Parents Magazine Analysis

For this rough draft, you are to post ONLY your statement about the target audience, NOT the complete paper. Follow the National Geographic example below for writing your thesis. This assignment is excellent for learning how to conduct good research. The Magazine Analysis (rev. 12/2009) ASSIGNMENT: To write an ANALYSIS of a currently published magazine. Through careful observation, form a SPECIFIC conclusion about the audience for which the magazine is intended. In addition to identifying the intended audience, state the major purpose of the magazine. After you have examined the magazine, form a thesis and write a 750-word essay based on your conclusions. Here is a sample thesis for National Geographic magazine: National Geographic, with a target market of 25 to 54- year- old college attendees and graduate males with a median household income of $98,900, promotes scientific and geographic knowledge and interest, with outstanding photography being its strongest selling point. (I found this information through research). Suggestions: Choose THREE CONSECUTIVE issues of a magazine published in the last year. †¢ Look at such things as the titles of the articles, the quality of the paper, the cartoons or illustrations, advertisements, issue cost, and letters to the editor. †¢ Are you familiar with any of the authors? †¢ Selectively read the articles, looking for consistent patterns of thought, ideas, or general outlook. †¢ Some of the purposes of a magazine can be to promote a political or moral purpose, to inform, t o sell products, and to entertain. Based on the above suggestions, form a conclusion about the audience and purpose for the magazine. †¢ Be sure you are not just listing the contents of the magazine, but that you are using the contents as the basis and PROOF for your claims about the targeted audience and purpose of the magazine. For example, if you tell me that 90% of the articles are about politics and contain mainly liberal views, your claim could be that the large majority of readers are left-wing liberals and the magazine’s purpose is to support/promote their views. Then you could say, â€Å"On page 22 there is an article supporting gun control, on page 34 there is an essay about legalizing marijuana, on page 45 there is an essay about†¦.. † Use the information to SUPPORT YOUR CLAIMS about the intended audience and the purpose of the magazine. Goals: †¢ To learn to use the periodical section of the library. †¢ To practice forming an essay from researching outside material. †¢ To draw conclusions from Primary sources. To make claims and SUPPORT your claims with valid, reliable information. †¢ To practice using MLA when citing information in-text and creating a Works Cited page. (You must use in-text citations and include a properly formatted Works Cited page. Include at least the three magazine issues you used for your paper on the Works Cited page. See Pocket Keys for Writers, the Gregg Reference Manual, or a grammar book for MLA rules).

Observation and Child

Date of Observation: 26th January 2012 Time started and finished of observation 09. 40-10. 00 Number of children present: 16 Number of adults present: Two childcare worker two students (Including me the observer) Permission obtained from: Supervisor Description of setting: This observation took place in a pre-school in a village in the midlands. It took place in a morning session in the pre –school class. It caters for two years and six months to school going age. The pre-school is open from 9. 30 am– 12. 30pm Monday to Friday and caters for 18 children. It is one large room all female staff. Immediate context: The observation took place in the large play room. This is a large airy room with plenty of colourful toys. The room can accommodate a total of 18 children and there are 15 present today. Brief description of the child observed: TC is a female 3 year and three month old. TC four years old sister attends the pre-school. TC mother runs the pre-school. TC has brown hair. TC father works full time. TC lives with both parents, TC is sitting at a table for most of this observation playing with a van, digger and a truck. Aim of observation: The aim of this observation is to observe a TC for a period of 20 minutes in order to see TC emotional development in the free flow play of a child 3 years and three months. I would hope over the 20 minutes that the child has emotional develop. My personal aim for this observation is to learn how they are done and improve on my observation skills and to become a better observer. Method: Narrative Media used: Pen and paper Evaluation: The aim of the observation is to observe the physical development of a child that is 3 years and one month. Personal learning: The observation method worked well for the physical development, especial when she was playing at the table. Observation. The narrative method was a good to use to observe the child movements . The narrative method trained me to watch the child and to listen to them to pick up the child physical developments. The narrative method provides a lot of information about the child. I don’t think the pre-school effect the child to develop. Recommendation: observations are important as they can pick up on any difficulties the child may be having no matter how small it could be. I observed the child inside and out and observed in doing her playing stated on my narrative observation. If i was to pick game using blocks so that a child would be able to build them up. This would show a child fine motor skills. This was my first observation to do and it went very well and I am very happy with it. For the next observation I will be more prepared, and I know when the best time is to do an observation. Bibliography: Flood E (2010) child development for students in Ireland. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan

Assingments 2012-2013

ASSINGMENTS 2012-2013 Marketing Studies (1 year, Diploma) 1 BUSINESS ENGLISH Assignment 1 a) Luis St. Jean is a famous design house in France with annual sales of $1. 2 billion in clothing, perfume, scarves, and other designer items. Each year it prepares more than 150 original designs for its seasonal collections. As head buyer for Cindy’s, an upscale women’s clothing store at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, you think you might like to start offering the LSJ’s line of perfume. You need to know more about pricing, types of perfume offered, minimum ordering quantities, and marketing assistance p rovided by LSJ.You would also like to know if you can have exclusive marketing rights to LSJ perfumes in the Minneapolis area and whether you would have to carry LSJ’s complete line (you don’t think the most expensive perfumes would be big sellers in your area). Write to Mr. Henri Vixier, License Supervisor, Luis St. Jean, 90513 Cergy, Pointoise Cedex, Fr ance, seeking answers to your questions. Your answer should be in a letter format requesting the necessary product information. You can make up all the necessary details. b) You are the marketing manager of a company selling electronic goods.You are having a meeting with the board directors for introducing some new products in the Cypriot market. You need to prepare an agenda for the meeting and send that agenda to the board of directors in the form of a memo. In your answer, include all the necessary details you think are essential. 2 Format: (a) Letter (b) Memo, approx. 2000 words (in total), produced on a laser printer Deadline: 14th December 2012 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 3 Assignment 2 You are an external consultant for an airline company.You have been hired to assess the current declining customer numbers and provide advice to the company. Develop a report to be handed to the CEO including new ways/techniques to promote the company in both local and inte rnational markets. In your answer you should include examples to support your arguments taking into account the current competitive market, where the flight destinations for Cyprus are increasing as new airlines enter the Cypriot market. Format: Essay Type, 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 4 BUSINESS ORGANISATIONAssignment 1 The group is to analyse a case study and prepare posters around identifying: three key OB issues in the case relevant OB theories for each of the OB issues recommendations for action to improve each of the three issues. The case study will be distributed during Week 5 of the module. Your seminar group will be asked to form syndicate groups of 5 people to develop answers to the case. Your poster group may use words, diagrams, drawings, images and cartoons on the posters to make your key points. The poster presentation will take place during Week 8 at a time and place notified by the tutors in week 8.There will be limited time for your group to work together in seminars and you may decide to meet outside of formal teaching times and communicate by phone, e-mail, conference calls and social networking sites. Each group member must complete a ‘Peer Review Sheet’. This is an assessment by each member of a group on every other group member. It requires objective skills to critically assess the contribution of other members in your group. Your ‘Peer Review Sheet’ must be given to your seminar group tutor during the poster presentation session.A example of the ‘Peer Review Sheet’ follows the Poster Presentations Marking Criteria. The poster presentation will be marked against the assessment criteria shown and individual marks adjusted taking into account the Peer Review. Work will be double marked and externally moderated in accordance with the University regulations. Assessment criterion 5 requires evidence in the form of agend as and minutes for meetings held by the group together with a one page analysis of 5 the group working process. This should be submitted to your seminar group tutor on the poster presentation day together with your ‘Peer Review Sheets’.Please note: All members of your group MUST be present and prepared to answer any question stimulated by your poster from both the tutors and fellow students. Any person who is absent will receive a mark of zero for this assessment and fail the module. Deadline: 14th December 2012 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 6 BUSINESS ORGANISATION Assignment 2 The final reflective report requires you to identify how you have applied OB theory, learned in the module, to develop your knowledge and skills in working with others.You are to identify three issues, or topics, from the OB module where you can identify relevant experience to which you can apply OB theory. The experiences may be from your studies, from work, or from social gro ups or clubs to which you belong. For each of your three topics you are to identify relevant experience and select and apply appropriate OB theory to those experiences. You should evaluate the theory in analysing what happened and in guiding future action. To help you plan your final report you are to submit a proposal that forms part of the Groups and Teams portfolio. The proposal should be no more than 150 words.Also a list of at least five academic references you intend to use, in Harvard format, should be provided. The final report should be a business report of 1500 words. Actual word count should be specified on the cover page of your report and outside +/ 10% will incur a penalty of 10%. References and any appendices should not be included in the word count. Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 7 COMMERCIAL LAW Assignment 1 a) P, a car salesman, is advertising one of his cars, made by Ferrari for sale at the price of 50000 Euro in the new spaper.N sees the advertisement and calls to P offering him 40000 Euro. P rejects N’s offer and tells N that he would be willing to discuss an offer for 45000 Euro. N agrees on the price but under the condition that P proves to her that the car is indeed a genuine Ferrari. P promises to disclose all necessary documents in the next 3 weeks. N agrees and waits. 2 weeks later N discovers that P has sold the car to C for 50000 Euro. Advise N. b) Why is Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co (1893) a very important case? Format: Essay, approx. 2000 words (in total), produced on a laser printer Deadline: 14th December 2012 No assignment will be accepted after this date) 8 COMMERCIAL LAW Assignment 2 ‘Corporate personality refers to the fact that as far as the law is concerned a company really exists. As a result of this a company can sue and be sued in its own name, hold property under its own name and most importantly be liable for its own debts. ’ Discuss Format: Essay Typ e, 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 9 ECONOMICS Assignment 1 Analyse the Production Possibilities Frontier (PPF) and explain how it illustrates the main economic concepts of scarcity and opportunity cost.Format: Essay Type, 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 14th December 2012 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 10 ECONOMICS Assignment 2 Given the table below: a) Draw the demand and supply curves and show equilibrium. b) Demonstrate the shift due to the increase in quantity demanded on the same graph, illustrating clearly the new equilibrium. c) Analyse the factors that may cause a shift of the demand curve, both inwards and outwards. d) Analyse the factors that may lead to an inward or outward shift of the supply curve. ) Discuss the laws of demand and supply. f) Analyse the theory behind a movement along the 2 curves or a shift of the curves. Demand 1 Quantity Price 65 EUR 2. 60 78 EUR 2. 30 98 EUR 1. 95 124 EUR 1. 63 156 EUR 1. 30 Demand 2 Quantity Price 52 EUR 2. 60 65 EUR 2. 30 85 EUR 1. 95 111 EUR 1. 63 143 EUR 1. 30 Supply 1 Quantity Price 65 EUR 1. 56 78 EUR 1. 69 98 EUR 1. 95 124 EUR 2. 23 156 EUR 2. 80 Format: Applied Essay Type, approx. 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 11 MARKETING MANAGEMENTAssignment 1 The Body Shop – good luck or good marketing? The body Shop may have grown rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s, but its founder, the late Dame Anita Roddick publicly dismissed the role of marketing. Roddick ridiculed marketers for putting the interests of shareholders before the needs of society. She had a similarly low opinion of the financial community, which she referred to as ‘merchant wankers’. While things were going well, nobody seemed to mind. Maybe Roddick had found a new way of doing business, and if she had the results to prove it, who needed marketers?But how could even such an icon as Anita Roddick manage indefinitely without consulting the fundamental principles of marketing? By embracing ethical issues, was she way ahead of her rivals in understanding the public mood, long before the major retailers piled into Fairtrade and ‘green’ products? Or did the troubles that the Body Shop suffer in the late 1990s indicate that a company may publicly dismiss the value of marketing while the going is good, but sooner or later it will have to come back to earth with good old-fashioned marketing plans? Roddick had been the dynamo behind the Body Shop.From her first shop, which opened in Brighton in 1976, she inspired the growth of the chain of familiar green-fronted shops, which in 2006 comprised 2,100 stores in 55 countries around the world. She was the first to introduce socially and environmentally responsible business onto the High Street and was talking about fair trade long before it became a popular corporate buzzword. Her pioneering products included naturally based skin and hair preparations, such as Fuzzy Peach Bath and Shower Gel and Brazil Nut Conditioner. Her timing was impeccable, coming just at a time when increasingly affluent consumers were 12 ecoming concerned about animal testing and the use of chemicals in cosmetics. She had gone down the classic market route of understanding consumer trends and then developing the appropriate products with the right positioning. She simply had a passion for humanely produced cosmetics and was just luc ky with her timing – more consumers were coming round to her view just as she was launching her business. As for planning a promotion campaign, she did not really need to do very much at all. With her boundless energy, outspoken views, and unorthodox dress sense, she was continually being talked about in the media.Her flair for publicity won free editorial space for the Body Shop worth millions of pounds. Much of the companyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s success has been tied up with its campaigning approach to the pursuit of social and environmental issues; but while Roddick campaigned for everything from battered wives and Siberian tigers to the poverty-stricken mining communities of southern Appalachia, the company was facing major problems in its key markets. Yet until the late 1990s, she boasted that the Body Shop had never been used, or needed, marketing.By the late 1990s the Body Shop seemed to be running out of steam, with sales plateauing and the company’s share price falling – from 370p in 1992 to just 65p in 2003. What was previously unique about the Body Shop was now being copied by others, for example, the Boots company matched one of the Body Shop’s earliest claims that it did not test its products on animals. Even the very feel of a Body Shop store – including its decor, staff, and product displays – had been copied by competitors. How could the company stay ahead in terms o f maintaining its distinctive positioning?It causes seemed to be increasingly remote from the real concerns of shoppers. Whilst most UK shoppers may have been swayed by a company’s unique claim to protect animals, how many would be moved by its support for Appalachian miners? If there was a Boots or a Superdrug store next door, why should a buyer pay a premium price to buy from the Body Shop? The Body Shop may have pioneered a very clever retailing formula over 20 years earlier, but, just as the product range had been successfully copied by others, other companies had made enormous strides in terms of their social and environmental awareness.Part of the problem of the Body Shop was its failure fully to understand the dynamics of its marketplace. Positioning on the basis of good causes may have been enough to launch the company into the public’s mind in the 1970s, but how could this position be sustained? Many commentators blamed the Body Shop’s problems on the i nability of Roddick to delegate. She is reported to have spent much of her time globetrotting in support of her good causes, but had a problem in delegating marketing strategy and implementation. Numerous strong managers who had 13 een brought in to try to implement professional management practices apparently gave up in bewilderment at the lack of discretion that they had been given, and then left. The Body Shop’s experience in America had typified Roddick’s pioneering style which frequently ignored sound marketing analysis. She sought a new way of doing business in America, but in doing so dismissed the experience of older and more sophisticated retailers – such as Marks & Spencer and the Sock Shop, which came unstuck in what is a very difficult market.The Body Shop decided to enter the US markets not through a safe option such as a joint venture or a franchising agreement, but instead by setting up its own operation from scratch – fine, according to Ro ddick’s principle of changing the rulebook and cutting out the greedy American business community, but dangerously risky. Her store format was based on the British town-centre model, despite the fact that Americans spend most of their money in out-of-town malls. In 1996 the US operations lost ? 3. 4 million. Roddick’s critics claimed that she had a naive view of herself, her company, and business generally.She had consistently argued that profits and principles do not mix, despite the fact that many of her financially successful competitors have been involved in major social initiatives. Critics claimed that, had Roddick not dismissed the need for marketing for so long, the Body Shop could have avoided future problems; but by the early 2000s it was paying the price for not having devoted sufficient resources to new product development, to innovation, to refreshing its ranges, and to moving the business forward in a competitive market and fast-changing business environm ent.It seemed the heroes can change the rulebook when the tide is flowing with them; but adopting the disciplines of marketing allows companies to anticipate and react when the tide begins to turn against them. The year 2006 turned out to be a turning point for the Body Shop. In that year, the cosmetics giant L’Oreal acquired the company for ? 652 million. L’Oreal was part owned by Nestle, and both companies had suffered long disputes with ethical campaigners.L’Oreal had been the subject of boycotts because of its involvement in animal testing, and Nestle had been criticized for its treatment of third-world producers. Ethical Consumer magazine, which rates companies’ ethics on its ‘Ethiscore’, immediately down-rated the Body Shop from a rating of 11 to 2. 5 out of 20, following the takeover by L’Oreal. A contributor to the magazine commented about the Body Shop. I for one will certainly not be shopping there again and I urge other cons umers concerned about ethical issues to follow my example. There are plenty of other higher scoring ethical companies out there. 14Not be to outdone, Roddick dismissed claims that she was ‘selling out to the devil’ by arguing that she would be able to use her influence to change L’Ore al from inside the company. Suppliers who had formerly worked with the Body Shop would in future have contracts with L’Oreal, and through an agreement to work with the company for 25 days a year, Roddick would be able to have an input into its ethical sourcing decisions. It seemed that the Body Shop was destined to become a safe, predictable company, carrying out marketing in more of the textbook fashion that had allowed its new owners to grow steadily but surely over the years.Maybe the missionary zeal had long ago gone out of the Body Shop, so perhaps having new owners who placed less emphasis on ethics would not be too great a price to pay in return for bringing the huge w ealth of marketing experience of L’Oreal to the Body Shop. Part of the marketing experience of L’Oreal led it to believe Body Shop as an independent brand and to respect its trusted heritage. It was aware that ecological concerns were rapidly rising up mainstream consumers’ concerns, and having Roddick on board would not only be good for PR, it could also change mindsets with L’Oreal more generally.Roddick died soon after selling out to L’Oreal and her obituaries agreed that she had made a difference to the world. She certainly had put enormous energy into her mission and had been lucky with her timing. However, critics were more divided on whether she was a good marketer for the long haul; after all, its relatively easy to make money when the tide is going with you and your luck is in, but much more difficult to manage a changing a nd increasingly saturated marketing environment.Like many entrepreneurs who have been good at creating things, but no t so good at maintaining them, was it simply time for Roddick to hand over to classically trained marketers who could rise to this challenge? Case study review questions 1. Critically assess the extent to which you consider the Body Shop to be a truly marketing-oriented organization throughout its 30+ years’ history. (50%) 2. What are the basic lessons in marketing that the Body Shop might have taken on board in its early years in order to improve its chances of long-term success? (50%) 15Format: Essay Type, 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 14th December 2012 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 16 MARKETING MANAGEMENT Assignment 2 To be handed out later Format: Essay Type, approx. 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 17 STATISTICS Assignment 1 The assignment is a development of the activities from Chapters 1 and 2 of the workbook. It consists of: (a) A short presentatio n made by groups of 2 or (maximum) 3 students based upon one of the research activities from chapter 1.This will take place during the tutorials in week 5 (week commencing 29th October) and will account for 25% of the marks for the assignment. (b) An individual report of around 1200 words submitted by each student. This will account for the remaining 75% of the marks for the assignment. The handing -in deadline for this is 19th November. Tasks: 1. After forming groups of 2 or maximum 3 students, firstly you need to agree with yo ur RBD tutor which topic you are going to research from section 1. 9 of the RBD workbook. Within a seminar group, each group of 2/3 students will research a different topic. . During your tutorial of week 5, you will present the basic facts that you have discovered to the rest of your tutorial group. This will involve an explanation of what you are researching, how you have chosen to answer the question (for some of the activities there are various ways of m easuring the results), and what your findings are. You should use visual aids e. g. slides, to help your presentation. The individual report involves a discussion of the findings in your own words plus some further research and thought: 18 3.Use the data you have collected to answer the research question chosen by your group i. e. report on what you have discovered. Basically you are repeating here, in your own words, the things that were mentioned in your group’s presentation. 4. By conducting some further research from published sources, try and give an explanation for the results i. e. answering the question ‘why? ’. For example, if you were asked to produce some figures on crime, you might try to explain the reasons why the figures have changed over the years, or why they are higher in certain places or amongst certain groups of people.By researching the relevant sources describe how the data were originally collected, including the sampling procedure where r elevant. For example, if the figures were derived from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, you would be expected to obtain some information about this survey. Discuss any potential sources of error in the figures, such as response errors and errors caused by non-response. 5. Learning Outcomes The following learning outcomes are being assessed: Collect data using primary and secondary sources. Describe the procedures involved when conducting a sample survey.Communicate findings using appropriate business formats. Allocation of marks: Presentation: 25 marks See the handout on Blackboard (filename Presentation assessment 2012 -13. docx) for an indication of what the assessors are looking for in the presentation. The content of the presentation carries a higher weighting than the style. Individual Report: Clarity of expression, use of English, grammar Answering the research question Further research into reasons behind the results, influential factors etc. Discussion of sampling procedur es and non-sampling errors. 10 marks 25 marks 20 marks 20 marksAdditional Information: Group sizes are 2 or 3. Four people = 2 groups i. e. 2 different topics. Failure to attend the presentation will result in a mark of zero out of 25. 19 An assessors’ report for this type of assignment is also available on Blackboard (filename RBD assessment feedback. docx). Deadline: 14th December 2012 (No assignment will be accepted after this date. 20 STATISTICS Assignment 2 QUESTION 1 CALCULATE: 8 P 3 8 P 4 7 P 6 6 P 1 8 C 3 7 C 5 6 C 2 5 C 0 5. 9 10. 4 5. 7 6. 2 10. 7 11. 7 6. 8 11. 5 13. 1 7. 1 11. 6 13. 6 7. 8 8. 2 8. 1 4. 4 QUESTION 2 12. 3 9. 9 9. 0 a. b. c. . e. f. 5. 8 10. 1 10. 0 8. 3 12. 9 8. 8 6. 7 9. 2 7. 9 9. 4 8. 4 Find the maximum Find the minimum Find the mode Calculate the arithmetic mean Calculate the geometric mean of: 5. 3 and 7. 8 and 10. 4 If the mean family size is 4. 75 what is the total population of a city of 25000 families? QUESTION 3 If the mean rate of arrival in a restaurant is 10 customers per hour, what is the probability of having 4 customers arriving in any hour? 21 QUESTION 4 Defects Workers 0-2 7 3-5 9 6-8 10 9-11 8 12-14 11 15-17 6 18-20 5 21-23 8 24-26 7 a. Calculate the arithmetic mean b. Calculate the median . Calculate the standard deviation QUESTION 5 Listed below are the commissions earned ($000) last year by the sales representatives at the Furniture Patch, Inc. $3. 9, $5. 7, $7. 3, $10. 6, $13. 0, $13. 6, $15. 1, $15. 8, $17. 1, $17. 4, $17. 6, $22. 3, $38. 6, $43. 2, $87. 7 a. Compute the Pearson’s skewness coefficients. b. What is your conclusion regarding the skewness of the data QUESTION 6 A box contains 20 balls of which 2 are red, 5 are black, 5 are blue and 8 are green. A ball is drawn at random from the box; the color is marked each time and then placed back in the box.The experiment repeated three times. Find the probability that: (i) All are red. (ii) Neither is black. (iii) One black, one is blue and one red. (iv) At least one red. 22 QUESTION 7 Find the correlation between the 2 stock prices for the period given. Draw a graph showing the correlation between the two stocks and briefly explain your answer. Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Stock A 12. 4 12. 5 12. 9 12. 1 11. 8 12. 3 11. 4 11. 0 10. 4 10. 4 10. 8 10. 1 10. 2 9. 4 Stock B 31. 0 31. 4 30. 4 30. 0 28. 7 28. 9 29. 2 27. 8 27. 0 27. 2 26. 9 26. 2 25. 0 25. 7QUESTION 8 A company wants to estimate the relationship between its country’s quarterly Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and quarterly net income margin ((Net Income/Sales)*100). Calculate the intercept and the slope and explain the relationship. Quarter GDP % 1 2. 4 2 2. 1 3 2. 0 4 1. 8 1 0. 9 2 1. 3 3 1. 9 4 1. 8 1 2. 3 2 2. 9 3 2. 1 4 2. 2 NI margin % 0. 32 0. 78 0. 67 0. 44 0. 91 1. 10 0. 80 0. 87 0. 78 1. 3 0. 83 0. 84 23 Format: Practical/Calculations, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 24

Family Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Family Law - Essay Example The only ground for divorce is the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage which must be proven by at least one of five facts.2 Adultery is one of the five facts capable of proving that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.3 However, using adultery to substantiate that the marriage has irretrievably broken down may be problematic for two specific reasons. First, the allegation that Mr. Murdock has been engaged in several adulterous relationships in the past with the last one ending at least 8 months previously is statute barred. Pursuant to Section 2(1) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, a party is not entitled to plead adultery, if having found out about the adultery, the party seeking to rely on adultery continued to live with the other party for at least 6 months.4 Thus, if Mr. Murdock wanted to rely on your adultery with his son Stuart from several years earlier, he would be time barred since he continued to live with you for more than six months after learning of the affa ir. However, the court may disregard this fact if the adultery is such that the petitioner finds living with the respondent intolerable. Or the adultery may be pleaded as evidence of the breakdown of the marriage or as evidence that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.5 The fact that the adultery has been ongoing for a number of years and the respondent is believed to be currently conducting a sexual affair with his office manager may be sufficient for proving that the pervious adulterous relations are statute barred, are nonetheless intolerable. Even so, the alleged current adulterous relationship can constitute a second fact capable of supporting the ground of the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. The problem with pleading adultery is that the courts require proof of the adultery. The standard is based on the civil standard which requires evidence showing that on a balance of probabilities, the respondent has committed adultery. Thus, an admission of adultery by the respondent would be sufficient proof.6 At this point, Mr. Murdock has neither admitted or denied the adultery with his office manager, but simply stated that it was none of your business. He may however decide to admit to adultery since he states that he no longer wants to remain married to you. Aside from adultery, there appears to be sufficient evidence of behaviour pursuant to Section 1(2)(b) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. Section 1(2)(b) provides that the breakdown of a marriage can be proved if the court is satisfied that: The respondent behaved in such a way that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent.7 This section has been interpreted to mean that it is not so much the respondent’s behaviour that concerns the court, but the petitioner’s feelings relative to living with the behaviour.8 Thus the fact that you have suffered depression since giving birth to Jack, the first child of the marriage, suggest that you might find liv ing with the physical and verbal abuse intolerable and thus provide

Persecution of Women in the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Persecution of Women in the Middle East - Essay Example "Many Christian women live in restricted countries where Christianity is not tolerated--over 200 million Christians in 80 countries worldwide are persecuted because of their faith. Women of the Way is "a program of Open Doors mobilizing women to become strategically involved in strengthening persecuted Christians" and works to educate and minister to these women, whose social situations often prohibit them from receiving Christian materials or speaking out freely about their faith." (Persecuted Women) Women are still considered the weaker sex in the Middle East and they are oppressed day in, day out. Women are primarily oppressed because of their faith in Christianity. Many Christian women have had to bear the brunt of this and many continue to face the consequences of their religious beliefs. It is really sad that these women can't be helped; it is high time to put these women out of their misery. They sink into despair when they are ostracized or persecuted. Some of them are even k illed because of their faith in Christianity, this is unacceptable and something has to be done about this sooner rather than later. Islam is misunderstood by the Muslims and they tend to punish the women, they end up banishing these poor women. They inflict pain upon them and they fail to realize the real values of Islam. Religious belief is the most important reason because of which the women in the Middle East are persecuted. ... This has been a very popular practice in the Middle East; women must be protected at all costs and they must be given much better treatment than what they are receiving. "Under the Islamic Republic of Iran, discrimination and segmentation on the basis of religion and gender have been institutionalized in the constitution, government policies, and state ideology. The system explicitly favors men over women, Muslims over non-Muslims, and Shiite Muslims over other Muslim sects.The constitution and the Shari'a-based penal and civil codes, especially those sections pertaining to family and personal status, legalize the subordination of women, treating them as second-class citizens with unequal rights. Women's rights activists have launched widely publicized equal-rights campaigns that have been successful within the parameters established by the theocracy. However, the overall legal framework remains discriminatory, with the state's theocratic underpinnings consistently negating its progr essive and democratic elements." (Access to Justice) Islam restricts women from wearing revealing clothes and any woman found wearing revealing clothes is often persecuted. These draconian laws are only for women, no such laws exist for men in the Middle East. Women are targeted in the name of Islam; Islam never supports persecution of women. Human beings have started deriving satisfaction by inflicting pain upon other human beings. This practice of persecution goes to reflect the pain inflicting tendencies in place; women get exploited in the name of Islam. They can't go out nor can they attend a school. They remain uneducated and weak, this is a method of exploiting them and this is also a

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 49

Discussion - Assignment Example ("Northern Highlands") The types of balance can be different, but the main idea behind all is to provide structure and stability. Moreover, alignment holds that nothing on a page should have an arbitrary position. It is advised to visually connect every item to other elements of the composition in order to create a cohesive and strong unit. Apart from that, the principle of grouping requires placing related items together as far as it adds to the creation of visual cues and reduces clutter. As a result, information looks organized and is better to remember. The next principle is consistency that stays for the adherence to the uniform characteristics of the elements used in order to make them fully belong to a single document. The similar design is expected to be applied to icons, colors, font, spatial relationships and other components in order to unify them under specific â€Å"theme.† Furthermore, the principle of contrast states, â€Å"if the two objects are not exactly the same, they should be made really different.† (msu) Adding contrast to a page results in fueling the visual interest in a page as well as helps to highlight and emphasize the most important elements. The review of the given principles helped me to arrive at the conclusion that, in my opinion, all of them are of the great value for creating a vivid and finite image. Therefore, none of the principles should be considered more important since all of them deal with different aspects of the

Sport Training Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sport Training - Essay Example However, when lactate production is excessive, it accumulates in the muscles and the blood. Meanwhile, if the glycogen stores of the muscles and blood decrease, the exercises slow down and when the aerobic procedures undertaken are not sufficient, the exercise can not be maintained (Astrand & Rodahl, 1987; Fox, Bowers, & Fos, 1988; Weineck, 1986). Lactat is accumulated in the organism after all kinds of muscle exercise having maximal and supramaximal workload. It can even be observed within ten minutes workload (Jacops et al, 1983). The measurements of lactate in the muscle and blood are being done to determine these processes. Lactate measurements during exercise yield information on the intensity of the workload and on its duration. The measurements carried out after the exercise yield information on the frequency of workload and on its scope, that is, on resting-recovery process (Bueno, 1990). Babij found that, after an exercise of 10 minutes where maximal oxygen consumption rate was 50%, there was no accumulation of venous blood, and that, after the same exercise where oxygen consumption rate was 76%, lactate of the venous blood increased up to 5 minutes and then started to decline (Babij et al, 1983). The number of infantile and juvenile competitions has significantly increased over the past two decades (Bar-Or O. 1996; Colantonio et al, 1997; Kemper, 1995; Matveev, 1996), which has favored world records to be broken by 14-year old athletes. One knows well metabolic and functional responses to exercises in adults, whether normal or with impairments (Del et al, 1985; Negrao et al, 1998) but there are many issues that are yet to be solved regarding physical training of children and adolescents (Bar-Or O, 1996). Aerobic fitness is instrumental for children and adolescents, not only for healthfulness8, but also for the practice of a number of sports (McArdle et al, 1996). Human capability of performing mid and long-duration exercises chiefly depends on aerobic metabolism. Thus, one of the main indices used to assess this condition is the maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max), known as aerobic power (Denadai BS, 1995; Kiss MAPDM, 2000). According to literature, in maximum exertion tests, swimmers (S) and water polo players (WP) typically present VO2max values close to 69.012 and 55.513 (ml.kg-1.min-1), respectively. In judo practitioners, it has been observed, from four consecutive Wingate test bouts for upper limbs that oxygen uptake (VO2) in the first bout was lower than that in the second, but there were no differences from the later in the third and fourth bouts, showing a tendency to stabilization. For swimming and water polo, when comparing two consecutive Wingate test bouts for upper (ARMS) and lower limbs (LEGS), and specific tests at the pool, there was good correlation only for ARMS (r = 0.85, p In spite of evidences about mean VO2max values at exercises in which aerobic metabolism prevail, it is interesting to observe its behavior in exercises in which anaerobic metabolism prevail. VO2max may be defined as the highest oxygen (O2) uptake accomplished by an individual breathing air at sea level (Astrand PO, 1952). This variable is one of the main items examined in endurance studies, in spite of the use of the expression oxygen peak uptake (VO2peak) to describe O2 uptake values from any

Network Design Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Network Design - Term Paper Example Additionally, at the moment, the departments lack secure networks and hence prone to frequent virus attacks. The director of the campus is seeking to improve security, raise network bandwidth, and also consolidate the multiple LANs into one campus network whilst keeping costs minimal. The major problems identified in the current network include: High rate of collisions Slow speed due to a large broadcast domain High administrative cost due to a lack of centralized network management Lack of backup WAN connectivity Lack of data backup on servers Inadequate network security Use of manually assigned IP addresses The campus building is 40 years and 2-storeyed. Its dimensions are as follows; Length: 240 Feet Width: 95 Feet Height: 30 Feet Workstation Placement Number of Workstations Users Total WS 6 Instructional Computer labs 21 WS Student and Instructor 126 WS (based on 20 WS for students and 1 WS for instructor on each lab * 6 labs) Student Computer Lab 30 WS Student 30 WS 6 Offices 1 WS Staff 6 WS 1 Admission office 5 WS Staff 5 WS Library 10 WS Student 10 WS Library 5 WS Staff 5 WS 4 Instructional Classrooms 1 WS Instructor 4 WS Total Server ? Staff To be determined by students Network Connecting Devices ? IT Staff To be determined by students Printers ? Staff To be determined by student Printers ? Instructional To be determined by student Definition of the subnet The following subnets are adopted in the design: Each lab is to have a subnet, totaling to 6 subnets The student computer lab is to be assigned a subnet of its own Staff members in all the offices will be assigned a subnet Students in the library will be assigned a subnet One subnet will be assigned to the instructors in the lecture rooms The two servers, one of the first floor and the other in the second floor will share a subnet Definition of the network address, subnet mask, and available IP addresses to be used by the computers or devices. Network Address: 10.15.0.0 Network Mask: 255.255.0.0 At le ast 11 subnets are required, implying a need for at least 31 addresses for each subnet. The closest number of addresses offered by a subnet is 32. Nonetheless, taking into consideration the fact that all subnets require a network address and a forecast address, 30 is the appropriate number of IP addresses. Given that the student computer lab requires a minimum of 31 addresses, 64-address subnet is required. Considering availability of a whole class B network, constituting a Class A address and a class B mask, it is possible to anticipate growth on the devices used in each classroom / office and make use of a whole Class C network for every subnet. This will allocate each subnet in 256 addresses whereby 0 would is to be the network address while 255 will be the broadcast address. This leaves 254-subnet IPs available for use. Proposed Subnets: Range 6 Instructional Computer labs 10.15.0.0/24 Addresses 10.15.0.1 - 10.15.0.254 10.15.1.0/24 Addresses 10.15.1.1 - 10.15.1.254 10.15.2.0/24 Addresses 10.15.2.1 - 10.15.2.254 10.15.3.0/24 Addresses 10.15.3.1 - 10.15.3.254 Student Computer Lab 10.15.10.0/24 Addresses 10.15.10.1 - 10.15.10.254 Staff members in all offices 10.15.20.0/24 Addresses 10.15.20.1 - 10.15.20.254 Students in the library 10.15.30.0/24 Addresses 10.15.30.1 - 10.15.30.254 Instructor’s on the 5 lecture rooms 10.15.40.0/24 Addresses 10.15.40.1 - 10.15.40.254 Servers on first and second floor

National Cancer Institute Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

National Cancer Institute - Research Paper Example The theory was grounded on the 1978 physical book The External Control of Organization. The theory of Both Pfeffer and Salancik espoused that external factors controlled or affected the organization’s achievement of its goals and objectives. The entities’ need for external resources was the external control. For example, the restaurants need the food ingredients in order to cook the customer’s food. Consequently, entities implement strategies to maximize the dependence on external resources to efficiently enhance achievement the entities goals and objectives. To accomplish this, both authors insists entities must enter into joint ventures, diversifications, integration, co-optation, and mergers (Johnson, 2009). Question 7: Development of Institutional Theory. Powell, Meyer, Scott, DiMaggion, and Rowan developed the Institutional theory. The theory was developed to explain the cognitive as well as cultural aspect of organizations. The authors insist that the entities’ responses are grounded of factors having miniscule or no relationship to the entities’ organizational efficiency. The authors insist that the entities must fit into an established framework, environment, or system in order to survive. The entities include the normative, cognitive, as well as regulative structures and routines (pillars). For example, the entities must obey the government institutions’ laws rules and sanctions. The entities must not sell cocaine or pollute the environment. Scott observed that the government institutions shaped how entities operate. The government institutions will penalize entities that violate established laws and other statutes. The theory states that as the entity’ s field starts, there is diversity of approach as well as form. As the entities’ environment becomes well established, homogeneity among the entities within a segment starts to develop (Johnson, 2009). The theory indicates that the organization,

Organization and Management_theories Essay Example for Free

Organization and Management_theories Essay Organization is a complex and intricate framework whose nature, behavior, effects, consequences and incidents are broad and ambiguous. It is not automatically comprehensible and manageable as any person dealing with it remains uncertain of what the organization is all about. This is so simply because the behavior, conditions and status of the organization is contingent or dependent upon individual members. Hence, one must first have to determine the basic traits, behavior, disposition, aims, and positions of each member before one can truly have the rudimentary idea of an organization which could guide and lead towards its dealings for a better and more effective management policies. Managing an organization requires a basic framework, plan, strategy or principles on how the manager will deal to his or her subordinates. These framework, plan, strategy or principles should be possessed by the manager, and should be well defined with a sense of concreteness and direction, before he or she can deal with his or her subordinates. The success of the manager’s plan or the fulfillment of his or her objective is basically determined on how efficacious and sustaining is his methods of management towards the subordinates. The manager must devise and establish such a framework, plan, strategy or principles which would best fit to the basic structure and environment in which he is managing, and one that is acceptable, favorable and bearable by all subordinates. This paper concerns the need for a manager to have an instrumental and conceptual knowledge in everyday practice. This includes the assessments of various frameworks critically analyzing some management and organizational methods and theories that may be utilized and applied as a management policy. The manager may not contend only to use one method, but resort to various methods could before practical and efficacious in reaching for the intended output. The manager therefore, must possess a sound and rational discretion, this being the condition sine qua non, in order for him to make use of the various management theories and methods which he may deem fit, convenient and effective within the premises and circumstances of the establishment or enterprise which he or she is managing or dealing. Critique on the Classical Models The classical thinkers like Plato waxes some ideas though profoundly and abstractly laid down in his The Laws and The Republic. He advanced the idea that a leader must necessarily possess a general idea of everything to the extent that he or she must know the basic function of each unit in the community. Plato would suggest that managers must be acquainted to his or her subordinates, especially their strengths, talents, skills, ability and capacity so as he may designate and assign them to such a job where such subordinate or member of the community is best fitted and productive. The explicit theory of the one best way to organize is normally ascribed to the classical theorists, notably Frederick Taylor and Max Weber, but it is, as we have seen, much older, even if it then only concerned social organization. Taylor’s model sprang from factory production and Weber’s from the offices of public administration, but they had a lot in common—notably a reliance on standardization of work, control of quality, fine-grained division of labor, and a strict hierarchy. They both strongly believed that the organizational models they proposed would prevail and eventually supplant all others because they were the most efficient. Weber’s interest was not in organization per se, but in the role it played in politics and economics in general. His discussion of bureaucracy therefore centered on its legal and political ramifications, as well as its part in the general rationalization of society—a result of the growing hegemony of rational means-ends relations. Weber viewed bureaucracy as the epitome of this development, working with supreme efficiency, and believed it would supersede all other organization forms. In Weber’s eyes, this development was not necessarily in humanity’s interest—on the contrary, he saw in the efficiency of bureaucracy a frightening potential to lock us into an Iron Cage of machine-like existence. With Weber’s own definition of sociology in mind, it is difficult to understand how he could be so sure of the inevitable and total domination of a single organizational structure. In that definition, he bases sociology squarely on an understanding of individual action and interaction, based on individuals’ subjective understanding of their situation and the purpose of their own actions (Fivelsdal 1971). Supra-individual concepts such as structure, function, and system are rejected as causes. One should think that human variation would make room for more than one structural form, and at least that its grim advances could be blocked by a pervasive tendency among disgruntled individuals to choose (for subjective reasons) other solutions. Henri Fayol and later Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick emphasized formal authority and the role of direct supervision (Mintzberg 1979), but the spirit of their work was the same as Taylor’s. You might even say that they were not really presenting theories of organization at all, but recipes—indicating the best solution for every type of activity, just as Plato did in the meticulous details of The Laws. The early theorists’ belief in the existence of final, superior solutions and their inescapable triumph can be viewed as an expression of their times—of the rapid progress of science and technology; the immense success of the mass-producing factory, the general increase in rational attitudes; and a rather naive belief in the simpleness of human affairs and their resemblance to physical systems. Buckley (1967) has suggested that such theories represented a continuation of the Social Physics the central notion of which was that man was a physical object, a kind of advanced machine; that behavior and social relations were subject to natural laws of the same kind as the laws of physics; and that man and society could be analyzed and managed accordingly. In politics and history the Marxian visions of inevitable social transformations embodied much of the same spirit, even if the underlying analysis was more sophisticated. The belief in the rationality and inevitability of things was thus a reflection of the contemporary beliefs in progress and technology, and the notion of the one best solution also appeals to our natural thirst for simplification—a faith in a one best way is much more reassuring than the acknowledgment of a bewildering array of optional solutions. As such, this view lingers on today—both in the minds of managers and in the offerings of consultants. Implied in this view is a notion of technological determinism—if there is a one best way of organizing, there must also be a one best way to utilize any new tool. Such a one-to-one relationship between a tool and its optimal use means that the tool itself will, by necessity, have strong bearings on organizational design. It is quite obvious that Taylor included tools and machinery in his designs for factory organization, and that the properties of those tools and machines were important determinants for the design of jobs and the relationships between them. The connection may not seem just as plain when we look at Weber and his theories of bureaucracy—there do not seem to be so many tools in use. However, the most important organizational tool in history (at least before the computer) has probably been the art of writing, and Weber’s bureaucracy is explicitly based on written procedures and written information. In other words, if bureaucracy is the one best way to organize administrative work in a literate society, and it presupposes the use of writing, the properties of writing (as a tool) must be regarded as one of the most the most important determinants of bureaucratic organization—maybe even the most important. In Scott’s (1987) classification of theoretical schools, both scientific management and Weber’s theory of bureaucracy are closed, rational system models. They presuppose that organizational actors are fully rational in all their decisions, that they always strive to achieve the organization’s expressed goals, and that the structure and functions of an organization are independent of its environment. Simon’s Bounded Rationality In the development of organization theory, the belief in the one best way and the closed, rational model of organizations (Scott 1987) gradually came under attack after World War II. One of the early attackers was Herbert A. Simon, who developed a new theory of decision making, opposing the reigning concept of unbounded rationality in organizational and economic matters. Simon attacked both the economists’ image of economic man and the rational manager of the earlier management theorists. Although he seemed to accept the notion that there was an objective, theoretical best way in a given set of circumstances, he denied the possibility of finding this solution in practice. Simon’s great common-sense realization was that humans operate with limited information and wits in an exceedingly complex world, and that they have no choice but to simplify, to operate with a bounded rationality, to satisfice—not maximize. The basic realization of an objective best way is not a practical possibility, even if it may exist in theory. The objective, practical goal of organizational members is therefore never to find the optimal solution (even if they may think so themselves), but to find one that is good enough for their ends—which usually also means good enough for the organization to survive. It also follows that there must be many such solutions, and that different people and different organizations will more often than not choose different solutions. Scott (1987) also classifies the theory presented in Administrative Behavior as belonging to the closed, rational system model. This seems a bit unjust, since several passages in the book discuss interactions with the environment (for instance, the discussions in Chapter VI, The Equilibrium of the Organization) and fully document that Simon does not believe that an organization is an island to itself. However, the theory of decision making that is developed in the book largely treats organizational decisions as something internal to the organization, and this may perhaps merit Scott’s classification. Because the environmental connection is more pronounced in the book coauthored with March (March and Simon 1958), the theory presented there is classified by Scott as belonging to the open, rational system models. These models represent organizations as predominantly rational systems, but they recognize that organizations are continuously dependent on exchanges with their environment and must adapt to it to survive. Transaction Costs Analysis Another approach in the open, rational systems category is the transaction cost analysis developed by Williamson. However, Williamson’s interest in organizational structure centers on questions of organization size and the degree of vertical integration. He argues that the cost of exchanging goods or services between people, departments, or organizations will decide whether or not a function will be incorporated into the organization. The primeval, natural state of business activities can be seen as a situation with individual producers exchanging goods and services through the market. If markets or tasks (or both) grow so complex that the cognitive limits of the producers become overloaded or if the transaction costs increase for other reasons, there will be a pressure to increase the level of organization in order to overcome these difficulties. Applied on the current situation, this implies that existing organizations will try to internalize transactions if they believe they can execute them more efficiently than the market or if they become so complex that market-based solutions become intractable. For instance, an auto manufacturer will develop or buy its own dealer network if it believes it can sell more cars or fetch a bigger profit that way; an aluminum producer will buy into bauxite mines if it believes that this will shield it from dangerous price fluctuations. Technology has a part in transaction theory insofar as it changes transaction costs in the market, inside the organizations, or both. Since information technology has a great potential for changing the conditions for coordination—both within and between organizations, it should be of great interest to the transaction cost perspective. The Several Best Ways: The Human Relations Movement The human relations school brought the individual and the social relations between individuals into focus. People in organizations were no longer seen only—not even mainly—as rational beings working to achieve the goals of the organization. It was discovered that they were just as much driven by feelings, sentiments, and their own particular interests—which could be quite different from what classical theory presupposed. Moreover, the new studies also showed that there was an informal structure in every organization, growing from the unofficial contacts people in the organization had with each other. This informal structure could be just as important as the formal one for predicting the outcome of decision-making processes—sometimes even more important. There were a number of main themes investigated by the different approaches within the human relations school, and most of them are still actively pursued by researchers. The most basic is the insistence on the importance of individual characteristics and behaviors in understanding organizational behavior. This easily leads to an interest in the effects of different leadership styles, as well as in the effects of race, class, and cultural background. Formalization in work is strongly repudiated on the grounds that it is detrimental to both worker commitment and psychological well-being, and participative management, job enlargement, or, at least, job rotation is prescribed. In fact, human relations theorists have always been eager to promote changes in organizations to produce what they see as more humane work places, and they claim that the less formal, more participative organization will also be the most productive. It is not unreasonable, therefore, to criticize at least the most ardent proponents of these views for prescribing one best way solutions just as much as the classical theorists (Mohr 1971). With their emphasis on humans and their psychological and social properties, the human relations theorists were not especially interested in tools and technology except as a source of repressive formalization. However, even if we might say that they inherited a belief in optimal solutions from the classical theorists, their theories implied that it was human needs and qualities, and not technology, that dictated the optimal organizational forms. In other words, it was in their view possible to design and operate organizations principally on the basis of human characteristics, and thus thwart what others viewed as technological imperatives. Woodward Among the new research projects were Woodward’s pathbreaking studies of a number of manufacturing companies in the southeast of England in the 1950s (Mintzberg 1979, Clegg 1990), in which she showed how three basic production technologies strongly correlated with a corresponding number of organization structures: Bureaucratization increased as one went from unit or small batch production via large batch or mass production to continuous-process production. First, this discovery led to renewed faith in technological determinism: there now seemed to be not one best way to organize, but rather a best way for each class of production technology—in Woodward’s case, unit production, mass production, and process industry. The Multitude of Ways: Sociotechnics In England a group of researchers developed a distinct framework, which in addition to action approach, they also proposed that the distinguishing feature of organizations is that they are both social and technical systems (Scott 1987, p. 108). The core of the organization represented, so to speak, an interface between a technical system and a human (social) system. This implied that, in order to achieve maximum performance in an organization, it did not suffice to optimize only the technical or the social system, nor to search for the best match between existing technological and organizational elements. The goal should be a joint optimization of the two—creating a synergy that yielded more than could be achieved simply by adding the two together. Their preferred organizational solutions emphasized co-determination, internalized regulation, and workgroup autonomy. They also discovered that changes at the workgroup level did not survive for long without compatible changes in the overlying structures—a discovery that was also made in a series of experiments with autonomous workgroups in Norwegian industry in the 1960s, inspired by the Tavistock group and directed by the newly founded Work Research Institute in Oslo (Thorsrud and Emery 1970). During their projects they also learned that the environment impinged on intra-organizational activities to a much larger degree than they had anticipated. Sociotechnics, for me is here taking a position that is particularly relevant for information technology, even if sociotechnics was established as a theoretical framework before computers started to make themselves felt to any significant degree. When working with information technology in organizations, it is of utmost importance to be aware of the intimate interdependence between the computer-based systems, the individuals using them, the manual routines, and the organizational structure. Any serious attempt to optimize the use of information technology must acknowledge this reciprocity. It is therefore quite remarkable that sociotechnical theory has remained so much out of fashion for the last decade, just the period when the use of computers has really exploded. One reason may be the general lack of interest in information technology that has plagued the social sciences overall; another is that those who were interested within the sociotechnical tradition tended to be drawn toward research on the cognitive aspects of computer use, especially the (literal) user interfaces of computer systems, neglecting the overlying question of the broader interaction of humans and computer systems in structural terms.

Tescos Performance Based On Financial Ratios Commerce Essay

Tescos Performance Based On Financial Ratios Commerce Essay This research proposal studies on the factors which Tesco in their current profitability and meet it short-term financial obligation. Tesco also look strong for the employees motivation and the company competitive exists. Tesco was founded in year 1919 by Jack Cohen and the first Tesco name appeared in year 1929 (Tesco, 2010). Nowadays, the Britian leading retailer is Tesco and also United Kingdom based international supermarket chain (TESCO, 2010 and Tesco House, n.d.). They operating over 4,800 stores globally and employing over 472,094 people (Checksure, n.d.). At the beginning, they specializing in food, now move into areas like clothes, consumer electronics, consumer financial services, selling and renting DVDs, compact discs and music downloads, internet service and consumer telecoms (Tesco House, n.d.). They have 588 supermarkets and 257 are superstores. Besides that, they operates in 13 countries such as Republic of Ireland, Hungary Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey and Poland in Europe, China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, India, and the U.S. (Tesco, 2010). The key towards Tesco success was related to their financial position which consists of generate a return on its resource, able to meet its short-term financial obligations and the efficiency ratios. Usually, the financial ratios analysis is including profitability, liquidity and investment ratios. Its normally used to analysis company performance which analyzes the success, failure and progress of company business. (Woods, 1999). In addition, it can also calculate for a company to be compared with other companies and own companies own past figures (Jiao and Bhalotra, 2007). Profitability ratios determine that the companys able to generate a return on its resource (missouribusiness.net, n.d.). Besides that, profitability shows proportion is advantageous business, measuring the overall performance was investigated, the profits of the company, can be used to test how your company operation, compares the current performance and the record of the past (Jiao and Bhalotra, 2007). It including gross profit, net profit margin, return on assets, and return on equity. The gross profit margin is indicates how well the company be able to generate a return at the gross profit level (Missouribusiness.net., n.d.). The gross profit margin considers the firms cost of goods sold, but does not include other costs (Netmba.com, n.d.). The formula for calculate the gross profit margin which is gross profit margin equal sales minus cost of goods sold divide by sales and multiply 100 percent. The formula calculates for net profit margin is net profit divide total sales also can call net sales and multiply 100 percent. However, this ratio ability provides a significant investment, indicate its sales business ability covers the smallest fixed cost and remains an acceptable profit (Missouribusiness.net, n.d). Formula calculation for return on assets is net incomes before taxes divide by total assets and multiply by 100 percent. This ratio display the effectively of the firms assets able being used to generate profits (Netmba.com, n.d.). In addition, low return on assets (ROA) indicates inefficient management, adverse when a high ROA which mean efficient in management (Barry, n.d.). Otherwise, this ratio in public company normally report return on assets to their shareholders, cause to tell them how well when using its assets to produce income. The return on equity (ROE) also knows as return on investment (ROI). The calculation compete for ROE which is return on equity equal net profit before taxes divide by shareholder equity multiply by 100 percent. These ratios usually indicate how well the company is utilizing its equity in investment and normally will higher than return on assets. According to proficient, if those companies hope their business growth in future, therefore, their ratio needs at least 10 to 14 percent in ROI (Barry, n.d.). This is a good figure to compare beside competitors or an industry average. For example, if the ratio is lower which mean that they meager management performance. In other words, a high return on investment indicates that management is doing well. Liquidity ratios is show how quick the company able to convert assets to cash, and pay off interest (Carter, 2010). Furthermore, the low levels of liquidity ratio can demonstrate poor management for grown up company (Netmba.com, n.d.). Besides that, its providing with useful limit for business managers to help them regulate their borrowing and spending (Barry, n.d.). The main liquidity ratios are the current ratio and quick ratio. Current ratio is also called the working capital ratio (Missouribusiness.net, n.d.). It is the number of times a companys current assets exceed its current liabilities, which is an indication of the solvency of that business (Auerbach, n.d.). The formula to compute the current ratio which is total Current Assets divide total Current Liabilities. A general rule of thumb for current ratio should be at least 2:1 (Missouribusiness.net, n.d.). A lower current ratio determines that the company may not be ability to pay its invoices on time, while a higher ratio means that company has money in cash or safe investment that could be put to better use in business (Barry, n.d.). The quick ratio is also called the acid test ratio (Missouribusiness.net, n.d.). It indicates the extent to which company could pay current liabilities without relying on the sale of inventory (Missouribusiness.net, n.d.). A general rule of thumb states that the ratio should be 1 to 1 or 1:1 (Missouribusiness.net, n.d.). If it is higher, the company may be keeping too much cash on hand or have a poor collection program for accounts receivable (Barry, n.d.). If it is lower, it may indicate that the company relies too heavily on inventory to meet its obligations. The formula for compete quick ratio is current assets minus inventory and divide current liabilities. 4.0 Significance of study: Basically, this study is seen vital as in it helps Tesco to do their financial performance more effectively. Regarding on that, it more related to the financial ratio analysis whether in term of profitability, liquidity and investment ratios that Tesco would take in for their effective management. Furthermore, this study also could acts as references for other retails that going to develop in the future as well to enhance competitive advantages. 5.0 Literature Review: Part A 5.1 Profitability ratios Profitability ratios are an indication of companys overall efficiency and performances. According to the calculation of annual report, the Tesco gross profit margin from year 2009 (7.76%) to 2010 (8.10%) increases 0.34 percent. During year 2010, Tesco net profit margin increasing 0.14 percent from 3.97 percent to 4.11 percent (Tesco, 2010). It indicates Tesco every year able to grown their revenues (Wearden, 2010). This is because they believe that having a good profitability the companies now can operate well in worldwide markets. Besides that, the profitability also provided information for investor to let the investors to know how well they company is going to evolution (Beginnermoneyinvesting.com, n.d.). Not only Tesco using this ratios and Carrefour S.A also use this ratio method. Because the Carrefour believe that improve in the profitability, it will efficient to the businesses running. Therefore, Tesco and Carrefour believed that using past data as a benchmark to make a concl usion as to why the profitability is increasing and decreasing, so that the company can go well (Mysmp.com, n.d.). For example, during the fiscal year in 2008, the Tesco had a better sales growth rate, so that they company moving up from number four to number three in the ranking in the world. When hold on more of retaining, its profits would cope with future external market challenges (Fresh Easy Buzz, 2010). 5.2 Investment Ratios Return on equity also known as return on investment (ROI). This ratio widely use by company because it ability to indications how efficiently the money invested in a company is providing a return to those investors (finpipe.com). In addition, the investor will through by ROE to get information what they need to make a sound decision (Winters, 2002). The investors normally will look for positive ROE, before making any kind of investment and also use to compare different investment options by an investment advisor (Dogra, n.d.). During 2010, Tesco ROE is 12.04 if compare to 2009 (11.98%) it increase around 0.06 percent. Besides that, Carrefour also emphasis on ROE, because investor is their money income if their ROE is not well that will influence their business and will affect them to expand in international business in worldwide. Therefore, the equity also look more to the operational and profitability ratios which to determine future profits that will accrue to the shareholder and t he shareholders compare the profitability of different projects by looking into their return on investment ratios (Dogra, n.d. and finpipe.com, n.d.). According to Shannon report (2010), Tesco CEO Terry Leahy announcement that the 145 store Fresh Easy should become profitable in fiscal 2013. Because of this announcement it causes the return on equity growth. In addition, a sharp improvement in Asia markets like Thailand and Korea able to helped drive sales growth. Return on Assets is evaluate to use get a feel for how well a company using their assets to generate income (money-zine.com, n.d.). During year 2010, Tesco ROA increase around 0.5 percent from 6.4 percent to 6.9 percent, because of the amortization charge on intangible assets arising acquisition. It also causes the group trading profits increase. In addition, they release cash from property through a sequence of joint ventures and other sale and leaseback transaction. Therefore, these transactions so far is completed which with pension funds, property companies and other investors would have delivered aggregate proceeds of  £2.2bn (Tesco, 2010). 5.3 Liquidity ratios Liquidity ratios are determined of a company ability to meet its debts (Winters, 2002). Liquidity ratios have current ratio and quick ratio. Current ratio is help company to see their able to pay their current debts without going against future earnings. In year 2009, Tesco current ratio 2009 is 0.77: 1 and year 2010 is 0.74:1. However, we can realize that current ratio from 2010 is decrease. This is because they always have new markets to invest in. The Tesco CEO Terry Leahy increase in borrowing ratios when spearheaded  £6.6 billion of spending on expansion, including the  £958 million takeover of South Koreas Homever supermarket chain. Although, Tescos facing debt is high but they feel it still very healthy balance sheet (Bloomberg, 2009). Quick ratio is show of the companys ability to make the payments on current obligation. Quick ratio for Tesco in year 2009 is 0.61:1 and year 2010 is 0.56:1. It shows that year 2010 ratio is decrease. This is because during that period they facing financial crisis. Although their ratio is decrease but they still can pay the debts because of they repaid their debt more early and use that was earning little interest to buy back higher interest-bearing corporate bonds (Tesco, 2010). Part B 5.4 Competition Besides that, competition in the worlds market is more important because it enables help the company assess intelligently the business environment in which the firm operates. This is because if without competition, the company unable to improve as in no competitive advantage. The competition enables the management to identify the companys weak points which to helps the firm to concentrate on the areas it needs to improve. The Main competitors of the Tesco are Carrefour S.A., J Sainsbury plc, Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC and so on (Datamonitor, 2004). These are the main competitors in business strategies and the value markets. In other words, it also can help the company to know what kinds of actions are required to development with the competitive position in the industry (Articlesbase.com, n.d). 5.5 Motivation Employees are considered the important asset of a company. Based on that, the key of business success is general relying on employees. Employees are considered the important asset of a company. Based on that, the key of business success is general relying on employees. Tesco mission is work as a team, trust and respect each other, listen, support and say thank you, and share knowledge and experience to customers. Above all they want their employees everyone at Tesco can enjoy their work. Besides that, the Tesco believe that if you treat people well they will give great service so they customer able to enjoy their shopping trip. Tesco know their employees can work better when they are given the space to make decisions and take responsibility. They also encourage their employees to learn from their mistakes and challenge conventional thinking (Tesco, 2010). 6.0 Methodology: Theoretical framework for this study is: Gross Profit Margin (IV) DB Total Assets Turnover (IV) Net Profit Margin (IV) Return on Assets (IV) Stock Turnover Period (IV) Tesco Performance (DV) Quick Ratio (IV) Return on Equity (IV) Current Ratio (IV) In this case, the Tesco performance is dependent and financial ratios are independent. Generally, secondary data collection is going to be done in order to help achieve the objectives in this study. It can through by annual report to do a comparatives which how well the Tesco performance in current year and previous year. In addition, they can highlight the variances in past budget, so that they can improve in following year through by these problems. (Words count: 2061) Reference lists Auerbach. A., n.d. How To Analyze Your Business Using Financial Ratios. [Online] Available at: ,http://www.esmalloffice.com/SBR_template.cfm?DocNumber=PL12_1500.htm> [Accessed 26 October 2010] Barry. C.C., n.d. Financial Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Beginnermoneyinvesting.com, n.d. Profitability Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Bloomberg, 2009. Tescos debt-fueled growth sparks investor backlash. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 29 October 2010] Carter. M., 2010. The Purpose of Financial Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Checksure, n.d. Tesco Plc and History of Tesco Plc. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 26 October 2010] Datamonitor, 2004. Tesco PLC. [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 15 November 2010] Dogra. A., n.d. Return on Assets Ratio. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Finpipe.com, n.d. Financial ratio analysis. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 4 November 2010] Fresh Easy Buzz, 2010. Tesco Drops From Third to Fourth Place in Important Global Retailing Ranking Despite Having Higher Sales Growth Than Rival. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 29 October 2010] Jiao. K. and Bhalotra. K., 2007. Financial Analysis J Sainsbury Plc. [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Kulkarni. A., n.d. Return on Equity Ratio. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Missouribusiness.net, n.d. Financial Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Money-zine.com, n.d. Investment Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Mysmp.com, n.d. Profitability Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Netmba.com, n.d. Financial Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Shannon. S., 2010. Tesco First-Half Profit Gains as International Sales Rebound. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 29 October 2010] Tesco, 2010. About TESCO. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 25 October 2010] Tesco, 2010. Annual report 2009 2010. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 November 2010] Tesco, 2010. Annual report 2009 2010. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 November 2010] Tesco, 2010. Creating good jobs and careers. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 15 November 2010] Tesco, 2010. Group performance. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 29 October 2010] Tesco House, n.d. Tesco Plc Business Information, Profile, and History. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 17 October 2010] Wearden. G., 2009. Tesco reports weak sales growth. The company is still planning to hire around 10,000 people during 2009 more than Sainsburys and Morrisons together. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 October 2010] Wearden. G., 2009. Tesco unveils record profits of  £3bn. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 October 2010] Wearden. G., 2010. Tesco rings up record profits. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 October 2010] Winters. A., 2002. Investment tips: what are key investment ratios? [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Executive Summary:http://www.scribd.com/doc/39455198/TESCO-Financial-Analysis

Evolution of the Moral Code Essays -- Philosophy essays

Evolution of the Moral Code "Morality is the herding instinct of the individual."  Ã‚  Ã‚   -Nietzsche Within the depths of your imagination, two tribes exist. Peaceful hunter-gatherers, they are exactly equal in every respect. All of the variables in their environment are the same or cancel each other out. Their birth and death rates coincide exactly, their resources and location are so similar that they could be the same tribe. They remain in this state of equality, completely unaware of each others' existence, until one day a fight erupts in both tribes at the same time which heats to the point where one member of the tribe kills another in anger. Amidst this, something unusual happens: for the first time, a split occurs in the behavior of the tribes. The first tribe frowns upon the behavior, convenes a meeting of tribal elders, and decides to punish the individual. The punishment is severe and public, the individual justly reprimanded for his heinous crime. In the second tribe, the action is seen as natural. The argument exploded into anger, a perfectly natural emotion, and escalated to the point where it was a life-or-death situation. No punishment is handed down, and the tribe continues to live. As time passes, the tribe which punished the murder sees few further murders, instead keeping its strict standard and severely punishing any such transgression. The looser tribe sees more murders, as it is perfectly accepted, a part of their moral code. Or rather, an accepted standard not mentioned in their moral code. Time passes. The difference does not cause the end or severe decline of either tribe. At some point, the tribes become aware of each other, and find it necessary for the purposes of this illustra... ...essary if we replace it with the realization that morals are in place that we may live together. In this theoretical case, the hypocrisy of religion is subtracted with the outdated morals no longer needed to keep the outdated system intact. The important morals will remain, and religious crimes will end, such as much of the seemingly endless religion-fueled fighting in the Middle East. Religion must, in the end, go, to be replaced by simple ethics and respect. Unfeasible? Wholly. But on the individual level, at least acceptance can be learned and perhaps passed on, and eventually, the outdated, humanized view of God will be replaced by love. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself; for in case we live, we live to the Lord, and in case we die, we die to the Lord; so whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. -Romans 14:7-8

Magical Realism :: Latin American Literature Essays

Magical Realism It is a long and unusual journey. I still wonder what it really is. I read the selections of four wonderful authors and I am still a little confused about the real history and theory of magical realism. I do know that before a person gets into this idea of magical realism, he or she really has to have a big imagination and willingness to learn about it. I guess what I am trying to say is that magical realism depends on who a person is and what a person is willing to believe. I thought that Franz Roh's selection was brief on magical realism. I see where Roh compared Magical Realism to Expressionism. He came up with different theories about how to look at certain things in the world. This essay was definitely deep and way out there. He talked about the different ways to represent something. "We recognize this world, although now-not only because we have emerged from a dream-we look on it with new eyes"(Roh 17). It was not just an everyday word, it had to be mystical, magical, fantasized etc. I really do not see how somebody could come up with such an idea. The whole point is he mixes reality with fantasy. In his selection, he talks about the supernatural, things such as aliens that really move some people. Magical Realism plays a major role in issues such as this. People have to go beyond the world and look just a little further. One's imagination will take them places of which they have never dreamed before. Some people swear up and down that aliens, UFO' s, and foreign space ships are not real. How do they know? I guess I will have to stick with Roh on believing in the existence of the supernatural, the magical, and the freaks of nature. Whether I understand completely or not, I think it is really neat how someone can go beyond the unthinkable. That is exactly what Roh does. Some things he talks about I cannot interpret, but I see his outline of it. I do not think there would be any interesting things to look forward to if someone did not use one's imagination and research on things that are mind boggling to the world today. Maybe if more people knew about this "magical realism, they would look at things differently. Angel Flores wrote about magical realism in a way that was hard for me to understand.

A Comparison of Things Fall Apart and Julius Caesar Essays -- comparis

Comparing Things Fall Apart and Julius Caesar      Ã‚  Ã‚   "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe and "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare are two very different books that are interrelated through their similar themes and characters. There are characters from both stories that can connect to one another through their common motives and characteristics. Many of the main themes and elements of the stories are similar including a tragic ending and themes of betrayal, honor, and conflict. However, there are differences between the characters and themes from the two books as well.    In Things fall apart, Okonkwo would resemble Caesar most because they were both men of high titles with success in war and battle. Okonkwo was a well accomplished soldier known for the many heads that he had severed off enemies during tribal conflicts. Casesar was one of the greatest generals of all time bringing Rome to its peak height of power. Both men did not fear death but meet death abruptly. Even though they were very similar, Caesar was killed by an assassination, while Okonkwo commits suicide.    Mr. Kiaga, the translator and negotiator for the Christian missionary can be matched most easily to Antony. Both men had great oratory skills which they put to good use. Kiaga used his skills to convert and had won many converts to the new faith. Antony used his oratory skills to convince the crowd at Caesar's funeral that Brutus and the conspirators had killed Caesar unjustly. Both men had very loyal qualities. Antony was loyal to Caesar and wanted to avenge Caesar's death. Mr Kiaga was loyal to the church and Mr Brown, the priest and head of the missionary. Even though they are similar in many ways, they have differe... ...ad done nothing at all and Brutus killed him because he believed that the general would change into a tyrannical ruler. Caesar's ambition could have destroyed Rome if it wasn't for the noble actions of Brutus.    Even though these two books may seem very different, they also share many similarities. Though they are not related through their plots, they definitely share some very important themes and resemblance of characters. Through these similarities, two different stories in completely different time frames and locations can be brought together in many instances.    Works Cited:    Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 1958. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Expanded Edition, Vol. 1. Ed. Maynard Mack. London: Norton, 1995. Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Ed. Alan Durband. London: Hutchinson & Co. Publishers Ltd., 1984.

Early Childhood Education/ A.S Degree Research Paper Essay

An Early Childhood Education/ A. S. degree is perfect for people who love children. There are many career choices and even choices within those careers that you choose just by getting this degree. It is important to know all of your options before picking a degree that will determine the career you will have for the rest of your life. â€Å"Early childhood education is a term that refers to educational programs and strategies geared toward children from birth to the age of eight. This time period is widely considered the most vulnerable and crucial stage of a person’s life† (Beth Lewis). It is the teaching of young children by people outside of the family and outside of their home. Some career paths you can take with this degree are being a classroom aide, ECE teacher, site supervisor, program director, preschool teacher, kindergarten teacher, resource and referral professional, social service worker, youth and family service worker, camp counselor, recreation leader, foster care provider, mental health paraprofessional, or child advocate and even more (Mason, Janet). Though all of those seem interesting, a preschool, teachers aide, and kindergarten teacher are the three career paths I find most interesting so I decided to do my research on them. A preschool teacher is a possible career choice from getting your early childhood education degree. Preschool teachers take care of young children while educating them. They do not teach the children how to read or write yet, but they explain reading and writing. They also teach some science and social studies but only of what a child can understand at that age. Children in preschool mostly learn through play so they do a lot of that in preschool. Preschool teachers are supposed to watch over them. The ages of the preschool children that the teacher cares to is anywhere from 3 to 5. These are the ages of children who have not yet entered kindergarten. An associates degree is all that is needed to become a preschool teacher. The median pay is $25,700 per year, which is $12. 35 per hour (bls. gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/preschool-teachers). â€Å"Employment of preschool teachers is expected to grow by 25 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected due to a continued focus on the importance of early childhood education and the growing population of children ages 3 to 5† (bls. gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/preschool-teachers). Another job you can get through this degree is a teachers aide. With this job, you will be responsible for assisting a classroom teacher in general supervision and management of the kids. You must be 18 years of age or older, and have an early childhood education degree. With this job some things you must do are assist in planning and preparing the learning environment, watch the classroom when the teacher is out of the room, pay attention to the children, and clean up the classroom. The median expected salary for a typical teachers aide in the United States is $20,588 (salary. com). You can also become a kindergarten teacher with this degree. The average salary for a kindergarten teacher is $48,800 per year (bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/kindergarten-and-elementary-school-teachers). You need a bachelors degree and a state-issued certification or license. To be a kindergarten teacher you need to be very observant. You need to be able to evaluate a students abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. You have to plan lessons that teach students things like reading and math. Benefits of becoming a kindergarten teacher is that you get two months off in the summer, and over a period of time you get tenure. Which means after a certain number of years of teaching, the teacher can have some job security. The early childhood education/ A. S. degree has many career options that come with it. A preschool teacher, teachers aide, and kindergarten teacher are three very interesting professions. You must love children to be in these professions. Being a kindergarten teacher is what appeals to me the most. Though finding these jobs may be tough to do due to the economic state we are in, I know that if I truly want to become a kindergarten teacher and work hard enough to get it, I will be able to get a job some way or another.

Standard Working Hours

Introduction After the implementation of statutory minimum wage in Hong Kong, many people urge the government to have law about standard working hours as employers may use non-paid overtime as a means to minimize the labor cost in order to offset the increase of labor costs caused by the minimum wage. First of all, we would like to talk about the definition of setting a standard working hour. The idea is to set a standard working hour per week. If employees’ working hours are longer than the standard one, employers have to pay additional bonus for the extra working hours.Reason for having standard working hours Regardless of a follow-up action for minimum wage policy, it can ensure better health for employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance stipulate that employers must ensure the occupational safety and health of their employees. Yet, the problem of long working hour is severe. Taking accounting field as an example, it is common for us to hear the employees in à ¢â‚¬Å"Big Four† have sudden health because of long working hours.Setting up standard working hours can discourage employers to ask employees to have overtime so that employees can have more resting time and more job opportunities may be created as employers may need more workforce to avoid employees having overtime (can’t think of any rebuttal, strong point). Worries from Business sector (EMPLOYERS PERSPECTIVE) Currently, seven of the city’s biggest business chambers have sent a rare joint letter to the government expressing their concerns about this issue.They claimed that this policy may hurt the economic environment in Hong Kong since their labor costs will further increase (increase in labour cost due to the need to employ more workers to compensate for the reduction in working hours per worker. This might involve an increase in wages, administration cost, cost of training etc. Additional cost and resources needed *â€Å"Lau Chin-ho, a deputy chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, on RTHK's City Forum, said standard working hours could increase business costs and that other alternatives should be explored before drafting a law.He was responding to a government report, released last week, which says employers would need to pay up to HK$55. 2 billion more a year in wages if standard working hours were introduced in Hong Kong. †Ã¢â‚¬  The Labour Department of Hong Kong generated 27 scenarios of the likely impact by altering three elements: a 40 to 48-hour week, overtime pay of one to 1. 5 times regular pay and exemption criteria for staff such as managers and executives. Depending on the scenario, it estimates the employers' additional labour costs at HK$8 billion to HK$55. 2 billion a year, or 1. per cent to 11. 4 per cent of total expenditure on wages. This compares with HK$3. 3 billion a year resulting from a minimum wage of HK$28 an hour. †). The increase in labour cost might adversely affect the consumers si nce employers might choose to shift the price burden to consumers by increasing the price of goods and services. for consumers. Also, as a service-oriented economy, they think that this policy is not applicable in Hong Kong as service industries require more labor force and time. (can mention about the practicality of the implementation of standard working hours.How it might not be enforceable in certain industries with certain nature of work) Besides, the free and open economy in Hong Kong has long been attracting foreign investment. Multi-national corporations are attracted to set up their business in Hong Kong due to the free market and the non-regulated economy. With the implementation of standard working hours in addition to the statutory minimum wage, the higher labour cost and regulated economic environment might deter the inward investment of MNCs, potentially causing an increase in unemployment in Hong Kong.MNCs might choose to set up their business in other countries with relatively lower labour cost, less regulations and more incentives (tax-free). Suggestion to the implementation of this policy legislate standard working hours This policy should strike a balanced benefit between employers and employees. In order to strike non-paid overtime malpractice, it is inevitable to have standard working hours. Yet, the main concern is to set a moderate level of working hours to protect employers’ interest.Pro-democrats call for the level of 40-44 hours per week. Yet, from the survey by SCMP, the average working hours in Hong Kong is 47. 7 per week. So, setting 47-48 hours per week is fair to both sides. The government may consider having evaluation and judgment of optimal level each year for making it acceptable for both sides. Reference: http://hklawblog. com/2012/11/29/should-hong-kong-implement-standard-working-hours/