Mechanistic and Bureaucratic Organisations - Organisational Learning - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2751 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Level High school Did you like this example? Coursework Title: Mechanistic and bureaucratic organisations will probably struggle to encourage organisational learning. Critically evaluate this statement in relation to the Mechanistic and Learning perspectives. Word Count: 2183 words The purpose of this essay is to discuss why mechanistic and bureaucratic organisations will probably struggle to encourage organisations learning. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m strongly agreed with this statement and I will be using some relevant theories and examples to support my argument. The first part of this paper will be focus on how decision-making authority in this organisation leads to inefficiency in decision making. The second part is about how highly formalisation structure would discourage organisational learning. Moreover, lack of communication in mechanistic organisation caused lesser learning possibilities take place will be my third point. The forth part will focus on why bureaucratic organisation will probably strugg le to encourage organisational learning is because organisation starts limiting themselves. Finally, I will summarised the arguments and begin this essay by giving the explanations of learning and mechanistic perspective framework. Mechanistic organisation is one of the organisational archetypes and bureaucracy is the best term to describe mechanistic organisation. Bureaucracy is always emphasis on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“precision, clarity, regularity, reliability, division of tasks, hierarchical supervision and detailed rules and regulationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Morgan, 2006). Mechanistic organisation and bureaucracy are usually used interchangeably. The best description of mechanistic organisation is performing job as a machine. There are certain rules, requirements and procedures which must be followed in order to produce what is expected. Employees are given specific job descriptions delineating their roles and responsibilities. Accuracy is highly demanded so employees have to learn all the particular rules and then used it in various situations. Generally, mechanistic organisation is all about the demand for control via emphasis of the rules (March and Simon, 1967a). Nevertheless, not all the circumstances can be foreseen in advance, so not all of the rules and procedures can be created in advance. Usually people in mechanistic organisation will follow the rules and procedures in performing their duties in ordinary manner until something unforeseen appears. Action is only taken when such condition happened. Moreover, emphasis on the rules and predictable nature of employee behaviour are things which result in rigid behaviour of employees (March and Simon, 1967b). Machine type organisations are learning only as a sum of learning individuals (Senge, 1999). There are no sharing of views and opinions, no discussion on common issues for further improvement and they are no ready-made responses because when new problems arise they are often ignored. Employees are doin g what they are designed to do and therefore learning only for themselves. There are no information and individual opinions to be shared among the entire subordinate and throughout an organisation. All insights are remaining in each individual. Consequently, there is no advantage for an organisation since the learning is not spread throughout the whole organisation (Kropaite, 2009a). Communications tends to follow the formal channel. These structures are usually rigid and resist change so this caused employees unsuitable for innovativeness and taking fast responses and action. These forms have the downside of inhibiting entrepreneurial action and discouraging the use of individual initiative on the part of employees. The design of mechanistic structure discourages group interaction. The possibilities for organisational learning are very unlikely to be present in this kind of organisation. Organisations need to learn how to survive and accommodate with this uncertain environments. An organisation needs managers who can make right decisions through skill, judgment and experience. Organisations need to improve its capability of learning new behaviours over a period of time in order to have a successful decision-making (Hedberg, 1981). Organisational learning is a process for organisation in the face of swift pace of change. Miller (1996) defined organisational learning as the knowledge acquisition made by individual or groups and these can be applied in decision making process, or use it to influence others within the organisation. Nonetheless, most companies know how to ensure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"organisational learningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ but fail to understand how to build à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"learning organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ in their company. In the analysis of the organisational learning, March (1991) handled two types of strategies which are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"explorationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"exploitationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. March defined exploratio n as in which organisational members seek for new organisational activities and procedures to increase effectiveness of a company. While exploitation is meaning that which organisational members improve and modify the existing organisational activities and procedures. Kolb sees learning as a lifelong process which is determined by reflective observation, tangible experience, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. When organisational learning is viewed from Kolbà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s perspective, learning is seen as a cyclical process whereby planning, actions and concepts are modified by reflecting on experiences rather than by outcome or results (Kolb, 1984). For instance, Argyris and Schon (1978) have highlighted the links between the laboratory and T-group values established by Kurt Lewin in the 1940s which emphasized the need for the integration of theory and experiential learning. Their work has stimulated the core values of participative management philosophies to which the culture of learning organisation can be traced. They maintain that learning from experience is important for individual and organisational effectiveness. Furthermore, learning can occur only in situations where personal values and organisational norms support action based on valid information, informed choice and internal commitment (West, 1994). However, Argyris and Schon (1978) stated that organisational learning can, and do occur. Employees act as learning agents for the organisation. They are responding to changes in the external and internal environments by detecting and correcting the errors in the organisational theory in use. They defined single-loop learning as individuals respond to changes in the internal and external environments by perceiving errors and modifying strategies within the existing norms of the organisation. They detect a match or mismatch of outcome to expectation. They must then create new strategies to keep organisational performance with in the existing norms, based on new assumptions to correct error and evaluate the results of the action. Next, double-loop learning is response to the error in original norms to resolve the problems and make new organisation norm. Double loop stands for two feedback which relate the observed error to the organisational strategies and the organisational served by them. When in changing of values, strategies and assumptions might be changed simultaneously but also can be modified as the result of the changed values at the first place (Argyris Schon, 1996). Organisational structures play an important role in organisational learning. Burns and Stalker (1961) created a dichotomy of organisational structures corresponding to differential abilities to process information in mechanistic structure. The first attribute is high centralisation which means the decision-making authority is positioned in the higher level of a hierarchical relationship (Robbins and Decenzo, 2001a). High central isation produces less delegation of decision-making authority and it creates a non-participatory environment which discourages involvement with duties and projects throughout the organisation (Sividas and Dwyer, 2001a). It depletes opportunities for employees to learn from their colleagues. So, it discourages learning in mechanistic organisation since learning have to be in a way of more informal character, with few established hierarchical levels and the interaction process between the employees is needed. Many companies find that the centralisation of operations leads to inefficiencies in decision making. For instance, in the 1980s, Caterpillar which is the equipment manufacturer suffered the consequences of centralized decision making. There is a sales representative who working in Africa wanted to give a discount on a product. But, all the pricing decisions were made in the corporate headquarters in Peoria, Illinois. So before any decision making, sales representative have to de al and check with headquarters. Headquarters did not always have accurate or updated information about the markets to make an effective decision. Therefore, Caterpillar was at a disadvantage against competitors such as the Japanese firm Komatsu. Caterpillar underwent several dramatic rounds of reorganisation in the 1990s and 2000s to overcome this problem. As stated above mechanistic organisation is a highly formalisation structure. It derives from the strict adherence to the operating instructions, job descriptions, rules and regulations (Robbins and Decenzo, 2001b). Highly formalised organisations make extensive use of written procedures and rules. This organisation eliminates the discussion about how work should be done, what is the problems occurred and reduces the alternatives to develop à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“creative solutionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . The organisation only communicates pre-selected information to its members through its information system (Martinez-Leon and Martinez-Garci a, 2011a). Additionally, the only learning in mechanistic organisation is rule learning. This avoids individual initiatives at work and hence inhibits employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ motivation. In order to encourage organisational learning, organisation has to be low formalisation and job behaviours are relatively unstructured so that employees have much freedom in dealing with their relevant jobs (Sivadas and Dwyer, 2000b). By doing this, the social interaction among employees is more often and they are more willing to discuss alternatives when implementing to their jobs (Robbins and Decenzo, 2001c). Less formalised work place promotes social interaction and stimulates creativity. These arguments justify reducing employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ creativity and impeding the necessary spontaneity and flexibility for organisational learning. There are very few if any learning possibilities left in such organisation. For example, Southwest airlines do a very good job of empowering their employ ees to handle complaints and problems. In many other airlines, lower-level employees have limited power to solve customer problems and also constrained by rules that provides by company on how to react with customers when customers facing problems (Gittell, 2004). Besides, lack of communication among the organisation is also one of the factors. For mechanistic organisation, it is high horizontal job specialisation. Employees are doing the consistent task every day, repeatedly. It caused them difficult to create a variety of perspectives and point of views on the same information. Additionally, it will reduce the chance of getting extra information within the organisation and restrict the knowledge of opportunities and activities. The learning possibility is very low in this organisation. To encourage organisation learning, organisation needs to be having different tasks which are included in a job description. This can create series of perspectives on the same information and inc rease the knowledge of employees (Martinez-Leon and Martinez-Garcia, 2011b). In addition, all way communication throughout the whole company can increase the interaction among employees. They can discuss about the issues, and reflection of the past decision. Work in a team is a best way of learning from each other and bringing addition value to the final result. Employees are pooling their knowledge together and collectively striving for reaching the goal of company by working in a group. This brings advantages for both individual and organisation. Organisation gain extra information from exchanged knowledge while individual are learning themselves from each other. Next, employees have to be take part in the design and control of their own work. It provides them with the freedom to create a new knowledge, improving their knowledge and expertise which in turn facilitates organisational learning (Mintzberg, 1979). For example, I have been working in a book producer firm as my internsh ip. I have given an employee handbook containing with rules and procedures. All my communications are only between me and my supervisor who will answer to the department head. I only act comply with the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s rules, policies and procedures, and with the consent of my direct supervisor. There is no communication between me and other employees or top management. Arguably, mechanistic and bureaucratic organisation will probably struggle to encourage organisational learning is because organisation starts limiting themselves. The internal environment for mechanistic organisational is not encouraging openness and discussion. Problems are increasing and the unsolved problems will be harmful for the organisation. When employees are hiding the problems, no one is analysing the problem and it will remains unsolved. There are no chances for others employees to learn from mistakes. No learning occurred if the problems are kept unsolved (Kropaite, 2009b). However, this is closely related with the reward-punishment theory. Employees engage themselves into which they are trying to avoid doing things that might be punished for. Consequently, problems which they might be held responsible will kept in secret. In the future, other employees might face the same problems as well, and they will just continue doing the same thing in the way that what a company asking for. Moreover, employees are worries that disclosure of mistakes or some other failures would cause them loss their job and they are unwilling to take responsibilities of their actions. So, they choose to create a good picture of them by hiding all the problems. Thus, learning is hardly to take place in this organisation and all the characteristics are very harmful for organisational learning. There have few examples of companies which had their organisational power associated with past success and unfortunately ended up as bankruptcy disasters especially in the financial industry such as Barings bank and Northern Rock. In a nutshell, this paper has illustrated a wide ranging understanding of how organisational learning occurred and can be created. However, mechanistic and bureaucratic organizations are too cumbersome under these dynamic conditions. Highly centralisation and formalisation in mechanistic structure will probably discourage organisational learning. In order to encourage organisational learning, company should promote open environment for employees to discuss and strengthen cross communication. Therefore, the characteristic of mechanistic organisation contrast the factor for organisational learning to occur so that bureaucratic organisation will struggle to enhance organisational learning. References Argyris, C SchÃÆ' ¶n, DA 1978. Organizational learning: a theory of action perspective, London: Addison-Wesley. Argyris, C SchÃÆ' ¶n, DA 1996. Organizational learning II: theory, method and practice, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Argyris, C. and Schon, D., Organizational Learning, Addison Wesley, Reading, MA, 1978. Burns, T. and Stalker, G.M., The Management of Innovation, Tavistock, New York, NY, 1961. Gittell,J.H (2004) The Southwest Airlines Way: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance [online] Vol 57 No.3. Available from: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1089context=ilrreviw Hedberg, B. (1981). How Organizations Learn and Unlearn, in W.H. Starbuck and P.C. Nystrom (eds.), Handbook of Organizational Design, New York: Oxford University Press; 1:1-27. Kolb, D.A., Experiential Learning, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1984. Kropaite, A. (2009a) The Analysis of Organisational Learning: Possibilities for Organisational Learning in Stated-Owned Companies [online] Master, Aarhus University. Available from: https://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/9087/Master_thesis_Ausra_Kropaite.pdf [Accessed 21 November 2013]. Kropaite, A. (2009b) The Analys is of Organisational Learning: Possibilities for Organisational Learning in Stated-Owned Companies [online] Master, Aarhus University. Available from: https://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/9087/Master_thesis_Ausra_Kropaite.pdf [Accessed 21 November 2013]. March, J. G. (1991). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Organizational Science, 2:71-87. March, JG Simon, HA 1967a. Organizations, John Wiley Sons. March, JG Simon, HA 1967b. Organizations, John Wiley Sons. MartÃÆ' ­nez-LeÃÆ' ³n,I.M. and MartÃÆ' ­nez-GarcÃÆ' ­a, J.A. (2011a) International Journal of Manpower. The influence of organizational structure on organizational learning [online] Vol. 32 Iss: 5/6, pp.537 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 566. Available from: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0143-7720volume=32issue=5/6articleid=1949713show=abstract [Accessed 21 November 2013]. MartÃÆ' ­nez-LeÃÆ' ³n,I.M. and MartÃÆ' ­nez-GarcÃÆ'  ­a, J.A. (2011b) International Journal of Manpower. The influence of organizational structure on organizational learning [online] Vol. 32 Iss: 5/6, pp.537 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 566. Available from: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0143-7720volume=32issue=5/6articleid=1949713show=abstract [Accessed 21 November 2013]. Miller, D. (1996), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A preliminary typology of organizational learning: synthesizing the literatureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ,Journal of Management, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 485-505. Mintzberg, H. (1979), The Structuring of Organizations: A Synthesis of the Research, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Morgan, G 2006. Images of organization, SAGE Publications. Robbins, S.P. and Decenzo, D.A. (2001a), Fundamentals of Management: Essential Concepts and Applications, Prentice Hall, New York, N. Robbins, S.P. and Decenzo, D.A. (2001b), Fundamentals of Management: Essential Concepts and Applications, Prentice Hall, New York, NY. Robbins, S.P. a nd Decenzo, D.A. (2001c), Fundamentals of Management: Essential Concepts and Applications, Prentice Hall, New York, NY. Senge, PM, et al. 1999. The dance of change: the challenges of sustaining momentum in learning organizations: a fifth discipline resource, London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Sivadas, E. and Dwyer, F.R. (2000a), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“An examination of organizational factors in ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡uencing new product success in internal and alliance based processesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , Journal of Marketing, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp. 31-50. Sivadas, E. and Dwyer, F.R. (2000b), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“An examination of organizational factors in ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡uencing new product success in internal and alliance based processesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , Journal of Marketing, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp. 31-50. West, P (1994) The Learning Organization: Losing the Luggage in Transit [online] Vol.18 No. 11, pp.30-38. Available from: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=836831s how=htmlWT.mc_id=alsoreadPHPSESSID=fbqgq6sfnei1rtsefdbgvo7n94 [Accessed 25 November 2013]. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Mechanistic and Bureaucratic Organisations Organisational Learning" essay for you Create order

Ford Motor Company Essay - 3016 Words

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The Effect of Deforestation to Human Lives Free Essays

Deforestation is increasing as a global concern. In recent years deforestation has risen to dangerous levels. This reason is mainly due to the fact that most people have no idea what deforestation is. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Deforestation to Human Lives or any similar topic only for you Order Now This lack of education has caused many changes in the global economy. The concerns no longer center on deforestation but in the effects it will have in our environment in the future. This issue has sparked national attention. It has caused a chain of recent plans and policies to be introduced. Also it has brought us together as a nation to fight a common problem. Deforestation is the clearing the land of forest or trees. Many people do not even know that this problem exists, although it may be occurring right in their own neighborhoods. The causes of deforestation are broad. It used to be thought that the lumber industry was much to blame, when in fact the industry is very low. Most of the land was used for various other reasons such as building and agricultural expansion. The land is used for growing crops and livestock grazing. In many cases the ?  §Slash and Burn? method is used. This is where the farmers cut down and burn forests to get to the land that is feasible for farming. Most of the tropical soils are very poor in nutrients and can only support crops for a few years. When the soil has been exhausted it is either abandoned or turned over for livestock grazing. The effects of deforestation on the environment are numerous. The reduction of forests upsets the entire ecological cycle. The forests are home to a number of plants and animals. When a forest is cut down, the whole cycle suffers. Most of all the forests act as a carbon ?  §sink?. That is they help to take in carbon, a green house gas, and offset its effect on the atmosphere. 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Its purpose was to slow down the tropical deforestation and help countries develop plans to help with their management of such issues. It was a correlation of the World Resources Institute, the World Bank, the United Nations Developmental Program and work by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The program is developed to help aid tropical countries in the reduction of deforestation. Currently 90 developing countries are participating-38 African countries, 20 in Asia and the Pacific, and 32 in Latin America and the Caribbean. (Fletcher, Lyke 6) The objectives of the plan are as follows. They plan center on five major issues in tropical countries. These were defined by the 1987 TFAP. „h Forrest in land uses. 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It would be divided among the five areas just mentioned. There have been numerous criticisms about the plan. Mostly it has been that it is on the fact that it is concentrating mostly on the deforestation factor and failing to recognize other environmental issues. It has been said to isolate groups of people. Also, they fail to get to the real source of deforestation, which to some, are things such as over population and poverty. They say that it doesn? t give any incentives or sanctions. Although this centers more on the tropical regions, there are also many other plans to help out in our areas. The easiest way to combat deforestation is through reforestation. This is, planting new trees. This does not mean just going out and planting seeds, but actually planting grown trees. There needs to be educated environmentalist who know what they are doing to plant these trees. We can not just go and place them anywhere and expect then to work to their potential. They need to be strategically placed in areas where they can work the best that they can. This is not to say that everyday people can? t help. We can definitely all try. By planting a tree we can do our best, while making the world a more beautiful place. Deforestation is an increasing global concern. In recent years it has risen to dangerous levels. This is due to the fact that many people do not even know what it is. This lack of education has caused the problem to get to intense levels before there has been any plans to reverse its effects. Its effects are effecting the whole ecological cycle, and if not dealt with could lead to an ecological disaster. Although there are many companies out there to try and solve this problem, many people have a common misconception. They believe that we could all just plant trees, and save the world. Although tree planting would be great that is not true. There needs to be the right trees planted in the right areas, where they can work to their highest potential as carbon sinks. This way they can help to reduce carbon in the atmosphere, while looking beautiful. Wouldn? t it be nice if we could just have a world with normal carbon levels covered with beautiful trees? Personally I would rather look at a beautiful oak or maple rather than a cloud of smog. So, in conclusion, we can all try to help, plant a tree. How to cite The Effect of Deforestation to Human Lives, Essay examples

Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Essay Example For Students

Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Essay It could be traced back to more than 8,000 years ago. Mainly it is based on Chinese characters, following some laws to express the personality, emotion or style of the calligrapher. It can even reflect the mind of the calligrapher. Chinese calligraphy and Chinese painting are regarded as the top of Chinese fine arts, leading other art categories. The relationship between Chinese calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting is very close. Especially after the advent of literati (or scholar) painting in Song and Yuan dynasties, painter laid stress on blending calligraphic skills to painting. This was because the theory of handling a brush is alike with both ink freestyle painting and running hand and cursive style of calligraphy. The purpose of writing Chinese calligraphy and painting is to know more about their relationship and how they influence people, Chinese scroll painting (Juan Chou huh) is mean that after the calligraphy or traditional Chinese painting after mounting as hanging wall scroll, or it could also defined as Chinese calligraphy scrolls or Chinese Scrolls in total. By the size, form and the content, Chinese scroll painting basically include vertically-hang scroll Ciao if), horizontally-hang scroll (hang pi), long horizontal scroll (Shush Juan), or an album of paintings (CE ye). And the most common forms are Chinese vertical wall scroll (tiff) and Chinese horizontal wall scroll (hang pi). 3. 1. Types of Chinese Scroll Painting Chinese scroll painting (tofu) has been classified in three different types. One-color style scroll Two-color style scroll * Three-color style scroll Take Chinese Vertical Hanging Scroll Painting (auto) as an example. From top to bottom, tofu includes upper rod (titan gang), upper border (titan tout), the painting itself (huh Kin), lower border (did too), lower rod (did gang), and knobs (Chou tout). Generally the upper border is wider than the lower one, 3. 2, procedures of Chinese Scroll Mounting The procedures of Chinese wall scroll mounting including firstly pasting one or few sheets of paper at the back of the calligraphy or painting, this process can give it a smooth appearance also for reinforcing. Secondly, silk brocade of suitable color is pasted all around the calligraphy or painting to form the borders. Lastly, two sticks are mounted inside at left and right side, this is for the horizontal scroll, attached with ribbons for hanging. However, if the mounted work is vertical, Which is the height longer than the Width, basically mounted fixes a wooden rod to the bottom of the mounted work. This serves as the weight to hold the calligraphy or painting in place when hung up, and also helps to roll it up. At the top, there is another stick that is smaller in size than the wooden rod is mounted inside, also attached with ribbons. 3. 3. Reminder of displaying Chinese Scroll Paintings Since the traditional Chinese calligraphy or painting is performed on Guan paper or silk fabrics, it is very easy to bringing on worm and broken if they have been pet tort a long time, unless they are well displayed. Furthermore, they cannot stand damp and dry. Therefore, it is necessary to study some knowledge about the protection of the Chinese calligraphy or painting scrolls. The basic knowledge of protecting of Chinese Wall Scrolls is as follow: Calligraphy or painting scrolls cannot be hung on the wall whenever they are wet or smeary. K Never overexert while rolling up the calligraphy or painting that were scroll mounted, roll slowly and gently, in order to avoid causing ridges or cracks. * No smoking while appreciating or taking down calligraphy or minting wall scroll. * Certain temperature, humidity and airiness are required in calligraphy or painting. If they are put in on easel or in bookcase, they must have been distanced between the ground over 20 inches. Take the calligraphy or painting scroll to dry them in the air when the weather is tends to dry, which is autumn. * Quickly hang the calligraphy or painting wall scrolls in a draughty place and avoiding direct sunlight if they were found moldy. Use duster to whisk them if it is only slight moldy, While if the mold is serious, the calligraphy or painting would need to be re-mount. 3. Paper In China, paper is one of the most illustrious inventions. Chinese Pottery EssayPaintings and calligraphy usually are firstly needed to mount on a silk brocade when framing with wood, This generally will take four to seven days in out gallery to end up the mounting process for the professional monument, 5,8, Mount it your own The painting and calligraphy will get creases, tears or even accelerated aging if they are not preserved by mounting or they are not framed. However, there are ways to mount it your own, The procedures are as follows: k Since the painting and calligraphy itself could not directly be stacked to the wall or wood panel, you can use two or more plastic clips to hang the painting. Remember carefully keep the painting open and flat, and also protect the painting in case of it was torn by the bind_ * use a little sprinkling can, evenly spray the whole painting until is just wet. Because of the Chinese painting ND calligraphy are done on Guan Paper, which is made Of many plant fibers. Water, ink and color can be well absorbed. Therefore, after the painting soaks up water, the folded or wrinkled paper Will become even and smooth, and all the fold Will disappear. Lastly, leave the painting to the air dry completely, remember not to use a hair dryer or any Other drying methods, and just let the painting dries naturally itself, then you can operate other display methods on the Chinese painting or calligraphy (mounting or framing). 5. Inscription Painting, poetry and calligraphy are the Three Perfections that intimately unconnected in the minds of educated Chinese, The simplest inscription includes the name of the artist, then followed by his or her personal seal or seals. The artist may also add a date, even the name of the person for whom the picture was painted, a note on the occasion, and the style he or she has chosen to paint in, in addition, the inscriptions may explore the region of philosophy and metaphysics, history of art and the criticism of art, also may reveal more about the private life of the artist and his or her relationships between their friends and patrons. This kind of inscription could turn an ordinary painting in to a very human document. The Chinese view off picture is not as complete artistic statement in itself, but as a living body, imaginative, literary, historical, personal, that grows With time, putting on meaning, commentary and association With the years. Chinese painting and calligraphy have a long history. As a Chinese, we should know more about the culture of painting and calligraphy and spread the spirit to our descendants. We know that every procedure in mounting is important and no error is permitted. And the reminders of displaying Chinese scroll painting s very useful, we have learnt how to protect our painting carefully in order to prevent them from damages.

Research Paper on Wikileaks Essay Example

Research Paper on Wikileaks Essay Wikileaks is an international nonprofit organization that publishes declassified and private documents, and movies, in cooperation with the media. The material is uploaded by anonymous sources, so-called whistleblowers, to the organization’s website and document database that is located in Sweden. The organization says it wants to reveal unethical behavior by governments and businesses, and seeks free access to information of public interest. WikiLeaks revelations of massive corruption in Tunisia is considered as one of several factors behind the Jasmine Revolution and the Arab Spring, which began in Tunisia in January 2011 and spread to several dictatorships. The organization was started in December 2006 by a group of journalists, Chinese dissidents, IT entrepreneurs, and mathematicians from around the world. After a year, the site’s database has grown to 1.2 million documents. In June 2009, the site had declared to 1,200 volunteers. The documents to be published is selected by a core group of some 20 editors, mostly programmers and Internet activists, in collaboration with a thousand more or less loosely connected journalists. WikiLeaks does not verify the materials and resources, but left early review to the public and thereafter five major newspapers in various countries may preview the material for payment for a period before it is released. In particular, in 2011, the unedited material containing non-anonymised information was available to the public. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Wikileaks specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Wikileaks specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Wikileaks specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer One of the founders, the Australian activist, software developer, and publisher Julian Assange is described as the organization’s executive editor and chief spokesperson. When Assange was arrested on suspicion of sex crimes in Sweden and requested extradition from Britain, the Icelandic journalist Kristinn Hrafnsson was named the official spokesperson for WikiLeaks in December 2010. WikiLeaks was originally launched as an editable wiki site, where the public could view the documents and detect errors. It has gradually moved towards a more traditional publishing model, where traditional media performs the preview, and the public’s comments and edits are currently not allowed. WikiLeaks has been threatened with closure several times, and because of this, it has urged the global sites to reflect the site’s content. The database has been moved to several servers in different locations, often in Sweden because of its unique constitutionally protected freedom of expression that is not expected to change under pressure from other countries. To be protected by this law generally requires that the organization has a publisher in Sweden, why Julian Assange has applied for a work permit in Sweden, but without success. Wikileaks Forum is a discussion forum that was launched March 2, 2011 and is run by supporters of Wikileaks to be a platform for people to discuss topics, related to WikiLeaks. By 2013, in addition to the English version, site had been translated into 25 languages. Free research paper on Wikileaks is the best way to acquire basic knowledge about the topic. Are you looking for a top-notch custom research paper on Wikileaks topics? Is confidentiality as important to you as the high quality of the product? Try our writing service at EssayLib.com! We can offer you professional assistance at affordable rates. Our experienced PhD and Master’s writers are ready to take into account your smallest demands. We guarantee you 100% authenticity of your paper and assure you of dead on time delivery. Proceed with the order form: Please, feel free to visit us at EssayLib.com and learn more about our service!

The Three Actors Upon Governance †State, Market and Civil society †Government Essay

The Three Actors Upon Governance – State, Market and Civil society – Government Essay Free Online Research Papers The Three Actors Upon Governance State, Market and Civil society Government Essay This essay attempts to offer an explanation and overview of the terms governance, institutions and â€Å"good governance†. Throughout the history the term governance has been associated exclusively to the role of the state ignoring other social factors. Most recent theories offer a very different view of this term, but most stress the relationships between the three actors of governance -state, market and civil society- as necessary requisite to the act of governance. In my understanding governance is the way these actors organise themselves and make decisions according to a set of formal and informal rules that together form institutions. To achieve the perfect governance suggested by the UN is considered an utopia as conflict of interests and failures in the three actor networks arise as regular features of governance making therefore impossible the permanent respect of the Human Rights. Governance and Institutions. 2. 1. Governance. Governance is the process of decision-making which conducts public life in a society and guarantees respect of citizens’ Human Rights, equality in resource distribution and safety. Governance is in charge of the application of the rules of the game which will determine the absence or not of political legitimacy in a country and the population’s quality of life. All actors other than government, the army and the members of the market are put together as part of civil society. In some countries the criminal society has such influence in the decision-making process that may be considered as another actor of governance. Governance is therefore the result of the interactions among state, market and the civil society and function according to a set of rules and norms. Earlier definitions of governance linked this term exclusively to the action of government. Today definitions are wider and cover non-state actors as mentioned before. Rhodes (1997) relates governance with concepts as â€Å"self-organising† and â€Å"interorganisational netwoks†. According to his point of view society is able to organise and govern itself independently of the state and through a process that can be defined as symbiotic as all the members of society need to each other to achieve their aims. The social interactions which result from this exchange process are regulated by a set of rules and how they are applied will determine the level of democracy in societies. This autonomy from the state is the result of concepts such as decentralisation and privatisation of the public services that have transformed present societies. In the words of Rhodes (1997) â€Å"no single actor, public or private, has the sufficient knowledge to dominate ultimately a governing model†. Governance is the result of a social-political-administrative sharing process where state, market and civil society have their own role. The state does not have any more a central role. 2.2. The role of Institutions. So far governance has been described as the way state, market and civil society interact according to a set of norms and rules known as institutions. These are in charge of providing the instruments which make possible such interaction. According to Gorringe (1997) institutions are created as a result of the necessity of improving the co-ordination among the different members of a society, preventing conflicts of interests and supporting cooperativism. A society without institutions or rules of the game would be an anarchist society where lack of organisation may lead to chaos. Two different degrees of formality can be identified within the rules: formal norms (those based on written constitutions, laws, formal contracts, etc.) and informal norms (based on moral rules, unwritten societal codes of conduct, etc). Informal norms have more importance in developing countries for social administration and poverty alleviation given that generally formal institutions are very limited and do not have the necessary structure to carry out its tasks properly (Jutting, 2003). One of the most significant problems that formal and informal rules have to cope with is to find the way to evolve at the same rate. Sometimes the application of formal norms are against the beliefs or established moral norms of a certain society. An example can be taken from China when during the 70’s the state, trying to control the population growth, decided to impose fines to those families that did not respect the limit established in the region on the number of children per family. Th is new norm was imposed in a society where having large families was a very old tradition and has very positive connotations. The scope of work of institutions is very wide and cover all the economic and social aspects of the individual as personal security, property rights, resource distribution, level of freedom, education, etc. The application of the rules of the game needs the pre-condition of the society acceptance of such norms and of the democratic process. However, in reality the people who design these rules and who finally apply them through the governance actions are normally a small part of the society in clear advantage respect the rest of the society members. Therefore they have the chance to shape society according to their own interests. Thus depending on their actions cases of tyranny or societies living in most absolute liberty can be found (Crukshank,1999). 3. Good governance. The concept of â€Å"good governance† has had a lot of different interpretations along the history. At the present moment the most common approaches are those based on the interactions among state, market and civil society. The differences arise when defining how these relationships should make â€Å"good governance† possible. An example of it is showed by Cruikshank (1999) through the different views of two North American authors from the 60’s (Huntington and Wolin) about the interactions between state and civil society and its influence on governance. Whereas the former thinks that the role of the state is in danger when the civil society intervention increases in the political scene – â€Å"too democracy and participation†- the latter, by contrast, sees the danger in limiting the participation of the citizens in the public-political life. Thought the two authors disagree about how governance should be, both of them stress â€Å"an overflow of politics out of the realm of the state and into the realm of the social† (Cruikshank,1999). It is widely thought that a necessary condition for â€Å"good governance† is that the interactions among government, market and civil society should occur under the framework of democracy and the respect of the Human Rights (civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights) as it is described by the United Nation in its Resolution 2000, 64 (UN High Commission for Human Rights). Democracy is not just understood as the citizens chance to participate in the electoral system but it also involves a pluralist political and social system, the integrity of the three governance actors, the legitimacy of the decision-making process and the opportunity for public scrutiny of the actions of those who holds the power (Archer, 2003). Under this framework â€Å"good governance† involves that all members of a society should therefore enjoy safety –against internal and external threats- and freedom to act and express themselves irrespective of their sex, ideology, race or religion. Also they should have equal access to a welfare system covering all their basic needs and providing them with a decent quality of life – not just at subsistence levels-. This â€Å"ideal† model of governance is according to the UN only possible if it takes place under the umbrella of transparency, equity participation of citizens in the decision making process, consensus among all parts involved seeking the best common interests, following of the rule of law, responsiveness to serve all the society members, accountability to the public and institutions and effectiveness and efficiency to meet the society’s needs and protecting the environment (UN ESCAP). In this utopian model of governance every actor has a task to undertake. Thus, the market should create the necessary conditions for fair trade and competitiviness, as well as to maintain the balance between private and public companies to make sure that everybody has the same chances to access to goods and services. According to Archer (2003) the state should be in charge of financial control, good and long-term planning (in economy, infrastructure people,), to provide an equal welfa re and education system and to offer a judicial system which upholds the law without bias. Finally civil society’s should promote co-operativism to eliminate powerful interest bias and to claim political and economic accountability to maintain social equality. But why has no country in the world achieved total â€Å"good governance† if they have the theory and knowledge to do so? The main answer is the existence of conflicts of interests in the decision-making process that make impossible to apply concepts as transparency or consensus and the consistent failure in the respect of the Human Rights leading to situations of inequality among the society’s members. Sometimes is civil society who build barriers to â€Å"good governance† trying to take advantage of the democratic system. An example can be seen in Spain through the continuos outrages committed by the terrorist group ETA against the rest of the Spanish population and the government. They use the arms and threat to impose their rules in a region of the country ideologically divided (Vasc Country). With their actions this group break down the natural interaction which should take place between civil society and state. Also break the consensus between citizens in their claim for a better society. Another factor that could represent a barrier to the model of â€Å"good governance† is that the failure in the functioning of one of the three actors may affect the success of the other two members. For instance, in the case of the market a set of reasons related to lack of effectiveness in the social and government context can lead to market failure. Situations of inequality and conflict of interests can be seen when the state benefits -with reduced taxes, privileged access to capital, guaranteed markets, etc- some companies more than others. The lack of a good education system results in gap knowledge in technology and a consequent poor competitiveness. Finally, an ineffective rule of law could be cause of conflicts, different forms of abuse and the detriment of investments as companies ask for transparent policies to reduce financial risks. In the international sphere Stiglitz (2002) explains a case of unfair trade and political power between US and Bolivia. This was widely discussed in one of the most recent Uruguay Round of trade negotiations as the South American country opened its barriers to allow US to control the traffic of cocaine and was almost eradicated the growth of this in the country -even being the only income of many Bolivian citizens. However, US responded keeping its barriers closed to agricultural products that Bolivian farmers might export. Thus, US used its economic and political power to get better benefits for itself and did not fairly respond to the efforts of Bolivia. Thus, â€Å"good governance† is not possible in developing countries when they are in economic and political disadvantage respect to rich countries. Archer (2003) concludes that â€Å"good governance thesis highlight the fact that there is an overlap between business interests and Human Rights. 4. Conclusion. The UN Commission for Human Right offers a very sensible definition of â€Å"good governance† based on the necessity of the respect of the people’s civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. Also gives to the three actors of governance the instructions about how they should achieve a more fair society. But the problem is that even having the instruments and the knowledge to do so too many different interests have to be put in common, which is an utopia in a world where advantage sectors take benefits of the differences of power within societies. A society cannot develop properly without the proper functioning of its formal and informal institutions that at the same time have to be designed and applied according to the needs and beliefs of the citizens, not trying to satisfy just the privileged minorities that dominate the interactions among state, market and civil society. The aim of those who holds the power spheres should be to seek equilibrium among the three actors of governance while applying the rules of the game and the maintenance of a democratic network system. To find the right balance is difficult and although some countries get very close to it there is no society in the world which achieved a total â€Å"good governance†. References. Archer, R. (2003). United Nations. Non-Governamental Liason Service. Development dossiers. Market and good governance. unsystem.org/ngls/documents/publications .en/develop.dossier/dd.01/01.htm#02 Viewed February 2004. Cruikshank, B. (1999). The will to empower. Democratic citizens and other subjects. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. Gorringe, P. (1997). The State and Institutions. The Treasury Wellington New Zealand. www.treasury.govt.nz/gorringe/papers/gp-1997.pdf (Viewed February 2004). Jutting, J. (2003). Institutions and Development: A critical review. OECD. Development Centre. DEV/DOC (2003) 08. Technical papers. No 210. Pgs. 11-12. www.oecd.org.dev/Technics (Viewed February 2004) Rhodes, R. A. W. (1997). Understanding governance. Policy networks, governance, reflexibility and accountability. Buckingham and Philadelphia: Open University Press. Stiglitz, J. (2002). Globalization and its discontents. London and New York: Allen Lane. The Pinguin Press. United Nations. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). www.unescap.org/huset/gg/governance .htm (Viwed February 2004). United Nation Office of the High Commission for Human Rights. Human Rights and Development. unhchr.ch/development/governance-01.html (Viewed February 2004) Research Papers on The Three Actors Upon Governance - State, Market and Civil society - Government EssayBringing Democracy to AfricaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andQuebec and Canada19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraCapital PunishmentEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Comparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito

Does the efficient market theory apply on the FOREX market Essay

Does the efficient market theory apply on the FOREX market - Essay Example If the trend is looking upwards, the person â€Å"B† will buy the stock. In both cases, both persons got to the same conclusion of buying the stock of the same company, but their methods were entirely different. The person â€Å"B† does not even have to visit the company to do the technical analysis. Now implying the same method on the foreign exchange market, we can deduct whether the efficient market hypothesis is workable in the FOREX market or he not. For that we need to know the basics of the efficient market hypothesis. The efficient market hypothesis can be viewed as having three levels or stages; the weak form, the semi strong and the strong form. The weak form or the weak stage states that the price of the security or stock at any point in time reflects the true value of the stock, meaning that we cannot predict the stock’s movement from the price of the stock. All the values or the fundamentals of the company (all the negative and positive aspects) are already reflected in the stock price; therefore it is useless to do the fundamental analysis. All the publicly available information has been incorporated in the stock price. The semi-strong form or stage of the hypothesis states that the current stock price reflects all the available public information and the prices instantly change to reflect the new public information. The third stage of string form efficient states that even the insider information cannot affect the stock price. 3. Rationale for the chosen topic My reason for choosing this topic is the huge appeal in the foreign exchange market. The greatest portion of finance is in the foreign exchange by volume. The reason for this trade’s usefulness is that every trade of goods, stocks, bonds, gold silver and the like... The aim of this discussion is to decide whether the efficient market hypothesis is applicable to the foreign exchange market or not. We will try to analyze a small portion from the history of the price fluctuations of the US Dollar Vs the Euro. We will see how the figures react against the technical analysis. We will test their validity and present our conclusion. My reason for choosing this topic is the huge appeal in the foreign exchange market. The greatest portion of finance is in the foreign exchange by volume. The reason for this trade’s usefulness is that every trade of goods, stocks, bonds, gold silver and the like is done through currency and there comes the conversion process. That is why it is so prevalent that to escape the ups and downs of the foreign exchange becomes impossible. The other rationale is that I’m interested in both the fundamental and technical analysis. I believe in the perfect fusion of the both. One important thing for the efficient market hypothesis to be effective is the assumptions, which serve as the rationale for it. One of the assumptions is that a large number of market participants are constantly analyzing the stocks and bonds. They do it on their own, independent of each other. This gives a more subtle and objective evaluation of the security.

Business law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Business law - Assignment Example Since Joe’s work includes a lot of heavy machinery and labour, one of the main regulatory and legal issues within the legal framework to be adhered to should be employee security and safety. He should also be able to provide adequate amount of medical facilities to his workers in case anything goes wrong since he is aware that he is working with heavy machinery that is likely to cause damages due to negligence. Thus, Joe should modify his business in such a manner that he does not get held or prosecuted for wrongfully being negligent about these crucial parts of his business. Since Joe’s work is mainly based on contract laborers, Joe should lay down a set of terms and conditions pertaining to the entirety of the business so that he comes off as taking at least some amount of charge for anything that happens or goes wrong. This can be done with ease since he already has a high number of clients and a building repute. (Legal Issues With Contract Labour) All these measures will not only help Joe to safeguard his employees and maintain his repute but might also help to check the reasons for the high rate of employee turnover that exists within his firm. When it comes to the choice of entity, it means what type the business will actually take place as, from a legal aspect of course. Here the main thing to be discussed is what kind of a firm Joe will form for his own. According to all the information provided, Joe already has a company because he has a number of workers working for him, however he owns it solely. If he wishes, he may convert this into a partnership form of firm because he can then have someone else sharing the profits, since the revenue turnover is extremely high, that would not really be a problem. Also, the main thing to look into is the fact that in a partnership, the liability is extended out to all the partners and

Managerial Economics - Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managerial Economics - Questions - Essay Example 2. Advertising – advertising your own business requires a lot of money since it is expensive. However, franchisees do not need to worry about advertising their business because advertisement campaigns are already included in the fee that was paid by the franchisee and when the mother company advertises its products it normally carries all franchise outlets. 3. Name Recognition – most consumers nowadays buy products with brand names since it gives an assurance of quality. Most franchise outlets carry the name of well known companies with branded products that are trusted by consumers, and so they often patronize franchises. 4. Reputation – a franchisee also enjoys the protected reputation of the franchisor because lawsuits and other legalities, which may occur, would be taken care of the franchisor’s legal department. Franchisors will always look after their franchises in order to maintain their good status. 5. Support – when an individual invests in a franchise he is given the full support by the franchisor by providing technical know-how, skill, training in accounting and equipment. Support is always given to attain elevated success ratios in order to be able to sell more franchises. Corporate culture is the organization’s way of life and is an important factor in the success of an organizational architecture. Organizational architecture mainly survives in a corporate culture which possesses the following qualities (Blumenthal, n.d.): a) A team that functions as one; b) Has information sharing policy; c) Values the growth and success of its personnel; d) Puts more importance to consistency rather than hi-tech demarcation; e) Observes and respects authority; f) Measures performance output through hands-on management and is more on result-oriented people. By properly analyzing the corporate way of life, the organization architecture would be able to appraise the essential factors that

Beta of BRIC Markets in Fast Growing Economies

Beta of BRIC Markets in Fast Growing Economies Beta is the risk associated with an asset in relation to the market underlined. The developing countries/emerging economies such as Brazil, Russian, India, and China (BRICs) are playing important role in the world economy as producers of goods and services. The BRIC countries are expected to grow at a rate of more than 8 percent for next several years. The main purpose of this research is to focus on these fast growing economies and work out the betas of these BRIC markets. A particular focus is given on the Indian market as India is one of the main contenders in BRIC economies. Indias GDP is expected to be 35 times of its current level. Taking into account the performance of the economy over the years and keeping in mind the study of Goldman Sachs (2003), Indian markets are predicted to be the most developed one by 2050. This report also covers the objectives and the methodology i.e. the Single Index Model, which the research will follow and finally it concludes as the stated object ives will be covered and the research will be concluded by August 2010. Introduction: Beta in general term means an assets risk in relation to the market or a benchmark. It is measured by using short-term return intervals. An asset with beta of 0 means that it is not correlated with the markets. A positive beta shows that the asset is correlated to market and it follows the market. A negative beta shows that the asset is negatively correlated to the market. Beta is known as financial elasticity or correlated volatility. Literature review: According to Hodges; Taylor ; Yoder (2003) Beta of stock and bond portfolios change drastically with time. Therefore it is difficult to find beta of for intended horizon. They prove that betas calculated from annual returns cannot be used for lond period as it changes with time. Single period betas are useful when the investment horizon matches the holding period which is considered to find the returns. Generally single index pricing is used to model the structure of returns. However, Solnik (1974), suggests that a single index model may fail to capture international and domestic risks and, hence, a multi index model which takes into consideration both factors would be more appropriate. The presence of both risks that influence assets indicate that neither a purely domestic nor purely international beta of a security would be a complete measure of systematic risk. But on the other side, Bartholdy and Riding (1994) used the Dimson and Scholes and Williams methods on NZ data to correct for beta biases. They found that the two beta-correcting methods have no add on efficiency compared to standard OLS estimators and concluded that OLS estimators are more efficient and are more closure to relevant data. We therefore adopt the simple OLS beta estimation in this study. Ragunathan; Faff; Brooks (2000) found that the relative to the domestic index, betas were always significant while the betas relative to the international indices were not always significant. The BRIC countries are expected to grow at a rate of more than 8 percent for next several years. The developing countries/emerging economies such as Brazil, Russian, India, and China (BRICs) are playing important role in the world economy as producers of goods and services and increasing capital. The four countries went through major transformational changes in their economic structure. Though BRICs countries followed a sustainable growth path to integrate them self among globalised economy. After a lot of socio-economic transformations in the twentieth century all these countries were replaced by gradual integration in the global economy in the 1980s and 1990s. In recent times, there is a surge in the global economy particularly in BRICs countries due to economic liberalisation. According to Bharadwaj (editor) the BRIC countries have many good things going in their favour. China is a leader in manufacturing powerhouse in the world and India is number one for services sector (In information technology area),while Russia and Brazil have abundant natural resources. Companies from countries like China and India have intended global ambitions various fields like information technology, industrial production, service sector, etc. BRIC countries have showed global geopolitical leadership in various regions. The new and good changes in economic policies have boosted the developing economies like China, India, Brazil and Russia. Among these countries a new economy is emerging and if the current growth level is maintained they will become the global economic player in near future. Wilson, D. and Purushothaman, R. in their paper suggest that in the coming decades large developing countries like the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) will become a great force in the world economy from its current level even above the expectations the investors currently anticipate. It is evident that from the onset of the 21st century more than a third of the worlds growth has originated in these countries. So, the rise of new powerhouse economies in the developing world can shift the equation of global economic order is predicted by Bloomberg (2007). It is also projected that the BRICs economies as a whole could be larger than the G6 in future. Thus the BRIC thesis recognizes that Brazil, Russia, India and China have changed their political systems to embrace global capitalism. Moreover, Brazil, Russia, India and China have long been a favourable destination of  emerging market investors. By Farah, Paolo(2006) This is optimistic for economic growth and huge  investment may come to the BRICs in coming decades. The spur in economic growth there is a great requirement of broad analysis to get the perfect image of the BRICs economic progress Kumar, Fodea (2007). That is the main purpose of this research, to find the betas of these developing economies and forecast them. In year 2006 India has been worlds second fastest growing economy. Every year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, there is a superstar. Not an individual but a Nation as a whole. One country impresses the gathering of global leaders because of a particularly smart Finance minister or a compelling tale of reform. In the decade that Ive been going to Davos, no country has captured the imagination of the conference and dominated the conversation as India in 2006.'( Fareed Zakaria, News week issue dated Mar 6, 2006) . Chinas economy has risen by almost 10 percent since 1980Indias is a tale of future, which is coming into sharp focus. In the study by Goldman Sachs (2003)shows that in coming 50 years, India will be worlds fastest growing economy (largely because of its young workforce). The report suggests that in 10 years Indias economy will be larger than Italys and in 15 years larger than that of Britains. By 2040 the worlds third largest economy. By 2050 it will be five times the size of Japans and its per capita income will have risen to 35 times its current level. Predictions like these are a treacherous business, though its worth noting that Indias current growth rate is actually higher than the study assumed. Thus we can see from the above information that there is lot of potential of making money in this BRIC economies over coming years. But care has to be taken regarding the risks and hence, I would like to carry out this project to investigate Beta of these economies. With a particular focus on the Indian economy. Objectives: The objectives of this thesis are to use the data of BRIC markets and interpret them to answer the following questions What is the beta of BRIC economies? What is the forecasted beta of the BRIC economies? What is the performance of sectors in individual economies? We hope that the outcome of this research will answer these questions and help the investors who wish to invest into these economies. Data: The data to conduct this research will be taken from Bloomberg and the exchanges of the four BRIC economies: Brazil Russia India China The focus of this research is to find the beta of these markets and compare them, the weekly prices from 2000 to 2008 will be used. Methodology: The research method of this project will be of a quantitative one. The data required will be secondary data. We will mainly interpret this data to find out beta of each market. We will further remove beta of the different sectors and compare the performance of each sector with that of whole market. Single-Index Model: For our research we will mainly use Single-Index Model. So firstly, we will use the regression equation of the Single-Index model. This can be done by using the past data of the markets and trying to find out systematic risk. As this model is linear, we can estimate the sensitivity (beta) coefficient of a security, Ri= ri-rf The regression equation is: Ri(t)= ÃŽÂ ±i+ ÃŽÂ ²iRm (t) +ei(t) Where the intercept of this equation (denoted by the greek letter alpha,ÃŽÂ ±) is the securitys expected return which is excess, when the excess return of the market is zero. The slope coefficient ÃŽÂ ²i is the beta of the security.Thus we can find beta. Beta is the securitys sensitivity to the index. The Expected Retun-Beta Relationship: As E(ei)=o we can get value of E(ri), thus we can get a new equation return-beta relationship with the help of single index model. E(Ri)= ÃŽÂ ±i+ ÃŽÂ ²iRm The above equation explains that the securitys risk premium is due to risk premium of the index. The market risk premium is multiplied by the beta or sensitivity. It is also called systematic risk premium. Any reminder is given in the form of alpha. It is also called as non market premium. To explain this in a simple example, if the value of alpha is positive which means that the security is underpriced, or in other words there is a chance to earn an extra premium. As the price of the security is brought to equilibrium the value of alpha is driven to zero. Thus this is how a relation can be established between Return and Beta. Thus by using the above Single-Index Model we can find betas of particular markets and we can also find betas of particular sectors of that market. Once this is done we can try to compare the results of that of Indian market with rest of BRIC economies. Conclusion / Expected outcome: The expected outcomes of the project research are: A beta value for BRIC economies. The forecasted beta of BRIC economies. Sector vise beta of the economy. With the help of these information investors can make a good decision regarding their investments into these booming economies. They will be able to make the most of these markets. Time Line: I will be following a time-line to complete this research. I intend to collect all my data by May using Bloomberg and the exchanges of respective markets. By June and July I will be interpreting and analyzing the collected data. I assume that I will finish this research by end of August. Refrencing: Asness, C. S. (1996) Why not 100% equities?, Journal of Portfolio Management, 22, 29à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"34. Bartholdy, J. and A. Riding (1994), Thin trading and the estimation of betas: The efficacy of alternative techniques, Journal of Financial Research, 17/2, Summer, 241-254. Bodie, Kane, Marcus (Eds.). (2008). Investments (8th ed.) Mcgraw hill. C Kenneth Jones. (1992). Portfolio management McGraw-hill. Choi, Fu. (2005). The dual-beta model: Evidence from the new zealand stock market. Department of Finance, Waikato Management School, Dr. Avaneendra Misra. India getting better. Retrieved from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1214202 Fodea, Kumar, Perspective on economic growth of BRIC countries: A case of brazil and india. HODGES, TAYLOR, YODER. (2003). Beta, the treynor ratio, and long-run investment horizons. Applied Financial Economics, (8), 503à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"508. KLEMKOSKY, MARTIN. THE ADJUSTMENT OF BETA FORECASTS.NO. 4(SEPTEMBER 1975). Pogue G and Solnik B. 1974. The market model applied to European common stocks: Some empirical results. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 9:17-944. Prashanth N. Bharadwaj. (2007). BRIC Countriesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ A competitive analysis. Robert A. Levy. On the short-term stationarity of beta coefficients Financial Analysts Journal(27 (November-December 1971)), 55-62. Scholes, M. and J. Williams (1977), Estimating betas from nonsynchronous data, Journal of Financial Economics, 5, 309-327. Sromon Das. Testing the stability of beta over market phases an empirical study in the indian context. VANITHA RAGUNATHAN, ROBERT W. FAFF, ROBERT D. BROOKS. (2000). Australian industry beta risk, the choice of market index and business cycles.10, 49-58.

Mystery and Suspense in Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Literature :: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Literature Essays

Mystery and Suspense in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Literature In this essay, I will compare and analyse how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle creates mystery and suspense in three short stories. In retrospect, mystery and suspense go together. If one of the two is present in a story, so is another. Both of these elements are evident in the three short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I intend to go into the intriguing world of this master of mystery and explore the methods used by the writer. I aim to analyze the stories and highlight common traits in the way in which he creates mystery and suspense. In order to fully grasp the essence of the stories, we must first know some background information about the writer and the period in which the characters involved in the stories lived. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle studied medicine in Edinburgh and graduated in 1881. He set up practice soon afterwards but unfortunately his patients were far and few between. He then turned to writing. In the duration of his stay in Edinburgh, he met Joseph Bell who was a professor at the University that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle attended. Bell had an intriguing hobby of deducing people's characters from their appearance. Bell became the model for the protagonist of the Sherlock Holmes stories, which were introduced in 1887. In these stories, Doyle portrays himself as Dr. Watson, a friend of Holmes who spends a great amount of time with him. The story of "The Engineer's Thumb'; starts in a way that is typical of many of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Dr Watson is recalling one of the numerous mysteries that he and his friend have solved and he explains which story he is going to tell and why he is going to tell the story. By telling us the reasons for telling the story, the author is provoking the interest of the reader. He also makes the story seem realistic thus gaining the readers belief, which is vital in a story because people prefer not to read stories that develop no sense of credibility. The reader feels that they must read on and find out more about the details offered by the writer. This method is simultaneously setting the story whilst gaining the reader's attention. Another way he builds of the inquisitiveness of the reader is by showing the impacts of the event such as "The Engineers Thumb'; and where he states the effect the case made on him.

Administrative Management Theory Advantages and Disadvantages

STRENGTH 1. It is the most comprehensive administrative management theory Henri Fayol's theory is extremely comprehensive as a way to deal with management techniques. It is also the most used because it has been proven  to work. It’s being comprehensive as it covers just  about anything  one might need to do in a management position to ensure success. WEAKNESSES 1. It is still based on human  application The weaknesses to the theory are that it is still based on humans.As humans we are naturally going to make  mistakes. The theory  works on  the basis of having harmony among people in which unity forms to create a strong management team. However, when  mistakes  are made it can undermine the entire strength of the team. Furthermore, if a person is found to be false and will not  admit  it, more problems can ensue. This is the same weaknesses of any system that relies on humans to be in control given various factors like personality and that  mistakes  can be made.2. Reliance on experience Many of the writers in the management developed their ideas on the basis of their experiences as managers or consultants with only certain types of organizations. For instance, Fayol's work came primarily from his experiences with large manufacturing firms that were experiencing stable environments. It may be unwise to general ize from those situations to others especially to young, high-technology firms of today that are confronted daily with changes in their competitors' products.3. Untested assumptions Many of the assumptions made by classical writers were based not on scientific tests but on value judgments that expressed what they believed to be proper life-styles, moral codes, and attitudes toward success. For instance, the classical approaches seem to view the life of a worker as beginning and ending at the plant door. Their basic assumption is that workers are primarily motivated by money and that they work only for more money.They also assume that productivity is the best measure of how well a firm is performing. These assumptions fail to recognize that employees may have wants and needs unrelated to the workplace or may view their jobs only as a necessary evil4. Unintended consequences Administrative management approaches aim at achieving high productivity, at making behaviors predictable, and a t achieving fairness among workers and between managers and workers, yet they fail to recognize that several unintended consequences can occur in practice.For instance, a heavy emphasis on rules and regulations may cause people to obey rules blindly without remembering their original intent. Oftentimes, since rules establish a minimum level of performance expected of employees, a minimum level is all they achieve. Perhaps much more could be achieved if the rules were not so explicit.My take is that when he talks about â€Å"advantages and disadvantages of administrative management† he is talking very specifically about administrative rule making authority.Most administrative agencies have little or no rule making authority (FBI, DOJ, BATF), these exercise purely executive power. Some have been given tightly constrained rule making authority.A few, such as the EPA have been given fairly broad rule making authority. That can be come a problem.â€Å"Again, the complexities of m odern life that gave rise to the Los Angeles smog problem are well documented. The EPA and its regulations made my air healthier. I'd say that was being â€Å"reasonable†.†Yes, they were being reasonable back then. The stopped being reasonable some time around the mid 1990s. The problem is when their manager's salaries are determined by their budget and number of employees, how do you get them to recognize when it's time to stop? How do you get them to admit that while yes, continuing to enforce the existing rules is important, there is, as with all things, a point of diminishing returns where each new rule does more harm than good.REFERENCES1. http://www.vectorstudy.com/management_schools/classical_school.htm2. http://www.vectorstudy.com/management_gurus/henri_fayol.htm3.http://www.vectorstudy.com/management_schools/classical_school.htm

Battle of the Atlantic in World War II

Battle of the Atlantic in World War II The Battle of the Atlantic was fought between September 1939 and May 1945 throughout the entirety of  World War II. Commanding Officers Allies Admiral Sir Percy Noble, RNAdmiral Sir Max Horton, RNAdmiral Royal E. Ingersoll, USN Germany Grand Admiral Erich RaederGrand Admiral Karl Doenitz Background With the British and French entrance into World War II on September 3, 1939, the German Kriegsmarine moved to implement strategies similar to those used in World War I. Unable to challenge the Royal Navy in regard to capital ships, the Kriegsmarine began a campaign against Allied shipping with the goal of cutting off Britain from the supplies needed to wage war. Overseen by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, German naval forces sought to employ a mix of surface raiders and U-boats. Though he favored the surface fleet, which would come to include the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz, Raeder was challenged by his U-boat chief, then-Commodore Karl Doenitz, regarding the use of submarines. Initially ordered to seek out British warships, Doenitzs U-boats had early success sinking the old battleship HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow and the carrier HMS Courageous off Ireland. Despite these victories, he vigorously advocated for using groups of U-boats, known as wolf packs, to attack the Atlantic convoys that were resupplying Britain. Though the German surface raiders scored some early successes, they drew the attention of the Royal Navy who sought to destroy them or keep them in port. Engagements such as the Battle of the River Plate (1939) and the Battle of the Denmark Strait (1941) saw the British respond to this threat. The Happy Time With the fall of France in June 1940, Doenitz gained new bases on the Bay of Biscay from which his U-boats could operate. Spreading into the Atlantic, the U-boats began attacking British convoys in packs. These multi-ship groups were further directed by intelligence gleaned from the breaking of the  British Naval Cypher No.  3. Armed with the approximate location of an approaching convoy, the wolf pack would deploy in a long line across its anticipated path. When a U-boat sighted the convoy, it would radio its location and coordination of the attack would commence. Once all of the U-boats were in position, the wolf pack would strike. Typically conducted at night, these assaults could involve up to six U-boats and forced the convoy escorts to deal with multiple threats from several directions.    Through the remainder of 1940 and into 1941, the U-boats enjoyed tremendous success and inflicted heavy losses on Allied shipping. As a result, it became known as the Happy Time (Die Glà ¼ckliche Zeit) among the U-boat crews. Claiming over 270 Allied vessels during this period, U-boat commanders such as  Otto Kretschmer, Gà ¼nther Prien, and Joachim Schepke became celebrities in Germany. Key battles in the second half of 1940 included convoys HX 72, SC 7, HX 79, and HX 90. In the course of the fighting, these convoys lost 11 of 43, 20 of 35, 12 of 49, and 11 of 41 ships respectively. These efforts were supported by Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor aircraft which aided in finding Allied ships as well as attacking them. Converted from long-range Lufthansa airliners, these aircraft flew from bases in Bordeaux, France and Stavanger, Norway and penetrated deep into the North Sea and Atlantic. Capable of carrying a 2,000-pound bomb load, Condors typically would strike at low altitude in an attempt to bracket the target vessel with three bombs.  Focke-Wulf Fw 200 crews claimed to have sunk 331,122 tons of Allied shipping between June 1940 to February 1941. Though effective, the Condor was seldom available in more than limited numbers and the threat later posed by Allied escort carriers and other aircraft ultimately forced its withdrawal. Guarding the Convoys Though British destroyers and corvettes were equipped with ASDIC (sonar), the system was still unproven and was unable to maintain contact with a target during an attack. The Royal Navy was also hampered by a lack of suitable escort vessels. This was eased in September 1940, when fifty obsolete destroyers were obtained from the United States via the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. In the spring of 1941, as British anti-submarine training improved and additional escort vessels reached the fleet, losses began to lessen and the Royal Navy began sinking U-boats at an increasing rate. To counter improvements in British operations, Doenitz pushed his wolf packs further west forcing the Allies to provide escorts for the entire Atlantic crossing. While the Royal Canadian Navy covered convoys in the eastern Atlantic, it was aided by President Franklin Roosevelt who extended the Pan-American Security Zone nearly to Iceland. Though neutral, the United States provided escorts within this region. Despite these improvements, U-boats continued to operate at will in the central Atlantic outside the range of Allied aircraft. This air gap posed issues until more advanced maritime patrol aircraft arrived. Operation Drumbeat Other elements that aided in stemming Allied losses were the capture of a German Enigma code machine and the installation of new high-frequency direction-finding equipment for tracking U-boats. With the US entry into the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Doenitz dispatched U-boats to the American coast and Caribbean under the name Operation Drumbeat. Commencing operations in January 1942, the U-boats began enjoying a second happy time as they took advantage of unescorted American merchant ships as well as the US failure to implement a coastal black-out. As losses mounted, the U.S. implemented a convoy system in May 1942. With convoys operating on the American coast, Doenitz withdrew his U-boats back to the mid-Atlantic that summer. Through the fall, losses continued to mount on both sides as the escorts and U-boats clashed. In November 1942, Admiral Sir Max Horton became commander-in-chief of the Western Approaches Command. As additional escort vessels became available, he formed separate forces which were tasked with supporting the convoy escorts. As they were not tied to defending a convoy, these groups were able to specifically hunt U-boats. The Tide Turns In the winter and early spring of 1943, the convoy battles continued with increasing ferocity. As Allied shipping losses mounted, the supply situation in Britain began to reach critical levels. Though losing U-boats in March, the Germany strategy of sinking ships faster than the Allies could build them appeared to be succeeding. This ultimately proved to be a false dawn as the tide rapidly turned in April and May. Though Allied losses dropped in April, the campaign pivoted on the defense of convoy ONS 5. Attacked by 30 U-boats it lost thirteen ships in exchange for six of Doenitzs boats. Two weeks later, convoy SC 130 repelled German attacks and sunk five U-boats while taking no losses. The rapid turn in Allied fortunes was the result of the integration of several technologies which had become available in the preceding months. These included the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar, continued advances in reading German radio traffic, enhanced radar, and the Leigh Light. The latter device allowed Allied aircraft to successfully attack surfaced U-boats at night. Other advances included the introduction of merchant aircraft carriers and long-range maritime variants of the B-24 Liberator. Combined with new escort carriers, these eliminated the air gap. Combined with wartime ship construction programs, such as Liberty ships, these rapidly gave the Allies the upper hand. Dubbed Black May by the Germans, May 1943 saw Doenitz lose 34 U-boats in the Atlantic in exchange for 34 Allied ships. Latter Stages of Battle Pulling back his forces during the summer, Doenitz worked to develop new tactics and equipment. These included the creation of U-flak boats with enhanced anti-aircraft defenses as well as a variety of countermeasures and new torpedoes. Returning to the offensive in September, the U-boats enjoyed a brief period of success before Allied forces again began causing heavy losses. As Allied air power grew in strength, U-boats came under attack in the Bay of Biscay as they left and returned to port. With his fleet being reduced, Doenitz turned to new U-boat designs including the revolutionary Type XXI. Designed to operate entirely submerged, the Type XXI was faster than any of its predecessors. Only four were completed by the end of the war. Aftermath The final actions of the Battle of the Atlantic took place on May 7-8, 1945, just before the German surrender.  In the course of the fighting, Allied losses totaled around 3,500 merchant ships and 175 warships, as well as around 72,000 sailors killed. German casualties numbered 783 U-boats and around 30,000 sailors (75% of the U-boat force). One of the most important fronts of the war, success in the Atlantic was critical for the Allied cause. Citing its importance, Prime Minister Winston Churchill later stated: The Battle of the Atlantic was the dominating factor all through the war. Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea or in the air depended ultimately on its outcome...