Claudius, hateful villain or good king? Essay

â€Å"Claudius makes a good king. He is a careful ruler and a loving husband, providing stability for both his country and wife. † â€Å"Murderer of the rightful king, Claudius is the play’s hateful, lying villain. † What justification is there in the text to support these two views? What is your opinion of the way Shakespeare presents Claudius? Claudius is capable of becoming an effective king. However his choice to exploit his newly found power for personal gain contradicts the good he attempts to accomplish. An effective king has to be an honest king. Unfortunately Claudius seems unable to be honest to any person through the course of the play. His act of murder and his claim to the throne reflects a self promoting character for the audience. Claudius however is able to be honest with God. Through his act of repent Claudius shows to the audience that he is able to be truthful and it also shows that he is able to distinguish right from wrong. Claudius details, in Act Three Scene Three, that his â€Å"offence is rank† and he wishes it to be pardoned in order for him to progress as an effective king. This honest act shows that Claudius is willing to admit when he is wrong, he may also be afraid of the afterlife and what awaits him. This unknown becomes apart of the larger theme of uncertainty. Claudius is capable of telling the truth, but only when it is to his advantage. In act four scene five, when Laertes blames Claudius for the death of his father, Claudius manipulates the situation by telling Laertes that he will help to exact his revenge. Claudius is therefore able to get rid of both Laertes and Hamlet who both pose a threat to the power that Claudius has gained. Claudius’ ability to resolve the threatening situation and rework it to his advantage, stands him in good stead for the leadership a king exerts on his country when faced with difficult situations. In this scene Claudius outrageously refers to the â€Å"divinity doth hedge a king,† this is ironic considering he was able to so easily murder his own brother, yet this white lie sows a seed in Laertes mind that attempting to kill Claudius would be bad judgement on his part. The continuing conversation allows Laertes to find a person to take the revenge he seeks to deliver. Claudius, already plotting to murder Hamlet, is able to give the task to Laertes, thus relieving Claudius of spilling anymore blood onto his own hands, yet still dealing with the situation he finds threatening to the stability of his crown. His use of manipulation through his use of language mimics the idea of pouring poison into his brother’s ears, by talking people into his way of thinking Claudius is metaphorically pouring poison into people’s ears. In this scene we can see the talent that Claudius harbours that would make him a good stable king; conversely we also see that he puts these talents to bad use causing him to be the play’s hateful, lying villain. Hamlet believes that Claudius is the murderer of the rightful king. In Hamlet’s first soliloquy, Hamlet refers to his father â€Å"so excellent a king, that was to this. † His belief that Claudius is not the rightful king that should provide benefit for the state, before his father’s ghost informs him of his murderous attributes, allows the audience to see that in the eyes of those that loved the late King Hamlet, Claudius is no comparison to the leadership that was shown by his predecessor. The late King Hamlet was a man who charged into battle â€Å"armed at point, exactly cap-a-pie† as described by Horatio in act one scene two. However it can be argued that this works in Claudius’ favour. The previous king used violence to bring order; through battle he would have put other people’s lives at risk for his reputation and ego. Claudius uses communication between countries to resolve any problems that exist. We see this in (I can’t find it but I am quite sure it happens somewhere, hopefully I would have found it by the time we meet. In the section I’m looking for some people is discussing the coming battle or something like that, but it makes out that Claudius is talking to the other country. ) Hamlet’s view can be a result of anger for his mother’s remarriage, or the death and replacement of his father. If his view stems from this then the audience is asked to decide whether they believe Claudius is doing a better job at protecting his country, and providing stability for it. Claudius provides stability for his country and wife only for the short term. His record of underhandedness leaves him vulnerable to attack if anyone were to find out. Through this attack Claudius would be left vulnerable for the public and other countries to remove his crown. From Claudius’ bad decision to remove his brother from power he has created a corrupt character that is leading the state. Through one action Claudius is forced to cover his tracks, by covering his tracks of one foul deed he must commit another. He attempts to right what is wrong and in doing so he allows the stakes to be raised significantly. If he does not hide his mistakes then he will surely be found out, by attempting to hide them, he runs the risk of being found out but can ultimately get away with it. We see that Claudius is upset with his actions when he pleads for religion to cure him of his life at the alter, he asks for forgiveness. Claudius is not the legitimate king, and therefore automatically takes the place of the play’s hateful, lying villain. The addition of his murderous attributes makes it hard for any audience member to connect with the thought behind Claudius’ actions. He’s seen as a cold murderer that only acts for himself. Contrary to popular belief I believe that Claudius is a man who tempted one day made, a very bad decision. Through his human instinct for survival he has become a corrupt king that originally wanted well for his country. We see his remorse when he kneels at the alter for forgiveness. He provides stability for the short term but not ultimately. Claudius has the ability to become a great king, but has tainted his chances with the murder of his brother, causing him to become the corrupt villain that audiences see him as.

Bretton Woods Institutions

The world war two had far reaching consequences on the social, economical, technological and political aspects of the main combatants. The worst hit nations included the European nations and Japan. Technological and economical systems of these nations either collapsed or were left in very poor states. There was an inordinate loss of life on a very large scale, additionally, the wanton destruction of property including industries, public and private property was previously unimaginable.As the war subsided, different parties were thinking of establishing a system that would facilitate the reconstruction of the affected economies in Europe and Japan. Indeed, even as the war continued, delegates representing several countries converged in Bretton woods New Hampshire (USA) in 1944 and established the Bretton Woods Agreement. These agreements were aimed at assisting in the reconstruction of the major economic systems ravaged by the war. The delegates signed the Bretton woods agreements in July 1945 and established the IMF, the World Bank and the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT).This paper examines the role of Bretton woods institutions in the reconstruction of the European and Asian economies following the end of World war two. The paper especially focuses on the objectives, the role, the achievement and the shortcomings of the World Bank in the post World war two period between 1945 and 1955. Aims and objectives of the World Bank The World Bank was formalized on December 27th 1945 when 28 of the member states ratified the Bretton woods agreement [Milward, A. S. (1984)].The main arm of the World Bank that was most active in the post world war two was the International Bank for reconstruction and development (IBRD). The core aims of the institution are set out on its inceptions were: †¢ To finance reconstruction projects in the countries ravaged by war. This was done through the provision of loans to these economies at very low rates of interest [Nic holas, C. and Toniolo, G. (1996)]. The loans were meant to facilitate reconstruction through investment activities that had high potential of generating income.Some of the areas to which loan money was channeled were the agriculture research and development, areas of human development such as education, health and recreation (Sports). Infrastructural development was also targeted to benefit from the loans since the war had brought most systems to their knees. Roads, railways, Airports, Seaports, Communication networks as well as Electrification networks were rebuilt through World Bank loans. In 1947 the World Bank extended $ 250,000,000 loan to France for reconstruction and this remains the biggest amount of loan extended to a single state [World Bank Webite-www.imf. org/archives]. †¢ To finance the rebuilding of industries in order to promote technological development among the European states and Japan. The post world war two period also provided numerous activities for indus trial growth and development of innovation culture that had been fueled by the war. Areas such as Air industry, weaponry industry, Communication industry as well as the Motor industries among others provided opportunities for investment and development [Axel, D. (2004)]. †¢ To seek ways of raising funds for development by issuing securities in the international financial markets.†¢ To promote private, local and foreign investment that was deemed worthwhile. This was done in collaboration with the particular state’s government as the guarantor of the loan. †¢ To give financial advisory services to member countries. The World Bank endeavored to give these financial services through provision of information and such in the areas of business development and finance [Hanson, J. L. (1972)]. †¢ To give grants as well as reviewing loan status of the member states. †¢ To give loans to fund specific projects.These were projects that were considered vital to the economies of member countries. †¢ To provide monitoring and evaluation services. The World bank indirectly sought to keep an eye on the progress made on the projects that it had founded to ensure that funds were not misappropriated or channeled to other projects not ear marked for funding [Hanson, J. L. (1972)]. The World Bank also took pains to evaluate the effects (economical and environmental) of the projects undertaken to ensure that they did not pose a threat to the people in the long run.Importance of the World Bank and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). When the World Bank became operational in 1946, it had about $10 billion at its disposal for the purpose of giving Developmental loans to war-torn European nations [Ellis, J. (1999)]. The World Bank played an important role in the dispensation of capital that facilitated a fast rate of economic recovery. The World Bank was charged with the responsibility of identifying projects that were vi tal to the particular economy and also to provide the necessary support financial or otherwise for their completion.The formation of the World Bank provided member countries with a channel to pool together resources that enabled them to make speedy progress [Winter, J. M. 1980]. Working closely with the IMF, the World Bank assisted member countries with balance of payment problems and this helped in preventing an economic fiasco similar to the one of the great depression of 1930s[Harold C. L. (2004]. In addition the World Bank was to operate as an independent institution that was managing its own finances as well as its own investment programs.This ensured that it had money to lend to its members and not have to turn to the subscribers for more money every now and then for money to give as loans. By giving money in form of grants, which was not expected back, the World Bank boosted the economies of the needy states hastening the rate of recovery. At the same time the World Bank emba rked on research projects that positioned it strategically in the provision of quality information and advice to guide decision-making. The International Monetary Fund. The International Monetary Fund was established together with the World Bank.Among the stated objectives of the IMF are to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate the expansion of international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, help in the achievement of a common stable and flexible exchange rate and reduce poverty [Lipsey, Richard, G. (1989)]. The IMF was established to help in dealing with the anticipated post World War 2 growth as well as enhancing the same. It came in handy in assisting to reduce imbalances in balance of payment. It also helped in the regulation of the asset reserves of member countries.In recent years the IMF has continued to play an important role especially in helping developing nations to reduce poverty among the population. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The Bretton woods strategists also created this. It was formed with the aim of eliminating the existing trade barriers that existed between member countries in order to pave way for a speedy economic integration [Pollard, R. A. 1985]. This was a noble idea but GATT never became an institution but remained a set of agreement the US never ratified.Over the years since the end of World War 2, there have been many GATT talks and resultant agreements called rounds. The most famous is the Uruguay round of 1986 known for its ambitions. It endeavored to increase the GATT reach to new levels. In 1995 the World Trade Organization (WTO) replaced GATT. The WTO is a fully-fledged institution that performs the very purposes for which GATT or International Trade Organization (ITO) was originally designed to perform. European nations post war economic integrationThe Bretton woods agreements were designed to enhance the participation of the member coun tries in international trade through the removal of existing trade barriers [Grogin, R C. (2001)]. The escalation of technological advancement opened new opportunities in industrial developments and the loans offered allowed the member nations to take advantage of the arising opportunities. The allied nations were thus able to strengthen their collective economic dominance [Parillo, M. (2003)]. This was a goal that had been envisioned by the US even before the end of the war [Goldsmith, R.W. (1946)]. Critics of the US have argued that these self-serving motives were the driving force behind the US commitment in helping the European nations. Nevertheless the effects were increased economic integration of the western European economies. The Marshal plan This plan was by a large extent the brainchild of the US state department secretary George Marshall [Charles L. M. (1984)]. It was devised as a ploy to strengthen the allied nations and by extension strengthen the US standing in relati on to the communist force [Hogan, M. J. (1987)].Marshall plan became operational in1947 and was very successful in the four years it was in operation. Through this program $13 billion was dispensed to assist in the economic recovery of several European nations. The U. K, France, Netherlands, Italy and Germany received some of the largest amounts. These economies responded positively such that in less than seven years after the war, the economies were booming [Hardley, A. (1972)]. The Marshall plan contributed in economic integration because it eliminated some previously existing trade barriers [Harrison, M. (1988)]. Role of multilateral institutions in Post war Europe.Keen to prevent any further/future conflict of the World War 2 magnitude, the US oversaw the formation of the United Nations (UN) IN 1945. The other institution formed was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The United Nations was very active in post war period and among the first major contribution was the establishment of the Nation of Israel following the Jewish holocaust [Wallich, Henry Christopher (1955)] Additionally the United Nations was also active in providing humanitarian aid to refugees and all those affected by the war. Many historians associate the role of the United Nation with the speedy economic recovery.Critique Some scholars have criticized the world for being a western tool. By this they imply that World Bank employs economic policies that work in favour of the western countries. The Bank advocates for a free market economy this would mean that economies are fully liberalized. This has the potential of devastating weak economies and give advantage to the strong ones. Other weaknesses include lack of inflexibility in giving loans, delay in intervention usually with negative ramifications and Interference with the sovereignty of some member countries especially the poor nations.Conclusion The Bretton woods institutions played an important role in the reconstruction of the European nations after the world war two. The rate of the economic recovery that was experienced by these nations, would have been impossible to achieve without the intervention of organized an institution to provide support as well as checks and balances that were necessary in the achievement of this growth. Additionally the formation of the Bretton woods institutions allowed these nations to participate fully in the utilization of the opportunities that the existed in the post war period.This resulted in the economic boom, especially in the Western Europe between 1950 and 1970 that saw these nations recapturing lost glory and joining the mainstream economies as important players. However critics like professor Noam Chomsky of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, argue that the World Bank is fulfilling its aims of alleviating poverty and promoting development- but are helping rich nations and individuals get richer, and making it impossible for poor nations ever to pay o ff their debts. Others have held to the argument that the commitment displayed by the U. S.A was just a facade that was meant to mask the real intentions of domineering US ambitions. This might have been true but it does not negate the benefits that were achieved. The multilateral institutions that were mostly founded in the 1940s played a significant role in brokering peace as well as ensuring that systems were in place that would allow for peaceful co-existence between nations . The world Bank continues to play a key role especially in assisting developing nations in areas of governance as well as in offering financial support required to enable them to achieve sustainable development.It is therefore important that the institution continue to adapt to the times in order to remain relevant to the changing needs of these nations. The Weaknesses must be turned to strength if the institution is to maintain the reputation it currently enjoys. References Axel, D. (2004), The Influence o f IMF Programs on the Re-election of Debtor Governments, Economics & Politics 16, 1: 53-75 Charles L. M. (1984). The Marshall Plan: The Launching of the Pax Americana. New York: Simon and Schuster. Pp 3,5,7-8. Ellis, J.(1999). Brute Force: Allied Strategy and Tactics in the Second World War Goldsmith, R. W. (1946), â€Å"The Power of Victory: Munitions Output in World War II† Military Affairs, Vol. 10, No. 1. pp. 69-80; Grogin, R C. (2001) Natural Enemies: The United States and the Soviet Union in the Cold War, 1917-1991. Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books. Hanson, J. L. (1972). A Textbook of Economics. Macdonald and Evans Ltd, London. 6th Ed pg 501 Harold C. L. (2004). Military Medicine† in Walter Yust edition. 10 Eventful Years Harrison, M.(1988) â€Å"Resource Mobilization for World War II: The U. S. A. , UK, U. S. S. R. , and Germany, 1938-1945† in The Economic History Review, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 171-192 Hogan, M. J. (1987). The Marshall Plan: America, Britain, an d the Reconstruction of Western Europe, 1947-1952. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. John Maynard Keynes in his speech at the closing plenary session of the Bretton Woods Conference in Donald Moggeridge (ed. ), The Mason, Edward S. ; Asher, Robert E. (1973). The World Bank Since Bretton Woods.Washington, D. C. : The Brookings Institution, 105-107, 124-135. Lipsey, Richard, G. (1989). An Introduction to Positive Economics. English Language Book Society, 7th ed. Pp 7255. Milward, A. S. (1984). The Reconstruction of Western Europe, 1945-51. London: Methuen. Marshall, G. (1947) â€Å"Against Hunger, Poverty, Desperation and Chaos† at a Harvard. (Can be read from http://www. foreignaffairs. org/19970501faessay76399- p0/george-c-marshall-The speech. ) Nicholas, C. and Toniolo, G. (1996). Economic Growth in Europe Since 1945.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 3-5 Parillo, M. (2003), â€Å"The Pacific War† in Richard Jensen et al, eds. Trans-Pacific Relations: Amer ica,Europe, and Asia in the Twentieth Century pp. 78-117. Pollard, R. A. (1985). Economic Security and the Origins of the Cold war, 1945-1950 (New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 8. Wallich, Henry Christopher (1955). Mainsprings of the German Revival. New Haven: Yale University Press,. Pp 123-267 Winter, J. M. â€Å"Demography of the War†, in Dear and Foot, ed. , Oxf Bretton Woods Institutions The Second World War featured a host of nations battling all around the world for supremacy; it was believed that the victor would have the privilege to shape the future of the world and so it seems. The Allies finally emerged victors in 1945; among them were the powers of today, U. S. A. , China, France, U. K, and Russia. Behind them was a host of other States that had show support during the difficult times. In 1945 the Allies had met in Bretton Woods U. S.A and came up with strategies that would ensure that he mistakes that had been made over the years would be avoided; it was in this conference that the Bretton Woods Institutions were formed. Among them were the International Bank for reconstruction and Development (IBRD) today known as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The two were formed after a number of states ratified and agreed to the rules as stipulated in the agreement at Bretton Woods (Veseth 2002).The main role of these institutions was to ensure that the mistakes of the past were not repeated; they were to ensure that the trade among nations would flow freely, to stabilize the world’s financial system, and to encourage international investments (Lechner 2009). In other words these institutions were to assist in the reconstruction and development of Europe after the war; many of its signatory members were European States. It was therefore a Western Idea for the Development of capitalist oriented economies.This paper will look at the success of these institutions decades later. Today the two institutions are still there; working towards the development of economies. After their formation the two institutions successfully managed to rejuvenate the European Economy. Europe then went a head and through a series of agreements, starting with the integration within the coal and steel industries, formed the European Commission and later on the European Union was formed. It seeks to establish a common Europe; with a common currency , constitution, economy to mention a few (Veseth 2002).It is therefore correct to say that the Bretton Woods system was successful within Europe as it succeeded jump starting the economies and later on the same economies merged to form a single unit; looking at the objectives, there will always be free flowing trade within EU, by using a single currency to trade within Europe means that the exchange rate is stable thus enabling the Euro to function any where in Europe and finally as it is evident for quit some time the economies of Europe along side those of the world have been stable.To add to this there has been significant growth for quite some time. It is therefore true to say that the strategy worked (Mansbach & Rhodes 2009 and Spielvogel 2008). The system was also tried within the African economic landscape with different results; the opposite happened as economies that were once growing with high rates slumped down. It was indeed a western idea for a western economy. Some may argue that the strategy worked in Europe because it was created for that purpose.Unfortunately after the Second World War, the world was once again divided, this time along ideological lines; Capitalism versus Socialism. On e advocated for a market oriented economy while the other called for a strong state control to prevent the exigencies of the very same market. Europe was also divided along the same lines. Eventually Capitalists emerged victorious in 1989. This cemented the role of the dollar within the global Economy. The U. S. A dominated the Global economic scene; just as they intended soon after the formation of the Institutions.This has worked for years; the dollar has managed to give confidence and earn respect of economies in the world for quite some time. The dollar for quite some time was the only universally accepted exchange rate, it was the standard. Unfortunately this was also the mistake the system had (Spielvogel 2008). Over dependence on the dollar was not the ke y idea behind the founders of the system. I believe it was imposed to ensure the dominance of the U. S. A in the global system; they are the most powerful and everybody wanted to be allied to the West.This over reliance has over the years made the system shaky; the objectives were to ensure the stability of the global financial system. Unfortunately this was to be proven other wise with the occurrence of a second major global financial crisis; characterized by a weakened dollar and therefore instability within the financial system, a reminder of what happened when the system was over reliant on gold back in the 1920s and 1930s. This is therefore a proof that the Bretton Woods institutions are long over due for an update (Lechner 2009 and Veseth 2002).In conclusion, the Bretton Woods system was a great idea for the unification of the Global financial system; it has successfully seen the world united through globalization. The whole system is now interconnected and economies are depen dent. It has also seen the development of Europe successfully to what is seen today; the European Union. Unfortunately it has failed to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated; the recent financial crisis was a repeat of the Great depression that lasted for almost a decade between 1929 to late 1930s.Therefore the strategy was a good idea but it needed the input of all economies and therefore interdependence among states and economies. Reference: Lechner Frank J. (2009). Globalization: The Making of a World Society. Chichester U. K; Malden MA: Willey-Blackwell. Mansbach R, W & Rhodes E, J. (2009). Global Politics in a Changing World: A Reader. 4th Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Spielvogel Jackson J. (2008). Western Civilization Alternate Volume: Since 1300. Wadsworth Pub Co. Veseth Michael (Ed). (2002). The Rise of Global Economy. London: Fitzroy DearBorn Publishers.

Leading and Developing a Work Team

UNIT 9 LEADING AND DEVELOPING A WORK TEAM Distinguish between management and leadership and assess the implications of each on effective team performance. Managers depend on their people. They cannot do without their wholehearted commitment and support. But gaining that support, motivating and engaging them and ensuring that they know what they are expected to do and how to do it is down to managers and it is a difficult task.This book How to Manage People of Michael Armstrong 2008 is designed to make it easier by going into the main actions that managers have to carry out to get things done through people, namely: managing effectively overall, leading, motivating, team building, delegating, interviewing, managing performance, developing and rewarding people, managing change and handling people problems. As a manager you are there to get things done through people. You are engaged in a purposeful activity involving others.But you are concerned with defining ends as well as gaining th em. You decide what to do and then ensure that it gets done with the help of the members of your team. You deal with programs, processes, events and eventualities. All this is done through the exercise of leadership. People are the most important resource available to you as a manager. It is through this resource that other resources are managed. However, you are ultimately accountable for the management of all resources, including your own.When dealing with immediate issues, anticipating problems, responding to demands or even a crisis, and developing new ways of doing things, you are personally involved. You manage yourself as well as other people. You cannot delegate everything. You frequently have to rely on your own resources to get things done. These resources include skill, know-how, competencies, time, and reserves of resilience and determination. You will get support, advice and assistance from your own staff and specialists, including human resources, but in the last analy sis you are on your own.It is important to examine particular aspects of managing people, such as leadership, organizing and motivation including teamwork. There is a need to exercise your people management responsibilities effectively. It starts with an overall look at the criteria for managerial effectiveness. This is followed by a review of the attributes of effective managers. The rest of the chapter deals with a number of the key aspects of management. As a manager and a leader you will be judged not only on the results you have achieved but the level of competence you have attained and applied in getting those results.Competence is about knowledge and skills – what people need to know and be able to do to carry out their work well. You will also be judged on how you do your work – how you behave in using your knowledge and skills. These are often described as ‘behavioral competencies’ and can be defined as those aspects of behavior that lead to effec tive performance. They refer to the personal characteristics that people bring to their work roles in such areas as leadership, team working, flexibility and communication.As a manager of people your role is to ensure that the members of your team give of their best to achieve a desired result. In other words you are a leader – you set the direction and ensure that people follow you. It is necessary to distinguish between management and leadership: Management is concerned with achieving results by obtaining, deploying, using and controlling all the resources required, namely people, money, facilities, plant and equipment, information and knowledge.Leadership focuses on the most important resource, people. It is the process of developing and communicating a vision for the future, motivating people and gaining their engagement. The distinction is important. Management is mainly about the provision, utilization and control of resources. But where people are involved it is imposs ible to deliver results without providing effective leadership.Describe the processes of team formation, and evaluate strategies for encouraging team formation and development One of your most important roles as a manager is to act as a team builder – developing and making the best use of the capacity of your team so that its members jointly deliver superior levels of performance. Team building takes place when you clarify the team’s purpose and goals, ensure that its members work well together, strengthen the team’s collective skills, enhance commitment and confidence, remove externally imposed obstacles and create opportunities for team members to develop their skills and competencies.A team is a group of people with complementary skills who work together to achieve a common purpose. Their team leader sets the direction, provides guidance and support, coordinates the team’s activities, ensures that each team member plays his or her part, promotes the le arning and development of team members, consults with the team on issues affecting its work and, in conjunction with team members, monitors and reviews team performance.However, some organizations have developed the concept of self-managing teams which are largely autonomous, responsible to a considerable degree for planning and scheduling work, problem solving, developing their own key performance indicators and setting and monitoring team performance and quality standards. The role of their team leaders is primarily to act as coordinators and facilitators; their style is expected to be more supportive and facilitative than directive.An effective team is likely to be one in which its purpose is clear and its members feel the task is important, both to them and to the organization. The structure, leadership and methods of operation are relevant to the requirements of the task. Team members will be highly engaged in the work they do together and committed to the whole group task. The y will have been grouped together in a way that means they are related to one another through the requirements of task performance and task interdependence.The team will use discretionary effort – going the extra mile – to ensure that its work gets done. The main features of well-functioning teams as described by Douglas McGregor (1960) are that the atmosphere tends to be informal, comfortable and relaxed; team members listen to each other; most decisions are reached by consensus; when action is taken, clear assignments are made and accepted, and team leaders do not dominate their teams – the issue is not who controls but how to get the work done.The performance of teams should be assessed in terms of their output and results and the quality of team processes that have contributed to those results. Output criteria include the achievement of team goals, customer satisfaction and the quantity and quality of work. Process measures comprise participation, collaborat ion and collective effort, conflict resolution, joint decision making, planning and goal setting, interpersonal relations, interdependence and adaptability and flexibility.How you and your team apply these criteria will be related to the following factors that affect team performance: the clarity of the team’s goals in terms of expectations and priorities; how work is allocated to the team; how the team is working its processes in terms of cohesion, ability to handle internal conflict and pressure, relationships with other teams; the extent to which the team is capable of managing itself – setting goals and priorities, monitoring performance; the quality of leadership – even self-managed teams need a sense of direction which they cannot necessarily generate by themselves; the level and range of skills possessed by individual team members; the extent to which team members work flexibly, taking advantage of the multi-skilling capabilities of its members; the syste ms and resources support available to the team.Good support to your team-building efforts will be provided if you conduct regular team performance review meetings to assess feedback and control information on their joint achievements against objectives and to discuss any issues concerning team work. The agenda for such meetings could be as follows: general feedback review of the progress of the team as a whole and problems encountered by the team which have caused difficulties or hampered progress, and helps and hindrances to the operation of the team. Work reviews of how well the team has functioned. The group problem solving, including an analysis of reasons for any shortfalls or other problems and agreement of what needs to be done to solve them and prevent their re-occurrence.Update objectives – review of new requirements, opportunities or threats and the amendment of objectives as required. Evaluate the stages of development of their work group as a team and select and e mploy strategies to improve and develop team working. One of your most important, if not the most important, responsibilities as a manager is to ensure that the members of your team achieve high levels of performance. You have to ensure that they understand what you expect from them, that you and they work together to review performance against those expectations and that you jointly agree what needs to be done to develop knowledge and skills and, here necessary, improve performance. Your organization may well have a performance management system which provides guidance on how this should be done but ultimately it is up to the manager. You are the person on the spot. Performance management systems only work if managers want them to work and are capable of making them work. You have to believe that your time is well spent in the process of managing performance as described in the first part of this chapter. You need to know about performance planning (agreeing what has to be done), m anaging performance throughout the year and conducting formal performance reviews as covered in the next three parts.You should have no problems in appreciating the importance of the first two activities. It is the third activity – performance reviews – managers often find hard to accept as necessary and even more difficult to do well. The process of managing performance is based on two simple propositions. First, people are most likely to perform well when they know and understand what is expected of them and have taken part in defining these expectations. In other words, if you know where you are going you are more likely to get there. Second, the ability to meet these expectations depends on the levels of knowledge, skill, competency and motivation of individuals and the leadership and support they receive from their managers.As a manager or team leader you need skilled, knowledgeable and competent people in your department or team. You may appoint able people from within and outside the organization but most of them will still have a lot to learn about their jobs. And to improve your team members’ performance you must not only ensure that they learn the basic skills they need but also that they develop those skills to enable them to perform even better when faced with new demands and challenges. Most learning happens at the place of work, although it can be supplemented by such activities as e-learning (the delivery of learning opportunities and support via computer, networked and web-based technology) and formal ‘off-the-job’ training courses.It is your job to ensure that favorable conditions for learning ‘on the job’ exist generally in your area as well as taking steps to help individuals develop. To do this job well you need to know about: the conditions that enable effective learning to take place; the importance of ‘self-managed learning’, i. e. individuals taking control of their own learnin g; the contribution of formal learning; the advantages and disadvantages of informal learning and development approaches; how you can contribute to promoting learning and development in your department or team; the use of such learning and development aids as coaching, mentoring, learning contracts and personal development plans; how to instruct people in specific tasks should the need arise. Set standards and targets and review performance.Managing performance is about getting people into action so that they achieve planned and agreed results. It focuses on what has to be done, how it should be done and what is to be achieved. But it is equally concerned with developing people – helping them to learn – and providing them with the support they need to do well, now and in the future. The framework for performance management is provided by the performance agreement, which is the outcome of performance planning. The agreement provides the basis for managing performance th roughout the year and for guiding improvement and development activities. It is used as a reference point when reviewing performance and the achievement of improvement and development plans.You should treat your responsibility for managing performance as an integral part of the continuing process of management. This is based on a philosophy which emphasizes: the achievement of sustained improvements in performance; the continuous development of skills and capabilities; that the organization is a ‘learning organization’ in the sense that it is constantly developing and applying the learning gained from experience and the analysis of the factors that have produced high levels of performance. You should therefore be ready, willing and able to monitor performance and define and meet development and improvement needs as they arise. As far as practicable, learning and work should be integrated.This means that encouragement should be given to your team members to learn from th e successes, challenges and problems inherent in their day-to-day work. You should carry out the process of monitoring performance by reference to agreed objectives and to work, development and improvement plans. You have to decide how tightly you monitor on the basis of your understanding of the capacity of individuals to do the work. Identify own leadership style and skills, and assess own effectiveness in leading and developing the team and its performance. Self-managed learning style involves encouraging individuals to take responsibility for their own learning needs.The aim is to encourage ‘discretionary learning’, which happens when individuals actively seek to acquire the knowledge and skills required to perform well. It is based on processes of recording achievement and action planning, which involves individuals reviewing what they have learned, what they have achieved, what their goals are, how they are going to achieve those goals and what new learning they n eed to acquire. The learning program can be ‘self-paced’ in the sense that learners can decide for themselves, up to a point, the rate at which they work and are encouraged to measure their own progress and adjust the program accordingly. Self-directed learning is based on the principle that people learn and retain more if they find things out for themselves.But they still need to be given guidance on what to look for and help in finding it. Learners have to be encouraged to define, with whatever help they may require, what they need to know to perform their job effectively. They need to be provided with guidance on where they can get the material or information that will help them to learn and how to make good use of it. Personal development plans as described later in this chapter can provide a framework for this process. People also need support from their manager and the organization, with the provision of coaching, mentoring and learning facilities, including e-lea rning. The leadership style I would apply is the combination of a Transformational and Transactional Leader.As a leader I can be both arouse emotions of my followers which motivates them to act beyond the framework of what may be described as exchange relations at the same time be aware of the link between the effort and reward. I can be proactive and form new expectation and be responsive from the basic orientation in dealing with present issues. Transformational leaders are distinguished by their capacity to inspire and provide individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation and idealized influence to their followers while transactional leaders rely on standard forms of inducement, reward, punishment and sanction to control followers. Leaders create learning opportunities for their followers and stimulate followers to solve problems at the same time they can motivate followers by setting goals and promising rewards for desired performance.A trait that a leader should posses s good visioning, rhetorical and management skills, to develop strong emotional bonds with followers and depends on the leader’s power to reinforce subordinates for their successful completion of the bargain. Lastly, leaders motivate followers to work for goals that go beyond self-interest.REFERENCES: http://www. ehow. com/how_5485211_evaluate-team- performance. html#ixzz1sqUbPZyH accessed on July 18, 2012 How to Manage People. Michael Armstrong 2008 accessed on July 24, 2012 How to Evaluate Team Performance | eHow. com accessed on August 3, 2012 http://www. ehow. com/how_5485211_evaluate-team-performance. html#ixzz1sqUbPZyH accessed on August 10, 2012

Contemporary issues in marketing-Apple Inc Essay

Contemporary issues in marketing-Apple Inc - Essay Example The intention of this study is Apple Inc, previously known as Apple Computer, Inc., as a multinational corporation based in United States of America. It designs, manufactures as well as markets wide range of electronics and computer products or hardware as well as various computer software. It was established in 1976 in Cupertino, California, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, although Wayne got dissociated from the company the next year itself. The first product they sold was Apple I personal computer kit, which was actually a motherboard of a computer, and included a CPU, RAM and some video related chips. It was hand-built by Steve Wozniak, and included only the basic components of the today’s computer. After functioning for 30 years as Apple Computer, Inc. it became Apple Inc in 2007, as the company focused on the consumer electronics sectors like Cellphones, in addition to its traditional area of computers. As mentioned above, Apple Inc. started off with compu ters particularly its Macintosh line of computers. From that start, Apple Inc. is now offering wide range of products and that includes Computers, the iPod (both audio and video features), the iPhone and iPad. Other than these hardware products, Apple Inc. also offers software applications like Mac OS X, an operating system for its line of computers, iOS, a operating system for the mobiles, iTunes online store as well as media browser; the iLife a multimedia tool, wide range of apps or applications for iPhones and iPads. Market segmentation The market segments of Apple Inc. does get restricted to particular territories, it sells its products through the world, thus catering to various geographical market categories. However, with the prices of its products mainly in the upper ranges, it does not sell its products maximally in low-cost markets. Although, it sells its products in low Cost markets like least developed and developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America, it does not cover all markets, and sells only minimally. When one views market demographically, as mentioned above, people from different age-groups, different sex, etc. buy its products. The customers of Apple Inc. include people from various sections of the population or various market segments, who want to buy electronics hardware as well as software for their day-to day living, entertainment and also for their professional work as well. As Apple Inc. offers range of day-to-day used products, particularly mobile phones, it is being used by customers of all ages, who want a Smart phone to fulfill their professional commitments as well as entertainment quotient. On the same lines, iPad is being bought by customers who want portable computing for the above mentioned purposes. iPod on the other hand are bought by the customers, particularly in the age segment of 15-35, mainly for entertainment. Along with these, Apple’s other products and softwares are also used by â€Å"professional content creators like authors, musicians, artists, filmmakers who want tools that free them to focus on their art, not the technology† (Chazin 2007). As Apple Inc. offers products constituting different product market categories, its competitors include various companies and products. When one focuses worldwide, the competitors of Apple Inc. in the Personal computer segment are Dell, HP, etc, in Operating systems, it is Microsoft Windows, in mobile phones, it

Write Policy memos about suitable topic you can choose in Saudia Essay

Write Policy memos about suitable topic you can choose in Saudia Arabia, i attachment the paper has a directions you must follow - Essay Example andards practices while recruiting foreign workers for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; they do not inform the migrant workers about the actual salaries and working conditions; instead, they lie to them. In this memorandum, an attempt has been made to highlight abuse and exploitation the migrant workers face, and it is the purpose of this memorandum that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) must take note of the plights of foreign workers and act upon the recommendations provided in the paper. The existing Kafala (sponsorship) system fuels abuse and exploitation of the migrant workers in the country. Under the Kafala system, the migrant workers are tied by the employer’s consent and wish; the employer assumes authority to hire migrant workers and to grant permissions to workers to enter, transfer, or leave Saudi Arabia. The existing conditions of the Kafala system extend substantial power over the worker. According to the statistics department of Saudi Arabia, over 8 million migrant workers work in the country (Ghafoor). Aggregately, this figure is one-third of Saudi Arabia’ total population. The migrants mainly come from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Philippines. They offer their services in the sectors such as health, domestic service, construction, and other business sectors. Human Rights Watch report maintains that actual statistics of domestic workers considerably vary in the country. The report highlights that such data are not publically available and consequently it becomes very challenging to rely on the provided statistics and, at the same time, search out the registered workers as well. Furthermore, the report highlights that the employers remain less inclined to obtain a national identity card, known as iqama, for migrant domestic workers. However, the reports clearly indicates that approximately 30,000 to 40,000 migrant workers come every month in the kingdom through different recruitment agents and

Personal Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Buddhist Economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

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Mod 3 Pre-trial and trial procedures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mod 3 Pre-trial and trial procedures - Assignment Example In December 7 1993, Colin Ferguson from Jamaica started shooting passengers on a commuter train at random killing six and injuries 16 people; after he stopped to reload, the passengers restrained him. When appearing in court, he self-represented himself but the eyewitnesses and the prosecutor managed to convince the magistrate to sentence him to more than 200 jail terms in New York Attica Prison. The critics of this case argue that he was not in his sane mind to stand trial hence the court was wrong to convict and sentence him (People v Ferguson248, N.Y App 1998). In the Poucell v Alabama, 287 U.S case, fourteen African youths were unfairly charged by the court for reportedly raping two white women, the case which was popularly known as the ‘Scottsboro case’ where within two weeks of arrest, they were convicted, tried and sentenced to death; the Supreme Court reversed this conviction. In Indiana a defendant was found competent to self-represent but the trial court did not allow him to, even though he was competent. An attorney was appointed to represent him, but he was sentenced, following a Foreta, a similar case wherein it was held by the Supreme Court that the accused was competent to self-represent. The disposal of petty offenses; these cases guarantee that either a fine or a short jail term is imposed. Cases such as common traffic laws and breaking of local regulations fall into this category. The Preliminary hearing is where the magistrate hears the state’s case and determines if it can appear before the grand jury or not. The functions of grand jury include: preventing baseless, discriminatory and overzealous charges by examining hearings and evidence presented before it. The grand jury also has power to order the witnesses to appear before it, issue immunity or hold the individuals in contempt. The jurisdiction and venue: before a court hears a case and rules, it

Management Planning Paper Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management Planning Paper - Case Study Example In order to highlight the planning function of the management, this paper will look at the company's future direction as stated in its 2007 Annual Report. Boeing clearly recognizes the importance of the leadership of its workforce in the success of the business organization. CEO Jim Nerney states that "Without incremental improvements generated by thousands upon thousands of Boeing employees last year, we would not have met what was-to be sure-a very challenging business plan" (Annual Report 2007). The mention of the company's business plan highlights the company's commitment in making decisions for the company in advance which they implement through the members of its team. The launch of Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been precendented by careful planning of the structure, components, and how it will be marketed in the market. With its phenomenal success in the market Boeing had taken steps by planning the release of new variants in the market. Recognizing that its operation is shaped by various factors in its business environment, Boeing strives to keep up its success and performance in the market by taking note of how stakeholders are affected. With the rapid development in the market, legal, ethical and corporate social responsibility issues are taken care of as customers look beyond price and product quality as the bases in making a purchase. Studies show that customers are willing to pay a premium to purchase a product which is a produced by a business organization who gives back to the society they operate in (Kotler 2005). This is recognized by Boeing indicated by its passion and commitment in creating an image of a socially, ethically, and legally responsible entity. In the future, Boeing's main plan is to strengthen its position in the industry by keeping abreast with technological advancement. In its Annual Report, it states: "Our greatest contribution will come through pioneering new technologies with improved environmental performance" (Annual Report 2007). The company's commitment of operating profitably is now coupled with its aim of being an ethical organization by being concerned of how its processes and aircrafts affect the environment. Boeing identifies itself as socially responsible business organization by funding programs and activities which improves the plight of the society where it operates in. This commitment of becoming socially responsible is highlighted in the management planning. According to its 2007 Philanthropy report, "our communities are included among our company's key stakeholders in the management model that guides how we do business around the world." This statement supports that the company's plans are being aligned at how it helps to address pressing and compelling social issues. Thus, Boeing actively seeks to help communities in five core areas namely, education, environment, health and human services, arts and culture, and civics. Analyze at least three factors that influence the company's strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency planning. Operating in a capital intensive business environment, technological change becomes one of the most

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Linear programming model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Twilight Saga-Summary Essay Example for Free

Twilight Saga-Summary Essay Twilight is a series of novels which starts out in the perspective of a seventeen year-old girl, Isabella Swan. But she goes by Bella. This story is actually set in the fictional vampire stories. Bella, the main character of the novel, unwillingly decides to live with her dad, Charlie, in Forks, Washington since her mother, Renà ©e, and her husband, Phil, who happens to be Bella’s step-father, move in to another city on business. Phil is a minor league baseball player, and he gets transferred to another team in another city. The main reason that makes Bella move in with her dad, is that she thinks she is keeping her mom from going places with Phil. Before moving to Forks, she almost lived the whole 17 years of her life, in sunny Phoenix, Arizona beside her mom. Bella is a simple, clumsy, skinny, ivory-skinned girl. Although she didn’t relate well to people, she had a friend in Forks, named Jacob Black. They have known each other since they were little . Before arriving at Forks, her dad bought her an old Chevy truck from Billy Black, and had already registered her to a high school there in Forks. She doesnt expect anything to change because what could happen in a small town where it never stops raining? But in fact, she was totally wrong. On her first day of school she meets a few people. Later on she meets Mike Newton, Erik Yorkey, Jessica, Angela Weber, and Tyler. She was actually befriended by several students. She asked Jessica a heck of questions about everything in order to find out more about the school and people living in Forks, soon after they got friends. After a few days, when she was sitting in the cafeteria with her classmates, she noticed a bunch of unusually gorgeous people sitting at the corner of the cafeteria. They were Alice, Emmet, Jasper, Rosalie, and Edward Cullen ( the most beautiful of all ). The children of Dr. Cullen. They were all vampires. she couldnt help staring at them. As soon as she laid her eyes on Edward Cullen, her life changed completely. She fell in love with Edward. At first she tries to avoid Edward, and acts as if he is annoying, but really she is burning inside to get to know him. In biology she was told to sit alongside Edward, since there were no free seats left. Because the Cullens are vampires, and so is Edward, he tries to avoid her every single time they face each other, mostly in a rude manner. After a week of being absent from the school, Edward comes to biology class, and apologize Bella for his rude  and cruel behavior. Then they become friends with each other. One day when Bella was standing beside her truck, trying to get in it, she noticed Edward standing near his Volvo, staring at her. All of a sudden, she discerns that having lost its control, a car is heading towards her, and is about to hit her. Despite Edward’s distance from the accident, he instantaneously puts his body in front of Bella, trying to save her. To her intense surprise, Edward stopped the car by his hand, without even having a little scratch or scar on his body. Tyler, the kid who almost crashed into Bella, apologized her. This specific event was more than enough to make Bella much more curious about the Cullens. Specially about Edward. Thanks to Edward, they both survived. Bella went to hospital with minor injuries. When Edward came to see her in the hospital, he tried to convince her that she was just imagining his supernatural speed and strength. But she wasn’t convinced and began to wonder who or what he is. Bella becomes determined to find out how Edward saved her life, and constantly pesters him with questions. That was the very first night that Bella dreamed of Edward. Later on, every time she asked him about that day, he refused to talk more about it. Bella’s science class is doing blood typing, which requires all the kids to draw blood. Edward skips class. Bella feels faint and has to go to see the school nurse. Mike is helping her but then Edward turns up and takes over. Bella starts quizzing Edward about his background and tries to guess what he is but she’s still a long way off. Jacob tells her the local tribal legends, when they were in a beach in La Push with a few of her friends. According to the legend, werewolves are the one true enemy of vampires and the Cullens are a family of vampires who, unlike most of their kind, abstain from drinking human blood. Thats the only reason why the werewolves of La Push have allowed them to live in Forks. She looks up vampires on the Internet. Bella concludes that Edward and his family are vampires who drink animal blood rather than human. Even though Edward tells her to stay away, she still tries to talk to him in school, and finds any excuse she can to be near him. Edward confesses that he initially avoided Bella because the scent of her blood was too desirable to him. Edward and Bella fight the attraction they feel for each other before finally giving into their feelings and falling deeply in love in the exact meaning of the word. As far as the school prom was just a few weeks  later, Mike and Tyler both asked Bella to the school dance, much to her embarrassment. She decided to go to Seattle the weekend of the dance s o this way, she had an excuse to turn them both down. Edward was actually bemused by all the attention Bella was getting. When he heard her plans, he asked if he could go to Seattle with her, despite his earlier recommendation that they should keep a distance from each other. Bella accepted his offer with great excitement. She makes plans to go to Port Angeles with two of her friends to help them look for dresses to wear at the school dance. In Port Angeles, Bella goes shopping with her friends and then decides to go for a walk. A group of men chase her and are about to attack her when Edward pulls around the corner in his Volvo and drives her away. The two of them go for dinner together. Edward confirms to Bella that he is a vampire and reveals that he can hear people’s thoughts. Bella and Edward continue their conversation, with Bella asking more questions about Edward’s vampire state. She tells him it doesn’t matter to her if he’s a vampire and finally admits to herself that she is in love with him Their love and relationship strengthens, but not everyone is happy about th e relationship between Edward and Bella. Edward’s family is against this relationship. The Blacks don’t seem happy either. On the other hand, Bella’s classmates seem awestruck by their relationship as the two of them become inseparable. Edward tries to convince Bella how much he cares about her. He finds it frustrating not to be able to hear her thoughts, while he can hear everybody else’s, and thinks she’s taking the whole vampire thing way too calmly. He suggests a mystery trip in place of the planned visit to Seattle so he can show her, what happens when he goes in the sun, just to threaten her and make her keep away from him, since he may be a threat for Bella’s life. This time it’s Edward’s turn to ask Bella question after question, though she can’t understand how he can find her human life interesting. He is still not sure if he can be alone with her without hurting her. Hes afraid of being overwhelmed by his desire for her blood. But Bella’s determined to take the risk, as long as, she is besotted with him. He admits to Bella that when he first saw – or rather smelt – her, he had to fight the urge to drink her blood because it’s so alluring to him. Then He carries her from the meadow to her truck on his back, running so fast that it makes her feel queasy, and they kiss for the first time. When Edward realizes Bella’s feelings about  him, his feeling of love toward her expands. Edward tells Bella again, that his family is having trouble accepting their relationship because shes not one of them (vampires). As long as Bella is curious about him, she asks more about his past and childhood so as to get to know him more. Edward tells her that he was turned into vampire by his father, when he was about 17, back in 1918 and continues to tell more about his past The Cullens have different supernatural powers, each more ex traordinary than the other. His sister Alice, foe example, has the gift of premonition. Jasper, can manipulate the emotions of those around him. One day, Edward sneaks into Bella’s bedroom without Bella and her father knowing about it. They spend the whole night together talking to each other. He tells her that he finds her very attractive, but he can’t be so close to her, he might crush her by accident. He confirms that, it is not because he doesn’t love her anymore. He tells her that it’s his instinctive vampire habits, that makes him that much worried about being close to her. Despite the fact that, his family is a little upset about his decision, Edward decides to introduce Bella to his family, since he is really serious about her. They spend the whole day at the Cullen house so she can get to know the family, one day she may be living with. Carlisle and Esme, and Edward’s sister Alice are very nice to her. But Edward says his sister Rosalie, is jealous of her because she’s human. Later that day, Edward plays the piano for Bella, and shows her around the house. To her surprise, he tells her the story of Carlisle, who was a minister’s son until he discovered a coven of vampires. One of the vampires bit him, which made him transform into a vampire. Carlisle tried several ways to kill himself but failed, as it’s very difficult to kill a vampire, he suffered a lot. He has never wanted to harm any human being . Once Carlisle discovered that he could survive on animal blood alone, he went to Italy to study medicine so he could do some good in the world. It was while working as a doctor that Carlisle discovered Edward and transformed him into a vampire. Edward stayed with Carlisle for a while but went his own way for about ten years. In that period, he hunted human but only those intent on committing a violent crime, which Edward used his mind-reading skills to decipher. As far as the Blacks are wolves, according to the legend, they are number one enemies of vampires and vice versa, Billy tells Bella to stay away from the Cullens. But Bella replies  that she knows exactly what he is, and that he hasn’t harmed anyone. Days after, Bella introduces Edward to her father as her boyfriend. One day Edward suggests her to come over and see their baseball match, which is played among their family. During the game Bella joins them and finds it really hard to keep up with their pace, since vampires are all very fast in an extraordinary way. The game is actually much faster than a human version of it. All of a sudden, Alice foresees the imminent arrival of a pack of vampires that are passing through the area. The sad part is, that they are not the good kind. They drink human blood. The clock is ticking and they hardly have enough time to take Bella away from them, so they all decide to act like she’s one of them, with the hope of surviving. The visiting vampires are Laurent, James and Victoria. Laurent seems to be the leader of the pack. At first they seem like, they are interested in visiting the home of the Cullens and promise not to hunt in their territory. The direction of the wind changes, they smell Bella’s scent and find out that she is a human. On the spur of the moment, James seems eager to attack her, but Edward jumps in front of her in a protective stance. Laurent, though surprised by the presence of a human, assures the Cullens that none of them will harm her. However, that night Edward reveals to Bella that he knows, from listening to Jamess thoughts, that James is an expert tracker and is intent on hunting Bella. He agrees to take Bella home so she can tell her dad she’s going to Phoenix, where her mother lives. Bella pretends to break up with Edward in front of Charlie and storms out of the house, telling him she hates Forks and is moving back to Phoenix. Edward takes Bella to their house while Laurent is still in their house. He confesses that James is the real leader of the pack and one of the most dangerous vampires he’s ever known in his life. They know that he’ll kill Bella at all costs and in anyway possible. The first thing the Cullens have to do is to kill James first. Edward, Carlisle and Emmet plan to hunt him while Bella hides out in a hotel room in Phoenix with Alice and Jasper. This, somehow shows their good tenor. Bella wakes up in a hotel room in Phoenix with Alice and Jasper watching her every move. They assure her that the other members of the Cullen family are safe but she can’t stop worrying about them, especially about Edward. In the hotel room, Alice explains  that vampires can turn humans into vampires by injecting them with their venom. She points out that the transformation is excruciating and usually takes a few days. Edward has lost track of James. Alice has a vision of James sitting alone in a mirrored room, which Bella realizes is similar to the dance studio she used to go to when she was younger. This, is around the corner from her mother’s house. Alice has another premonition and this time sees James at the house of Bella’s mum. Bella is distraught. She is getting ready to go to the airport to meet Edward when she gets a phone call from James. He tells her that he has her mother and will kill her if she doesn’t get away from the Cullens and come to her mother’s house alone. Bella writes a letter to Edward telling him that she loves him and asking him not to go after James for killing her. Bella gets a cab to her mother’s house. James tells her on the phone to go to the dance studio. When she arrives there, she finds out that he’s taken a video from her house and used it to trick her into believing he had her mother. Knowing that her mother is safe, she is relieved. He promises her a slow and agonizing death. He attacks her, slashing her face and breaking her leg, until she finally passes out. Bella puts her mother’s safety before her own and almost dies at the hands of a vicious vampire. After returning to consciousness, she tells Edward that she feels strange. They realize that James has bitten her and she is about to transform into a vampire. Edward sucks the dirty venom out in order to prevent her from having to spend the rest of her life, being a vampire. Bella opens her eyes in a hospital, and sees Edward. Even though he understands her decision of going to James alone, he gets mad at her first. He punishes her by saying to her that they have to go their own ways, and should end their relationship. Edward tries to accept her, the fact that she would be much safer without him. He tells her that the more they are together, the more her life will be at stake. He actually blames himself for all that had happened to Bella, since he loves her more than anything, and wants what’s best for her. Hearing all these from Edward, Bella tries to make him promise that he will never leave her. As long as Bella wants to clear any obstacles that are put in the way of their relationship, asks Edward why he didn’t allow her to transform into a vampire when he discovered that James had bitten her. Edward blew his top, when he heard it from her. He has always believed that being a human is a  great blessing in itself. He confirms that says he will never allow her to become a vampire. On the contrary, Alice has already foreseen her transformation. Bella strongly believes that she will one day become a vampire in the future. Days pass, and it’s time for Edward to take Bella to prom. Jacob tells Bella that she has to stay away from Edward. Bella insists that he is perfectly safe. Edward tells Bella he took her to the prom because he didn’t want her to miss out on any aspect of being human. She says she wants to be with him forever and would see her transformation into a vampire as a beginning rather than an end. At the end, he promises to never leave her, and puts his lips on her throat, in an attempt to change her into a vampire.

Cadbury Company In Indian And International Market Marketing Essay

Cadbury Company In Indian And International Market Marketing Essay The main aim of this assignment is to analysing, describing, introducing about Cadbury company in Indian and international market as a leading chocolate brand but main focus on Indian market. This summary elaborate all about Cadburys marketing plans that how they design successful marketing. marketing strategy that they describe how maximize product manufacturing efficiency with minimization malfunctioning and what ideas behind developing market, media technology that describe why how important role in advertising, manufacturing process goods delivery, product promotion this impact regard with current and future marketing objective to create customer vale in the market. Cadbury company is second more demanding company of chocolate in the market. It has largest share price in Indian market that is near about 75 percent of total market share, which indicate customers attraction in its product which easily available in the market. The idea behind this situation is its affordable price of product with more customer satisfaction as compare with other competitor like AMUL, NESTLE etc., (kotler, 34 cadbury) Cadbury company has main objective to launch successful product in the market with specified time period. It apply effective marketing strategy to perform target objective plan, apart from this, it also apply ecommerce strategy for analyzing product performance growth or financial condition of the market. Cadbury company aware about marketing condition regarding their product and always try to give more quality product in the market and get more financial budget. Marketing strategy is very much related with marketing objective. Marketing strategy is basically describe logic (thinking) of manager by which company create and achieve customer and relationships respectively. This is very useful for achieving accomplish target market. Below are some marketing strategy points which is use by the Cadbury company; Cadbury is confectionaries company so its market segment basically realize on children, adult and on female population due to wide consumption source of chocolate. It has also target to expand market in rural areas. There are different types of customer and their different need. So Cadbury Company classified the customers need or requirement on the basis of different chocolate category like geographic ( moulded milk, wafer category) and demographic that is given below. Cadbury Company adopts innovative technology by customers, markets, and suppliers demand to unify and modified business and business strategy (it is planning by manager that can reduce complexity and make planning for future development) respectively. Technology implementations provide productivity increases during manufacturing with the help of innovative or modified instrumentation and machinery and also provide against malfunctioning. protect data against unsecure threat which can never accepted by Cadbury company, and more benefits to the Cadbury organisation in different area like create new product by customer demand and take more than acceptable benefits, Cadbury use reposition method to protect market share against competition. They use technology to provide cost reduction production by automation process with high accuracy and more perfection in quality product, and also use for innovative delivery that related with fast and time management delivery as per consumer demand. C adbury accept wide range of technology like PLC (programmable logic control), SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition), and DCS (distributed control system) for minimization in malfunctioning during manufacturing of product this control system also provide successful and perfection rapper of the product. They also prefer technology that enable time to time information sharing with employee, improve communication between members, and all process should be easy to execute without taking any risk. Cadbury Company has wide range of information technology system by that they are able to keep all information about all loyal/ existing customers and all new customers. In Cadbury company media technology play very vital role for marketing communication by which they attempt to inform and persuade customer or consumers directly as well as indirectly about their products and brand with the help of media. In an indirect marketing Cadbury prefer word of mouth system in this way, people to people or customer to customer oral and written communication. In a direct marketing Cadbury prefer Personal selling system in this way, Cadbury representative make face to face interaction with one or more purchasers for the purpose of making presentation and procuring orders. Innovative Technological market system, Cadbury give first preference of this media technique for marketing advertisement that this direct marketing system to improve their marketing by use of electronic shopping, TV shopping, telephone, fax, e-mail or internet to communicate directly with solicit to his customer. Public relations and publicity system, Cadbury recommend this system to promote his particular products by the arrange of seminars, speeches, and banners decoration in famous stores or shops (super markets) and famous street etc. Cadbury company promote his particular brand product with the help of sponsors during special occasion or events like sports (cricket, football, etc.), entertainment (TV shows), festivals, etc. They also recommend promotion of his product by sales promotion like fair trade, demonstration, etc. So advertisement is main tools for Cadbury Company to promote his brand image to all over the world. Plan to expand business as in marketspace (digital i.e. shopping by internet) and also in marketplace (physical i.e. shopping in store). Generally their more concentration on e-commerce business regarding future marketing. E-commerce business is nothing but it is on-line market which are prefer by more urban area customers and sometime rural area customer also take advantage in this innovative marketing strategy, this is time saving strategy, this is more valuable because todays customer has no time for shopping, so this modern era is very effective. In this type of marketing there is no requiring more space and big office, only need for computers and internet connection. The main goal of this strategy is to provide enhance business marketing with customers valuable feedback. This marketing always cheaper than store market price. It always intend to care about customer satisfaction and there value of the money so they always keep focus and provide cost effective and benefit considerable product in the market. Cadbury company also offering exchange marketing strategy by that customer can get benefits with new product by exchange with old product, example old or expiry date chocolate replace with new fresh chocolate. Price reduction strategy without affecting quality is the main concern factor and that can be happen by the new offers, discount and implement nearest logistics and distribution centre. They has modified distribution centre with technological effect by that customer or logistics can communicate information about product go to the market easily without any barrier. The idea behind this communication is to provide chocolate more social cultural product in the market. Cadbury organisation has special team for market inspection that they always try to find weakness (linkage in packaging, numbers of bytes are broken, not able to stay long in outer environments) in the product and their remedies. So that customers get much more quality product from Cadbury company. The new ideas come through customer suggestion response in that they describe problems regarding product so that Cadbury Company gives first customer priority. Apart from customer suggestion Cadbury also follow opinion from scientist, media agencies, etc. New product (develop variety of different flavour chocolate) creation is one of the best strategy parts of Cadbury organisation as in the developing edge because new products create new market that allow to Cadbury company enter established strong market and provide cost reduction on new product. They have separate team work, which is only consider and search children demand and test because children like most chocolate. The future strategy against competitor is main aim of Cadbury company, to improve their performance better than other organisation by their perfection in quality product, reasonable price of the product, promotion as high as possible with technological innovative media, services that should never down in the future, response speed more higher than other company or organisation during goods delivery, high level of duties during any complain from customers. They strategy also aware about market share value that depend on separate area and they wish to increase market share value in future that are depend on urban and rural area where crowd, child young youth population is high. Generally these people recommend brand position with quality so Cadbury Company intend to expand brand position quality in the market with some offers gifting process. The above descriptions illustrate the future strategy and how effect improvement in future marketing operation profit of the Cadbury Company. The same time management also perform their role that check inner firm environment condition i.e. relation between employee or staff his working performance, focus on business strength, focus on product weakness, financial, share price and manufacturing condition and outer firm environment i.e. market condition, customer attraction, etc. indeed Cadburys management department duly concerned there place about chocolate in globally market place. They aim is to find opportunity in international market with above strategy through higher quality, better service, lower price, higher market share, continuous product variation improvement, regular product innovation, entering high growth markets and more customer expectation to make brand more demanded.

Advantages and disadvantage of four alternative dividends polices

Advantages and disadvantage of four alternative dividends polices The firms dividend policy must be produced with two basic objectives in mind, which are maximizing the wealth of the firms owners and providing for sufficient financing for future projects. According to Gitman, Juchau Flanagan (2008) dividend payout ratio indicates the percentage of each dollar earned which is distributed to the owners in the form of cash. Constant-payout-ratio dividend policy is when a firm establishes a certain percentage of earnings that will be paid to owners each year. Through out the history Adamson has followed the practice of paying out approximately 60 percent of its earnings as cash dividend constantly each year. The dividend fluctuated with earnings from year to year. A major shortcoming of this policy is that if the firms earnings drop or are volatile in a given period, the dividends may be low or even non-existent. According to Gitman, Juchau Flanagan (2008) Regular dividend policy is based on the payment of a fixed-dollar dividend in each period. It provides investors with positive information indicating that the firm is doing well and it minimizes uncertainty. Usually firms using this policy will increase the regular dividend once a proven increase in earnings has occurred. Under this policy, dividend almost never decreases. One of the advantages of the regular dividend policy is that it results in a stable dividend stream over time, meeting the needs of shareholders who require resolution of uncertainty. Adamson Manufacturing Companys majority shareholders are retired individuals, college endowment funds, income-oriented mutual funds and other investors who are seeking high return and over the past years the companys dividend has been fluctuating with its earnings which does not gave a good impression about the companys financial health. Such could like to get a regular dividend each year s o that they are confident enough to continue holding shares in the company. On the other hand, disadvantages of regular dividend policy are there may be times when the company will need to access capital from external source such as borrowing loan to pay dividend when the company is not generating enough earnings per share. Also, there may be times when the company will have excess cash on hand. Low-regular-and-extra dividend policy can be established when the company is paying a low regular dividend, supplemented by an additional dividend called extra dividend. By adopting the low regular dividend, the company can give investors the stable income necessary to build confidence in the company, and the extra dividend permits them to share in earnings if the company experiences a cash surplus. When considering Adamson Manufacturing Company, Joel Norman and Allison Crane strongly suggested that the dividend payout ratio should be reduced from 60 percent, because they think high dividend payout is inappropriate for the company because of the capital limitation which recently forced the company to turn down some expansion opportunities that promised relatively high rate of return and they have also noted that several other directors who has large holdings in the company has been paying high tax rate of 40 percent of all dividends received to the government. The company should cons ider low-regular-and-extra-dividend policy, as it also addresses the issues of resolution of uncertainty and allows the company to distribute extra funds. However, under this policy there still may be some times when the firm will have to go to external equity market when it faces a great need for equity capital because of many good projects. Also, if the company declares too many extras in a row, the investors may expect the extra dividend all the time. Under Residual Dividend Policy dividend paid by a firm should be viewed as a residual that is the amount left over after all acceptable investment opportunities have been undertaken. The advantages of residual dividend policy are that lower cost sources of financing are used and funds are distributed to shareholders on which the company cannot earn a rate of return greater than weighed average cost of capital. However, the disadvantages of residual dividend policy can be the number of good capital projects will vary from year to year and because the profit will also vary from year to year, the dividend over time will be highly variable including no dividend in one year and high dividend in another year. The stream of dividend will spoil the reputation of Adamson Manufacturing Company of paying generous dividend over the past years and a lot of shareholders will be forced to sell their shares and reinvest in other company who will be offering high dividend payout ratio. Gitman, Juchau Flanagan (2008) states that clientele effects exists where the firm will attract shareholders whose preference with respect to the payment and stability of dividends correspond to the payment pattern and stability of firm itself. Shareholders who desire stable and predictable dividend as a source if income holds the shares of a firm that pay about the same dividend amount each period and shareholders who prefer to earn capital gain are more attracted to growing firms that reinvest a large portion of their earnings. Question 2 Advantages and disadvantages of an announced dividend policy.   The main advantage of having an announced dividend policy is that it reduces investors insecurity, and reductions in insecurity are generally associated with lower capital costs and higher stock prices, other things being equal. The disadvantage is that such a policy might decrease corporate flexibility. However, the announced policy would possibly include elements of flexibility.   Therefore, it would be attractive for directors to announce their policies.   The profits of a company can either be re-invested in the company or paid to its shareholders as a dividend. In New Zealand, the amount and frequency of dividends is decided by the board of directors. When a company announces the dividend policy even though it has made a loss during a year, it has to continue paying dividends from the retained earnings from previous years or to suspend the dividend. Where a company receives a non-recurring gain, e.g. from the sale of some assets, and has no plans to reinvest the earnings is often returned to shareholders in the form of a special dividend. This type of dividend is often better than usual and occurs outside of the normal dividend distribution schedule. Question 3 Effect of payout policy on growth rate of earnings per share. Sustainability growth rate is calculated by multiplying Plough-Back ratio by Return on Equity. Plough-Back ratio shows the proportion of earnings that is not paid out as dividend but retained in the company for future investment. Return on Equity is the amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders equity. It measures a companys profitability by stating how much profit a company generates with the shareholders has invested. According to Tatum (2010), a sustainable growth rate is the amount of growth that a company can achieve and maintain on an ongoing basis without borrowing money. It is the highest growth rate the firm can maintain without increasing its financial leverage. Sustainable growth rate depends on plowback rate and return on equity, firm may grow rapidly in short term by depending on debt finance but these type of growth cannot be maintained without incurring excessive debt levels. Question 4 Low payout ratios have high price/earnings ratio. According to Ogilvie Parkinson, (2006) the relationship between dividend payout policy and Price Earnings Ratio is that entity with high Price Earnings ratio ha a low dividend payout ratio. The data shown in Table 3 for selected Stock Market shows Companies with low dividend payout ratio has high average price-earnings ratio and vice versa. Gitman, Juchau and Flanagan, (2008) states that the firms financial requirements are directly related to how much it experts to grow and what assets it will need to acquire. A growth firm is likely to depend on internal finance which is through retained earnings and is likely to pay out only a very small percentage of its earnings as dividend. Investors looking for capital growth may prefer lower payout ratio because capital growth is taxed at lower rate and a high growth firm generally pays low or zero dividend. Wikipedia (2010) states Price-Earnings ratio is a measure of price paid for share relative to the annual profit earned by the firm per share. Stocks with higher forecast earnings growth will usually have higher Price-Earnings, and those expected to have lower earnings growth will in most cases have a lower Price-Earnings. As per Table 3, Data General has zero dividend payout percentage with highest average Price-Earnings ratio of 22. Avon Products has highest dividend payout ratio of 57 and low average Price-Earnings Ratio of 13. Data General is a growth firms who is retaining all its earnings for future investments and the shareholders can benefit from capital gain. Question 5 Reduction in the dividend payout rate would increase the price of stock versus such a reduction would drastically reduce the price of the stock. Some investors prefer company to reinvest its earnings back into the business for future growth but many appreciate a generous cash dividend payment. Investors prefer dividends is because of the tax advantage they are getting. New Zealand has dividend imputation credit policy where the company pays tax on its profit and then distributes the dividend to the shareholders. The investors are given the tax credits (imputation) so that the dividend is not double taxed. Dividend payout ratios provide important insight into a companys dividend policy. Adamson Manufacturing Company is currently paying 60 percent of its profit and retaining 40 percent for future growth. There is an argument between Rose and Walker, that if the dividend payout ratio is decreased, the price of the stock will increase and if the dividend payout is decreased, the share price will also decreased. A high payout ratio like Adamson manufacturing Companys, it suggests that the company might be paying out more than it can comfortably afford. It not only does leave a small percentage of profits to plough back into company, but also it leaves the company highly vulnerable to a decline in future dividend payments. Because the act of decreasing dividend is usually interpreted as a sign of weakness, when a dividend cut announcement is made it will trigger a decline in share price. Even if the company plans to keep the 60 percent dividend payout ratio, it will end up having increased debt ratio. The company debt ratio has increased from 16.80% in 2001 to 60.80% in 2009. According to Wikipedia (2010), share price is strictly a result of supply and demand. If the demand exceeds supply then the share price increases. Conversely, if supply exceeds the demand then the share price decreases. The principle theory is that the price movement of the share indicates what investors feel a company is worth. Some investors might understand that it is for positive reason why the company is decreasing its dividend payout ratio, decreasing dividend payout ratio is generally positive sign, it shows that company is more able to cover its dividend payout with its earnings and reduces the borrowings. Thus, the debt ratio for the company would improve in future. Question 6 Would a stock dividend or a stock split be if use in this situation? According to Gitman, Juchau Flanagan, (2008) share split is a method commonly used to lower the market price of a firms shares by increasing the number of shares belonging to each shareholder. For example, in a 2 for 1 stock split, investor who owns 100 shares of stock valued at $100 per share before the stock split will own 200 shares valued at $50 per share after split. After share split the investor owns twice as many shares, with each share worth half as much as before the stock split. The main purpose of share split is to reduce the share price of a share in order to make the share more affordable to investors. According to Mapsofworld (2008) stock dividend is the distribution of additional shares to the investors. The main purpose to offer stock dividend is to generate funds for the company. When company makes profit, a certain percentage of the profit is distributed to investors according to their amounts of shares in the company. These dividends are in form of additional shares known as stock dividend. There are several reasons why companies might choose to provide share dividend to its investors. The company may have some shortage of liquid cash, because of this the company might it difficult to provide cash dividend to its shareholders. It is also possible for the company to invest more money from earned profit to raise the production level. The company should use stock dividend, the reason being the company has been paying out a constant cash dividend of 60 percent every year to its investors and has been loosing all the opportunity of expansions with relatively high rate of return and also, investors has been paying 40 percent of their dividend to government in the form of tax. Cash dividend is downfall for the company and as well the investors. Moreover, companys current ratio has deteriorated from 505 in 2001 to only 1.71in 2009 and debt ratio is increased from 16.8% in 2001 to 60.80% in 2009. These fluctuations in the ratio shows that the company is loosing all its liquid cash in form of paying dividend and further, the company is borrowing money to maintain the 60 percent payout ratio. By adopting stock dividend the company can overcome the cash problem and also can keep investors happy by issuing high dividend payout in form of shares and not cash. Question 7 Specific dividend policy should be recommended to the board of directors. I would recommend Adamson Manufacturing Company to adopt low-regular-and-extra dividend policy. Dividend policies of companies around the world vary considerably. In New Zealand one of the major incentives for investing in the stock market is that New Zealand has no capital gain taxes. Therefore, investors should show a preference for companies that retain earnings rather than paying high percentage dividend. Companies with many growth opportunities tend to pay lower dividends, which is to be expected because the funds are required to finance growth and shareholders are willing to forgo current income of hope of greater future benefits. Because companys goal is to maximize shareholders wealth the dividend policy is one that maximizes the value of firm. When a company pays out dividend, it decreases the amount of earnings that can be used to finance growth. As a result, companies pay little or no dividends because earnings are retained to reinvest in the company. Adamson Manufacturing Company would in better position if adopting low-regular-and-extra-dividend policy. By establishing low-regular dividend that is paid each period, the firm gives investors the stable income necessary to build confidence in the firm and extra dividend permits them to share in the earnings if the firm experiences an especially good period. Firms using this policy must raise the level of dividend once proven increase in earnings have been achieved. The extra dividend should not be regular event, otherwise it will become meaningless. Adamson Manufacturing Company should reduce dividend to around 10 percent to less than 30 percent to pay regularly depending on how much profit the management wants to retain for future growth. Paying regular dividends is often considered a sign of confidence in the company and retaining part of the profit can reward shareholders by adding more shares and wealth. Low dividend payout and retaining majority of it profit can help improve t he companys current ratio and debt ratio. Current ratio shows the companys ability to pay short-term obligations. The higher the ratio, more capable the company is of paying its obligation. A ratio under 1, suggests that the company would be unable to pay off its obligation if they came due at that time. Adamson Manufacturing Companys current ratio decreased drastically to 1.71 mainly because the current asset decreased due to decline in cash by paying 60 percent of its retained earnings as cash dividend. Debt ratio compares the companys total debt to its total assets which shows the amount of leverage being used by the company. If the ratio greater than 0.5, most of the companys assets are financed through debt. Adamson Manufacturing Companys debt ratio increased significantly due to the company borrowing debt to finance cash dividend. Low-regular-and-extra-dividend policy will help the company to overcome its ratio problems and will company to hold its dividend payment consistency .