Thursday, December 26, 2019

Analysis Of `` Separating, All Winter Sundays, And We Are...

The theme â€Å"Regret and Loss† in Separating, Those Winter Sundays, and We are Virginia Tech Those Winter Sundays, Separating, and We are Virginia Tech were written by three different authors, each having their own unique styles and personality reflected in their works. The short story Separating, written by John Updike was published in 1974, it was written in the third person point of view. John Updike was considered as one of the greatest American fiction writer of his generation due to his unique prose style, rich description and language. His short story, explores themes such as regret, anger and self-interest. Both We are Virginia Tech and Those Winter Sundays are written in first person point of view. Those Winter Sundays is a work of Robert Hayden, and was published in the year 1966. The poem explores the topic of sacrifice and regret; the tone being, one of bitterness. We are Virginia Tech is a convocation address, delivered on the 17th of April 2007, by Nikki Giovan ni. This convocation address, carries the message of hope, unity, and regret. Each of these work carry various emotions, displayed in a multitude of colored style and language which the writers explores throughout their work; the common theme being â€Å"Regret and Loss.† â€Å"We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it†¦,† is a line from Nikki Giovanni’s convocation address; it highlights one of the messages she tried to convey in her short narrative essay. That is, regret and a senseShow MoreRelatedExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pages(or speciï ¬ cally written) to provide readers with a core of cases which, together, cover most of the main issues in the text. As such, they should provide a useful backbone to a programme of study but could sensibly be supplemented by other material. We have provided a mixture of longer and shorter cases to increase the ï ¬â€šexibility for teachers. Combined with the illustrations and the short case examples at the end of each chapter (in both versions of the book) this increases the reader’s and tutor’sRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesin certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York ß Oxford University Press 2006 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or underRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesCredits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbo ok appear on the appropriate page within text. Copyright  © 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in anyRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 PagesLeadership Chapter 2 Organization Strategy and Project Selection 1.4 Projects and programs (.2) 1.4.1 Managing the portfolio 1.4.3 Strategy and projects 2.3 Stakeholders and review boards 12.1 RFP’s and vendor selection (.3.4.5) 11.2.2.6 SWAT analysis 6.5.2.7 Schedule compression 9.4.2.5 Leadership skills G.1 Project leadership 10.1 Stakeholder management Chapter 11 Teams Chapter 3 Organization: Structure and Culture 2.4.1 Organization cultures [G.7] 2.4.2 Organization structureRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagessituates organization theory within the scholarly debates on modernism and postmodernism, and provides an advanced introduction to the heterogeneous study of organizations, including chapters on phenomenology, critical theory and psychoanalysis. Like all good textbooks, the book is accessible, well researched and readers are encouraged to view chapters as a starting point for getting to grips with the field of organization theory. Dr Martin Brigham, Lancaster University, UK McAuley et al. provide a

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

What Would Our World Be Without Literacy - 1433 Words

What would our world be without literacy? Imagine a life where we could not decipher, let alone inscribe, those various symbols jumbled up together in countless combinations. No books, no newspapers, no letters, no instruction manuals†¦ Everyday, our ability to read and write enables us to exist, to survive and to grow. In fact, literacy is the foundation to all learning. Being able to read and write, as well as acquiring any other form of literacy, such as fluency in a new language, plays a fundamental role in the definition of our identity. Thanks to these abilities, we gain access to information essential to our development; information to which we may relate to or not, consequently contributing to our search of who we are. Literacy is a skill we take too easily for granted. Most of us have learned to read at a very young age thanks to dedicated parents and patient teachers; we were taught our language’s alphabet, their sounds and the words they create. Our ability to read and write has been part of who we are for as long as we can remember. Rarely do we encounter problems such as being unable to follow street signs or to fill out an employment form. In fact, according to the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, 99% of Americans are literate. Unfortunately, not all populations are, or have been, so fortunate. Individuals around the world do not have access to the tools necessary to learn these skills. On the contrary, they have to fight expectations,Show MoreRelatedHow Texting Affects Teen Literacy1624 Words   |  7 Pages How Texting Affects Teen Literacy When most people think about teen literacy, they refer to texting. Most people think that texting harms teenagers, but in reality it does not. Text messaging is perhaps one of the things people do most daily, especially teenagers. These days teens are nearly inseparable from their phones. Teenagers are growing with an increasing rate with these cell phones. Teens depend on their cell phones to get through day to day things dealing with personal and professionalRead MoreThe Importance Of Literacy748 Words   |  3 PagesTaylor Ellwood once said â€Å"Literacy isnt just about reading, writing, and comprehension. Its about culture, professionalism, and social outlook.† Some might say that this is absurd or untrue but in a world of learning and knowledge literacy is necessary to the advancement of humanity. Merriam Webster defines â€Å"literate† as the ability to be able to read and write text. This though is not elaborate enough to help readers understand the true comple xity of the word. Literacy is much more elaborate thanRead MoreLiteracy Is The Definition Of Literacy997 Words   |  4 PagesTo myself, the definition of literacy is having the ability and means to read and/or write. Although this seems as though it is a stereotypical and common definition, I have found during the course of my life that this definition holds to be true to my personal being. When I was younger, I used to think literacy was simply the literacy book that we read out of during English class. The more that I grew, the more I realized that literacy was having the ability to read the book- not the book itselfRead MoreDigital Literacy Essay1297 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Digital Literacy ENG122: English Composition II Angela Temple January 20, 2014 In today’s world it is a requirement to be digitally literate in order to be able to function in a capacity that enables one to be more successful whether it is at home, school, at our jobs or even looking for a job. Over the last few decades our environment has evolved into a digital environment. Being or becoming digitally literate is essential in being successfulRead MorePrinting Press and Its Effects839 Words   |  3 Pagesand Closure†talks about printing press and its effects .Through the chapter I found some interesting points connected to literacy. First,the idea of persons in a primary oral culture can entertain some sense of proprietary rights to a poem but with writing resentment at plagiarism begins to develop . We struggle in a copy right world and with removing words from the sound world , print encouraged us to think about mental held possessions as we express ourselves in narrative discourse.Writing isRead MoreLiteracy Is The Key Structure Of Com munication, And Communication1468 Words   |  6 Pageslearn to be successful. Literacy is one of them. Literacy is the ability to read and write, and without either one of them our world would fail. It’s the overall structure of communication, and communication is something that dominates our lifestyle today. Literacy can be met through other things besides reading and authorship. It can be found in newspapers, books, television sources and so much more. It is vital to understand literacy and how resources are related. My literacy skills began to developRead MoreThe Four Resources Model Is Developed By Alen Luke And Peter Freebody Essay1702 Words   |  7 Pagesby Alen Luke and Peter Freebody in 1999 to adapt to the increasing importance of technology that we see prevalent throughout society and in our daily lives. We live in a digital age in which technology is constantly reinventing itself and without the education that allows us to use these new age inventions, we are stuck frozen in a technologically advanced world unable to move forward. Luke and Freebody (1999) envision a school curriculum surrounding a print based environment in which classroom andRead MoreThe Cost of Computer Literacy1209 Words   |  5 PagesWhat are the costs of computer literacy? Some people argue that there are no such costs, but I believe there are a few which may be relevant. Does computer literacy affect the way we communicate, and if so, is this necessarily a bad thing? What is our future, as computer literacy be comes a necessity? What are the personal, financial, and social costs, as computer literacy becomes a necessity?brbrAccording to Websters New World dictionary, literacy is defined as the ability to read and writeRead MoreThe Literacy Of Literacy, By Deborah Brandt, And Malcom X Essay1428 Words   |  6 PagesI can recall many people who have enriched my literacy development in some way or another throughout my life. The most influential literacy sponsors in my life include my mother, myself, my high school English teacher, and even my librarian. Even the authors Deborah Brandt, and Malcom X have supported my claim. The essay, â€Å"Sponsors of Literacy† was written by Deborah Brandt, who connected her writing with her sponsors. Malcom X’s essay, â€Å"Learning to Read†, reminded me of one of the most importantRead MoreLiteracy Is The Foundation Of Education Essay1658 Words   |  7 PagesMost individuals have narrow definitions of literacy, considering it to b e merely possessing the abilities to read and write, but the definition should be much broader than that. Literacy is the foundation of education. I would define literacies as skills that we are continuously having to improve upon. Without the abilities to read and write, I would have an altered view of the world that I live in and the people who I share it with. Additionally, I would not be able to recognize letters or numbers

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Financial Statement Analysis for Cash Flow - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theFinancial Statement Analysis for Cash Flow. Answer: Financial statement analysis is a major factor for the financial analysts and investors in order to measure the financial performance of the companies as well as to know about their financial health[1]. In the process of financial statement analysis, the analysis of cash flow of the companies plays a crucial part as it provides the investors with the knowledge about the cash inflow and outflow of the companies along with their reasons. In the 2016 annual report of Adelaide Brighton Limited, the Statement of Cash Flows can be seen. In the cash flow statement of every business organizations, two of the major activities are cash flow from investing activities and cash flow from financing activities that play crucial part in determining the financial position of the companies. Cash flow from investing activities shows the amount of cash inflows and outflows due to various investing activities like loss or gain from investments, purchase or buy of assets and others[2]. Table: Cash Flow from Investing Activities (Souce:[3]) As per 2016 cash flow statement of Adelaide Brighton Limited, the company spent money for the payment of property, plant, equipment and intangibles. Another major head for cash outflow in investing activities of Adelaide Brighton Limited is payments of loans to joint venture entities. However, there are two heads in the investing activities of Adelaide Brighton Limited where there is inflow of cash; they are sale from property, plant and equipment (PPE) and income from repayment of loan. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that two of the largest investing activities are payment for PPE that is $86.5 million and sales of PPE that is $23.2 million[4]. Table 2: Cash Flow from Financing Activities (Source:[5]) Cash flow from financing activities shows companies raise capital from issue of shares. From the 2016 cash flow statement of Adelaide Brighton Limited, it can be seen that the company raised capital of $4 million from the issue of shares. On the other hand, Adelaide Brighton Limited has also made payment of $21 million to its borrowings. However, the highest item is of 178.5 million that is the payment of dividends to the shareholders. And the second highest item is of $21 million that is payment of borrowings[6]. From the above analysis, it can be said that Adelaide Brighton Limited has taken right investing and financing strategies as per the current business environment. The above analysis shows the fact that Adelaide Brighton limited depends less on the long term borrowings for raising capital[7]. It is evident from the above analysis as the company has taken less amount of loan in 2016. In addition, it can be seen hat Adelaide Brighton Limited has spent large amount by providing dividends to their shareholders. It implies that the company depends largely on equity financing for raising capital for their businesses. Thus, in the capital structure of Adelaide Brighton Limited, the proportion of share capital is more than term borrowings. There are several advantages of equity financing. First, it reduces the interest expenses of the company and it leads to reduced financial risks. Second, the company has to pay dividends only in case of profits[8]. Thus, it can be said that Adelaide Brighto n Limited has adopted the correct investing and financing strategy. Bibliography "Financial Statement 2016".Adbri.Com.Au/, 2017. https://adbri.com.au/-/adbri/lib/pdfs/2016/reports/ABL%202016%20AR%20-%20Financials%20FINAL.pdf. Brown, Reilly. "Analysis of investments management of portfolios." (2012). Higgins, Robert C.Analysis for financial management. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2012. Maravas, Alexander, and John-Paris Pantouvakis. "Project cash flow analysis in the presence of uncertainty in activity duration and cost."International Journal of Project Management 30, no. 3 (2012): 374-384. Zack, Gerard M. "Financial Statement Analysis."Financial Statement Fraud: Strategies for Detection and Investigation(2013): 209-213.

Monday, December 2, 2019

The Value of Performance Related Pay free essay sample

The value of performance related pay Currently, many companies are utilizing the performance related pay (PRP) scheme. The PRP is often regarded as an effective method to achieve a better performance in both individual and collective terms. In the study of Cutler and Waine (1999), PRP affords employees with opportunities to increase return after the performance appraisal. It is quite different with certain salary schemes, such as those offering an automatic increase in pay but despite employees’ real performance. The PRP scheme is usually designed to increase employees’ commitment and motivate employees through implementing an incentive system and assessing employees’ work performance (Varone and Giauque, 2001). The reasons for utilizing PRP scheme are various. Apparently, it is vital for the management layer to maintain a high level of consistency between employees’ and employers’ interests. Unless the two originally separate interests being aligned, can the corporation operate normally. Since it is difficult to attribute the output to individuals, PRP is an appropriate approach to make the incentives of the company and employees consistent (Kruse, 1996). We will write a custom essay sample on The Value of Performance Related Pay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Besides, the intent to maintain the stability in the employment acts as another reason for the utilization of PRP schemes. The research by Chelius and Smith (1990) indicates the fact that the enterprise with a PRP scheme can have a higher level of stability in the workforce. Also, PRP’s effect on the enhancement of individual employee’s effort towards tasks and the corporate productivity promote its implement to a rather large extent. PRP’s effect on individual employee, team, organizational motivation and productivity The PRP scheme can affect a wide range of subjects. In terms of individual employees, the company with a PRP scheme tends to be more attractive and it is more probable for them to increase the input (Lazear, 1986). Since the pay level is related to the different levels of work performance and employees believe better performance would be accompanied by a desirable return that is valued by them, staff may be more willing to exert an effort  towards the task allocated. Moreover, the staff is more motivated to better the work performance due to the financial incentive and further achieve a higher level of job satisfaction. However, the function of PRP on a team-based task is often argued by different studies. For example, it may be difficult to distinguish the individual contribution levels when the job is completed as a consequence of the teamwork (Campbell et al, 1998), so the effect of PRP on the integral team can be weakened. Apart from that, Gielen et al (2006) state that it is possible for the team members to become a free-rider, due to the difficulty in evaluating the individual performance in a team and thus the a group-based PRP scheme may just have little effect on individual performance. In contrast, Varone and Giauque (2001) argue that the problem can be resolved if the reward is on a collective basis rather than an individual one. The reason is that if the reward can be important to the entire team, the team members’ involvement and motivation would be improved. Also, the PRP has an effect on the organizational motivation, but the situation is very complex. According to the expectancy theory proposed by Vroom (1964), when the management can meet the requirements, that employees have enough capacity to fulfill a task and the fulfillment of the task is related to certain outcomes that are valued by employees, staff can be motivated to accomplish the job. Therefore, if the PRP system is carefully designed and associated with returns which are needed by the staff, the company can achieve the goal of motivation. However, since the process of performance appraisal involves other subjects, the assessment outcome may be subjective. If the employees do not believe outcome of performance assessment, the aim to motivate employees may fail. Therefore, whether the PRP’s impact on motivation can be achieved or not depends on the objectivity of the performance appraisal. Many scholars believe PRP can produce positive outcomes towards organizational productivity. The enhancement of organizational productivity is fulfilled through the increase in individual or team productivity. The reasons for PRP improving the labor productivity are: in the case of asymmetry information regarding employees’ capacity and effort, the PRP can encourage the staff to exert an appropriate level of effort (Prendergast, 1999); besides, when employing new staff, the PRP scheme can act as a screen, merely attracting the able employees to compete for the job vacancy (Lazear, 1986). With the employees of high quality and their expectations about the rewards generated by accomplishment of the task, the organizational productivity can be increased to a higher level. Two classic PRP models Talking about the PRP models, the profit sharing plan and the merit pay plan tend to be the most influential. In terms of the profit sharing plan (PSP), it is defined as an agreement that can be freely entered into, through which staff can get a fixed amount of shares from the profit of the company in advance (Schloss, 1907). To be more precise, PSPs are usually designed and implemented for a variety of purposes. The PSP can be used to induce the staff to work for enhancing the corporate remuneration, thereby acting as a replacement for the employee monitoring system. For instance, with the use of the PSP, the staff may be motivated to monitor the co-workers’ performance in order to ensure the higher earnings (Bradley and Estrin, 1992). Besides, the management layer may utilize PSP as a tool to enhance the corporate outcomes, such as motivation and productivity (Art and Turner, 2004). However, despite the various expectations on the PSPs, its effectiveness is argued for a long time. Although some corporations may think that the increase in its productivity and profitability is due to the use of PSP, no one can give clear evidence to establish a link between PSP and the organizational performance. Besides, the PSP is often criticized by the fact that, due to the profit increase covering a large number of employees, the enhancement in individual rewards generated by the personal effort is usually of rather small amount and can be nearly neglected. So to exactly confirm the effectiveness of PSP, more studies and researches need to be completed in the future. When it comes to the merit pay plan (MRP), it is defined by Heneman (1992) as the procedure of distributing pay increase according to the individual work performance, which is often determined by the outcome of performance assessment. The MRP is a tool frequently used by the company to induce staff to exert a higher level of effort and achieve the organizational motivation to increase the amount of corporate earnings. Theoretically, poor performer would either be discouraged or attempt to enhance the performance to acquire the merit pay (Brody et al, 2001). By contrast, able staff would get a clear perspective of the relation between performance and rewards, and maintain a high level of productivity (Brody et al, 2001). However, being similar with the case of PSP, the function of MRP is also arguable. McGinty and Hanke (1989) suggest that the MRP can increase the corporate performance, but they do not work all the time. Researches have indicated that the criticism against the MRP is not related to its design in most cases but is linked to the process of performance assessment. Due to the involvement of the supervisor as the third party, the assessment outcomes can be subjective and unfair to certain employees being assessed sometimes. Although the company attempts to avoid the disadvantages, the subjectivity during the assessment process is somewhat inevitable due to some elements, such as leniency (Brody et al, 2001) and favoritism (Salimaki and Jamsen, 2010). PRP plan utilized by Suning Appliance The best example to support my arguments may be Suning Appliance, a retailer of electronic products in China. The reason to use this company is that my father previously worked there as a salesman. As he told, in the year of 2000, a certain amount of first-line salesmen were dissatisfied with the salary they received, since they thought they work much harder than others but merely got a same amount of pay. The motivation of the staff decreased dramatically and the sales of company were also affected. The thorny problem was not solved until the introduction of a new merit pay system in which the employees’ financial return was related to the work performance. Although the performance appraisal was sometimes criticized by the employees, it never triggered a big issue like the one happened in 2000.