Biography of Emily Bronte Essay Example

Biography of Emily Bronte Paper Emily Bronte was born in Thornton on July 30, 1818 and later moved with her family to Haworth, an isolated village on the moors. Her mother, Maria Branwell, died when she was only three years old, leaving Emily and her five siblings, Maria, Elizabeth, and Charlotte, Anne, and Branwell to the care of the dead woman’s sister. Emily, Maria, Elizabeth, and Charlotte were sent to Cowan, a boarding school, in 1824. The next year while at school Maria and Elizabeth came home to die of tuberculosis, and the other two sisters were also sent home. Both spent the next six years at home, where they picked up what education they could. In 1835, Charlotte became a teacher at the school at Roe Head and Emily joined her as a student. After three months Charlotte sent her home again, afraid that Emily was extremely homesick from her beloved moors. For a short time in 1837 Emily moved to Halifax in order to teach at the Law Hill School. She returned to Haworth when her health again began to fail. After this agonizing experience, Emily remained at home for five years. During this period, she wrote poetry and short stories to fill her time. In 1842, she attended school in Brussels with her sister Charlotte. There they studied music and foreign language. Emily also wrote her French essays at this time. Charlotte and Emily were described as â€Å"literary geniuses. † All the family was reunited at home, in 1845. In the course of time, the Brontes gave up hope for a school of their own. Branwell, working on a novel, told his sisters of the profitable possibilities of novel writing. We will write a custom essay sample on Biography of Emily Bronte specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Biography of Emily Bronte specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Biography of Emily Bronte specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In the autumn of 1845 Charlotte discovered Emily’s poems and convinced her sister to collaborate on a volume of poems. One year later, the volume was titled Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Action Bell and was published. The first venture into publishing was a failure. By July, Wuthering Heights was finished, along with Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. All three were seeking a publisher and finally had their novels published in late 1847. Initially, the results of Wuthering Heights were poor, selling few copies. In 1848, Branwell died. Emily left home for the last time to attend his funeral service, and caught a severe cold which developed into inflammation of the lungs. At the age of thirty, Emily Bronte died of tuberculosis and never knew the great success of her only novel. Throughout her life time, Emily lived a solitary lifestyle in the confines of the storm-scarred moors of Yorkshire. It is in this isolation that she found the inspiration and strength of emotion to write such powerful poetry, and perhaps Wuthering Heights. Emily Bronte’s strength of will and creativity can not be forgotten.

Overview of Labor Unions essays

Overview of Labor Unions essays What do you think of when you hear the phrase "labor unions?" Most people associate a negative connotation with labor unions. They think that labor unions are the only cause of strikes and work stoppages. Most think that people in unions are greedy and will do anything to get more money. Others swear by their unions, saying that their employers would take advantage of them if they didn't organize their unions. However as we prepare to enter the new millennium, labor unions are decreasing in size. Lets look at some of reasons. First, the numbers are unmistakable. At the end of 1997, when the most recent count was made, only 14.1% of workers belonged to unions, the lowest percentage since 1936 (Gross 23). This is a dramatic decrease from when unions were at their height at the end of World War II when 35.3% of Americans were in unions (Galenson 13). One cause of this fall of union membership is the decline of manufacturing in America and the transfer of much manufacturing work overseas (Gross 24). Because of advances in technology and labor saving innovations, fewer people are required to make steel and assembler automobiles. As a result, only 16.1% of U.S. workers now work in factories, down from 22.8% twenty years ago (Aronowitz 2). There has also been a decrease in size of the large corporations, which in the past usually signed industry-wide contracts to produce a particular item. The latest figures show that the 800 largest firms employed 17% of the total workforce, down from 25.7% twenty years ago (Aronowitz 3). Many of these companies have their work done abroad. Nike does not make a single shoe in the United States and many insurance companies are having paperwork processed overseas (Hacker 45). At home corporate jobs are frequently assigned to temporary workers, who are often classified as "independent contractors" and are not very likely to join unions. Indeed, there are fewer long-term jobs, something union seni...

Winning at Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Winning at Change - Essay Example The ingredients for good communication are that it needs to be direct and personal and not lean through memos; it should be correct as a precise message produces best results; euphoria is to be avoided at small achievements and the larger goal must be pursued relentlessly until realized; and the blame game must be abandoned. Change programmes should have a large spread with timeline for each segment. Within this smaller goals are easier to understand and become achievable. Effective partnerships must be built with various stakeholders first by engaging the right persons within the organisation for each job and then making strategic partnerships to cement relations with outsiders. Teamwork is essential and forming a winning team means building confidences and delegating authority. The vision is the binding force and it must be meaningful and beneficial for everyone. The intentions must be clear; ambitious but practical. Conflicts between stakeholders must be resolved through give and take, keeping the vision in mind. An organisation has leaders at all levels and each one performs the universal task of explaining the vision and encouraging others to step up their efforts in achieving them. Leadership is critical in change management and a leader is dynamic and caring and the organisational transformation depends entirely on them. A successful transformation requires eight steps. First a hard look at ground realities of market conditions, potential crises or opportunities will establish the need and the urgency for transformation. Secondly, forging coalitions or partnerships and encouraging teamwork to ensure smooth functioning. Thirdly, a clear vision is required to create motives and strategies. Fourthly, the effective communication of vision through any mean is necessary to galvanize actions. Next, people must be empowered and barriers and obstacles must be removed; thinking out of the box

Managerial Economics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managerial Economics - Research Paper Example The cost of production is dependent on the materials the firms choose. In this case the building materials are the materials for production. It is to be noted that the firm is earning short run profits which are the driver of new firms into the market. As new firms enter into the market, the demand for the materials for production will rise. The chosen firm will also have to buy the materials at higher costs and therefore, the costs of production will rise (United Nations Department of Agriculture, n.d.). b) The price that the chosen firm charges for their services will depend on two major factors: the competition that the firm faces from other competitors and the real estate market. As there is entry of new firms into the market, there is increased competition which will tend to force the equilibrium price down. Therefore, the chosen firm will be forced to charge less for the remodeling services. c) From the above two discussions it is clear that the firm will have to face increased competition and the costs of production will also increase. When new entrants appear in the market, the share of each of the other firms operating within the same industry decreases. As a result, the profits of the chosen firm will decrease. The firm will now enjoy only normal profits. Managerial Decisions for Firms with Market Power 2. ... How? What evidence might you bring to the hearing? Answer: The Federal Trade Commission is concerned that the merger increased the market power for the firms that merged. However, it is difficult to argue that the market power will not increase if it is assumed that the rivals are close to the size of the merged firms. But it can be argued that the merger was simply aimed to save costs. Suppose the individual firms had to incur some overhead costs while operating as individual units. If it can be argued that increasing market power was not the aim of the merger and if it can be proved that the overhead costs have really decreased while operating as a merged company, then it will provide a foothold in the argument. The concentration of market power will also help to derive the price elasticity of demand. It can also be argued that the market power will not increase as much as in a situation of monopoly and would lack the power to hurt the consumers. In an industry characterized by fir ms that enjoy similar market shares, it is unlikely that the market power will increase as a result of the merger. The search engine market power tremendously increased because of the deal between Microsoft and Yahoo. The deal was allowed as Google enjoyed a fair power of the market. If the deal would not have taken place, both companies would have began to lose market power which could have hurt the consumers. Strategic Decision Making in Oligopoly Market 3. When McDonald’s Corp reduced the price of its Big Mac by 75 percent if customers also purchased French fries and a soft drink, The Wall Street Journal reported that the company was hoping the novel promotion would revive its U.S. sales growth. It didn’t. Within two weeks sales had fallen. Using your knowledge of game theory,

The Divorcee (1930) and Its Challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Divorcee (1930) and Its Challenges - Essay Example A husband has a brief extra marital affair and considers it nothing. He asks his wife for forgiveness but his wife, in order to make him realize the sensitivity of the issue, has an affair with her husband’s friend and then the husband realizes that it must mean something. The film starts with a party in New York with a number of social elite. Jerry Bernard, played by Norma Shearer, is an informal leader of the group who breaks the news of her engagement with Ted Martin, played by Chester Morris, at the party. Paul, played by Conrad Negel, is in love with Jerry and he is disappointed by the news of Jerry’s engagement with Ted. Paul gets drunk at the party and on his way home he gets into an accident and causes facial disfigurement to Dorothy, played by Helen Johnson, who was a passenger in the car. Paul gets remorseful and decides to marry Dorothy himself. On the day Paul decides to marry Dorothy in a hospital bedside ceremony, Jerry and Ted also get married and have a lavish wedding ceremony. Years pass and Ted and Jerry lead a happy married life. On the third anniversary of their marriage, Ted is compelled to go out of town for a meeting in Chicago. The friends of Ted and Jerry take them out for a party and they bring another woman named Janice Meredith, played by Mary Doran, with them. The fact that Janice accompanies them upsets Ted but they go anyway. Janice corners Ted in the kitchen and here it is disclosed that Ted and Janice had a brief affair a short time earlier. Jerry finds Ted and Janice in the kitchen with Janice’s arms around Ted. A short time later Ted admits to his wife that he had a brief affair with Janice. He justifies his position by saying that he had been drunk and the affair was nothing but an unfortunate incident. After Ted leaves for Chicago, Jerry feels upset because of the disclosure of Ted’s brief affair. To cheer her up, Don played by Robert Montgomery, Ted’s best friend takes Jerry out. Don flirt s with Jerry and Jerry responds. Ted returns from his trip a week later and he is filled with remorse. He asks for Jerry’s forgiveness and justifies his position by saying that the affair meant nothing. They had almost reconciled their differences when Jerry admits that she had balanced their accounts when Ted was away for the trip. She, similar to Ted, justifies her position by saying that her short lived affair meant nothing and it too should be overlooked. Jerry expects Ted to be reasonable and treat her affair as he treats his own but Ted refuses to forgive her. Jerry becomes outraged at Ted’s behavior and after arguing, both of them decide to divorce. Both of them regret the break up but due to their stubbornness, do not reconcile. Jerry has a series of affairs afterwards and years pass. Ted moves to Paris due to his job. Paul encounters Jerry in train while she was in the company of Ivan. Paul knocks Ivan out when he mistreats Jerry. Paul tells Jerry that he want s to marry her and he can even dump his wife for her. While Jerry considers Paul’s proposal, she is visited by Dorothy who asks her not to destroy her marriage. Jerry then renounces Paul’s proposal and moves to Paris. She hopes to find Ted and visits various nightclubs for that purpose. Finally she finds Ted and he is surprised to see her in Paris. Ted initially thinks that Jerry is there for her honeymoon with Paul but she says that Ted is her only read husband. At this point they finally reconcile their

The indian FMCG sector

The indian FMCG sector Chapter 1 1.1 Indian FMCG Sector in a nutshell: The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with a total market size in excess of US$ 13.1 billion. It has a strong MNC presence and is characterized by a well established distribution network, intense competition between the organized and unorganized segments and low operational cost. Availability of key raw materials, cheaper labor costs and presence across the entire value chain gives India a competitive advantage. The FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4 billion in 2015. Penetration level as well as per capit consumption in most product categories like jams, toothpaste, skin care, hair wash etc in India is low indicating the untapped market potential. Burgeoning Indian population, particularly the middle class and the rural segments, presents an opportunity to makers of branded products to convert consumers to branded products. Growth is also likely to come from consumer upgrading in the matured product categories. With 200 million people expected to shift to processed and packaged food by 2010, India needs around US$ 28 billion of investment in the food-processing industry. The Indian FMCG sector gives employment for three million people in downstream activities. Within the FMCG sector, the Indian food processing industry represented 6.3 per cent of GDP and accounted for 13 per cent of the countrys exports in 2003-04.A distinct feature of the FMCG industry is the presence of most global players through their subsidiaries (HLL, PG, Nestle), which ensures new product launches in the Indian market from the parents portfolio. 1.2 What is in India for FMCG: FMCG Sector is expected to grow by over 60% by 2010. That will translate into an annual growth of 10% over a 5-year period. It has been estimated that FMCG sector will rise from around Rs 56,500 crores in 2005 to Rs 92,100 crores in 2010. Hair care, household care, male grooming, female hygiene, and the chocolates and confectionery categories are estimated to be the fastest growing segments, says an HSBC report. Though the sector witnessed a slower growth in 2002-2004, it has been able to make a fine recovery since then. For example, Hindustan Unilver Limited (HUL) has shown a healthy growth in the last quarter. An estimated double-digit growth over the next few years shows that the good times are likely to continue. 1.3 Growth: With the presence of 12.2% of the world population in the villages of India, the Indian rural FMCG market is something no one can overlook. Increased focus on farm sector will boost rural incomes, hence providing better growth prospects to the FMCG companies. Better infrastructure facilities will improve their supply chain. FMCG sector is also likely to benefit from growing demand in the market. Because of the low per capita consumption for almost all the products in the country, FMCG companies have immense possibilities for growth. And if the companies are able to change the mindset of the consumers, i.e. if they are able to take the consumers to branded products and offer new generation products, they would be able to generate higher growth in the near future. It is expected that the rural income will rise in 2007, boosting purchasing power in the countryside. However, the demand in urban areas would be the key growth driver over the long term. Also, increase in the urb an population, along with increase in income levels and the availability of new categories, would help the urban areas maintain their position in terms of consumption. At present, urban India accounts for 66% of total FMCG consumption, with rural India accounting for the remaining 34%. However, rural India accounts for more than 40% consumption in major FMCG categories such as personal care, fabric care, and hot beverages. In urban areas, home and personal care category, including skin care, household care and feminine hygiene, will keep growing at relatively attractive rates. Within the foods segment, it is estimated that processed foods, bakery, and dairy are long-term growth categories in both rural and urban. 1.4 Indian Competitiveness and Comparison with the World Markets: The following factors make India a competitive player in FMCG sector: Availability of Raw Materials: Because of the diverse agro-climatic conditions in India, there is a large raw material base suitable for food processing industries. India is the largest producer of livestock, milk, sugarcane, coconut, spices and cashew and is the second largest producer of rice, wheat and fruits vegetables. India also produces caustic soda and soda ash, which are required for the production of soaps and detergents. The availability of these raw materials gives India the location advantage. Labour cost comparison: Low cost labour gives India a competitive advantage. Indias labour cost is amongst the lowest in the world, after China Indonesia. Low labour costs give the advantage of low cost of production. Many MNCs have established their plants in India to outsource for domestic and export markets. Presence across value chain: Indian companies have their presence across the value chain of FMCG sector, right from the supply of raw materials to packaged goods in the food-processing sector. This brings India a more cost competitive advantage. For example, Amul supplies milk as well as dairy products like cheese, butter, etc Chapter 2 Introduction of Hindustan Uniliver Limited (Formerly Hindustan Lever Limited) Brief History: Hindustan Unilever Limited, erstwhile Hindustan Lever Limited (also called HLL), headquartered in Mumbai, is Indias largest consumer products company, formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited. Its 41,000 employees are headed by Mr.Harish Manwani, the non-executive chairman of the board. HLL is the market leader in Indian products such as tea, soaps, detergents, as its products have become daily household name in India. The Anglo-Dutch company Unilever owns a majority stake in Hindustan Lever Limited. Recently in February 2007, the company has been renamed to Hindustan Unilever Limited to provide the optimum balance between maintaining the heritage of the Company and the future benefits and synergies of global alignment with the corporate name of Unilever. Prominent Brands: Kwality Walls ice cream, Lifebuoy, Lux, Breeze, Liril, Rexona, Hamam, Moti soaps, Lipton tea, Brooke Bond tea, Bru Coffee, Pepsodent and Close Up toothpaste and brushes, and Surf, Rin and Wheel laundry detergents, Kissan squashes and jams, Ponds talc and creams, Vaseline lotions, Fair Lovely creams, Lakmà © beauty products are some of the prominent brands of the company. Power Brands: In mid-2000 after M.S. Banga took over the reins at HLL, the company decided that it would focus on 30 odd Power Brands and carefully plan its entry into new businesses. Intuitively this made sense, instead of spreading your resources all over the place concentrate on a few brands. But what it meant was that power brands had to grow at higher rates to compensate for the loss of sales from other brands. Unfortunately, the other brands have shrunk faster vis-à  -vis the rate at which the power brands have grown. This has hit the top line of the company. The companys Vanasapti brand, Dalda, is a case in point Appointment of Doug Baille : The appointment of an expat, Doug Baillie, as the CEO of consumer heavyweight HLL is seen as an indication of the parent companys desire to hasten the process of Unileverising the Indian subsidiary, it is reliably learnt. Informed sources said Unilever was not very satisfied with the pace of harmonization of HLL vis-à  -vis other global subsidiaries. Within Unilever, it was felt that there was some opposition from HLLs senior management who wanted HLLs Indian ness to be maintained. Project Shakti: It is an initiative take by the group as a way of fulfilling its social responsibility by empowering the less privileged sections of the society we live in. The objectives of Project Shakti are to create income-generating capabilities for underprivileged rural women by providing a small-scale enterprise opportunity, and to improve rural living standards through health and hygiene awareness. Hindustan Lever Network: In February 2003 Hindustan Unilever Limited has launched a new division called Hindustan Lever Network. This division markets a wide range of Fast Moving Consumer Goods through Network Marketing. Network Marketing was pioneered in the United States of America in the 1940s by companies like Amway Corporation and operates by recruiting individuals as consultants. These consultants are paid a commission on the purchases made by them and on the purchases made by those recruited by them. Performance Trends of the company: This table has been taken from the annual report of the HUL for the year ended on 31st December 2006. This table contains key financial indicators which show the performance of the company in year 2006 and its performance trend for last 10 years. Chapter 3 LITERATURE REVIEW While green marketing came into prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was first discussed much earlier. The American Marketing Association (AMA) held the first workshop on Ecological Marketing in 1975. The proceedings of this workshop resulted in one of the first books on green marketing entitled Ecological Marketing (Henion and Kinnear 1976a). Since that time a number of other books on the topic have been published (Coddington 1993, and Ottman 1993). Green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. (Polonsky, 1994) World-wide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior accordingly. As a result there is a growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. (Environmental protection agency -2000) Green consumerism is often discussed as a form of pro-social consumer behavi or (Wiener and Doesher, 1991). It may be viewed as a specific type of socially conscious (Anderson, 1988) or socially responsible (Antil, 1984) consumer behavior that involves an environmentalist (Schlossberg, 1991) perspective and may thus be called environmentally concerned consumption (Henion, 1976). A classic definition (Henion, 1976) describes environmentally concerned consumers. Business organizations tend to concern about environments issues due to several reasons such as environmental pressure, governmental pressure, competitive pressure, cost or profit issues (Environmental protection agency -2000) Unfortunately, a majority of people believe that green marketing refers solely to the promotion or advertising of products with environmental characteristics. (Polonsky,1994) and terms like Phosphate Free, Recyclable, Refillable, Ozone Friendly, and Environmentally Friendly are some of the things consumers most often associate with green marketing. . (Polonsky,1994) While these t erms are green marketing claims, in general green marketing is a much broader concept, one that can be applied to consumer goods, industrial goods and even services (Roberts and Bacon, 1997). Hopes for green products also have been hurt by the perception that such products are of lower quality or dont really deliver on their environmental promises. And yet the news isnt all bad, as the growing number of people willing to pay a premium for green products from organic foods to energy-efficient appliances attests. (DSouza et al. 2004)Green or Environmental Marketing consists of all activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges intended to satisfy human needs or wants, such that the satisfaction of these needs and wants occurs, with minimal detrimental impact on the natural environment. [Polonsky 1994b, 2] Green marketing has not lived up to the hopes and dreams of many managers and activists. Although public opinion polls consistently show that consumers would prefer to choose a green product over one that is less friendly to the environment when all other things are equal, those other things are rarely equal in the minds of consumers. (Hackett, 2000) They must always keep in mind that consumers are unlikely to compromise on traditional product attributes, such as convenience, availability, price, quality and performance. Its even more important to realize, however, that there is no single green-marketing strategy that is right for every company. (Prothero,, and McDonagh, 1992) Despite the increasing eco-awareness in contemporary market economies, it is generally recognized that there are still considerable barriers to the diffusion of more ecologically oriented consumption styles. In lay discourse as well as in much of consumer research, these barriers are usually attributed to the motivational and practical complexity of green consumption (Hackett, 2000). Increased use of Green Marketing is depending on five possible reasons. (Polonsky 1994b) Organizations perceive environmental marketing to be an opportunity that can be used to achieve its objectives [Keller 1987, Shearer 1990] Organizations believe they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible [Davis 1992, Keller 1987,] Governmental bodies are forcing firms to become more responsible [Davis 1992]; Competitors environmental activities pressure firms to change their environmental marketing activities [Davis 1992] Cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces firms to modify their behavior [Keller, K.L. (1993] Moreover, environmentally responsible behavior usually involves difficult motivational conflicts, arising from the fundamental incompatibility of environmental protection-related collective goals and individual consumers personal or self-interested benefits and the resulting free-rider problem (Wiener and Doesher, 1991) Public policymakers will continue to develop more efficient ways to regulate waste and pollution, and scientists will continue to gather information about the environmental risks from various substances or practices. As they do, pricing structures will evolve that communicate even more accurate information to manufacturers and entrepreneurs about the true cost of commercial activities and the potential rewards from innovative solutions to environmental problems. This definition incorporates much of the traditional components of the marketing definition that is All activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges intended to satisfy human needs or wants (Sc hlegelmilch et al,1996). There are usually severe external constraints to green consumerism, arising from the cultural, infrastructural, political and economic circumstances in the markets and society (McIntosh, A. 1991). Both individual and industrial are becoming more concerned and aware about the natural environment. In a 1992 study of 16 countries, more than 50% of consumers in each country, other than Singapore, indicated they were concerned about the environment (Ottman 1993). A 1994 study in Australia found that 84.6% of the sample believed all individuals had a responsibility to care for the environment. A further 80% of this sample indicated that they had modified their behavior, including their purchasing behavior, due to environmental reasons (EPA-NSW 1994). Owing to the conceptual and moral complexity of ecologically responsible consumer behavior and to the perplexity of ecological information, different consumers have different conceptions of ecologically oriented consumer behavior and, thus, myriad ways of acting out their primary motivation for being green consumers (Antil, 1984). These innovations arent being pursued simply to reduce package waste. (Prothero, 1990) Food manufacturers also want to improve food preservation to enhance the taste and freshness of their products. The cost of the foods would be lower; consumers could enjoy the convenience of pre-sliced ingredients, and waste peelings (Prothero, 1990). It can be assumed that firms marketing goods with environmental characteristics will have a competitive advantage over firms marketing non-environmentally responsible alternatives. There are numerous examples of firms who have strived to become more environmentally responsible, in an attempt to better satisfy their consumer needs. (Schwepker, and Cornwell, 1991) While governmental regulation is designed to give consumers the opportunity to make better decisions or to motivate them to be more environmentally responsible, there is difficulty in establishing policies that will address all environmental issues. (Schwepker, and Cornwell, 1991). Hence, environment-friendly consumption may be characterized as highly a complex form of consumer behavior, both intellectually and morally as well as in practice. Chapter 4 Objective of the Study To study the growth in FMCG sector in India. Interpret the results using graphs and calculating various ratios to show growth in FMCG sector with regards to HUL. Research Methodology Research methodology used for calculating the growth rate in FMCG sector is trend analysis in which various important ratios have been calculated and shown by graphs and interpreted. Data collection:- Research has collected necessary information to fulfil this report through secondary data. Secondary Data: The data in this study are derived from the CAPITALINE database. Some of the data has been collected from various other company websites. Chapter 5 Ratio Analysis: Time Series Analysis Liquidity Ratios: Liquidity Ratios indicate the companys ability to meet its short-term liability. These ratios indicate the availability of liquid asset to meet short term obligations. Creditors usually check this ratio to assess the ability of firm to meet its short term obligations. Current Ratio: Current ratio is obtained by dividing Current Assets by Current Liabilities. Current ratio gives a quick understanding of the companys liquidity position but is subjected to window dressing. Current asset consists of Cash, Inventory and Debtors as major items. Though Inventory and Debtors are considered liquid asset, the company may find itself unable to collect debt at right time and convert inventory into cash when it has to pay its creditors. Hence this ratio alone can not provide a clear picture of firms liquidity position. Liquid Ratio: Liquid ratio is a better measure of Liquidity because inventory, which might not get converted into cash when required to do so, is taken out of the current asset for calculating this ratio. Absolute Cash Ratio: It is the best measure of the liquidity since only cash and near cash items are taken for calculating this ratio. Debtors and Inventory are taken out of the Current Asset and thus left part of current asset give a better idea of liquidity of the firm. Working Capital: It is net current asset that a company has to have in order to smoothly run its day to day operation.Net Current Asset is difference between CA and CL. It also indicates how the firm is financing its assets. For example if a company has CL more than CA, i.e. Negative Working Capital, it implies that the company is financing its long term asset from short term funds. Generally CL does not carry any cost and hence it increases the profitability of the firm. Working Capital Days: Working capital days indicate the time taken in completion of the operating cycle. It is a measure of firms policy of collecting debt, making payment to creditors and average inventory holding period. The goods are purchased either in cash or on credit, then it remains with the firm as inventory for some days, then it is sold and debtors are created, then the cash is collected from debtors. So, WCD is Debtors Days + Inventory Days- Creditor Days. Debtors Days: Time taken to convert debtor into cash. It indicates how efficiently the firm is collecting its debt . Creditor Days: It indicates how fast the firm is paying back to its creditors. Inventory Days: How efficiently the firm converts its inventory into debtors, i.e. how efficient the sales are. It also indicates for how long (on an average) goods are stocked. Analysis of Liquidity Ratios: Current ratio of HUL has been less than 1 for all the 3 years taken for analysis. This implies that working capital of HUL is always negative. This is generally considered an aggressive strategy i.e. to financing its long term asset by short term sources that increases profitability because current liabilities are non interest bearing items. There is significant difference between CR and LR which indicates that the current asset of HUL consists of good amount of inventory. Value of sundry debtors is quite low since there is minor difference between LR and ACR. The liquidity ratios have decreased from previous year which shows that HUL has reduced its liquidity further. On analyzing the operating cycle it can be said that HUL takes good amount of time to pay its creditors and this is how it manage to run its operations with negative working capital. Solvency Ratio: Solvency Ratios indicate the companys ability to meet its Long-term liability. These ratios indicate the ability of the firm to return the investment made by its owners and debt providers in the business, in case the company is closed down. These ratios are usually seen by the debt providers or financial institutions in order to assess the risk involved in the business. If the firm is closed down then first it is liable to pay back its loan and then if it is left with something that belongs to the share holders. Debt Equity Ratio: Debt Equity ratio is obtained by dividing Long Term outside Liability (Debt) by Net Worth. This ratio indicates the risk involved for loan givers. If it is too high then the owner may not be that much concerned for profit making since he has invested less in the business and hence getting less return. If the company makes loss ad closed down subsequently, then the owner does not loose much and loan givers will have to bear relatively more losses. This ratio also determines EPS. Interest Coverage Ratio: ICR indicates the firms ability to pay the interest of the loans taken. It is ratio of PBIT to Interest. Debt to Total Funds: This ratio indicates the share of the debt in total sources used to fund the business. Since total sources are equal to total assets, this ratio is analyzed to assess the firms ability to meet its long term liability i.e. ability to pay back its loan, in case the company is closed down. Reserves and Surplus to Total Fund: This ratio indicates the share of the Reserves and Surplus in total sources used to fund the business. Since total source are equal to total assets, this ratio is used to assess the firms ability to meet its long term liability towards its owner that is, ability to return the share profit made by the business that belongs to shareholders, in case the company is closed down. Analysis of Solvency Ratios: The loans taken by HUL were high in 2004 which is indicated by high debt to total source ratio and this is why its ICR ratio was low (as compared to ICR in 2005 and 2006). It has decreased its loan and currently it is financing its business mostly by net worth and current liability. Debt to equity ratio has decreased over the years as it has reduced the loans. Its RS to Total source has increased which indicates that HUL invests accumulated profit into business with decreasing debt. Now HULs assets are financed by net worth and current liability with debt being a small component of total source. Profitability Ratio: Profitability Ratios show how successful a company is in terms of generating returns or profits on the Investment that has been made in the business i.e. the Profitability ratios indicates the ability of the firm to generate and distribute the profit. It can be broadly categorized into profit generating ability (PGA) ratios and profit distributing ability (PDA) ratios. It can be said the higher these ratios the better it is for the company. PBIT to Sales: This ratio is obtained by dividing Profit before Interest and Tax by Sales. This ratio is a measure of the companys profit generating ability on a given volume of sales. This is the most basic ratio of profit generating ability on sales i.e. sales margin because it does not take into account the interest and taxes which the company has to pay. PBT to Sales: This ratio is obtained by dividing Profit before Tax by Sales. This ratio gives the companys profit generating ability on a given volume of sales. This ratio takes the profit after paying the interest in order to assess profit made (profit margin) after all the expenses except tax. Operating Expenses to Sales: It is a measure of the expenses that are incurred on a particular volume of sales. This ratio can be used to analyze the cost incurred and find out the ways to reduce the operational cost without decreasing the sales volume. Return on Net worth (RONW): This ratio gives an indication about the profit being made by the firm on the investment made by the owner. This ratio is used to analyze the business from the perspective of the owner. RONW is an indicator of profit distributing ability of a firm. Return on Capital Employed (ROCE): This ratio indicates the profit making ability of the firm on total capital employed which consists of owners fund and debt. This is a profit generating ability ratio which is seen by owners and debt providers. Return on Total Asset: ROTA tells how efficiently the firm is using its assets or total sources of fund to generate profit. It is a profit generating ability ratio. Earning Per Share: EPS is an indicator of profit distributing ability of a firm. This ratio tells how much profit the firm is making on owners investment on a single share of the company. Dividend per Share: DPS ratio gives an idea of the actual distribution of profit to the owners i.e. profit distributed to shareholders per share. CFO to PAT: CFO to PAT compares the net cash generated from operational activities with net profit made by the firm. It gives an idea as to how much profit is realized and how it is being used in different activities(Investment, financial, Operational) Some of the profitability ratio in this report do not match with the values given in HULS summary of performance because the sales figures taken here are after excise duty whereas the sales figures taken by HUL for calculating these ratios are before excise duty i.e. Gross Sales. Analysis of Profitability Ratios: PBIT as percentage of sales is moderately good and there has not been any significant change in it during last three years. Similar is the case of PBT/Sales. PBT/Sales are higher than the PBIT/Sales for year 2006 and 2005 which indicate that PBT is more than PBIT. This implies that interest paid by the company is negative. On closely watching the financial statement, it has been found that Net Income from Interest for HUL is positive for the years 2006 and 2005 making PBT higher than PBIT. That is because Income Received by the company is more than that to be paid. There has not been any significant change in operating expense as percentage of sales in last three years. For FMCG business the operating expense to sales ratio around 30% can be considered good as the company has to spend heavily on its distribution network and promotional activities. The profit distributing ability of the firm is excellent with return on net worth (RONW) being around 58 % over the years. The profit generating ability similar to the profit distributing ability is pretty good with ROCE over 60% during the year 2005 and 2006. ROCE in year 2005 has increased from the figure of 2004, perhaps because of the decrease in debt (change in capital structure) and increase in current liability (non interest bearing item). Return on total asset (ROTA) has been moderately good with almost constant value of around 22% over the years. The face value of Equity Share of HUL is Rs. 1. Analyzing the EPS and DPS, which are profit distributing ability ratios, for HUL we can see that it has been generating more than 500% times profit for its shareholders over the years. The EPS increased over the years from Rs.5.xx in year 2004 to Rs. 8.xx in year 2006. It has been generous in distributing the profit in form of dividend with DPS Rs 6 in year 2004 and Rs. 5 in year 2005 and 2006. The trend of CFO/PBIT is worth analyzing since the companys CFO is close to its PBIT which indicates that almost entire profit of HUL comes from its operation and the profit is realized. In year 2005 the CFO is higher than PBIT indicating the negative CFF or CFI i.e. the company has realized the profit(in form of cash) and invested in long term assets or paid its long term outside liabilities(loans). Market Based Returns: Market based return figures indicate the firms position in the market and the benefits associated with the investment in company. A small investor, if interested in purchasing the shares of a company, first looks at the market capitalization of the company and return that he can expect on the price paid for the share. Price to Earning Ratio: Return associated with the shares on its market price. Since the investors buy the share at its market price and not at face value or book value, this ratio gives information about the actual return on investment. Market Cap to Net worth (Price to Book Value Ratio): Comparison of market value of the firm with the owners fund. This can give an idea about the success of the company in increasing the value of owners investment. Market Capitalization: Market value of the firm. Market capitalization gives an indication of the companys financial status in the market. Market capitalization is used to compare the size of the organization in term of market value. Average Market Capitalization: Average Market value of the firm over the year. Average is taken because the market value of shares keeps on changing and so is market capitalization. Analysis of Market Based Returns: PER ratio for HUL is not so good with values over 30 in year 2006 and 2005 and somewhat better with value around 25 in the year 2004. It means an investor will get return around 1/30 times on his actual investment. Market capitalization of HUL has increased after 2004. Ratio Analysis: Inter Company Analysis -HUL and ITC Comparison of Liquidity Position: Current Ratio for HUL is negative whereas it is positive for ITC. This indicates that HUL has negative working capital and ITC has positive working capital. ITC is funding its short term asset by long term funds and HUL funding its long term asset by its short term non-interest bearing sources (CL). One more difference in liquidity position of the two companies can be seen through the difference between the CR and ACR. There is huge difference in ACR and CR of ITC which shows that it has less cash or near cash items in its current liabilities whereas for HUL the difference is moderate. Working Capital Days for ITC is positive and WCD for HUL is negative. It can be said that HUL has more current liab

Catherines Inner Self in Henry Jamess Washington Square :: Henry James Washington Square

Catherine's Inner Self in Henry James's Washington Square Much is said of the internal reality of the characters in Henry James's novel Washington Square. It is seen as a "psychological novel" where most of the action takes place in the minds of the characters. In an essay titled, "Washington Square: A Study in the Growth of an Inner Self," James W. Gargano addresses the internal reality of the character Catherine Sloper. Within the essay, Gargano argues that "James anatomizes the process by which Catherine's active, secret existence transforms her into an imaginative woman" (129). Although a few of his premises seem far-fetched, I agree with the major arguments of his critique. Most of his examples support his thesis well. Early in the essay Gargano states that, "in James's fiction, naivete may wear the look of an empty mind, but it is often the ideal preparation for receiving life fully and impressionably" (130). Gargano then tells us that Catherine will feel more intensely because she has not known strong emotions before. According to him, "her ingenuousness is the key to her genuineness and her sense of seeing, feeling, and judging life for the first time" (130). I feel this is a key element in understanding Catherine. Gargano also brings out how well James "traces [Catherine's] developing insight" (131) into her own nature. He refers to the part in the novel where James writes, "She watched herself as she would have watched another person, and wondered what she would do" (qtd. in Gargano 131). Then Gargano adds, "it is hard to write off as dull a young woman with such a vivid 'contact' with her own development" and Gargano also felt that "James intended the dullness to be ascribed to the bright people around her who never even glimpse her hidden abysses" (131). This is an interesting viewpoint, which, when applied to the novel, adds a deeper perception of the characters. Some of Gargano's other premises were not as insightful for me. For example, I had trouble with what Gargano called Catherine's "transcendentalizing imagination" that causes her to create "beautiful figments" of Townsend that possess her and become the "paramount value of her life, and other attachments, no matter how strong, must somehow accommodate themselves to it." (132). This contention tends to belittle Catherine's intelligence as well as her grasp of reality. I also disagreed with one of Gargano's conclusions that, "loss is the real goal for which James's central characters are secretly striving, that they engage life only to see that it falls below their lofty expectations and that mastery and transcendence are gained by renunciation" (135).

Compare and Contrast the Depiction of War and Soldiers in Birdsong and Strange Meeting Essay

In the first half of the twentieth century bloodshed was dominant as war on a global scale occurred on two occasions. These were not only effective on people that witnessed the catastrophe but also for propaganda and literature that would occur years later. Two of the most dominant authors depicting soldiers and war were Englishmen Sebastian Faulks and Susan Hill. They expressed their opinions on such matters with literature such as â€Å"Birdsong† and â€Å"Strange Meeting† respectively. In comparison both texts were wrote within the last forty years categorising them both as modernistic texts. Along with the information that both authors were neither there or around at the time, this would indicate that their novels are both adaptations of stories they have heard and open to artistic licence resulting in both being complete works of fiction. Throughout both extracts of the texts many comparisons and contrasts can be brought up involving the way war is opinionated for the soldiers. The first contrast that can be made is the indication that the 3rd person illustrates about the trenches but through two different styles of writing. â€Å"Birdsong† creates the feeling of negativity relating to the trenches through a strong use of imagery involving death. Language such as ‘wailing’, ‘primitive fear’ and ‘rigid body’ along with the use as short and punctual sentences creates a representation of a constantly changing and dangerous environment perhaps portraying the speed of the soldiers’ heartbeats involved, enabling the reader to understand the rush and panic the soldiers are feeling and representing the horror of the trenches from the soldiers’ point of view. This is in stark contrast to â€Å"Strange Meeting† which describes the trenches with descriptive language and in a positive light, ‘†¦a full moon shone above the ridge. The frost was thin and here and there it caught in the pale light on the barbed wire, tin canisters, helmets, and gleamed. ’ This different interpretation of the trenches offers a complete alternative opinion of trench life as throughout the extract words such as ‘frost’, ‘jokes’ and ‘Quiet’ portray a very quiet and peaceful place, somewhere not to be afraid of. This is a complete dissimilarity to the interpretation of â€Å"Birdsong†. A calm and positive situation is also highlighted in the attitude of the soldiers and the relationship they have with each other throughout the extract of â€Å"Strange Meeting†. Within the extract, the author highlights the relationships that Barton, an officer, has with Parkin, a soldier, as uncomfortable but calm. A constant awkwardness is represented with the way that the two characters converse with each other. ‘â€Å"Sir? † / â€Å"Hello, Parkin. All right? † †¦ â€Å"†¦have you, sir? † / â€Å"No, have you? † / â€Å"No. †Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ could be used to represent the constant problem that an officer has with relating to Parkin, a constant problem with class and a constant inability to communicate for any length of time. The use of short and sharp responses from both sides represents that both social classes don’t really know what to say to each other and find it difficult to be themselves in each other’s company. The class struggle is further highlighted with the introduction of the character Hilliard. Hilliard, much like Barton, is an officer in the trenches. The relationship with which he has with Barton compared to Parkin is of great difference representing the social boundaries that members of the British army throughout World War I would have faced. The relationship that Barton has with his social equal, Hilliard, could be viewed as a strong family bond and perhaps even slightly homosexual. The comfortable relationship that both officers have compared to the relationship with Parkin really highlights the fact that class boundaries are a major factor. The structure of both conversations next to each other really highlights the clashes as direct contrasts and comparisons can be drawn between both conversations. The use of this by the author really illustrates to the reader the differences in the characters and enables the reader to draw up questions about the officers. The relationship that Barton and Hilliard have could be portrayed as being like husband and wife. This is highlighted where it states ‘†Do you want to turn the lamp on? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"I thought you were asleep. † / â€Å"No, I was waiting for you. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. This could be interpreted by the reader as being highly homosexual and similar to a married life at home. A constant representation of the Queer Theory is brought up through many texts involving the First World War and seemed to be acceptable within the trenches. This is further highlighted with ‘Strange Meeting’ where it states in conversation between Barton and Hilliard ‘†I want to take you everywhere, show you everything†¦ ’ This further highlights their struggle with homosexuality but it also gives the reader an insight into what Susan Hill’s opinion regarding the war is about. The talk of everything and anything within the war could perhaps insinuate boredom through the trenches or perhaps even more controversially the fear with which the soldiers have. Their constant distraction and conversation about other matters outside the war could indicate that even the image of trench life which has been talked as being calm and okay within the extract could in fact be terrifying the soldiers involved so much that they want to be constantly distracted away from it and discuss the positivity that thinking of home and the outside world may have. The indication that the positivity could be hiding the negativity of the war. The relationship between soldiers offers a different interpretation in â€Å"Birdsong†. Throughout â€Å"Birdsong† there is very little conversation between the soldiers unlike â€Å"Strange Meeting† so the reader has to gather a sense of the relationships from what the voice of the extract is telling them rather than from converse between the characters. The constant theme regarding the soldiers throughout the extract is brotherhood, in contrast to homosexual tendencies in â€Å"Strange Meeting†. Constant references throughout he extract such as ‘The three men lay close together’, ‘â€Å"Help me,†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and ‘brother’ all create an image of friendship and brotherhood to the reader and helps insinuate that they are all there to help each other and watch each other’s back in the horrors of war. Even though this also shows togetherness between the soldiers much like ‘Strange meeting’ the reader’s interpretations differ as one text depicts the soldiers as too close and the other as good friends. The constantly different interpretations with both extracts is completely down to the fact that both authors only have facts of what they have heard and have no first-hand experience of the trenches due to the texts modernistic tendencies. Along with differing circumstances throughout all the lines of the trenches no exact accounts can be given within the two texts regarding the way the trenches and the soldiers relationships with each other would have been as no trench would have been the same, the soldiers would have been all of differing backgrounds and differing opinions on the job they have to do.

Introduction to Holography

Introduction to Holography If youre carrying money, a drivers license, or credit cards, youre carrying around holograms. The dove hologram on a Visa card may be the most familiar. The rainbow-colored bird changes colors and appears to move as you tilt the card. Unlike a bird in a traditional photograph, a holographic bird is a three-dimensional image. Holograms are formed by interference of light beams from a laser. How Lasers Make Holograms Holograms are made using lasers because laser light is coherent. What this means is that all of the photons of laser light have exactly the same frequency and phase difference. Splitting a laser beam produces two beams that are the same color as each other (monochromatic). In contrast, regular white light consists of many different frequencies of light. When white light is diffracted, the frequencies split to form a rainbow of colors. In conventional photography, the light reflected off an object strikes a strip of film that contains a chemical (i.e., silver bromide) that reacts to light. This produces a two-dimensional representation of the subject. A hologram forms a three-dimensional image because light interference patterns are recorded, not just reflected light. To make this happen, a laser beam is split into two beams that pass through lenses to expand them. One beam (the reference beam) is directed onto high-contrast film. The other beam is aimed at the object (the object beam). Light from the object beam gets scattered by the holograms subject. Some of this scattered light goes toward the photographic film. The scattered light from the object beam is out of phase with the reference beam, so when the two beams interact they form an interference pattern. The interference pattern recorded by the film encodes a three-dimensional pattern because the distance from any point on the object affects the phase of the scattered light. However, there is a limit to how three-dimensional a hologram can appear. This is because the object beam only hits its target from a single direction. In other words, the hologram only displays the perspective from the object beams point of view. So, while a hologram changes depending on the viewing angle, you cant see behind the object. Viewing a Hologram A hologram image is an interference pattern that looks like random noise unless viewed under the right lighting. The magic happens when a holographic plate is illuminated with the same laser beam light that was used to record it. If a different laser frequency or another type of light is used, the reconstructed image wont exactly match the original. Yet, the most common holograms are visible in white light. These are reflection-type volume holograms and rainbow holograms. Holograms that can be viewed in ordinary light require special processing. In the case of a rainbow hologram, a standard transmission hologram is copied using a horizontal slit. This preserves parallax in one direction (so the perspective can move), but produces a color shift in the other direction. Uses of Holograms The 1971 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the Hungarian-British scientist Dennis Gabor for  his invention and development of the holographic method. Originally, holography was a technique used to improve electron microscopes. Optical holography didnt take off until the invention of the laser in 1960. Although holograms were immediately popular for art, practical applications of optical holography lagged until the 1980s. Today, holograms are used for data storage, optical communications, interferometry in engineering and microscopy, security, and holographic scanning. Interesting Hologram Facts If you cut a hologram in half, each piece still contains an image of the entire object. In contrast, if you cut a photograph in half, half of the information is lost.One way to copy a hologram is to illuminate it with a laser beam and place a new photographic plate such that it receives light from the hologram and from the original beam. Essentially, the hologram acts like the original object.Another way to copy a hologram is to emboss it using the original image. This works much the same way records are made from audio recordings. The embossing process is used for mass production.

Revealing Clothes and Show of Skin

Revealing Clothes and Show of Skin Hashtag: #MexicansProblemsAtSchool Revealing Clothes and Show of Skin There are numerous #MexicansProblemsAtSchool but the most interesting in this circumstances are not the usual funny but noisy classmates, the  inadequacy of school facilities, and others but teacher’s inappropriate physical appearance. In particular, the negative impact of a â€Å"mucho caliente† or â€Å"very hot† English teacher and obese physical education teacher on students’ learning and individual belief on the health benefits of physical education. Many will agree that teaching is an ethically challenging profession as it involves satisfying social and cultural expectations. Normally, since young people are considered the most vulnerable to the effect of power imbalances, their teacher as both professional and social model is bound to follow well-defined moral behaviors, dress code and assume a certain personality. Moreover, since people in most cultures judge a person’s morality in the way he or she behave, dress, and physical looks, teachers dress conservatively and avoiding flirty or provoking sexy looks and dresses. Many schools have dress codes for teachers in order to maintain a professional demeanor and achieve a level of classroom decorum helpful to student achievement. In reality, it can be very difficult to young male students to focus on schoolwork if their teacher is dressed seductively. In order to maintain a favorable learning atmosphere, dress codes commonly restrict wearing revealing clothes and limit the amount of skin a female teacher can show. Want to know more? Go here: Learning from Budget Books The Scientific Basis for Defining Seasons Are Plagiarism and Censorship Having Something in Common? Yasar Kemal is a Master of Word Who and What Deserve Respect Practicing What You Preach Most physical education teachers are athletic but not in Mexico. Obese physical education teachers are in fact #MexicansProblemsAtSchool that need to be addressed. Obesity, in essence, is a lack of professional development and since students’ acceptance of their teacher as a source of health information or one with admirable wellness status they can emulate; an obese physical education teacher is undoubtedly useless. Similar to dress code, teachers are expected to epitomize good health so that by examples, students will be encouraged to mimic their behavior and attitudes. How can an obese teacher promote health and well-being in school when he is unconcerned about the danger of obesity and living an unhealthy lifestyle? Similarly, since it will be difficult for students to accept that there are health benefits in physical education. A physically fit PE teacher according to study is a model that promote a positive attitude toward physical education and physical activity. This is because overweight/obese students with non-obese PE teacher are more enthusiastic about physical education, more concern about their health, and confident about the positive effect of physical activity on weight loss. It is thus important for teachers to practice what they preach and become a good model for students to emulate. There is nothing wrong with being fashionable but teaching is an ethical profession that demands self-restriction and observance of socially and culturally acceptable norms. Since teachers are expected to maintain a professional demeanor and create a learning atmosphere, distractions such as seductive clothing or looks must be avoided at all cost. Similarly, as the credibility of the source of health information is critical to the development of students’ positive attitude towards physical education and activity, a physical education teacher must be mindful of his own health and credible enough to demonstrate the health benefits of physical activity.

ECONOMICS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ECONOMICS - Essay Example The recovering signs of the world economy due to good performance by the policymakers led to the fall of gold prices as the demand for gold fell due to higher return on investment in other class of assets. Gold, Long a Secure Investment, Loses Its Luster: Background overview During the period of economic recession, the prices of gold soared and became the sought after investment for the investors. The rise in the prices of gold meant that the world economy was not performing well. Due to the economic recession and the global financial meltdown from 2008 to 2011, the gold prices reached its highest peak in 2011. This could be observed from the producer price index as given below. Due to the crisis in the economy, the total factor productivity of the nations was hit and the factors of production were affected due to the downturn of the economies. The crisis in the economy gave rise to a situation of liquidity crisis. The fall in income levels of the people led to the fall in consumptio n demand in the economy. Due to this, the productivity of the business houses and industrial bodies fell. The fall in revenue and profitability led to the erosion of wealth of the shareholders and market investors. Along with this the erosion of confidence of the investors on the stock performance of the companies led to the fall of valuation of the companies and market indices. As a replacement for the investment in stock markets, the investors confided on the investment in gold markets (McGuire, 2010, p.37)1. The investment in gold was considered to be lucrative as prices of gold increased on the back of high demand for gold. An investment in gold offered higher returns on investment and there was no erosion of wealth from the amount of investment. Apart from that gold could be sold at any point of time and was considered as marketable investment. The presence of large number of buyers gave the opportunity to transform it into cash at any point of time. All these factors led to th e rise in the prices of gold. Investment in gold was deemed to be an investment that would in which the returns obtained would never be lowered (Northcott, 2010, p.46)2. The spurt in he gold prices over the last few years fuelled by weak economic conditions has been represented below. Demand and Supply Analysis The fluctuation in the price of gold could be explained from the demand supply curve for gold as given below. As the demand for gold rose in a weaker economic condition, the demand curve shifted from position 1 to 2 depicted by the red line. As a result, in order to maintain a position of equilibrium with the supply, the prices of gold rose from P1 to P2. The reverse is also true for fall in prices for gold as a result of fall in demand. Gold looses its luster: Rational behind plunge in gold prices The unexpected plunge in the prices of gold in recent times has occurred as result of recovery in the performance of the economies all over the world. The correct strategies adopte d by the policymakers in order to maintain a proper balance of supply and demand in the economy, controlling inflation through appropriate interest rates, fiscal and monetary policies have led to turn around of the economies of the world. The economic reforms and recovery from the economic recession led to improvement in the performanc

Benefits of Assessment Centers for Organizations Research Paper

Benefits of Assessment Centers for Organizations - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that the commonest application of assessment is in measuring management employees’ performance, especially for interpersonal competencies. The assessment centers help determine the specific competencies in an individual employee through a series of techniques and methods that include both individual and group activities. The assessors determine an individual’s performance against other employees. Many analysts affirm that assessment centers are very effective in measurement interpersonal skills. An assessment center puts employees through work-like conditions involving individual and team activities and tests that offer the best simulation of real work situations for monitoring and measurement of key competencies. Assessment centers are critical in determining the competency of employees. Competency is a broad term referring to a set of skills, knowledge, individual behaviors and how they auger with the job specification of th e employee under consideration. The interplay of factors in every employee is critical for the overall success of the organization. In addition, assessment centers help organizations to determine the most important skillsets for the organization with regard to the management. For instance, an employee’s willingness to delegate, works in a team, take risks, and take personal initiative. Assessment centers are also great in selecting employees who can provide the best performance for particular jobs. The organization can therefore choose employees for jobs that are most fitting and improve the organizational performance. An assessment center also aids in developing and identifying fresh potential for the organization’s top supervisory jobs (Boehm, 1982), particularly in cases where other methods fail, given its superior ability to reveal an employee’s interpersonal skills. Finally, an assessment center helps identify competencies needing further development and co nsequently help in appraising of employees, which can help in career development. This report analyzes assessment center as an assessment tool and examines its implementation considerations for an organization. A description of the Assessment Center Approach A number of factors, which articulate its goal, underlie the assessment center approach to measuring organizational performance. For an organization to implement an effective assessment center, it needs to identify the competencies necessary for its future employees (Rupp & Reynolds, 2009). In addition, the management has to come up with means to determine the competencies that the current employees possess. Finally, one of the most vital phases in the overall design of the assessment center is the identification of competencies gap, and the eventual process of developing means of bridging this gap. By identifying gaps in an individual’s set of competencies, the organization can help nurture these skills in employees to i mprove their performance, for instance with regard to knowledge and skills. Implementing an Assessment Center for the Organization A number of factors come into play before an organization can effectively implement an assessment center. First, the organization has to find appropriate and experienced raters to conduct the assessment. According to Coffee (2005), in the industrial settings, 3 to 6 assessors assess 6 to 12 candidates over a period of 3 days. Secondly, the organization has to identify an all-encompassing set of assessment techniques, which ensure that the assessment goes on successfully and comprehensively covers all areas of relevance in the study. Normally, the assessment methods are either written or oral. The written exercises include in-basket