Examine the Key Factors Influencing

Examine the key factors influencing inclusive teaching and learning Inclusive teaching means recognising, accommodating and meeting the learning needs of all students, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability or sexual orientation. This starts with acknowledging that students are members of diverse communities, have a range of individual learning needs, and deserve equal opportunity to access the learning experience. Applying inclusive learning is increasingly important in our diverse society and education should reflect, promote and facilitate this. For example, there are more and more disabled people entering education nowadays than there used to be: an inclusive environment must ensure that they are equally valued and accepted and that their efforts to learn are recognised and judged without bias. Traditional teaching holds that students with diverse needs be placed in the general education setting only once they can meet traditional academic expectations.Inclusive education, on the other hand, celebrate people’s diversity and brings all students together in one classroom, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses in any area, and seeks to maximize the potential of all of them by encouraging and using their different backgrounds and knowledge to broaden the learning experience. In order to create an effective inclusive learning environment we must overcome barriers that might stop lea rners getting the best from their learning experience. Barriers to learning are problems or situations that  prevent learners from accessing programs,  going to class, concentrating and learning. Intrinsic barriers of learning are located within the learner, hence of an intrinsic nature, and can be physical, sensory, physiological or intellectual. For example not knowing, or not being comfortable with, the rest of the class could constitute a barrier. Icebreakers could be used in this instance to encourage learners to talk to us, to each other and to the group as a whole. Similarly climate setters can be used to promote learning related to session objectives; this is particularly important as people can be intimidated in a situation where they are asked to come up with ideas. Intrinsic barriers of learning are located within the learner, hence of an intrinsic nature, and can be physical, sensory, physiological or intellectual. For example not knowing, or not being comfortable with, the rest of the class could constitute a barrier. Icebreakers could be used in this instance to encourage learners to talk to us, to each other and to the group as a whole. Similarly climate setters can be used to promote learning related to session objectives; this is particularly important as people can be intimidated in a situation where they are asked to come up with ideas.Hence the tutor needs to create an environment where students feel comfortable to express themselves. Learners may also face extrinsic barriers, related to the environment they live, work and study in. Issues with family relationships, social support, employment and financial matters provide some such examples. It’s very important to motivate learners in order for them to get the most out of their classes. To motivate a learner we must first understand what motivates them and teach to their particular strengths and weaknesses.Sometimes we may have to match teaching approaches to their learning styles and provide support to those who need it. Other times we may have to use energizers to challenge the class or refocus learners’ attention, e. g. after a long period of concentration or after a break. Also, encouraging friendly competition could provide motivational challenges for all of them. Most of all, we need to give them constructive feedback to encourage personal improvement. One theory we can be refer to for motivational purposes is Maslow’s pyramid of needs.According to his pyramid we must feel that we are satisfied with our physiological needs before we can think of getting a roof. Having the feeling of being secure motivates us to seek love. Once we have accomplished the need for belongingness then we seek a better future which motivates us to set goals an d achieve something honourable in life. Once we have accomplished a settled life with love and respect, we might then look to reach our full potential. To ensure all students gain the most from their learning, consideration must be based on the particular learning style and objectives for each individual.An initial assessment of the students can be carried out for this purpose and then use a mixture of two or more styles and a range of different approaches to meet the needs of individuals and groups. Typical teaching methods fall into three categories: * Teacher-led: this is where the tutor transmits ideas, information and skills via lectures or presentations; * Participative: this involves interaction which allows knowledge and experience to be shared between the teacher and the learners; * Learner centred: this is where learners explore and discover by themselves, either on their own or in small collaborative groups.Benjamin Bloom provided the theory of Taxonomy to help tutors cho ose the appropriate teaching method. He made a classification of learning objectives that educators set for students in order to create a more holistic form of education. Bloom’s Taxonomy divides educational objectives into Cognitive, Affective and Psycho Motor domains. Skills in the cognitive domain revolve around knowledge, comprehension and critical thinking on a particular topic; traditional education tends to emphasize the skills in this domain and uses methods like lectures, small group work and problem solving tasks.Skills in the affective domain describe the way people react emotionally and their awareness to other people’s joy or pain; teaching methods in this domain might include discussion, case studies, role play and simulation. Finally, skills in the psychomotor domain describe the ability to physically manipulate a tool or instrument; typical teaching methods in this domain will include demonstration, individual practice and coaching. A tutor must also de vise a programme of strategies to cater for the specific needs of their own specialism. This relates to the arrangements we make to get the class discuss particular aspects of the subject.Depending on specialism we can have discussions in pairs or in small groups. If the class is not too big we can also get the whole group work together and bounce ideas off each other. We could also take this one step further and consider if the class could benefit from group project work rather than individual project work. In that respect, Bruce Tuckman's theory on stages of group development comes to our aid in understanding and assessing students in a group effort. This theory has gained a great deal of popularity and suggested that for a group to achieve maximum effectiveness it needs to move through four stages.These are: * Forming: at this first stage the team is new and the members are unfamiliar with each other. Each seeks group acceptance with caution, and conflict is avoided. * Storming:   at this stage different ideas compete for consideration and the he team addresses issues such as what problems they are really supposed to solve. Team members open up to each other and confront each other's ideas and perspectives. * Norming: here the team manages to agree on common goals and comes to a mutual plan for achieving them.Some may have to give up their own ideas and agree with others in order to make the team function. * Performing: by this stage members are motivated and knowledgeable and the team functions as a unit in order to achieve agreed goals. Many long-standing teams go through these cycles many times as they react to changing circumstances. For example, a change in leadership may cause the team to revert to  storming  as the new people challenge the existing norms and dynamics of the team. Another important aspect of inclusive learning is the resources we use.It’s vital that these are carefully selected so as to reflect and meet the needs of all l earners. If resources fail to do this they will create barriers to learning and disadvantage some individuals in the group. There is a wide range of resources that can be used but here is a selection that may meet learners’ needs: * Powerpoint: this is a vital resource when delivering information and, if used in the correct manner, can appeal to all learning styles. For example they can provide the basis for teaching other activities and can be left up at all time to remind students of their aims and objectives. Picture Cards: these are good visual resource and can support the topic being taught. They are particularly useful in multicultural environments and can be adapted easily in order to make them inclusive. * Films: appeal to all learning styles and abilities as they create a relaxed environment and can offer real life situations that can't be created in the classroom setting. Films also have a way of explaining different points of view in an alternative way. Moreover, t hey can act as an assessment method to check the learners have understood what has been shown. Case Studies: this is a powerful resource that stimulates learners to understand and critique how a subject is applied in the real world. * Quiz: this is a fun and interactive resource that can be tailored to different learning styles and ability levels. Other examples of resources include handouts and books to study and discuss theoretical aspects of the subject; computers, software and hi-tech equipment for hands-on experience of ICT subjects; and of course writing boards and flip charts to create on-the-spot diagrams and workflows and to have the whole class participate and interact.We also need to provide opportunities for learners to practice their literacy, language, numeracy and ICT skills. This can be achieved by embedding functional skills. Functional skills are practical skills in English, information ; communication technology, and mathematics. Allowing for these transferable sk ills to be included in our teaching will enable individuals to work confidently, effectively and independently in life. For example, facilitating contribution to discussions and working in groups will enable learners to develop literacy skills which they will then be able to use in their everyday lives.Also, coursework assessments and reflective learning logs constitute effective method of encouraging learners to use written skills. Also, we can encourage Maths skills by using for example number games, and ICT skills by including computer-led teaching and assessments. In organizing a class it’s increasingly important to establish ground rules with learners in order to adhere to minimum necessary conditions for getting learning work done in the class and promote respect for each other.The setting down of ground rules at the start of the course gives structure and guidance to the group ensuring that the people’s beliefs and wants are taken into account and the course can run productively within the set rules. Though there is no definitive list for all classes it is an essential exercise to think through what we want on the list. Typical ground rules may  include items like arriving on time, respecting health and safety regulations, switching off mobile phones, respecting other people's contributions and not interrupting fellow-students.Usually, ground rules are teacher imposed but learners can make valuable contributions and sometimes there can be room for negotiation. Obviously, the majority of the ground rules cannot be negotiated but getting the learners to aid in the setting of the rules puts the ounce on them to adhere to them more. Moreover, it will make them aware of what will happen should the rules be broken. We also need to create assessment opportunities that meet the needs of learners. Assessment is the process of appraising the learner’s understanding of the subject and also of recording their knowledge, skills and attitudes.I t can focus on individual learners or a group of learners as a whole. It is always best to start any course with an assessment of the students’ prior knowledge so that the tutor can start their teaching at the correct level and can ensure an inclusive teaching method where every learner’s needs are met. There are many methods of assessment depending on specialism. For example in assessing foreign language learning we can use multiple choice exercises, written answers, essay writing, class test, listening and speaking activities, to name but a few.When assessing learners we need to give constructive feedback in order to spur and motivate them to hone their skills. It’s important to tell them when they are doing something well and why, as this will serve as encouragement. However, constructive feedback doesn’t just mean positive feedback. We can give negative feedback too as long as we clearly state what could be improved and why. This means talking first a bout what a learner has done well, then going on to discussing points for improvement and then ending on another positive note.Using this strategy students are motivated by their achievements and evaluate the negative aspect of their feedback in a constructive way to better themselves. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation [ 2 ]. Bloom, B. S. , Engelhart, M. D. , Furst, E. J. , Hill, W. H. , & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals; Handbook I: Cognitive Domain New York, Longmans, Green [ 3 ]. Tuckman, Bruce (1965). â€Å"Developmental sequence in small groups†.

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Background Sony Corporation is one of the best-known names in consumer electronics andranks second worldwide in electronics behind Matsushita Electric Corporation. Since itwas  established  shortly  after  World  War  II,  Sony  has  introduced  a  stream  of  revolutionary  products,  including  the  transistor  radio,  the  Trinitron  television,  theBetamax  VCR,  the  CD  player,  the  Walkman  portable  cassette  player,  and  thePlayStation game console. The company's electronics segment–which includes audioand video products, televisions, personal computers, monitors, computer peripherals,telecommunications devices, and electronic components (such as semiconductors).When Dr. Toshi T. Doi took charge of the project to develop a new computer in 1984, herecruited  11  top-flight  engineers  to  form  the  team. Doi  established  three  basicguidelines for the development: †¢ (1) the computer should be 32 bit; †¢ (2) it should be multipurpose; and †¢ (3) the project should be completed as soon as possible. The engineers, however, decided that they wanted to design a machine (an engineeringworkstation)  that  would  help  them  in  their  own  engineering  work  rather  than  amultipurpose machine. Doi approved their plan, but  he required that it be  finished in sixmonths.SAPADAPA ANALYSIS:I. Situational  Analysis Dr. Toshi T. Doi was the general manager of Sony's workstation division(WD) and was not keen on changing Sony's product development process,which was efficient and successful. The WD's workstation â€Å"NEWS† launchedin October 1986 at the Tokyo Data Show had generated over 1000 inquiries;they  recovered  investments  in  few  months  and  saw  a  double  in  salesannually. Its new product development (NPD) process for the 1550 series workstationhad three stages: basic architecture sp ecification †¢ product design †¢ first lot productionOne side effect of Sony’s preoccupation with the video business was that itscomputer business. Although Sony had  some success in the  computer gamemarket, its first entrants in the computer market were 8-bit machines. TheSMC-70 and SMC-777 are 8-bit machines were introduced in 1982 and 1984,respectively, which failed quickly in competition with 16-bit MS-DOS systems(e. g. , the IBM  PC). Sony considered developing a  16-bit microcomputer but itsoon abandoned the idea. II. Problem Analysis The development required too much effort from hardware design engineers.Engineers in small teams were required to handle all issues from logic design tomanufacturability, requiring a breadth of knowledge, which many did not have. These engineers had to put-in 60 to 70 hours a week and much more during acrisis, rendering them overworked. With  all these extra  efforts put in,  the designswere still not optimized to be manufactured Man/Engineers ? Too  much  was  required  from  thehardware design engineers. Small teams were more efficient but they requiredthat each engineer be able to handle the completerange of  design  tasks, from  high-level architecturedown to minor details.Thus the engineer's skills andknowledge had to be both broad and  deep. Method ? With the current procedure, the designswere not  optimized for  manufacturability. Because hardware design engineers were unfamiliarwith  all  of  the  manufacturing  concerns,  they  oftenmissed  simple  redesigns  that  could  makemanufacturing far more efficient. Inthe current process, it is very difficult to separatetechnology  into  neat  steps  and  for  this  reason  ittakes time  to  transfer technology. The workstationmarket is so competitive that there is no time to dothis transfer. SpecializationDesign engineering does ot have  enough expertiseto support manufact uring properly, especially as theproduct line and the number of development projectscontinue to growWorking  TimeHardware  engineers  typically  work  60-70  hours  aweek And even more during a  crises. SWOT ANALYSIS A. Strengths †¢ Recovered Investments and doubled the  annual sales since the  launch of  Ã¢â‚¬Å"NEWS† †¢ Project Manager often a Senior Engineer  B. Weaknesses †¢ Small project teams †¢ Very limited design engineers †¢ Lack of traditional management tasks †¢ Marketing power is insufficientC. Opportunities †¢ Reorganization of engineers †¢ Hiring of Highly expertise/skilled design engineersD.Threats †¢ Marketing power of competitors during this time IV. Potential Problem Analysis †¢ Additional cost in hiring highly expertise or skilled design engineers. †¢ Possible loss of market if  other competitors will  win the competition duringthat time when the marketing power is still insuff icient. †¢ Small project teams that may require them to add manpower and its costs. †¢ Engineers will continue to work too much time that could result to burn-out. †¢ Possible decrease in the annual sales of the Sony Company. †¢ Loss of precisions in the product lines if the needed expertise will not

Opening a New Branch of Disneyland in Dubai Research Paper

Opening a New Branch of Disneyland in Dubai - Research Paper Example Dubai and other Emirates are governed by seven hereditary Sheikhs also known as Emirs. The seven emirates choose the presidents among themselves. Dubai’s Emir, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan is also the president of UAE. He was reelected to his fourth consecutive term in 1991by the Supreme Council of Rulers, the highest body in the country. The council meets informally. The Vice President and Prime Minister is the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. There is also a cabinet with various ministries distributed among the seven Emirates. The president is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The Federal National Council is the parliament. It was formed in 1972 and is considered a landmark in UAE’s legislative and constitutional process. The role of the parliament is to advice the Supreme Council and the Cabinet. The FNC is made up of 40 members appointed by rulers of the 7 Emirates. The United Arab Emirates is the founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council which was created as a conference in Abu Dhabi in 1981. Member countries include Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman. UAE is also a member of the Islamic Conference Organization, the United Nations and the League of Arab States. Dubai is basically a civil law jurisdiction, having been influenced by Roman, French and Islamic laws. The increasing presence of international law firms from Common law jurisdiction had confirmed the application of Common Law principles in commercial contract. This, to some extent, has influenced the UAE legal system. A number of codified laws are used to regulate matters arising, such as maritime affairs, labor relations, commercial agencies, commercial transactions, intellectual property and commercial companies. There are two types of laws in Dubai, federal (which apply to all the Emirates) and local (which apply to Dubai only).

Working in the community (fire figthers.) Essay

Working in the community (fire figthers.) - Essay Example http://www.cdc.gov). Prevention labor is part of fire fighters' educational programs, which are addressed both to children and adults in order to avoid, as far as possible, injures and deaths produced by the fire. This labor is developed with their community and national programs. "NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) teaches people of all ages how to make responsible choices regarding health and safety. One of our most important commitments is to give people the knowledge and skills they need to lead safer lives" ("Education Programs", National Fire Protection Association. http://www.nfpa.org). Children are one of these groups and fire fighters usually talk to them about the risks of a variety of things that may cause fire or other accidents. These programs usually include very easy tips about security in the house: things that are potentially dangerous, things that may cause a fire, things to be careful with or to use under the supervision of an adult. These days, internet is increasingly becoming an important teaching method, so most of Fire Departments include a specific section for children on their websites. This is a complement for the labor they carry out in schools, where they talk to children about fire risks, teach them how to prevent and how to act when a fire starts and carry out fire drills. Usually, the person who talks in schools is a member of the community which takes part in some volunteer program. On the websites, most of the fire prevention tips are usually presented as attractive interactive games for children, with eye-catching animations, like the program of the National Fire Protection Association. In their "Risk Watch Safe Community Program" we can find complete information on how to teach children to prevent unintentional injuries or injuries that can result from natural disasters ("Risk Watch Safe Community Program", National Fire Protection Association. http: //www.nfpa.org.). They use games that attract children's attention, like searching the hazardous elements in the picture of a room, making them aware of the elements they need to play safe or helping Sparky the Fire Dog to complete his emergency kit. Sparky, which is dressed as a fire fighter, has his own website (http://www.sparky.org) in which children can learn more about the labor of fire fighters: the different types of trucks, why Dalmatians are the "official" dogs of fire departments and they can also ask him questions about his duty. The United States Fire Administration is another good example of these interactive games for children. On their website, they will find plenty of educational activities like puzzles, coloring pages, matching games and even a quiz to become a Junior Fire Marshal. Also the Chicago Fire Department has its Kids' Section, with entertaining coloring books for little children. The school programs are a very interesting way to warn and prevent children from fire risks. They will see fire prevention as a part of their education. As fires can start whether at home or at school,

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Macro Economics-- Redbox Price Hike Could Dodge Netflix Outrage - Essay Example Because the price has increased, it is reasonable to expect that the quantity demanded will decrease. This is because the market demand will adjust to the increased prices by not purchasing the same amount of DVDs as before. However, if demand is high enough, then quantity will remain relatively the same. This is because a competitor, Netflix, raised its prices by even more—60%. Even though consumers may not like the price hike, they may have no other option but to continue using Redbox’s services. I think that Redbox is doing the right thing by raising their prices because they need to make a profit. Because operating costs have risen, it is only natural to pass on that increase to customers. Redbox needs to be aware that its customer base may fall due to this announcement. If so, Redbox needs to decrease its prices marginally so that market equilibrium can be

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An individual management report analyzing how logistics and supply chain management is conceived, supported, delivered and developed in a chosen international organization (McDonalds) - Essay Example Some special tricks of this supply network administration are lean administration of logistics, procurement process, warehousing and capacity management frameworks. For preparing their staff, the organization takes all its measure through serious projects that deal with the supply and dispersion of items. According to the company’s history, the products that individuals needed were not generally created where they needed to expend them; additionally, this merchandise were not open when individuals needed to use them. Sustenance and different items were broadly scattered and were just accessible in wealth populations at certain times of the year. The early people and groups had the decision of expending merchandise in their prompt area or moving the products to a favored site and putting them for later utilization. However, because no decently created transportation and capacity frameworks existed, the development of products was constrained to what an individual could generally move. Items that were highly perishable could only be used for a short period before they went bad due to lack of proper storage facilities. This restricted development-stockpiling framework for the most part obliged individuals to live near the wellsprings of generation and to expend a noticeably thin scope of products. Indeed, today, few zones of the world’s utilization and creation occur just within restricted geographic zones. Striking illustrations can at present be seen in the developing countries of Asia, South America, Australia and Africa, where portions of populations live in little, independent towns and the greater part of the merchandise required by the inhabitants are delivered or obtained in the prompt region. The McDonald’s corporation have been in operation for a long duration and has branches that are spread all over the different continents with exceptions of a few. Due to the numerous stores, they

Initial Research, Thesis, and Case Brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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DISCUSS THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE ROLE OF THE 'CITY' Essay

DISCUSS THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE ROLE OF THE 'CITY' ECONOMIES OF HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE IN RELATION TO THE REST OF THE ECONOMIES OF SOUTH EAST ASIA - Essay Example The Asian countries of India, China Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia are notable examples NICs and their dramatic successes in economic growth have often been referred to as the East Asian Miracle. Other Asian countries like China and India have also achieved successes in economic growth. The ‘economic miracle’ of these East Asian countries is however not exclusive to Asia as countries in the Americas like Chile, Brazil and Mexico have also achieved appreciably high growth rates in their economies and could thus be referred to as NICs as well. It must be said though the growth rates vary amongst all the NICs and as such some growths may be relatively higher compared to others in other NICs. Countries like China, India Singapore and Hong Kong however standout of the rest due to the rapid nature of their growth within a space of about 30 years. Also, the use of NICs is a matter of definition and as such a country like South Africa that was large ly secluded from the international economy due to its apartheid policies may now be categorised as an NIC by some, while others may classify it as a developed country. This essay will first conduct a generalised or panoramic view of the features that underlie the development experiences of NICs before undertaking a closer look at the experiences of selected NICs. It must be said that though the development experiences may be very varied, some common cardinal features can be seen in the experiences of all NICs. Most NICs were able to achieve high growth rates by instituting market reforms that favoured exports. (Hamilton 1987) There was also a strong emphasis on value added manufacturing that changed their economies from predominantly agrarian economies into industrial and manufacturing based economies. Increased capital investments from foreign and domestic sources played a key role in the development experiences of NICs and so

Deathand loss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Deathand loss - Essay Example However, when we loss someone dear to us, we are emotionally destructed and lonesome. I lost a friend of mine when I was in middle school and later on, after college, I lost my grand mom. Losing a friend who was so dear and near was a tragic loss and I was very grieved. I tried a lot to handle my grief, but every time when I tried to shut my eyes, she came there in front of me. For many nights, I was unable to sleep. I was not very old to understand the truth and settle my emotions easily, but after all my grief and sadness, I started living a normal life. I was very much frightened of death and thought that death was something very horrible that was able enough to snatch our beloved people from us. Later on, when I lost my grandmother, I was again in a shocking state. I pondered too much over death and the feeling of loss and after all that pondering and disturbance, I started remaining busy with my studies and other home based chores in order to get rid of those terrible feelings of loss. I was too much scared and feared death. I was just unable to understand whate ver was happening around me. However, with the passage of time, I realized that life goes on in this manner. Now, I am quite aware that death is a reality that has the ability to take from us whom we love. When people die, they leave us, but there are also people who leave us without dying. Their leaving us permanently also can be understood as death of those people in our lives. I remained with my single mother and my father had left us. I regard his leaving us as a loss, which we were required to cop up with. It took some time, but it was all over. There were a number of losses that I underwent in my lifetime, but these losses made me strong enough to handle everything alone. Now, I am not afraid or fearful of being alone. I consider myself strong enough to endure anything that comes in my way. The losses that we bear in our life make us courageous and

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 3 - Essay Example Also, ABF Plc. being a low geared capital structured company as Woolworth Plc, it would create the similar circumstances for assets exploitations in both companies. This is so as the basic idea of both companies is to protect their equity holders. The performance of Woolworth Ltd. is analyzed on basis of profitability and rate of return ratios. For the purpose of this analysis Gross Profit ratio, Net profit Ratio, Return on Total Assets (ROA), and Return on Equity (ROE) has been selected. Profit Margin ratios show the relation between profit and sales. Since profit can be measured at different stages, there are several measures of profit margin. The most popular are Gross Profit, and Net Profit ratio. The Rate of Return ratios, that are also performance analyzers, reflect the relationship between profit and investment. The Return on Assets ratio and Return on Equity ratio have used for the purpose so that a perfect performance analysis is made fro Woolworth Ltd. These ratios are calculated in attached annexure. The Gross profit ratio for Woolworth Ltd. has been impressive over the years. It has risen from 24.89% in 2005 to 25.03% in 2006 and finally to 25.32% in 2007. The basic reason for such steadily rise is effective use of operational resources by Woolworth Ltd., keeping pace with increasing turnover during this period. The company’s revenue is $ 42477.1m in 2007 as compared to 37734.2m and 31352.5m in 2006 and 2005 respectively. Normally it is seen that gross margins go down whenever there is a continuous increase in revenue. But Woolworths has maintained its cost of goods sold completely in control to reflect the increasing gross margins. The success shown by Woolworths in gross margins has been effectively repeated in net margins. The company’s net profit ratio was 4.15% in 2005, and that has risen to 4.56% in 2006, and to 4.19%. This is rise is good but the gap between gross profit and net profit is

Philosophy of Life Essay Example for Free

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Constructing a solar power plant Essay

Constructing a solar power plant Essay This is a report on the Andasol 1 Solar Power Plant located in Marquesado Del Zenete, Granada, Spain. The aim of this report is look at the technology involved; the construction of the plant; the operating capacity and environmental impacts on the area involved. The information contained in this report was primarily gathered from the internet and also Moodle notes from class lectures. To begin this report, we discussed what areas were to be researched and drew a plan of what needed to be done, ensuring the work was evenly distributed between us. Introduction: The Andasol-1 Solar power plant is situated in the Guadix plateau, Marquesado Del Zenete, Granada, Spain. This is an area at an elevation of 1090 to 1100 metres above sea level and is free from shading. The site itself is situated next to a motorway and has no residential houses in the immediate vicinity, The nearest HV line is approximately 7km away from the site. Solar energy is particularly suited to this area. This area is one of the sunniest in Spain, receiving approximately 300 days of sunshine a year. (See Fig 2-1). The type of solar collector used here is the Parabolic Trough Collector along with Molten Salt Heat Storage. Parabolic Trough Collectors are the most common type used in solar thermal plants one of the main reasons being they utilise a lens to focus the sunlight onto a cell, thereby reducing the amount of costly semi-conducting material PV material while collecting as much sunlight as possible.  [i]   Parabolic Trough Collectors work by using mirrored surfaces on a North-South Axis which then track the sun as it moves across the sky. The mirrors reflect the sunlight onto a tube which runs the length of the collector. This tube is known as an absorber tube and is filled with a fluid that absorbs the concentrated solar radiation and can reach temperatures of up to 400 Deg C. The Collector Field consists of hundreds of these collectors joined together in rows known as Loops and the collected heat is then passed to a steam generator or to the heat storage (molten salt).  [ii]  (see fig. 2-2) Using molten salt, the heat collected by the collectors can be used to ensure efficient use of the turbines during the day or indeed be used to continue powering the turbines for up to 7 hours at night. Molten salt is used to store heat for a number of reasons. It is capable of retaining thermal heat energy over a long period of time; it can be used at temperatures of 1000 °F which is inline with efficient steam turbines and it a non-toxic and readily available material.  [iii]   At the Andasol-1 plant, the heat storage system consists of two 14m-high tanks that are 36m in diameter and a have a capacity of 28,500tons of molten salt. The molten salt itself is a mixture of 60% sodium nitrate and 40% potassium nitrate. Both of these substances are currently used as fertilizers and preservatives in food production.  [iv]  (see fig. 2-3) Construction Phase: The construction of Andasol 1 began in July 2006, (see fig. 3-4), the work includes stripping the land to lay the foundations to affix the steel supports, and the parabolic mirrors are carefully mounted on the support structures in a specially constructed assembly hall on site. The complete collector devices are then mounted in the solar field. Steel pylons are then used to anchor the metal support structures. (see fig. 3-5) The 150m-long collector chains are set with hydraulic drives that have a precision close to a tenth of a millimetre. The 312 collector rows are fixed in a north-south axis and follow the suns path along a single axis therefore obtaining as much sun during one day.  [v]   The solar collectors for the plant total approx. 510,120 square metres (0.51 km2), which contains over 200,000 mirrors situated along 312 rows totalling up to an overall length of 24 km, also including 90 kilometres of absorption pipes. The total physical area of the plant including collector spacing, the storage tanks and turbine housing, etc. is 2 km2.  [vi]   The site is broken down into three different sections: solar field, storage and steam cycle/ power block. (see fig. 3-6) Solar field The Andasol power plant has a solar field that covers 510,120 square meters. The parabolic troughs are connected by pipes. The rows are set up on a north-south axis and follow the course of the sun from east to west. The parabolic mirrors are made of 4 millimetre thick, silver-coated, curved white glass. The silver coating has an additional protective coating. The specially designed absorption pipes absorb the solar radiation reflected to transfer the solar energy into a heat transfer medium located in the pipe, which in turn then transmits the heat into the steam circuit. Specialists assemble and check these collectors photogrammetrically to determine their precision in specially-constructed factory buildings before the collectors are brought to the field and anchored.  [vii]   Storage tank The Andasol power plants have a thermal storage tank allowing the power plants to provide scheduled power. In order to fill the tanks while simultaneously operating the turbines, the solar field must be larger than that of a power plant without a tank; therefore annual operating hours of the plant at peak loads can be nearly doubled this way. The liquid salt thermal storage functions under atmospheric pressure and consist of two tanks per power plant, measuring 14m in height and 36m in diameter. Solar Two in Barstow, California served as the reference project for the thermal storage tanks in the Andasol power plants because it had the same salt mixture even though the storage tank was smaller.  [viii]   Steam cycle/ Power block Turbines, generators and plant periphery are conventional power plant components, similar to those used in fossil fuel power plants. At Andasol, the plants turbine has a capacity of 50 megawatts and is specifically designed to ensure reliable operations during the daily start-up and shut down of the plant. Siemens in Sweden constructed the turbines for Andasol 1. A substation has been built near the town of Huà ©neja about seven kilometres southeast of the power plant site for feeding the electricity into the grid. The power supply contract includes general technical standards and conditions for electricity production.  [ix]   The power plant finished construction in December 2008 at a cost in the region of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬300 million. (see fig. 3-7) Operating Characteristics: The plant consists of 7,488 individual collector elements which each have a length of 12m and a width of 5.8m. Four of these elements are joined together in what are called loops and in total there are 156 loops of collector elements over an area of 1.3 X 1.5km. The total reflective surface are is 510.000m ². The turbine capacity of the power plant is 49.9MW. The annual power generation for this plant, given the high rate of solar radiation in this area of Spain (2.1 2.2kWh/m ²/a) is expected to be in the region of 179GWh. That figure approximates to the energy needs of 50,000 homes of 200,000 people.  [x]   The breakdown of the site is as follows: The parabolic troughs are set up in 312 collector rows which are connected by pipes. One row is made up of two collector units. The mirrors follow the course of the sun and reflect solar radiation onto the absorption pipe. The absorption pipes were conceived especially for use in parabolic trough power plants. Every unit has its own solar sensors and drives, in order to track the position of the sun. The units each have 12 collectors, which have 28 mirrors and 3 absorption pipes. The power plant requires 7,488 collectors. The storage tanks at the plants can operate even on overcast days or after sunset. A small portion of the heat that is produced from the solar field is kept as liquid salt. The heat required for this is stored in a molten salt mixture, 40% potassium nitrate and 60% sodium nitrate. Both of these substances are currently used as fertilizers and preservatives in food production. During the pumping process between the two tanks, the molten salt mixture can also absorb extra heat at a temperature of approx. 290 °C, where it is heated to a temperature of 390 °C. A full storage tank can be used to operate the turbine for about 7.5 hours. The thermal storage tank allows the power plants to supply electricity regularly into Spains high-voltage electricity grid. The Spanish energy supplier Endesa purchases electricity from the power plants in accordance with Spanish energy law, which states that the power plants are permitted to feed in a maximum of 50 MW into the grid. The power supply contract includes the implementation of programming and the after-sales service for electricity production Below is a further breakdown of some figures associated with the individual sections of the plant. (See Fig. 4-8) The power plant was officially connected to the grid in December 2008 and became operational in March 2009. The total cost is somewhere in the region of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 300 million. A grant was also given from the European Union, which amounted to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 5 million; this was giving as a funding aid for scientific research.  [xi]   Environmental Impact: The solar power plant will be able to cut carbon emissions in the region of 86,000t per year. The plant uses an unlimited energy source; no additional resources are needed for operation. It is CO2 and emission-free, therefore there is no air pollution (see Fig. 5-9).  [xii]   Environment and sustainable development needed to concentrate on some key areas: Sustainable management and water quality, global climate change, biodiversity, marine ecosystems, and the regions cultural heritage. Socio-economic aspects of environmental change with sustainable development in mind i.e. impact on, the economy and employment.  [xiii]   Another aspect is that when the plant is decommissioned, the salts from the storage tanks can be crystallized and removed in their raw state to be used thereafter in other applications e.g. in agriculture. One of the main reasons for erecting the plant in this location was that it is close to existing road and railway infrastructure, and that it had the disposal of a flat land floor without environmental protections, it was considered wasteland. Another reason was the advantages offered by solar-thermal power plants, the operator of Spains national grid, Red Elà ©ctrica de Espaà ±a (REE), classified Andasol power plants as predictable sources of electricity. This helped eased the permit process for granting access to the high-voltage grid, but it also made it possible to increase the percentage of renewable energy in the states energy mix because of the stabilizing effects of solar-thermal power plants.  [xiv]   Conclusions: Spain is highly dependent on imported energy. Almost all petroleum and natural gas, as well as 70% of its coal, have to be imported. However, it has more than enough of one of the most environmentally friendly and cheapest sources of energy in the world the sun. The Spanish governments support plan Plan de Fomento de Energà ­as Renovables (PER) envisions the expansion of solar thermal power plant capacity to 500 MW by 2010. Spains Ministry for Energy and Industry wants to increase the annual volume of electricity produced in solar-thermal power plants to about 4,000 GWh, which is the equivalent of the capacity of about 25 Andasol power plants.  [xv]   Andasol 2 followed in 2009 and Andasol 3 will follow in 2011. The Andasol location will result in a total of 150 megawatts of solar thermal power station capacity being connected to the grid electricity generated in an environmentally-friendly and sustainable manner.

Drivers and theories of corporate social responsibility

Drivers and theories of corporate social responsibility This part of the study emphasises on the research literature review related to the study. The structure of the literature review is broken down into three sub-sections. The former relates to the various aspects of CSR. The last two sub-sections discuss the different theoretical and empirical studies associated with CSP and CFP. 2.1 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), also known as corporate citizenship, responsible business, or sustainable responsible business is all but a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model where companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. Arguably, business and society are interwoven: society has certain expectations regarding business and therefore the firm has responsibilities towards society. Hence, being a steward of the needs of society is deemed to be a socially responsible, appropriate, and natural act. The first book acknowledging CSR is the Social Responsibilities of the Businessman (Howard R. Bowen) in the mid 1950s. But, the term CSR came in widespread use in the early 1970s. In fact, it owes its origin due to the globalisation which took place after many multinational corporations were formed, thus, bringing in force the corporate governance mechanisms to ascertain fairness and transparency as well as social responsibility in the corporate world. CSR is defined in various ways in different countries, of about being the capacity building for sustainable livelihoods from Ghana to about giving back to society from Philippines; and of being conventionally presented in a philanthropic model from the United States to being focused on operating the core business in a socially responsible way, complemented by investment in communities for solid business case reasons and voluntary interaction with the stakeholders from the European model. As such, according to Caroll (2003), The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary (philanthropic) expectations that society has of organisations at a given point in time. Hence, ideally and broadly, the concept of CSR is a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. 2.1.1 CSR and CSP In todays competitive market environment, businesses are confronted with a new set of non economics-related challenges. To survive and prosper, firms must bridge economic and social systems. Maximising shareholder wealth is a necessary but is no longer a sufficient condition for financial prosperity. Despite the concept of CSR addresses such issue, a specific connotation of CSR and a new performance measure called the corporate social performance (abbreviated as CSP) needs to be unified to capture the performance of a business in the social realm, and also to be more precise in thinking about CSR. CSP defined as a business organizations configuration of principles of social responsibility, processes of social responsiveness, and policies, programs, and observable outcomes as they relate to the firms societal relationships (Wood, 1991), clearly shows that social performance is not limited to corporations only, but also applies to any firm and organisation. This comprehensive definition assumes that CSP is broader than CSR, which consists of three norms at different levels of analysis: institutional, organisational, and individual. Additionally, it includes organisational processes of environmental assessment, stakeholder management, and issues management, and also various measures of its external manifestations and societal effects, such as social impacts. Hence the CSP model expresses and articulates three stages, from less to more engage towards stakeholders: social obligation, social responsibility and social responsiveness (S.P. Sethi, 1975). 2.1.2 Views on CSR According to Hancock (2005), CSR can be viewed through 3 ways namely: Sceptic view According to this view, the notion of CSR is opposed to democracy and freedom, frustrating business focus on its purpose of wealth creation. Milton Friedman best defines this approach: Few trends would so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much money for their stockholders as they possibly can. Utopian view A utopian view of CSR reflects the idea that companies have a prior duty to anyone touched by their activity, their stakeholders rather than their shareholders, and especially the vulnerable that may be exploited by the companys operation. This is based on the work of Evan and Freeman who are for the stakeholder theory where a corporation must recognise and respect the vital interests of each of its surrounding stakeholders. Realist view This view gathers the greatest following of an alliance model advocated by Patricia Werhane. It states that CSR is not simply about whatever funds and expertise companies choose to invest in communities to help resolve social problems. But, it is also about the integrity with which a company governs itself, fulfils its mission, lives by its values, engages with its stakeholders, measures its impacts and reports on its activities. 2.1.3 Key Drivers of CSR CSR is seen by Porter and Van Der Linde (2000, p. 131) as a competitive driver that requires appropriate resources. CSR programmes, however, on their own, have certain main drivers which are as follow: Bottom Line Effect This is the most relevant driver of CSR programmes as it incorporates a socially responsible element into corporate practice. As John Elkington (1997) rightly underlined that many companies exhibit corporate citizenship through charity or philanthropy. Nevertheless, a new perspective evolved over time for some corporate stakeholders. Success of a corporation is now weighted and defined by evaluating businesses using a Triple Bottom Line comprised of its social, environmental and financial performance. Managing Risk An endeavour to adopt CSR programme has been the gain in market share, key personnel and investment which pioneering companies enjoy when they seriously address labour and green issues. In fact, corporations implement such a programme to manage risks and ensure legal compliance as denoted by Levine Michael A. (2008). They try to avoid investigation, litigation, prosecution, regulation or legislation. Influence of the Corporate Disasters There has been an increased perception of greed amidst senior business officials in the corporate world following corporate scandals affecting Enron, WorldCom and the like. CSR is important in counteracting allegations of corporate greed. As a result, as described by Hancock (2005) in his book, corporations are now shifting away from the philanthropic approach towards CSR and are moving towards the greater alignment of CSR with business strategy and corporate governance. Lower Equity Risk Premium Reputation Management Corporations can face economic damage when their corporate reputations and brands are assailed or sales are affected by consumer boycotts. As argued by some rating agencies, a comprehensive CSR programme will lower a companys equity risk premium. A direct correlation between reputation and financial outcome measures share price and credit rating (Hancock, 2005) has been illustrated through a model designed by the global public relations company Bell Pottinger. In fact, companies may face a variety of legal and reputational risks if they do not have adequate social compliance or corporate social responsibility/sustainability programs in place. Customer Loyalty In todays markets, companies have to focus on building and maintaining customer loyalty. As proposed by Zhou Y. (2009), this can be done through a CSR programme which builds loyalty with customers by offering a competitive advantage in a marketplace where consumers find ethically delivered or produced goods and services. Stakeholder Activism Investment Incentives As perceived by Visser, W. (2008), CSR is encouraged through the activism of stakeholder or pressure groups which often address the alleged failure of the market and government policy. The trend of socially responsible investment gives CSR an incentive where funds are screened on ethical, social and environmental criteria. Thus, this proactively encourages businesses to inform shareholders of potential risks and issues and it helps them to better understand their stakeholders, including shareholders. According to Hill Knowltown (2006), surveys have indicated that analysts place as much importance on corporate reputation as they do on financial performance. 2.1.4 Theories for CSR There are several theories that emerged to explain the reasons behind environmental reporting over the time. These are as follow: Operational Efficiency Theory Operational Efficiency occurs when the right combination of people, process, and technology to boost the productivity and value of any business operation, while reducing cost of routine operations to a desired level. In the context of CSR, operational efficiencies can be achieved through managing impending risks and liabilities more effectively and efficiently through CSR tools and perspectives by reducing costs; streaming information to stakeholders concerning the investment community for better transparency and by using corporate responsibility and sustainability approaches within business decision-making to result in new market opportunities, newly developed manufacturing processes that can be expanded to other plants, regions or markets as advocated by S. B. Banerjee (2007). Social Contract Theory The current practice of CSR by corporations was explained by O. O. Amao (2007) under the social contract theory. This theory dates from the classic period of history but took its modern form in the 16th and 18th centuries with best known philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau who talk on social contract. Rousseau, in fact, conceptualised the individual-society relationship as a symbiotic situation whereby the two parties mutually confer some right to the state in order to maintain social order which makes human life and cohabitation better and to gain benefits of community and safety. In parallel to the social contract, the corporate social theory, pertaining to a firms indirect social obligations, is advanced where businesses are bound by the social contract to perform various socially desired actions in return for approval of their objectives and other rewards. Legitimacy Theory Similar to the social contract theory, the legacy theory was adopted by comporations to ensure that operations are within the limits and norms of their respective societies and the outside parties perceive their activities as being legitimate. Society grants legitimacy and power to business. In the long run, those who do not use power in a manner which society considers responsible will tend to lose it. This principle developed by Daviss (1973) is commonly known as the Iron Law of Responsibility. It expresses legitimacy as a societal-level concept and describes the responsibility of business as a social institution that must avoid abusing its power. Thus, this principle expresses a prohibition rather than an affirmative duty, and it applies equally to all companies, regardless of their particular circumstances. According to A.K.H. Khor, the legitimacy theory is fundamentally a system-oriented theory where organisations are viewed as components of the larger social environment within which they exist. Stakeholder Theory A key feature of CSR involves the way that a company engages, involves, and collaborates with its stakeholders including shareholders, employees, debt-holders, suppliers, customers, communities, non-governmental organisations, and governments. M. C. Branco and L. L. Rodrigues (2007) argued that companies need to use stakeholder engagement to internalise societys needs, hopes, circumstances into their corporate views and decision-making. While there are many questions about how far a companys responsibilities extend into communities relative to the roles of governments and individual citizens, there is a strong argument that CSR can effectively improve a companys relations with communities and thereby produce some key features that will improve business prospects for its future. Agency Theory This theory comes to explain the relationship that exists between the owners/shareholders and the management. As such the latter is the agent which appointed by the principal (owner/subsidiary) and problems such as the potential moral hazard and conflict of interest are likely to occur. CSR comes as a middle way so that both parties can maximise their gains. As such, when CFP is strong, managers may reduce social expenditures in order to maximise their own short term private gains whereas when CFP weakens, managers will try to offset their disappointing results by engaging in conspicuous social programs, hence increasing their own wealth and that of shareholders as well, pursuant to the managerial opportunism hypothesis by Preston OBannon (1997). 2.2 Theoretical Review 2.2.1 Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) Most of the businesses operate with a view of yielding profits. The financial performance of a company is reflected through its policies and operations in monetary terms. These results are reflected through its return on investment, return on assets, value added, return on sale and growth in sales. Managers work in the best interest of shareholders to maximise profits. Financial performance is the most common, however, it cannot be considered as the only indicator used to measure a firms wealth. A broader definition of financial performance is accompanied by additional indicators such as short-term profits, long-term profits, market value, and other forms of competitive advantage, as noted by Jensen (2001). 2.2.2 Corporate Social Performance and CFP Many previous studies have indicated an unclear relationship between CSR and financial performance. Thus, literature has pointed out towards an innovation in bringing the concept of CSP to better explore its impact upon corporate financial performance (CFP). In todays world, for a firm to achieve a good and high level of CFP, it has to go beyond the limits of its own corporate strategies and adopt views of other stakeholders who may be directly or indirectly related to the company. Since over the three decades, the study of the correlation between CSP and CFP has gained much salience. Many studies conducted in this effect have yielded positive correlation, while others produced contradictory results with negative or non-significant different causal directions being found. In effect, there are several competing theoretical models which are proposed to explain three varying findings on the CSP-CFP link. Owing to these differing relationships, I.Y. Maroam (2006) proposes a unified theory of the CSP-CFP link that explain the different relationships that may be observed between CSR and CFP, thus basing itself on the parallels between the business and CSR domains. The concept of CSR instils in corporations the moral responsibility towards society that go beyond the goal of simply making profits for their owners and shareholders (Berman et al., 1999). As Freeman (1984) rightly pointed out that corporations should be socially responsible for both moral and practical (instrumental) reasons, by reflecting a socially responsible posture, a corporation can enhance its own performance. Thus, CSR activities can, inter-alia, be rewarded with more satisfied customers, better employee, improved reputation, and improved access to financial markets, all pertaining to improving financial performance and sustaining the business. However, social accomplishments may equally involve certain financial costs which can effectively reduce profits and comparative performance. Hence, Vance (1975) came up with the trade-off hypothesis to show negative linkage between CSP and CFP whereby corporations displaying strong social credentials experience declining stock price s relative to the market average. 2.2.3 CSP as a Business Strategy So far, it is clear that CSP can be used as a business strategy which can contribute to the competitive advantage of firms. A study by N. A. Dentchey (2004) on the effects of CSP on the competitiveness of organisations reveals that CSP should not be thought as an innocent adventure for executives. It is rather a strategy for achieving corporate strategies, which if not warily implemented, may harm the firms competitive advantage. Competitive advantage, as seen by Porter (1996), denotes the ability of a company to outperform others from successful differentiation from rivals actions. This strategic fit between the outside environment and companies internal resources and capabilities (Hoskissoon et al., 1999) results in superior financial results, as indicated by various measures of profitability. Hence, as per Burke and Logsdon (1996), a strategic implementation of social responsibility benefits all by resulting in strategic outcomes such as customer loyalty, future purchases, new products, new markets and productivity gains. Arguably, CSP can be a source of competitive disadvantage for firms which regard CSP as an additional cost. Business contributions to social prosperity (CSP) are seen by Keim (1978, p.33) as an investment in public good which is consumed or enjoyed by a number of individuals disregarding the cost sharing. Thus, investing in CSP is likely to bear negative effects for the firms which are in curring costs that might otherwise be avoided or that should be borne by others, for example, individuals or government (Aupperle et al., 1985). 2.2.4 CSP, CFP and the Stakeholder Theory Following the above arguments, a new perspective of CSP, based on the stakeholder analysis, emerges to argue furthermore that there exists a positive relationship between CSP and CFP. As such, S.A. Waddock and S.B. Graves (1997) propose that a tension exists between the firms explicit costs (for instance, payments to bondholders) and its implicit costs to other stakeholders (for example, product quality costs, and environmental costs). Hence, a firm which tries to outweigh its explicit costs by increasing its socially responsible actions incurs higher implicit costs, resulting in competitive advantage. Thus, high levels of CSP are seen as indicators of superior management by Alexander and Buchholz (1982) which lead to lower explicit costs and enhanced financial performance. The stakeholder theory accompanies the concept of CSR by shedding more light on the issue of social responsibility. This theory is spread over three aspects (Donaldson and Preston, 1995) namely, descriptive, instrumental and normative. While the descriptive aspect describes and explains the theory, the instrumental aspect discloses the cause-effect relationships between stakeholder management practices and improving corporate performance. The normative aspect, on the other hand, as perceived by I.Y. Maroam (2006) emphasizes on the moral imperatives for practising stakeholder management, rather than the business benefits it may provide. A parallelism between the core business domain and the CSR domain will maximise a firms profitability. The stakeholder theory provides a framework for investigating the relationship between CSP and CFP by examining how a change in CSP is related to a change in financial accounting measures. In fact, the two concepts of CSR and stakeholder share the proposition that social responsibility affects financial performance in some way or other. This subject area has been so vastly explored that this trend is now seen as a natural progression which goes associatively with developments in the industrial and business world. There is an increasing concern and emphasize on humanity, environmental preservation and enlightened social consciousness. Thus, a new area of research began to pave its way within the field of business and society where the relationship between corporate social conduct, both toward the corporations stakeholders and the wider society, and the corporations financial performance was and is still being investigated across several countries. Over environmental issues, research h as revealed that businesses which are eco-friendly and demonstrate good CSR practices enjoy increased consumer purchase preference (Gildea, 1994; Zaman, 1996) and good economic performance (Al-Tuwaijiri, et al., 2004). A stakeholder group, as identified and defined by Freeman (1984), is one that that can affect or is affected by achievement of the organisations objectives, that is, which can be harmed as well as can help it to achieve its goals. Therefore, there is a growing need for firms to address the needs and expectations of the stakeholders to avoid negative outcomes and produce positive outcomes for themselves (Donaldson and Preston, 1995; Freeman, 1984; Frooman, 1997). Pursuant to the stakeholder theory perspective, CSP can be assessed in terms of a company meeting the demands of multiple stakeholders, ranging from cost minimisation to societal maximisation. Building on the previous mentioned definition of CSP, Wood and Jones (1995) propose that stakeholder theory is the key to understanding the structure and dimensions of the firms societal relationships thereby assuming that firms are responsible for honouring all the implicit and explicit contracts they hold with their various constituen ts. Therefore, the stakeholder theory provides a system-based perspective of the organisation and its stakeholders where it acknowledges the dynamic and complex nature of the interplay between them. The various stakeholders of the firms, such as the employees, shareholders, financers, environmentalists, government, communities, customers and even competitors should be convinced by the management that it is working harder to satisfy them. The more important the stakeholders to the firm, the more effort the firm needs to put to uphold its relationship with the former. According to Clarkson, Donaldson and Preston et al. (1995), the stakeholder theory must place shareholders as one of the multiple stakeholder groups which managers should consider in their decision-making process. However, like the shareholders, the other stakeholders may have a say upon the firm, bestowing societal legitimacy. Notably, Bernadette M. Ruf et al. (2001) asserted that firms must address these non-shareholder gro ups demands otherwise they might face negative confrontations which can ultimately result in diminished shareholder value, through boycotts, lawsuits, protests and so on. Hence, firms have a fiduciary duty relationship not only to the shareholders, but to all stakeholders (Hasnas, 1998, p.32). So far, recognising a companys contractual relationship with the various stakeholders has been instrumental in better comprehending the relationship that CSP and CFP share. Stakeholders have expectations from the organisation. Nevertheless, these expectations may conflict with the firms limited resources leading the firm to evaluate its costs and benefits tradeoffs. Firms must thus come with measures representative of the various factors of CSP and stakeholders interests. Unlike neo-classical stockholders who were only interested in financial performance (Grouf, 1994; Shapiro, 1992), the major stakeholders of today, that is, the stockholders are more interested in the firms current and future financial benefits and social performance. 2.3 Empirical Review This section reviews the works done and methods used by researchers on the relationship of CFP and CSP. Empirical results on the latters correlation are mixed whereby some yielded in positive, some in negative and some in non-significant relationships. Basing on the stakeholder theory approach, several models on the CFP-CSP relationship have been proposed, where the largest number of investigations found a positive CSP-CFP linkage. Notably, different methods to compute indexes for CFP and CSP have been used since data on both cannot be possibly obtained in absolute figures. As such, using aggregated weights assigned to K dimensions of social performance obtained through questionnaire for CSP and using change in return on equity (ROE), change in return on sales (ROS) and growth in sales as financial measures on a sample of 496 firms, Bernadette M. Ruf et al. (2001) came up with a positive relationship between CSP and CFP. They, in fact, regressed change in CSP on change in CFP. The results revealed a significant positive relationship between change in CSP and change in ROE and change in ROS in the long term but that with growth in sales was significantly positive only in year 0 and 1. The study suggests that improvements in CSP have both immediate and continuing financial impacts. The authors have furthermore suggested that since many financial performance measures follow a random walk or mean reversion  [1]  , it is important to use lead/lag studies to establish a causal sequence of CSP and CFP. Concerning time period, one year may be short in strat egic terms and could well be distorted by rogue figures, hence, it suggested to take two or five years data in analyses. A paper by S. A. Waddock and S. B. Graves (1997) also found positive linkage between CFP and CSP. An index for CSP was computed using eight attributes relating to shareholder concerns and were rated consistently across the entire Standards Poors 500 by a rating service. The firms profitability was measured using three accounting variables, namely, return on assets (ROA), ROE and ROS used to assess CFP by the investment community. Factors such as size, risk and industry which affect both CFP and CSP were taken as control variables. Used on a sample of 469 companies and using CSP as both dependent and independent variable, the results revealed that CFP does depend on CSP and vice-versa and also indicated the importance of controlling for industry in assessing such a relationship. Size has been suggested in previous studies, like that of Ullman (1985), to be a factor which affects both CFP and CSP. Size remains a relevant variable because there had been evidence that smaller firms may not demonstrate the same obvious socially responsible behaviours as larger firms. Authors like Pinkston and Carroll (1993), for instance, investigated the extent social responsibility orientations, organisational stakeholders, and social issues can differ among firms of differing sizes. P. A. Stanwick and S. D. Stanwick (1998), on the other hand, found a significant positive association between size (annual sales) and CFP at the 10% level for three of the six years of their study. Firm size is particularly the scale of operations in an organisation (Price and Mueller (1986, p. 233)). Previous literature has indicated a need to control not only for industry, and size (Ullman, 1985; Waddock and Graves, 1997), but also for risk (McWilliams and Siegel, 2000) to render research results more complete. The argument to use risk as a control variable is supported by the fact that the degree of risk is seen as the other important component of firm performance assumed by a firm in order to achieve a given level of financial performance as stated by Bettis and Hall (1982). Baird and Thomas (1985) also advocated risk as being both as a strategic variable (firms choose a given level of risk) and as an outcome variable (strategic choices lead to a level of risk) which ultimately leads to improved financial performance. As such, M. Brine, R. Brown and G. Hackett (2004) used risk alongside size as control variables to assess financial performance of 277 companies. Their preliminary results stated that the adoption of CSR does lead to increases in turnover and also an increase in equity, which in turn improve the CFP level. To bring more integrity, M. Orlitzky et al. (2003) conducted a quantitative meta-analysis on the CFP-CSP relationship building on the hypothesis that CSP and CFP are generally positively related leading to competencies, learning, efficiency and reputation-building with its external stakeholders. Taking CFP as a companys financial viability through three broad subdivisions consisting of market-based (investor returns), accounting-based (accounting returns), and perceptual (survey) measures and constructing CSP through four broad measurement strategies, namely: (a) CSP disclosures (annual reports, letters to shareholders); (b) CSP reputation ratings; (c) social audits, CSP processes, and observable outcomes; and (d) managerial CSP principles and values (Post, 1991), the study suggests that corporate virtue in the form of social responsibility and, to a lesser extent, environmental responsibility can pay off, despite the CSP-CFP operationalisations can also moderate the positive associa tion. CSP appeared to be more highly correlated with accounting-based measures of CFP than with market-based indicators, and CSP reputation indices were more highly correlated with CFP than are other indicators. According to Mahoney L. and Roberts R.W. (2007), there is no significant relationship between a composite measure of firms CSP and CFP. Using four years panel data of Canadian firms, they calculated a composite measure of CSP score by summing all dimension strength ratings, such as, community relations, diversity, employee relations, environment, international, product safety, and amongst others and subtracting all dimension weaknesses ratings. Following Waddock and Graves (1997a), ROA and ROE were used separately to measure a firms CFP. As CFP was expected to be positively related to CSP, a one-year lag between CFP and all independent variables (CSP, firm size, debt level, and industry) was used. Inconsistent with their expectation, they found no significant relationship between the composite CSP measure and either ROA or ROE. However, the use of individual measures of firms CSP regarding environmental and international activities and CFP resulted in a significant relationship provi ding mixed support for the business case for CSP. A study, using the Granger causality approach, by Rim Makni et al. (2008) reaffirms Mahoney and Roberts (2007) works on the non-significant relationship. However, there may also be a simultaneous and interactive negative relation between CSP and CFP, forming a vicious circle.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Ladies, gentlemen, parents, friends, family, staff, fellow students: Instead of taking up more time and reading my speech, it is available to you at http://www.olen’s_speech.com. Thank you. No, just kidding. But seriously folks... Today we are gathered here to celebrate our graduation from 12 long years of schooling. The education granted to us has been a privilege. One so graciously given to us by the citizens of our state, by our community, and by our parents. Today would not be possible without them. So far this evening we have looked back over the many past memories of our school years, remembering the good times and the bad, talking about the fun times, and so on. Now I would like to bring your focus to the present, and make a challenge for us for the future. The ceremony tonight is a very old and traditional one. In past, such a graduation meant not only the completion of a school career, but also a step into adulthood, into society, into the world. With this came many duties and responsibilities. This still applies to today. I’m sure many of you have heard the â€Å"going into the real world† speech as often quoted at high school graduations. You know, the one outlining the responsibilities of living on your own: cooking your own meals, balancing a checkbook, doing your own laundry, etc. Those are all well and good, but I’m talking about something a little different — responsibilities which go beyond those — the duties and rights of citizenship. Most of you are 18 already, or will be very soon, this is the age at which we can vote. As full citizens, it is now our right, and one which we should not let pass by. Our country is founded upon a democracy, and all democracies have one integral part: power b... ...hould in the future suffer what they did — to save freedom by bloodshed. We owe it to them to prevent wars, and to know, to understand, to teach, and to learn from our neighbors around the world, so that we might learn to live in peace. I am saying all of this tonight as a challenge to us as we venture forth this day. It is tempting for us as graduating seniors to treat this moment as one of reveling in our independence from high school. But this night is not just for the moment; it is also for our futures to look back to. Let’s celebrate the new privilege and responsibility which will be given to us as the class of the new millennium: to make it better than the past. For we should all be concerned with the future, because that is where we will all spend the rest of our lives. Thank you, everyone. And the best of luck to the future of the Class of 2006!

Causes Of The Great Depression Essay -- Great Depression History Econo

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1929 the stock market crashed, triggering the worst depression ever in U.S. history, which lasted for about a decade. During the 1920s, the unequal distribution of wealth and the stock market speculation combined to create an unstable economy by the end of the decade. The unequal distribution of the wealth had several outlets. Money was distributed between industry and agriculture within the U.S.; in social classes, between the rich and middle class; and lastly in world markets, between America and Europe. Due to the imbalance of the wealth, the economy became very unstable. The stock market crashed because of the excessive speculation in the 1920’s, which made the stock market artificially high (Galbraith 175). The poor distribution of the wealth, excessive speculation, and the stock market crashes caused the U.S. economy to fail, signaling the start of the Great Depression.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 1920’s were a time when the American people and the economy were thriving. This period of time was called the â€Å"Roaring Twenties†. Unemployment dropped as low as 3 percent, prices held steady, and the gross national product climbed from $70 billion in 1922 to nearly $100 billion in1929 (EV 525). However, the prosperity of the 1920’s was not shared evenly among the social classes in America. A study conducted by the Brookings Institution stated, â€Å"78 percent of all American families had incomes of less than $3,000. Forty percent had family incomes of less than $1,500. Only 2.3 percent of the population enjoyed incomes of over $10,000. Sixty thousand American families held savings which amounted to the total held by the bottom 25 million families.† (Goldston 26). The 40 percent of Americans at the lowest end of the economic scale received only 12 percent of the national income by 1929 (EV 549). This maldistribution of income b etween the rich and the middle class increased throughout the 1920’s. A major reason for this large and growing gap between the upper class and the working class Americans was that the manufacturing output increased throughout this period. As the production costs fell, wages went up slowly, and prices for goods remained at a constant. The majority of the benefits created by increased productivity fell into the hands of corporate owners. The federal government also helped to make the growing gap between the upper and middle classes. President Calvin ... ...yers were available at any price (EV 549).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This speculation and the resulting stock market crash acted as a trigger to the already unstable U.S. economy. Due to the poor distribution of wealth, the economy of the 1920’s was one very much dependent upon confidence. President Hoover stated, â€Å"†¦the crisis has been isolated to the stock market itself.† (Docs Hoover). The market crash proved this confidence to be wrong. The rich stopped spending on luxury items, and the middle and lower classes stopped using credit in fear of losing their jobs and defaulting on their loans. As a result, industrial production fell by nine percent causing people to lose their jobs and default on loans (Galbraith 42). Industries started to fall apart around the automobile and radio industries. The rich refused to make loans to foreign countries for fear of going bankrupt. Foreigners stopped buying U.S. goods. Banks started to go under, stores closed up. President Hoover did not act in time to stop the count ry from going further into a depression (Docs Hoover). Unemployment had reached 13 million in 1932 (EV 549); the country went quickly downhill. The start of the Great Depression was setting in.

Consumer Culture and Identity Essay -- Cultural Identity Essays

Introduction Fonseca (2008) defines Consumer culture as a process that â€Å"represents a condition in which consumption is seen as having the role of increasingly mediating certain aspects of social relations and consumption has the symbolic ability to represent affiliation to a certain group and its lifestyles, as well as to generate a sense of identity.† The mention of identity in Fonseca’s definition brings about an understanding of the impact consumer culture can have on social agents, and not just on the economic or capitalism that comes with consumption. This essay will discuss the relationship between Consumer culture and Identity. The essay is divided into five parts; the first section is an introduction into what Consumer culture is, the second section is also an introduction into what Identity is and how it is used in the context of the essay, the third section deals with the crisis of identity in modern day, the fourth section introduces consumption in a contemporary society, the fifth section explains the impact consumption have on identity (how we reflect on ourselves and use goods to shape our identity). This essay concludes by using Giddens (1991) argument about the modern dynamic reflectivity has an impact in the process of reconstructing ones identity when it comes in contact with the post traditional setting, to show that the relation between consumer culture and identity is that Identity is formed as consumption takes place. Introduction to Consumer Culture The word â€Å"culture† has been defined as â€Å"one of the two or three most complicated words in English Language† (William; 1958). Over the years the meaning of the word has changed and varied in different parts of the world. In 1881, Taylor defined culture a... ...society: Myths and structures (Vol. 53). Sage. Beck, U., & Beck-Gernsheim, E. (1995). The normal chaos of love. Cambridge: Polity Press. Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Davis, J. (2007). The Promise of Potential. Minnesota: JD Coaching and Consulting. Dittmar, H. 1992. The Social Psychology of Material Possessions: To Have Is To Be, Hertfordshire, Harvester Wheatsheaf. Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: self and identity in the late modern age. Cambridge: Polity. Lury, C. 1996. Consumer Culture, Cambridge, Polity Press. Sassatelli, R. (2007). Consumer culture: History, theory and politics. Sage. Slater, D. (1997). Consumer culture and modernity. Blackwell Publishing: Malden Stryker, S. (1980). Symbolic interactionism: A social structural version. Menlo Park: Benjamin Cummings.

Images of nurse and nursing Essay

The article entitled â€Å"Perceived and real barriers for men entering nursing: Implications for gender diversity,† aimed to explain the barriers, whether perceived or real, for men seeking a career in nursing. It is theorized that the public image of nursing is that of a traditional feminine career. However, in lieu with the recent nursing shortage that has been plaguing the country, it is speculated that men remain as an untapped reservoir of potential nurses and need to be targeted through recruitment strategies (Roth & Coleman, 2008). The authors established in their paper that if the barriers, whether real or perceived, can be addressed to suggest strategies that can ameliorate these barriers, then the recruitment of males into the profession may help in providing more nurses to fill the shortage. The image of nurses has been long depicted as a young female taking care of the ill and subordinate to male physicians and administrators (Roth & Coleman, 2008). These women are also perceived as not capable of making important decisions and were handmaidens to the physicians. Furthermore, it was researched that according to most students the reason why they did not choose to enter the nursing career is because of a perception that they would not attain job satisfaction and the second was that nurses were too squeamish (Roth & Coleman, 2008). Most young men believed that nursing is a profession for females and that they have fears of being perceived as gay or being feminine. Other barriers mentioned was the absence of the historical contributions of nurses who were male, considering that most nursing texts use the pronoun â€Å"she† in referring to nurses and that nursing education programs have been unsuccessful in creating an environment that is conducive for men, e. g. the lack of male professors and clinical instructors. However, there are still a few men who have chosen to enter the nursing profession and a major factor that engrossed men to the nursing profession was the influence of parents, specifically mothers, which are employed in nursing or other healthcare professions. Also, most men in the profession had previous careers and perceived their nursing career to be better than anticipated. The authors suggest that to ameliorate the current barriers, the public perceptions of nursing that create barriers for male nurses has to be challenged. Other suggestions that they presented include the increasing the number of males in the nursing academia and communicate through scholarly articles how gender diversity has enriched the profession. The discussions in schools should include more often the history of men in nursing and that they should also target nontraditional male students that are older and diverse. In response to this article, I deem that there is a truth to what the researchers have speculated that there is perceived barriers that inhibit the males from entering the nursing profession. In lieu with this, the suggested ways in how to ameliorate the situation can help in possibly encouraging the men in joining the profession. It can be noted that majority of the nurses, whether or not working in the clinical setting, students or professors teaching in the academia are females. It has been greatly noted that many male nurses have made the profession more diverse and the physical attributes of males are needed in certain nursing work. Being a nurse, whether or not one has the passion for it and considers it a calling, or was just a nurse by chance, should always bear in mind that this is a profession that only aims to care and hope for the best in the client or the patient’s wellbeing. Furthermore, I deem that the nursing profession should not have any gender biases, as it is a profession that only seeks to care for humanity, both males and females.

Frankenstein vs Planet of the Apes

Frankenstein VS Planet of the Apes: A Frightful Showdown Humans as a species like to experiment with the world around them and push the limits of any known law. As a result, the human race is constantly toying with the everlasting puzzle: What is life and how can it be manipulated? Through many realistic fiction stories—such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Rise of the Planet of the Apes—the general public is able to take a look into how far the human mind wants to go.Both stories use technology as a vehicle to enhancing human life and end up with horrible endings. Though these tales share a common theme, they diverge in plot lines by exploring different ways that technology can affect life as usual. By examining these tales one will notice the difference of experiments, consequences, and relationships. The first major difference is the means of experimentation between the two protagonists. In Frankenstein, Victor uses a mysterious â€Å"spark of life† t o bring his creation alive in order to fulfill his own ambitions.In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the protagonist’s motivation for experimenting on life is for the greater good from the get go. By these plots being different, the audience can see how even though scientists can have totally separate ideas and reasoning the end game is usually the same. However, this was not the only difference between the cautionary narratives. The other key thing that made these stories different was the endings. In the film, the experiments wreak havoc on the city just so that they could get to safety.In the novel, the creation causes destruction for the sole purpose of tormenting its creator. The apes reach their destination and though they leave a wake of terror in their path are generally safe and complacent, while the protagonist quietly mourns losing his friend. On the other hand, Victor loses his life in the hunt for the creation and the monster commits suicide leaving no trace of an y the events that took place. These two differences are what make each tale unique. The film and novel have one commonality: they warn humans of the dangers that can be self-inflicted.Each story results in suffering, loss, and destruction caused by the creations. They try and convey the message that manipulating life can be a volatile process and should be handled with the utmost care. Though one lead character lives while the other main character dies, they both reach a point where they realize the power and seriousness of their actions therefore teaching the reader/ viewer. Watching/ reading these interesting narratives can leave a person more cautious of their actions and decisions.Overall, the book and film differed in a variety of ways, ways such as plot line and end results. However the overall theme of the power of technology in human lives remained dominant in both tales. One is a film with wonderful visual effects and the other is an aged book that still retains the vividne ss of its day. They are both striking entertainment and could be interchangeable for instilling a sense of power and responsibly in reckless youth. There were few things that could be tweaked and more informative tales should be made revolving around this universal subject.

Develop Marketing Streategies Essay

The company is named Houzit Pty Ltd, it is a retailer for home wares. Houzit is a chain of homewares stores in Brisbane that specializes in bathroom fittings, bedroom fittings, mirrors and decorative items.. It is a growing business. It has 15 stores in Brisbane area, with all stores being managed and coordinated from their head office in Milton. It has 150 staff members. The analysis of each of the aspect of the company overview is provided under the following heads. Strategic direction and Organizational objectives STRATEGIC DIRECTION The strategic directions of Houzit can be ascertained from the company’s vision and mission. Houzit is a national retail brand that is satisfying the home makers’ needs by providing them unique, wide variety of quality homeware products with an easy payment procedure. The mission of the company asserts that the organization is planning to move towards enlargement of its business by ensuring its presence in all the major cities of Australian market by the year 2020. The basic focus of the company is on three parameters: Quality, Unique items and Selection In this post modern era every organization should direct their marketing strategies in way that the strategic goals could be achieved smoothly and efficiently. Strategic direction is a course of action that leads to the attainment of the set goals of a company. It is also the vision of the company that is necessary for success in giving direction for employees to follow in order to achieve set goals. Setting strategic direction involves finding a target direction and committing to get there.  It begins with developing a clear vision for a company thereby increasing its competitive advantage. Mission and vision of a firm Mission is what the firm is, whereas vision is a forward-looking view of what the organization wants to become. Mission statement may include a vision, business definition and values and/or statements about an organization’s purpose. >By 2020,Houzit will have a significant retail presence in home wares in every Australian capital city >Starting with 15 stores in the Great Brisbane area and growing to 100 Australia wide. >Houzit will be a national retail brand, catering to the needs of home makers with a range of unique, high quality home wares made accessible to all through our easy to manage payment plan. Therefore some marketing opportunities have to be analyzed in reaching its goals, so the manager has to provide brief summary evaluating two alternatives, including the benefits and risks associated with each option and finally recommending for the opportunity most likely to produce results. ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES Here I outline the following marketing objectives: >To bring an annual sales increase of $ 5 million by moving the sales figures from $15 million per year to %20 million per year during the next three years period. >To enhance the list of loyal customers from 10,000 to 15,000 >Considering Brisbane as a potential market, brand recognition need to be established so that one out of every 3 people will recognise the Houzit brand in a random survey that is conducted in 18 months’ time. Current size, capabilities and resources of the organization ORGANATIONAL SIZE The size of the organization occupies 1,000-1,500m2. CAPABILITIES Capabilities: Each of the Houzit store has a capacity to generate the following sales breakup Bathroom fittings: 30% Bedrooms furnishings: 35% Mirrors and decorative items: 20% Lighting fixtures: 15% The organization is able to manage a high customer loyalty among repeat customers as it is a valuable assets for any organization. Moreover they can exceed competitors by offering in quality, range and accessibility. RESOURCES OF THE ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURSES Houzit has the valuable assest ,that is human resources ,15-20 fulltime employees along with number of casual workers .Staffs works are excellent with highly skilled and knowledgeable about home wares. PHYSICAL RESOURSES Especially for a commercial urban district Houzit possesses a great retail space that is bright, functional and efficient. Gaps between the objectives and the current capabilities and resources Gap analysis serves as the tool that will help to decide between multiple marketing options (Precision Group, 2009). The objectives that are set by Houzit are difficult to be achieved with the current capabilities and resources. It is because company has limited number of employees. In addition to it, the focus with which company operates to have its stores as bright and comfortable for shopping is not in alignment with the legislations that are put forth by the government. In this manner Houzit will have a gap between the objectives set for the company and the current strategies, capabilities and resources of the company. Opportunities With the help of external environment analysis, a company will be able to develop a list of opportunities and threats that are provided by the environmental factors (David, 2006). This section of task 1 highlights the two major opportunities for Houzit along with their analysis. Two marketing opportunities that meet the objectives and the evaluation of risk and benefits of each opportunity are: * A growing market in high growth area with a significant percentage of the target market still not aware of Houzit’s offer. * Increase sales opportunities outside of our target area-greater Brisbane. Marketing mix Houzit’s marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service.