationalize the SOEs. Its mostly done to reduce the burden on National Budget, improve efficiency of individual enterprise and ensure wider distribution of business ownership among its citizens and other foreign investors. However in most cases it brings about the introduction of market force (Demand and Supply forces) into the economy. Privatization can be set up to achieve different objectives depending on the Political, Economy and Social condition of each individual Country. This is due to the fact that what is applicable in the UK for instance will most likely not applicable in Russia due to the differences in techniques or method of privatization, general government objectives, SOEs condition, firms sectors activities and the countries characteristics. According to Bennett (2003) there are different methods used during privatization, either one used has its own advantage and disadvantage. The share option method is the mostly used method, it involves the sales of SOEs through the issue of shares to the public through stock market. For this method to be successfully implemented, the local country privatizing its SOEs must have an established Stock market where the trading of these shares should take place. Also there should enough public awareness to sell shares. While the private placement option which involves the sale of SOEs to the highest bidder helps government rise substantial revenue but the issues involved here, is the highest bidder will always want to get back their money back in time by exploiting the consumers. This option is mostly done in developing countries where there stock market is still very weak and there are trying to get foreign investor to invest. Lastly the voucher method which is common with Eastern Europe an countries like, Russia, Czech Republic etc, tends towards alleviating poverty. It involves the allocation of SOEs shares to virtually all local qualified citizens of a state in order for both the poor and rich to be co-owners of the SOE. But in most case the poor ones are more likely to sell their share to the rich one who will then have a controlling stake. 1.1 Background to the Study The telecoms industry is a sizable sector offering a wide range of products and services as well as employment opportunities across virtually all professional, skilled and unskilled discipline in the economy. However the industry has expanded and develop rapidly since late 1980s, in the 1990s and even more rapidly in most recent times due its consistency in constant need for Research and Development (RD), technological change on both the service providers and suppliers sides respectively in other to satisfy its market and be more efficient to maximize profitability. The telecommunication industry whether in a developed or developing economies has had its impact towards the growth and development of virtually all parts of an economy ranging from the political, social, financial, technological sectors over its 100 years of existence. However like every other service providing sector, it provides services to the local market and international market where business strategic is always aimed at gaining competitive advantage in the existence of competition and tight regulatory business environment in terms of providing service to users, expanding its economies of scale and scope and equity expansion. Many countries grant monopoly power to their local telecoms but establish an office that will regulate their activities and in other cases some merge their postal services and telecoms services together, example is the United Kingdom (UK). The UK Telecommunication has been in existence dating back to 1879, with its first telephone exchange established in Coleman Street, London. 1896 saw the Post Office take over the private sector trunk services while in 1912, all national telephone company exchange was controlled by the Post Office as a monopoly supplier of telephone service in the UK. The Post office had two departments the postal service and telecom. As a rule as stated by Ratto-Nielsen, telephone operations, the postal service where subsidized while labor union where paid high rents to organize labor. However in 1969, the Post office become a State Public Corporation and after the Carter Report of the Post Office Review Corporation was published, the 1981 the British Telecoms Act 1981 became law and the postal and telecoms of the Post Office became the responsibilities of two separate Corporation namely; The Post Office and British Telecoms (BT) Cable and Wireless, which was privatized. While BT was created as a Public Corporation charged with the responsibilities for Telecommunications, Supplies, Installations and Maintenance. The first competitive rivalry in the industry was the granting of license in 1982 to Mercury Communication Limited (MCL) to operate a fixed Link network in order to compete with BT. This only made a little impact as BT has a huge competitive advantage over MCL because it already had the market share, established and experienced Skilled employees and existing contracts with leading telecoms equipments manufacturers and service providers to operate and even if a year later both where give the advantage to operate without rival firms providing fixed link networks in the UK for seven years The Government White Paper published, proposed for the sale of 51percent of BT and the creation of a telecoms regulatory body, to be named Office of Telecommunication (Oftel) whose duties where to supervise all the activities going on in the telecoms industry and to also prosecute those who do not comply with the set rules and regulation of the industry as well as protect services users from exploitation. Two years later Oftel was signed into law and then administration of Margret Thatcher creating BT as a Limited Company wholly owned by the Government as BT Plc but was later privatized by selling off 50.2percent Shares to the Public. BT is one of the world oldest telecommunication Firm and dates back to be the first ever British telecom firm which also had the sole monopoly of providing telecom services in the UK with the backup of British Government. During the period, from 1878 the UK telephone service was been provided by the private sector companies, National Telephone Company (NTC) who were also faced with competition from the General Post Office (GPO) and in 1896 the GPO took over operation of the telephone service from and became a monopoly market for the in 1912 controlling the entire telecoms market in the UK. In 1965, some finding made by a working party was presented to the government which there found substantial enough. This lead them to split GPO into two divisions; the Post and Telecommunication which gave birth to BT and five units Post, Telecommunication, Savings, Giro and National Data Processing Services respectively. The Post Office act of 1969 made the Post Office to be controlled by the government and established as a public corporation. This gave them the sole right to run the telecoms system with listed power to authorize others to run such systems. However the Post Office retained its telecommunication monopoly. The Carter Committee of 1977 suggest for the restructuring of the Post Office into two separate units and further renaming of the Post Office to British Telecoms but it also remained a part of the Post Office. In 1981, the introduction of British Telecommunication act transfer the provision of telecommunication from the Post Office as a resulting establishing two different corporations a bold step to create competition in the utility industry (Telecoms). This empowered the trade and industry ministry and the British Telecoms the right to grant Licenses to other telecoms operators to run telecommunication systems therefore creating competition in the sector. However, in July 1982 the government officially announced her intention to privatize BT by selling up to 51 percent of BT shares to private investors. In 1984, more than 50 percent of BT was sold to the public through share option, then the largest ever most successful SOE privatization exercise in the history of privatization leaving the government with just forty 47.6 percent. This was about the most radical and the largest scale privatization exercise ever had in the history of Britain. However most investor where scared that it was going to fail. It was but in 1991 the government share of BT was reduced to 21.8 percent by rising up to  £5 billion and creating about 750,000 new shareholders of BT. In reality, the privatization of BT opened the telecoms market for other operates to come into the market, invest in the sector and breaking the monopoly advantage had by BT over the years by fighting for market shares through intense competitive business environment. This however forced BT into having fairer business policies, improved technology to optimize productivity as well as to raise its level of efficiency as government regulatory body would introduced a price cap system. On the other side this allowed other firms to spring up and compete with BT in the telecom sector bringing about maximum utilization of available resources, cost cutting and efficiency. Telecoms consumers where the most rewarded people as operator gave them the best deals ever in order to gain market shares. BT Plc is now run in over 170 countries all over the world and faced with about 150 other telecoms operator. This has forced them virtually to constantly to research and develop their existing technolog y as well as acquire new ones in order to keep pace with their consumers new and market share. 1.2 Rationale for this Study In this research study aims to examine the impact of privatization in the telecom sector in the UK post privatization era. Also it will examine if the method of privatization contributes to both the operational and financial performance*** 1.3 Objectives to the Study My objectives will be subdivided into two sections aimed at determining to what extends privatization affected BT performance in terms of one; financial performance By looking the determinants working capital management, Share price movement and it covariance relative to the telecoms sector and FTSE 100 and Financial annual report Secondly; operational performance Level of efficiency Market Share strategy Competition and Regulation 1.4 Limitation There are inevitable limitation to this research study caused by the different economy situation post privatization era of BT. This can be ranging from some systematic economy problems to specific economy problems that can either be a general issue associated with all other sectors of the economy or rather that has to do alone with the telecoms sector or BT performance over time. Also political issues that arise for political interference in BT or the telecom sector which can either be from change of government. Finally as a research study there will be minor statistical error but this research study still represent a substandard measurement of BT post privatization operational and financial performance within the very dynamic, rapid, competitive and volatile telecom sector indices and the FTSE 100 at large. 1.5 Research Questions Why would one witness a difference in performance in terms of operational and financial factors when a firm is managed by government compared to when been managed by the private individual or investors? 1.6 Structure of the Study In Chapter two, this study will focus on the methods of privatization while chapter three of this research is literature review which includes theoretical framework and a review of relevant literatures. The theoretical framework will look at the different theories of privatization, how those theories where applied during privatization and the impact it had in the telecoms sector. Also the literature will critically review the impact of privatization in the telecoms sector focus mainly on the operational and financial performance of SOEs before and after privatization. While Chapter four will discuss the methodology adopted to achieve this study. Chapter four will be analysis of datas and stating of findings. Finally Chapter five would be conclusion. Chapter two 2.0 Methods of Privatization 2.1 Introduction This chapter will focus on the different methods of privatizations ranging from share issue method to voucher or the mass method and finally the asset sales method. It will also discuss the justification why a particular method is chosen rather than the other toward the achievement of privatization exercise and finally the advantage and disadvantages of each method used. 2.2 Share Issue Method This method of privatization involves the sale of all or part of SOE to investor through a public share offer which are similar to initial public offer (IPO) in the private sector via the stock market. This is structured to raise money for the government, divest them also from ownership and for them to achieve political objectives. However in the words of Megginson (2005) this method is the largest and most successful method to transfer SOEs to private ownership. Yet it is the most dramatic because if it turns out successfully or fails respectively it becomes the most political and economy bad or good decision depending on what happens. However, the process of using this method involves the passing through three steps; How to transfer control: This involves whether to sell the whole SOEs strategically to the public once or step by step. If the last option is chosen then government will have to determine what percent should be sold initially and subsequently but the most important thing here is for the government to put up tight regulation to control corporate decisions after the privatization exercise. How to price the offer: The pricing decision requires whether government should do the pricing by tender offer, a booking-building exercise or a fixed price but whatever the decision government makes it must be in advance. However the government always issue out SOEs share below the true market value as an incentive to encourage investors to buy shares. Finally, how to allocate the shares: This depends on who the government intends to favor most, it could be the employees, labor unions or potential investors and even foreign investors. Also it could make use an investment banker as lead underwriter or favor national champion. Meanwhile this method of privatization needs the existence of a capital market and also has some comparative advantage over the other methods which is rationale behind why it can be used in some situation rather than the others. In most case SOEs share prices are underpriced relative to the market price, hence foregone government revenue that will make investor make a premium on top of there investment The needs to expand the stock market operational capacity to accommodate new issued equities Advantage Can raise huge amount of revenue for the government The strategy employed can be use to create wealth evenly for local investors by allocating a set percentage of share to every region within the country. This usually occurs in situation where there is less inequality of income The use of share option, most likely develops the capital market. It is also used when the SOE to be privatized is large and profitable. For example BT, It also transforms the size and efficiency of both the nations investment banking sector and its capital market. Disadvantage It is time consuming to organize It is extremely expensive to coordinate due to the fact that before the share are put to sale the government have to hire and pay consultants 3. Transaction cost is another issue. It include cost of sales, advertising, underwriting. 2.3 Asset Sales Method This method involve the sale of the whole or part of SOE clearly for cash to individual investors, group of investors or an existing corporation with or without experience in that sector (Meggison 2005). Vuylsteke et al (1995), suggest that transaction here can occur in different forms from direct acquisition by a similar corporate firm or private placement to targeting various institutional investors. However there are different procedures to follow in this method of privatization exercise. This includes; firstly the full competitive process which involves a privatization process of pre-qualification of bidders to win the final bid to take-over the said SOE. While the second procedure involves the use of direct negotiations between investors and government representatives to take-over the said SOE which usually involve the search for a larger number of investors. Both process would usually involve the investor who are either new or have an excellent record of both operational and financial performance in the past. This though is not a major concern for the government or standard to win the bid but can only be as confidence booster for both the government, SOE labor unions and management. However the governments have strict interest in the bidders that can meet their financial requirements as well as all other agreement without violating. Advantages It brings about a speedy and flexible negotiation towards the sales of SOE between the individual or group of investors and the government body that is interested in the transfer of the SOE to private hands. It can yield more revenue for the government as the highest bidder wins the ownership of SOE to be privatized It is the most reliable method of privatization in economies where the stock market is underdeveloped as well as encourage to a great extend property right theory. It attracts Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cash flow income into the economies of the local country. It can also bring about innovation in technology, management skills and expertise especially when these SOE are bought over by foreigners. Disadvantages It is the least transparent method of privatization as the government might only target to sell to the group of investor that favors they own political objectives. It can bring about exploitation as the new investor might be under pressure to pay back loans and t the same time maximums profit within a short period of time. The group of investors or individual investor might not have the required technical expertise or skill and experience to run the new privatized SOE. These are mostly common with local investors favored by the government or are new in business. 2.4 Voucher Method This is also known as mass privatization, usually common in Eastern Europe. It is a method whereby eligible citizens of a nation can use vouchers that are distributed free or at nominal cost. This gives holders the right to bid for stake for SOEs or other assets been privatized. This method is mostly used in transition economies like in the Central and especially Eastern economies respectively to bring about fundamental change in the ownership of business asset in these economies, although not always change in effective control (Meggison 2005). However, low income distribution level prompted most nations in Eastern Europe to adopt this method of privatization as it became clear that the only viable way to privatize and maintain significant domestic ownership was the voucher method if not only individuals with the wealth to acquire shares which were communist, criminal and foreigners would buy up everything. (Parker and Saal 2003) This method of privatization as suggested by Boycko, Shleifer and Vishny (1994) shows that the reason to purse and specifically design the program is largely dictated by politics. This involves the divestment of SOE through the distribution of vouchers to a nations citizenry that people can use to bid for the SOEs on offer. This method has been used in mass privatization exercise programs mostly in transaction economies in the Czech Republic, Russia and other Eastern and Central Europe countries. However this method has been really successful in the past but most recently are failing because there do not attract new capital or management to the privatized SOEs. Experience has also shown that it do not provide effective ownership structure for the new privatized SOE instead insiders end up controlling most of the more valuable companies and ordinary investors receive claims of the weakest and least promising SOEs. Advantage It ensures a wide share of shares ownership, where as a lot of people would have been too poor to buy and own a share. Disadvantage It yielded no cash inflow to the government or firms and thus there were no transfers of technology, capital and expertise from foreign investors or multinational companies to the privatized companies. It also gave the new owners of the privatized who where existing managers and employee little incentives to effectively restructure the firms operation and reduce the amount of staff needed in order to cut cost. In most cases, government never gave up the full control of important privatized companies to private owners other than managers because government still heard a majority shareholding and thus felt that the firms will be too strategic to be left unsupervised. This was because government wanted to ensure that no serious staff cut which would have impact on operational restructuring as the exercise was politically rational but economically deliberate. Government allowed the politicization of credit extension also made the newly privatized firms continue to enjoy soft budget constraint for an infinite amount of time also contributed to one of the weakness of voucher privatization. 3.0 Theoretical Framework and Literature Review 3.1 Introduction The privatization of SOEs has over time been a big and important issue in the growth and development of the economy. This has lead to the development of many theories which explains the ideas behind what is expected in principle and practice in privatization exercise. This chapter will however discuss the relevant theoretical and empirical literatures of this research study objectives and rationale. This involves critically examining the theories that have been developed over time by different authors and how their impact privatization as regards the objectives of this study. This will also state why privatization is vital for the growth and development of some sectors and why, it will not in some other sectors within the economy. Finally, analysis on how privatization affects the performance of a firm will also be discussed. 3.2 Factors Determining Privatization SOE were highly inefficient and grow at a very slow pace, too much bureaucratic issue can cause no room for quick decision making, innovative changes. Also constant government political intervention as well as administration changes is an issue. It is also over dominated by the power of Labor Trade Union (Veljnovski 1987). However after the successful privatization of BT in 1984 by the Thatchers administration, it became an economic policy that can be used to reduce the financial pressure on government budget as well as the concern to prevent SOEs from failing in terms of its inefficient use of financial and operational resources. But could this be a means to wealth creation for investors, who through the spread and acquisition of shares ownership, restructuring and refocusing of SOEs economic objectives as well as cutting of trade labor unions influence and power will see SOE to maximize both there operational and financial performances. An argument that must be stressed here is that of the difficulty in interpreting the indictors of both operational and financial performance of SOEs post privatization within and outside the business environment economy. Take for example; poor financial performance may be consistent with high rate of internal efficiency if the formal is as a result of government policy of price control. However, since SOEs frequently respond to anticipated market failures, profit maximization and similar related measures might not necessary, be a reliable indicator for their poor performances over time (Ramanadham 1993). Rather this study will support that failure of SOEs, could be as a result of rapid demand for their goods and services faced by their steady but slow growth to reach maximum productivity movement rather than to totally shift production function to meet all demands and avoid poor operational and financial performance. Yarrow (1986), however argued against privatization stating that competition and more forceful accountability will even be better than privatization in promoting both financial and operational efficiency but his argument has a limitation, it only focused on a small number of company within UK. Ramanadham (1993) pointed out that the objective of privatization is realized more if it becomes successful within a short period of time either by stock market price rise or increase in the level of efficiency or productivity bringing about instance economic growth and development. But when reverse is the case (if it fails), which happens some time it even makes privatization more undesirable. So it is best re-engineer SOE by over hauling it, as well s to set up a transparent regulatory frame work to remedy what might be a failure when the objectives of privatization are not met as anticipated in order to level the firms operational and financial performance post privatization. In a further argument by Megginson et al (1994) whose strong support from recent theoretical and empirical perspective, that private firms will always outperform SOEs stating that privatization itself will always increase both the financial and operational efficiency of firms irrespective of the business environment. While another view by Moore (1992) who argued that the act of privatization promotes economic efficiency and public confidence (one of the major objectives of property right theory) in the system of industrial capitalism and thus SOEs should be sold off before efficiency gains can be realized. He also argued that the success of privatization transforms business attitude towards ownership, economic responsibility and towards the improvement of corporate performances. It also allows government play an important role of regulation the business environment leaving the ownership of firms in the hand of investors and individuals who will perform better as there are faced with scare resource and market forces. It is clear now that different factors can lead to privatization especially when SOEs has underperform operationally and financially causing political pressure, budget deficit and waste of scare resource for the government and even to the extent of administrative failure. 3.4 Evaluation of the theories of Privatization Principal Agent Theory Vickers and Yarrow (1995) points out that a problem exist in the principal agent theory as the principal interest greatly lies in profit maximization and high return for investment therefore this aim might conflict with that of the agent who might pursue other objectives apart from profitability. Further stating that since the formal do not have full information concerning what is happening within the SOE and cannot fully control the attitude of the agents who might be over ambitious and purse his own objectives, this will certainly create monitoring problems for the principal. This in fact creates both financial and operational problems directly or indirectly.** However when shareholders can influence the behaviors of agents (management) through vote as the only way to keep them in check, the agent might however work at a more efficient level and focus on a set objective towards profit maximization. On the other hand when the rate of efficiency increases, it leads to higher revenue which is mostly one of the objectives, to brings about higher income and dividend for its shareholders.** Property Right Theory This is a set of right to control assets. It is a consequently grants of authority made to an investor or a group of investors through right of issue of share or control either public or private and acknowledged by other persons or organizations (Lindblom, 1977) De Soto (2006) argues that lack of formal property right is what has kept developing economies from been developed stating that it limits the amount of goods and services that can be exchanged in the market in order to have a sustainable long term economy growth. While Easterly (2001) opinion is quite similar to the views of Soto, Easterly suggests that property right is a s