In Harm’s Way

Persuasive Essay: In Harm’s Way The sinking of the USS Indianapolis was a horrible event, which killed hundreds of soldiers, and left hundreds floating adrift in the sea with swarms of sharks circling around them. Captain McVay, the captain of the Indianapolis, was charged with negligence. Truly, Captain McVay did his job with what he had, and should not be the scapegoat for the navy. Generals, Lieutenants, and Commodores are all partially responsible for the sinking due to negligence, miss communication, and important top-secret intelligence. Captain McVay did nothing wrong, and did a great job as Captain with the knowledge and information that he was aware of. Inconsistent communication and information that were out of McVay’s control are responsible for the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Captain McVay was an experienced captain and knew what needed to be done to run the ship and the procedures to travel safely during a period where Japanese subs were everywhere waiting to take down American ships. When the USS Indianapolis left San Francisco, McVay had a crew that was not experienced. Therefore, he requested to have his crew be trained and was promised that training would take place in Guam when they arrived. When they arrived to Guam the crew was not completely trained. If an emergency were to happen, the crew would not be trained properly, which would result in many deaths. McVay was not being negligent, he knew what needed to be done in advanced and the navy denied his request. With a crew that was not very experienced, McVay was about to sail from the Marianas Sea Frontier into the Philippine Sea Frontier, a passage that had a navy communication conflict between Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur. The political conflict between Nimitz and MacArthur was somewhat resolved because Nimitiz ended up getting control. However, there was still tension between them that caused information about ships and important facts to sometimes become lost. During this time, the passage was dangerous due to Japanese subs and with inconsistent communication, The USS Indianapolis could be in trouble and communication could get lost. The ship was not equipped with sonar because it wasn’t used for finding and hunting down subs. McVay was aware of this and how dangerous it was to cross to Leyte. Aware of the dangers, McVay requested an escort to assist with a safe sail to Leyte. Lieutenant Waldron, the convoy routing officer then called to request an escort â€Å"Waldron inquired of the officer on duty whether there was an escort leaving for Leyte, with whom the Indianapolis might tag along. Waldron was told that none was necessary†(Stanton 70). McVay did his duty by requesting the escort however; Captain Oliver Naquin was the one who denied it. As Captain, McVay had to rely on mainland communication and intelligence. â€Å"naval command assumed that she could travel safely in the backwater unescorted†(70). Even if McVay disagreed with their decision, he would still have to follow orders. With no escort, McVay follow protocol to steer the ship to decrease the risk of getting hit by a torpedo and requested an intelligence report for the whereabouts of enemy subs. McVay knew to travel in a zigzag direction, which made the ship harder to hit. He was to follow a zigzag course during daylight hours, and at night, at his discretion, during periods of good visibility†(71). McVay followed this order but when the Indianapolis was hit, it was at night when McVay was sleeping and not zigzagging. The Navy blamed McVay for not zigzagging when the ship was hit, Zigzagging was only required by the navy during daylight. Also, the naval command thought it was going to be a safe sail unescorted in which McVay would obviously have to trust and agree with. This ended up being false and making his trip more dangers than expected. McVay took action and requested an intelligence report to be aware of any enemy subs since he had no escort. When McVay received the intelligence report, the most crucial and important information was not given. â€Å"Three days earlier, the USS Underhill, a destroyer escort, had been sunk by a Japanese torpedo†(72). This message was kept a secret, neither McVay or anyone that he was communicating with was aware of this attack. However, this was crucial information for McVay, because the attacked happened in the same route as the USS Indianapolis. Commodore James Carter met with McVay at the CINCPAC headquarters and was aware of the attack but neglected to mention it to McVay. Communication was a big factor in the attack of the USS Indianapolis and even when the ship sank, successful SOS messages did not get communicated right resulting in a delayed rescued mission. Before the ship went down SOS and even the ships coordinates were sent out multiple times to multiple communication stations. One of the messages was received at Leyte and Commodore Gillette sent out tugboats out to the location of the sinking. After seven hours of the twenty-one hours initial trip, Gillette ordered the tugs to abort and come back to Leyte. McVay did the right procedures during the sinking; Gillette on the other hand was negligent and did not further investigate the reported sinking. Many of the other messages that were received were either ignored or thought to be fake distress calls from the Japanese. Throughout World War two, consistent communication was very difficult. Japan was intercepting America’s communication and getting leads throughout the war. This caused inconsistent communication and intelligences, which resulted in disasters such as the USS Indianapolis because information was not being provided correctly. The navy new of such crucial information that was very important to the USS Indianapolis such as, the sinking of a navy ship three days before the Indy. The Indianapolis was carrying atomic bombs making its delivery very important even though very few people knew about the bombs. The navy was negligent for doing this, and if McVay had known about the secret information, he would have changed his tactics to make sure he completed his mission. In Harm’s Way Persuasive Essay: In Harm’s Way The sinking of the USS Indianapolis was a horrible event, which killed hundreds of soldiers, and left hundreds floating adrift in the sea with swarms of sharks circling around them. Captain McVay, the captain of the Indianapolis, was charged with negligence. Truly, Captain McVay did his job with what he had, and should not be the scapegoat for the navy. Generals, Lieutenants, and Commodores are all partially responsible for the sinking due to negligence, miss communication, and important top-secret intelligence. Captain McVay did nothing wrong, and did a great job as Captain with the knowledge and information that he was aware of. Inconsistent communication and information that were out of McVay’s control are responsible for the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Captain McVay was an experienced captain and knew what needed to be done to run the ship and the procedures to travel safely during a period where Japanese subs were everywhere waiting to take down American ships. When the USS Indianapolis left San Francisco, McVay had a crew that was not experienced. Therefore, he requested to have his crew be trained and was promised that training would take place in Guam when they arrived. When they arrived to Guam the crew was not completely trained. If an emergency were to happen, the crew would not be trained properly, which would result in many deaths. McVay was not being negligent, he knew what needed to be done in advanced and the navy denied his request. With a crew that was not very experienced, McVay was about to sail from the Marianas Sea Frontier into the Philippine Sea Frontier, a passage that had a navy communication conflict between Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur. The political conflict between Nimitz and MacArthur was somewhat resolved because Nimitiz ended up getting control. However, there was still tension between them that caused information about ships and important facts to sometimes become lost. During this time, the passage was dangerous due to Japanese subs and with inconsistent communication, The USS Indianapolis could be in trouble and communication could get lost. The ship was not equipped with sonar because it wasn’t used for finding and hunting down subs. McVay was aware of this and how dangerous it was to cross to Leyte. Aware of the dangers, McVay requested an escort to assist with a safe sail to Leyte. Lieutenant Waldron, the convoy routing officer then called to request an escort â€Å"Waldron inquired of the officer on duty whether there was an escort leaving for Leyte, with whom the Indianapolis might tag along. Waldron was told that none was necessary†(Stanton 70). McVay did his duty by requesting the escort however; Captain Oliver Naquin was the one who denied it. As Captain, McVay had to rely on mainland communication and intelligence. â€Å"naval command assumed that she could travel safely in the backwater unescorted†(70). Even if McVay disagreed with their decision, he would still have to follow orders. With no escort, McVay follow protocol to steer the ship to decrease the risk of getting hit by a torpedo and requested an intelligence report for the whereabouts of enemy subs. McVay knew to travel in a zigzag direction, which made the ship harder to hit. He was to follow a zigzag course during daylight hours, and at night, at his discretion, during periods of good visibility†(71). McVay followed this order but when the Indianapolis was hit, it was at night when McVay was sleeping and not zigzagging. The Navy blamed McVay for not zigzagging when the ship was hit, Zigzagging was only required by the navy during daylight. Also, the naval command thought it was going to be a safe sail unescorted in which McVay would obviously have to trust and agree with. This ended up being false and making his trip more dangers than expected. McVay took action and requested an intelligence report to be aware of any enemy subs since he had no escort. When McVay received the intelligence report, the most crucial and important information was not given. â€Å"Three days earlier, the USS Underhill, a destroyer escort, had been sunk by a Japanese torpedo†(72). This message was kept a secret, neither McVay or anyone that he was communicating with was aware of this attack. However, this was crucial information for McVay, because the attacked happened in the same route as the USS Indianapolis. Commodore James Carter met with McVay at the CINCPAC headquarters and was aware of the attack but neglected to mention it to McVay. Communication was a big factor in the attack of the USS Indianapolis and even when the ship sank, successful SOS messages did not get communicated right resulting in a delayed rescued mission. Before the ship went down SOS and even the ships coordinates were sent out multiple times to multiple communication stations. One of the messages was received at Leyte and Commodore Gillette sent out tugboats out to the location of the sinking. After seven hours of the twenty-one hours initial trip, Gillette ordered the tugs to abort and come back to Leyte. McVay did the right procedures during the sinking; Gillette on the other hand was negligent and did not further investigate the reported sinking. Many of the other messages that were received were either ignored or thought to be fake distress calls from the Japanese. Throughout World War two, consistent communication was very difficult. Japan was intercepting America’s communication and getting leads throughout the war. This caused inconsistent communication and intelligences, which resulted in disasters such as the USS Indianapolis because information was not being provided correctly. The navy new of such crucial information that was very important to the USS Indianapolis such as, the sinking of a navy ship three days before the Indy. The Indianapolis was carrying atomic bombs making its delivery very important even though very few people knew about the bombs. The navy was negligent for doing this, and if McVay had known about the secret information, he would have changed his tactics to make sure he completed his mission.

Italian Culture Healthcare and Education Essay

Italy is recognized around the world due to its decent cultural approach towards education, business, healthcare and society. Italian’s culture diligently maintains high standards of healthcare system as well as education systems which provide the best and affordable healthcare services and free educational opportunities to the people. Italian Culture towards Healthcare Italian culture towards healthcare is highly recognized due to the provision of high standards healthcare services and medical assistance at very low cost. Italian doctors are very devoted and expert in their profession and the healthcare treatment services are maintained at higher levels. It is wise thinking of Italians who prefer to cover their hospitalization and surgery cost through private health insurance providers which, of course, avoid inconvenience faced due to long waiting lists (â€Å"Healthcare in Italy†, Allianz). The official name of Italy’s Health System is ‘Servizio Sanitario Nazioanale’ which provides low cost healthcare services to the entire European citizens. The healthcare services include ‘in-patient’ treatments such as medications, tests, family doctor visits, surgeries during hospitalization and medical assistance provided by various medical specialists. Other healthcare services are too offered which include dental treatments, out-patient treatments and provision of medicines and drugs. The Italian culture mandates the health insurance for every foreigner which must cover the entire healthcare treatment from the arrival moment till the departure moment, failing which ‘permit to stay’ (permesso di soggiorno) is not granted (â€Å"Healthcare in Italy†, Allianz). Italian Culture towards Education Education in Italy is perceived to be an essential necessity of life. Italian’s culture has regulated education as a compulsory requirement for 6-16 years of children and free education is too granted to facilitate people. There are five grades in Italian’s educational system namely ‘Kindergarten / Playgroup (Scuola Maternal), Elementary School (Scuola Elementare), Middle School (Scuola Media), High School (Liceo) and University (Universita) (â€Å"Italy Education System†, Italiamia). The educational system in Italy consists of public and private standards. Both the standards are developed more progressively than UK and Germany educational systems. Various universities for postgraduate education have been established in Italy namely ‘University of Bologna’ which is the oldest university in Western and ‘La Sapienza University’ which is the biggest university in Italy (â€Å"Italy Education†, Maps of World). Italy’s educational system was constituted by ‘Legge Casati (Casati Act) in 1859. The vision of this act was to diminish illiteracy among children and enhance their learning needs. The single town regulates the primary education system, the province regulates the secondary education system and the state regulates the universities education system. The educational system was further streamlined by ‘Legge Gentile Act’ in 1923. The compulsory age of children for education was increased up to 14 years and option for promotion towards ‘Middle School’ was granted upon completion of five years primary education which could further be continued up to ‘High School’ (â€Å"Italy Education System†, Italiamia). Conclusion  Inadvertently, Italian culture towards healthcare and education is very appreciating and is a symbol of developed country of the world. Since, Italian culture has maintained the higher standards in healthcare and education systems; therefore, it is right to claim the Italy as one of the best country of the world which cares about the life of its people with love. In short, Italy’s healthcare and education culture should be adopted by every developing country in order to maintain good health and develop learning needs among people which will of course, benefit the same in the prosperity of a country.

The Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG - Case Study Example The practice of bribery is perceived advantageous to parties involved since it enables them acquire business gains without having to meet expected standards, developing relationship with foreign officials or being favored by potential customers. In other instances, they can also benefits from reduction of the payouts involved, thereby resulting to increased profitability for the company. Other benefits derived by these companies from the practice of bribery are such as opportunity cost since money offered as a bribe in not considered to be in productive use. Siemens AG was involved in a case of corruption that involved bribery in 2006 and 2007, whereby this scandal involved company’s employees, who had established slush fund meant for facilitating acquisition of contracts. For instance, Siemens managers were convicted of embezzling company funds amounting to six million pounds in order to bribe foreign officials to acquire a contract involving natural-gas turbine (Akana, 1). H owever, the perception of the executives towards this case was that getting involved in bribery practice was worth it, since the employees were willing to break the law in order to gather huge profits. Other employees argued that this act was not a violation of any laws since it did not result to any personal gain; instead, it was aimed at enhancing Siemens’ positioning strategy. Nonetheless, their notions were not rational since breaking the law can never be for the right purpose; thus, despite, focusing on the benefits that to be derived from practice of bribery for the Company. Question number 2: Was the Board right in not extending Kleinfeld’s term even though he had performed well and was not personally implicated and explain? What virtuous and/or virtuous behaviors did he show with observable facts? Decision of board whereby they failed to extend Kleinfeld’s term can be considered personal due to lack of rational reason associated with the bribery scandal. This judgment is made based on considerations of the challenges that Kleinfeld was faced with as the CEO willing to rescue the company from the bribery scandal in order to sustain their growth. On the other hand, Kleinfeld had gained confidence on issues such as labor and management in the Siemens AG. Besides, there is need to understand that the scandal caused by bribery practice was not entirely Kleinfeld’s fault; in fact, employees were the once involved in the practice. The entire company should have taken the blame; instead of laying the whole burden on the CEO. The board should have considered that engagement into these practices was due to the influence increasing competition among companies, hence these illegal payments aimed at winning international contract was the only option for these employees in the emerging economies. Furthermore, Kleinfeld was not directly implicated in the scandal; thus, by the fact that he was responsible for behaviors of the employees, thi s case was out of his control. In fact, Kleinfeld was unaware of the unlawful practices that employees were engaging in within the company. In addition, the practice of bribery was hard to notice since there was commonality of spending funds amounting to four hundred and twenty million and they were unnoticeable or unquestionable (Akana, 1). Kleinfeld’

SMOKING AS A HEART DISEASE FACTOR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SMOKING AS A HEART DISEASE FACTOR - Essay Example A direct link has been identified between lung cancer and tobacco smoking, as well as other links to respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and emphysema, and to coronary heart diseases (Pocket Dictionary of Biology 1999.) Several clinical trials support these findings as well (Kunz1, Pechlaner, Ho, & Pfister 2005). Smoking increases the risk of developing heart disease and is the leading cause of premature and preventable deaths in the United States alone (Cohen 1999). Smoking is a major risk factor for developing heart disease as it indirectly affects how the heart works and creates an imbalance in the cardiovascular system. For example, smoking causes emphysema, where the lungs lose their elasticity and the individual is often left short of breath. One of the heart's functions is to deliver oxygen, so the reduced surface area in the lungs results in an increased demand for oxygen by the lungs and other muscular organs and tissue. As a result of this increased demand, the heart has to work harder to compensate for this imbalance. If this happens over a long period of time, the heart muscles will weaken and/or change (e.g. heart enlargement, hardening of arteries, fatty deposits) and combined with other risk factors, will lead to heart disease. N The following points summarise the ways in which smoking affects the cardiovascular system. Smoking increases the levels of carbon monoxide which is a poisonous gas. In the long term this gas contributes to the damaged lining of blood vessels and artery hardening (Black 1992). Smoking raises blood levels of fibrinogen which is a clotting agent that causes blood platelets to stick together, increasing the risk of blood clots and blockages in the vascular system (Black 1992). Nicotine raises blood pressure and the heart rate which results in the heart working harder. It also constricts the coronary arteries which results in less supply of blood and oxygen to the heart (Black 1992). However, it is important to be aware of the nature of the various forms of heart disease, as this will increase our understanding of how smoking directly affects the working of the heart and the cardiovascular system. Heart Disease Heart disease consists of a variety of diseases that directly affect the workings of the heart. Arteriosclerotic disease is a result of the occurrence of fatty deposits inside the coronary arteries and blood vessels that supply blood to the heart muscle. When the blood supply from these vessels is slowed down or ceases, the individual will most probably experience angina or a heart attack. High blood pressure occurs when the heart encounters a higher resistance in the blood vessels outside the heart. This results in the enlargement of the heart and thickening of the heart muscle. (Cohen 1992) These factors contribute to reduced efficiency in the cardiovascular system as the heart now requires more oxygen to function and strains its muscle. It also speeds up the process of atherosclerosis by driving blood fat and cholesterol into the blood vessel walls increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Heart failure occurs when the heart becomes excessively stiff or fatigued from worki ng too hard, either because it must pump against too strong a resistance or because there has been a loss of heart

How do international financial institutions manage the change needed Essay

How do international financial institutions manage the change needed after the 2008 financial crisis - Essay Example The main aim of regulation is making the reporting system transparent so that the market participants can have a better idea about the risk that they are undertaking. The above mentioned financial crisis was mainly attributed to insufficient regulation therefore a change in the regulatory framework is needed to avoid this in the future. An important official of the IMF has attributed regulatory failure to guard against excessive risk as the reason of the 2008 financial crisis. However excessive regulation is also one of the reasons that contribute to the financial crisis. As per the Basel II norms the banks have to increase their capital whenever there is an increase in the risk. This adds to the crisis, as the banks reduce their lending for meeting the capital requirements. When the Fed announced the hike in the interest rates the installments were re-set which resulted in widespread delinquencies. Faced by the rising foreclosures the banks had to sell off their assets for maintaini ng the capital requirements. This led to a steep fall in the housing prices. For preventing this crisis in the future various international bodies like IMF demanded strict disclosure and regulatory norms. This procedure requires changing the existing accounting standards and making the disclosure of off-balance sheet risk more effective. The international financial institutions have to play a major role in managing this change. Initially the changes of regulations and disclosures may not be acceptable. Here the international bodies have to play the key role in explaining the significance of the change. This will help in removing the restraining forces and will facilitate in reaching the equilibrium stage. When a change is implemented there are two contrary forces that act simultaneously- driving forces that support and restraining forces that oppose a change. To make the change successful it is important to explain its significance to the people in

UK Employment Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

UK Employment Law - Case Study Example The author has ironically pointed out unfair justice of Mandox towards the dismissal of all the servants in her Manson including Bill and the various nannies who work in the Mandox household. If UK employment law is going to take the initiative for making the law against the unfair dismissal, the possibility of coming into effect is amounting to zero up to the tenure of Muriel Mandox, who remains Minister of Justice but observing the pathetic situation of Bill and the various nannies in the Mandox household, the need for strong employment law is on high demand. When the reader come to know the attitude of Charles, "famous indifference towards strangers was born of class, nationality, wealth and temperament could not fail to be surprised.", then he/she can immediately understand the situation of the labour group working under his control. He is sure to use them at their need and when need is finished; they are thrown out from the job. The view of Muriel Mandox is much more dreaded, she says, 'Look abroad for labour. Look at it this way. They're cheaper. They work harder. You know where they are. They have no friends and, if not satisfied, you can throw them out of the country. What more do you want British jobs for British workers; don't make me laugh. The British worker is a lazy, useless joke.(7)' A Minister of Justice can use these types of words in the private life in the house only and she will defend 'injustice' in public and at the time of election she will hate such people who dare to use such words. A justice minister has no justic e to the class of labour, no justice to humanity, no justice to emotion of a person, no justice to respect the dignity of her country, no justice to respect to the persons of her country, she only wants the cheap labour, she only wants harder labourers, marking the British worker as a joke. But in public she has ironically contrasting thought, "Her own first thought was to tell the overweening, exploitative capitalist bastard to go to hell (6)."In choosing the nannies for her children, she is much concern on the economy and faithfulness of them but she is not willing to pay any attention to them. They all were sacked when they have done unsatisfactory job without any consideration to their basic need of employment. If there could have been any protection law from the UK government then unfair dismissal become difficult for the people of downtrodden society or at least they can proceed to the court of law for the justice, though there are less chances of getting justice as the Minist er of Justice is the owner of the household, Muriel Mandox. At first she had been reluctant to hire childcare, but of the household of Bleak Hall it rapidly became obvious that only Bill had either inclination or patience to mind babies. Muriel's first choice nanny was English, wellborn, though not bright, comparatively well paid (5.00 per hour), but unfortunately insistent on regularity of hours and boyfriends. She lasted three months. The second, also English, better paid (7.00 per hour), working class in stock, also

The Impact of Information System on Business Process Design Research Paper

The Impact of Information System on Business Process Design - Research Paper Example The use of information systems also enables the company to expand and grow its operations outwards to scales that were almost unimaginable through the analog system of business design and engineering, such as globalization processes through the creation of the subsidiaries by multinational corporations. Furthermore, the organizations also benefit from the large market sphere and control brought about by the introduction of business technology and information systems within the processes of conducting business. As such, the paper considers the best methods undertaken by businesses in expanding and modernizing their operations using and adoption of technology and information systems. In fact, information systems brought about a major revolution in specific organizational sectors such as the executive and management roles, as well as, the manner and style by which people work at their organizations. This is phenomenal through the redesign processes of these business operations, and the benefits achieved through the transformation of these new company practices. A business process is a structural procedure of diverse activities, tasks, or procedures within a business in order to achieve a specific goal, or produce a certain kind of service, product, or brand for meeting a particular demand from a customer, a market, or a business client. A business process incorporates a flowchart kind of operation whereby a sequence of integrated activities operate together through a process matrix based on a varied rules provided by the data in the processes. However, there are varied versions on the definition of business processes and how they affect the operations of a business.

Contemporary Issues in International Business Essay - 1

Contemporary Issues in International Business - Essay Example Thus, inter-dependency of states has become a critical factor that necessitates evolution of monetary system for currency exchange in the inter-state trade practices. In the post WWII era, Bretton Wood System had addressed the issue of international finance and currency relationship to promote stable trade amongst the countries. As a result, international agencies like International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank had emerged. IMF’s major objective was to facilitate and promote international business and stabilize foreign exchange through balance of payment for countries that were unable to meet their debt payments. At the same time, World Bank provides grants and low interest or interest free loans on easy term to credit worthy under developed and developing countries in the areas of poverty alleviation, health, education, environment conservation, sustainable development etc. The bank gets its finance from the donation from its member countries and the repayment of loans and interest money. In the recent times, the roles of these two agencies have come under lot of criticism. Thus, the roles of IMF and World Bank need to be analyzed and evaluated for introducing to make them more effective in the contemporary environment of global values. IMF is primarily a monetary system that was created in 1944. The initiatives taken in the Bretton Wood System had promoted US dollars as major currency because at that time, America was economically strong and was seen as a major facilitator of economic growth and opportunities. Another major factor was that the dollar was backed by huge reserve of gold deposit in America. IMF provided the necessary impetus to the international trade and economic cooperation amongst nation through mechanisms that included multilateral system of payment by member countries, stability in foreign exchange and supporting economically weak member nations with short term problems of ‘balance of payment’. It had also extended long term funds to developing countries which had faced the balance of payments problem during the structural changes that were needed to promote the socio-economic development of the region. World Bank was also an important actor in the socio-economic development process of under developed and developing countries. While it extended soft term loans and grants to these countries, it is also a commercial lender and is not totally dependent on the developed nations for its financial viability. It has relatively huge foreign exchange reserve and is therefore able to meet its various obligations. But in the recent times, many of its creditors have failed to repay the loans. Oxfam has claimed for 100% debt relief to 33 highly indebted poor countries (Mallaby, 2004). At the same time, emerging new economies like India and China have developed huge foreign reserves of their own and rely less on these agencies for funds. Most importantly, the transforming global economy has disturbed the d ominant position of US dollars. The fast emerging economies like India and China have challenged the American monopoly in the global market. It has not only not remained a major donor to the international agencies but the deteriorating economic conditions of America with a large foreign debt and deficit account balance, have adversely impacted dollar. The fixed exchange rate of currency has collapsed under new market based economy. The diktats of free trade and liberalization of economies across the globe have become important factors that demand new mechanisms for creating mutually beneficial trade practices. With market enforced floating currency rates, the political legitimacy of IMF and World Bank has become highly controversial. These agencies need to redefine their goals vis-a-vis new market

Questions Educators must ask Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Questions Educators must ask - Essay Example Ever since Charles Darwin published his book , 'The Origin of the Species' in the nineteenth century, scientific thought has been focused on the theory of evolution. Many experiments have been conducted on the subject of evolution. According to a recent report in The Economist, many of the researches are motivated by "pre-conceived ideas that one lot of people are somehow better than another lot rather than being a disinterested investigation of regional variations in a single species and the evolutionary pressures that have created them." (The Economist ) This attitude of some scientific researchers questions the methods and assumptions that they follow. The assumption that experiments on animals give us a better insight into human nature also falls in this category. Human beings belong to the family of mammals, which inhabit the earth with millions of other organisms, from the largest to the tiniest. The erect walk, freeing the hands , the retractable thumb and the big brain with its enormous problem solving capacity, makes the human being seem to be highly advanced. But at the same time we must not forget that all inhabitants of the earth share the same water and atmosphere. This makes them partners in a symbiotic relationship. To think that human beings are advanced animals seems to be logical, but at the same time, the actions of human beings in jeopardizing the health of the planet we live in seems to show that they are not so advanced after all. No other animal on earth causes wars, is so greedy that it steals from its own home, nor changes the climate. An important question that an educator must ask himself is, "Are we innocent or evil Are we pre disposed to make appropriate or inappropriate choices" All human beings are born with a conscience which tells them whether an action is good or bad. According to Kantian theory, a human being is pre disposed to make choices for the good of the society as a whole. As Will Durant puts it, ""The most astounding reality of all our experience is precisely, our moral sense, our inescapable feeling, in the face of temptation, that this or that is wrong".(Durant 270) According to Kant, people follow the moral law regardless of profit or loss to themselves. As human beings, we are predisposed to make the appropriate choices. We are born with a feeling of goodness in our hearts. The so called evil actions are a result of greed and hatred fomented by circumstances. To the question, "Are we a collection of components or a unitary structure" the answer is obvious. Since we are a part of the planet, with a symbiotic relationship with myriad other living things small and big, we cannot consider ourselves as a unitary structure .Our nature as human beings has made us gregarious. We learn better in social settings. Since our brains are programmed to learn by active construction of meaning and design, we acquire knowledge by the Active learning process. Human learning is enhanced by the social interaction. Life itself is interaction with other persons or animals. A small

Indian Independence Speech Essay Example for Free

Indian Independence Speech Essay As you know all of us have gathered here to celebrate 67th independence day of our nation. This day, after the hosting national flag, we usually make mistake by remembering the heroic deeds of only few freedom fighters. But freedom fighting was collective effort. Without cooperation, sacrifice and involvement of all Indians it was impossible to get the freedom. So people of India were the real national heroes behind the success. We should express our sincere gratitude to all those who participated in the freedom struggle. This can only be done by defending our freedom like our ancestral property which cannot be valued. How to defend? Single person cannot defend it; again group effort is essential it is nothing but unity. How to form this unity? We should always remember that only patriotism can form unity irrespective of religion, language, caste, customs and traditions. So having patriotism only can save the freedom of our nation. To keep faith in secularism No compromise must be with patriotism, Punish the forces that support terrorism Else one bad day we will loose our freedom. I would like to express my views about the dark side of Present India. How should I say ‘My INDIA is great’? In this republic from schools to parliament, Elections are held at every moment, Children’s are taught fighting for the seat, How should I say ‘My India is great’? Even after golden jubilee of unconstraint, Many citizens are unable to fill their gut, Rich become richer and rests are indigent, How should I say ‘My India is great’? People are emotionally divided by communalist, Border in the north and south has water dispute, Leaders are selfish and have no solving interest, How should I say ‘My India is great’? Capable civilians are facing unemployment, Socially unfits have led the political movements, Voters are under tense of serious terror threat, How should I say ‘My India is great’? All are seeking benefits without effort, Bribery has become the style of management, Whole country pushed into a big corruption pit, How should I say ‘My India is great’? I pray to the divine creator with sentiment, Please give birth to sincere nationalist, Who should drive my nation towards overall development, So that I should say ‘My India is great’ Apart from these Our India is great country because Indians are generous, broad minded, kind hearted and united. No doubt we quarrel among ourselves for various reasons but we stay united in front enemies and in times of danger. I have got few facts which are in support of above statements. During Kargil war our Govt couldn’t spend even a single paisa from the budget but people gave every kind support for it. During Tsunami in Chennai, Flood in Bihar and Orissa, draught in the country, earthquake in Gujarat and Maharashtra and similar other natural disasters people stood united and helped each other, extended all kind of cooperation to start a new life. So I Say that My India is great and Indians are the greatest. â€Å"I am proud to be an Indian† India is a great country with many religions. It has rich natural resources and lengthy frontier with vast region. North has The Himalayas and south with the Hindu ocean, Bay of Bengal in the east and the west has the sea Arabian. It’s being administered with language wise partition. All are leading peaceful life with national integration. Enemy’s conspiracy is impossible with the unity of the nation. Festivals are celebrated here with memorable function.People help each other in time of affliction. So my India is great also I am proud to be an Indian.

Appraisal Techniques Available to Finance Managers

Appraisal Techniques Available to Finance Managers INTRODUCTION: What are the different appraisal techniques available to finance managers to make decisions relating to investment projects? Discuss each of them and recommend, giving your reasons, which of them you consider as the best technique applicable to your company. INVESTMENT APPRAISAL: Investment appraisal also known as capital budgeting. As finance manager one of the important areas of decision-making for the long-term is must to tackle the investment the need to committed funds by buying buildings, machinery and land. Finance manager have to check of the size of the inflows and outflows of funds, for handling these types of decisions, the degree of risk and the lifespan of the investment cost of obtaining funds are despatched. The capital budgeting cycle can be summarised in some stage which are as follows: Expecting investment needs Identifying project to satisfy needs Examine the alternatives Choose the best alternatives Making the spend Monitor the project Looking at investment appraisal involves us in stage 3 and 4 of this cycle. We can classify capital expenditure projects into four broad categories: Maintenance replacing old or obsolete assets for example. Profitability quality, productivity or location improvement for example. Expansion new products, markets and so on. Indirect social and welfare facilities. Even the projects that are unlikely to generate profits should be subjected to investment appraisal. This should help to identify the best way of achieving the projects aims. So investment appraisal may help to find the cheapest way to provide a new staff restaurant, even though such a project may be unlikely to earn profits for the company. WHAT ARE THE INVESTMENT APPRAISAL TECHNIQUES? Investment Appraisal also known as Capital Budgeting is used to assess whether capital Expenditure on a particular project will be beneficial for the entity or not. These techniques can be used to evaluate projects both in the private and public sector companies. Most commonly used the following techniques. A: Traditional Methods 1: Payback Period 2: Accounting Rate of Return (ARR) B: Discounted Cash Flow Methods 3: Discounted Payback Period 4: Net Present Value (NPV) 5: Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 6: Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR) 7: Adjusted Present Value (APV) Traditional Methods Payback and Accounting rate of return (ARR) period are non discounted methods while all other mentioned methods are discounted. By discounted it is meant that the time value of money is considered in these methods. 1: Payback Period Payback period calculates the time taken by a project to recoup the initial investment. For a finance manager, evaluating projects by this technique would prefer projects with short payback period than those with longer payback periods.It is simple to calculate and easy to understand. Payback is literally the amount of time required for the cash inflows from a capital investment project to equal the cash outflows. The usual way that firms deal with deciding between two or more competing projects is to accept the project that has the shortest payback period. Payback is mostly used as a starting screening method. Payback period = Initial payment / Annual cash inflow So, if  £12,000000 is invested with the aim of earning  £12,00000 per year or net cash earnings, the payback period is calculated thus: P =  £12,000000 /  £12,00000 = 10 years This all looks fairly easy! But what if the project has more uneven cash inflows? Then we need to work out the payback period on the cumulative cash flow over the duration of the project as a whole. Payback with uneven cash flows: Of course, in the real world, investment projects by business organisations dont yield even cash flows. Have a look at the following projects cash flows with an initial investment in year 0 of  £120,000 The payback period is precisely 6 years. The shorter the payback period, the better the investment, under the payback method. We can appreciate the problems of this method when we consider appraising several projects alongside each other. We can see that the payback period for two of the projects (3, 5) is six years. In this case, then, the two projects are of equal merit. But, here we must face the real problem posed by payback: the time value of income flows. Put simply, this issue relates to the sacrifice made as a result of having to wait to receive the funds. In economic terms, this is known as the opportunity cost. More on this point follows later. So, because there is a time value constraint here, the two projects cannot be viewed as equivalent. Project 3 is better than 5 because the revenues flow quicker in years five and six. Project 4 is better than Projects 1 and 2, because of the earlier flows and because the post-payback revenues are concentrated in the earlier part of that period. So its clear that the payback method is a bit of a blunt instrument. So why use it? Advantages of payback: 1st, it is popular because of its simplicity. Research over the years has shown that UK firms favour it and perhaps this is understandable given how easy it is to calculate. 2nd, in a business environment of rapid technological change, new plant and machinery may need to be replaced sooner than in the past, so a quick payback on investment is essential. 3rd, the investment climate in UK in particular demands that the investors got fast returns. Mostly long-term profitable possibilities investments are viewed due to longer wait for revenues flow. Disadvantages of payback: It has not enough real facts, which choose the length of best payback time? No one from other does it is planned by pitting one investment opportunity against another. Cash flows are regarded as either pre-payback or post-payback, but the latter tend to be ignored. Payback takes no account of the effect on business profitability. Its sole concern is cash flow. Payback summary. It is probably best to regard payback as one of the first methods you use to assess competing projects. It could be used as an initial screening tool, but it is inappropriate as a basis for sophisticated investment decisions. 2: Accounting Rate of Return (ARR): This technique compares the profit earned by the project to the initial investment required for the project. Thus a project with higher rate of return is preferred. The Accounting rate of return expresses the profits arising from a project as a percentage of the initial capital cost. However the definition of profits and capital cost are different depending on which textbook you use. For instance, the profits may be taken to include depreciation, or they may not. One of the most common approaches is as follows: ARR = (Average annual revenue / Initial capital costs) x 100 Lets use this simple example to illustrate the ARR: A project to replace an item of machinery is being appraised. The machine will cost  £550,000 and is expected to generate total revenues of  £80,000 over the projects seven year life. What is the ARR for this project? ARR = [( £ 90,000 / 7) / 550,000] x 100 ARR = 2.37% Advantages of ARR As with the Payback method, the chief advantage with ARR is its simplicity. This makes it relatively easy to understand. There is also a link with some accounting measures that are commonly used. The Accounting rate of return is similar to the Return on Capital Employed in its construction; this may make the ARR easier for business planners to understand. The ARR is expressed in percentage terms and this, again, may make it easier to use.There are several criticisms of ARR which raise questions about its practical application: Disadvantages of ARR: 1st, the ARR doesnt take account of the project duration or the timing of cash flows over the course of the project. 2nd, the concept of profit can be very subjective, varying with specific accounting practice and the capitalisation of project costs. As a result, the ARR calculation for identical projects would be likely to result in different outcomes from business to business. 3rd, there is no definitive signal given by the ARR to help manager to decide whether or not to invest. This lack of a guide for decision making means that investment decisions remain subjective. Discounted Cash Flow Methods 3: Discounted Payback Period This technique works similar to payback period, the difference here is that discounted values of cash flows are used for calculation of the payback period. 4: Net Present Value (NPV) The NPV method calculates the present values for all future cash flows. The discount rate may be the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) or it may be any cost of capital depending on the risk of the project in consideration. This type of appraisal is regarded superior to the ARR and the payback period, however there are certain assumptions, on which this technique is based, making its evaluation less reliable. The Net Present Value (NPV) is the first Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) technique covered here. It successes on the idea of situation cost to put a value on cash inflows increasing from capital investment. Keep in mind that opportunity cost is the calculation of what has been given or forward as a result of a special decision. It is also referred to as the real cost of taking some action. We can look at the concept of present value as being the cash equivalent now of a sum receivable at a later date. So how does the opportunity cost affect revenues that we can expect to receive later? Well, imagine what a business could do now with the cash sums it must wait some time to receive. Looked at another way, it is simply that the business have to receive the capital to invest in the project. So, it has to wait for the revenues arising from the investment, the interest is paid on received capital. NPV is a technique where cash inflows expected in future years are discounted back to their present value. This is calculated by using a discount rate equivalent to the interest that would have been received on the sums, had the inflows been saved, or the interest that has to be paid by the firm on funds borrowed. Present Value Table Net Present Value tables provide a value for a range of years and discount rates. Notice the time scale used in the table: The present value for 0 years is always 1, and this is not included in the present value table. If we are looking to find the present value of  £ 10, 0000 which you expect to receive in 5 years time, at a rate of interest of 7 %, we should use the following table: Step 1 Look down the top column of the table (After n years) and find 5 years. Step 2 Look across the row titled At rate r for the rate of interest of 7 %. Step 3 Where the row for 5 years intersects with the column for 7 % in the table, there is the relevant present value factor. In this case this is 0.713. Step 4 Multiply  £ 10, 0000 by 0.713 =  £ 71300 NPV Illustration Calculate the present value of the following projects cash flows, using a 10 % discount rate. Assessing the value of NPV calculations is simple. A positive NPV means that the project is worthwhile because the cost of tying up the firms capital is compensated for by the cash inflows that result. When more than one project is being appraised, the firm should choose the one that produces the highest NPV. 5:Internal Rate of Return (IRR): IRR calculates the rate at which the NPV of a project equals zero. According to this method if the cost of capital of a company is more than the IRR, the project will be rejected and if it is lower than the cost of capital it is likely to be accepted. IRR and NPV concepts are correlated. We know that when a positive NPV is produced by our DCF calculations, a project is worthwhile. We have also seen that when there are competing projects, we should select the one that produces the highest NPV. But sometimes a finance manager will wants to know how well a project will perform under a range of interest rate scenarios. The aim with IRR is to answer the question: What level of interest will this project be able to withstand? Once we know this, the risk of changing interest rate conditions can effectively be minimised. The IRR is the annual percentage return achieved by a project, at which the sum of the discounted cash inflows over the life of the project is same to the sum of the capital invested. Another way of looking at this is that the IRR is the rate of interest that reduces the NPV to zero. Making the investment decision Lets set out the criteria for accepting or rejecting investment opportunities, using the NPV and IRR. As a Finance manager, considering whether to accept or reject an investment project, on the basis of their acquiring the funds necessary at a known rate of interest. 1: The NPV approach asks if the present value of cash inflows less the initial investment is positive, at the current borrowing rate. 2: The IRR approach asks if the IRR on the project is greater than the borrowing rate. Illustration of NPV IRR An initial investment of  £ 2500 in a project produces cash inflows of  £ 750,  £ 750,  £ 900,  £ 900 and  £ 595 at 12 month intervals. The cost of capital to finance the project is 12 %.We are required to decide whether the project is worthwhile using: 1. The Net Present Value 2. The Internal Rate of Return A positive NPV makes the project worthwhile because the cost of tying up the firms capital is compensated for by the cash inflows that result. 2. IRR The above calculation for NPV used a 12 % discount rate and produced a positive value of  £ 318.07. We need to find a discount rate that produces a negative NPV. Lets try 20 %. The IRR lies between 12 % and 20 %. But we can get much closer to the precise answer by using arithmetic. IRR = 12% + Difference between the two discount x Positive NPV Range of +ve to â‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"ve NPVs IRR = 12 % + (8 % x 318.07) IRR = 478.73 IRR = 12 % + 5.32 IRR = 17.32 % IRR Problems While there are some different difficulties with the IRR, MIRR solves two of them. First problem is the IRR accepts that interim complete money movements are invested again at the rate of return which was same as the project which creates them. This is most often happening a plan which is not real and a very simple situation, that the funds will be invested again at a rate where the firms cost of capital is closure. Therefore, the IRR often provides a reasonable, hopeful image of the projects which is under study. Normally for checking the projects in the fair way, the weighted average cost of capital can be used for investing again the interim money movements. 2nd, you can find more than one IRRs for projects with different negative and positive flows of cash, which control to confusion. IRR Summary: The value to a business of calculating the IRR is that its decision-makers are able to see the level of interest that a project can withstand. In the case where a number of projects are competing for selection, the one that is most resilient can be chosen. 6: Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR) (MIRR) is a managing the methods of an investments attractiveness. It is used in capital budgeting to give the rank to different investments. Modified Internal Rate of Return is a change of the (IRR) internal rate of return and intent to solve some problems with the internal rate of return (IRR). Using (IRR) we assumes that reinvestment rate of the company is the (IRR). (MIRR) overcomes this assumption and evaluate projects on the assumption that the reinvestment rate is the same as the companys cost of capital. This assumption for the cost of capital makes it a more effective technique as compared to the IRR. MIRR is calculated as follows: mbox{MIRR}=sqrt[n]{frac{-FV(text{positive cash flows, reinvestment rate})}{PV(text{negative cash flows, finance rate})}}-1 Where n is used for the number of same periods which is at the finish stage, where the cash flows occur, PV is used for present value, FV is used for future value. 7:Adjusted Present Value (APV) APV method is used for evaluating investment in projects where risks for a project are different from the company considering such undertakings. This type of evaluation overcomes weaknesses present in the NPV technique. Adjusted present value (APV) is similar to NPV. Use the cost of equity as the discount rate is different. For the financing effects different adjustments are made. Normally with DCF models, adjusted present value calculation is simple but boring. Calculating the first step of an APV is to calculating the basic NPV by using the cost of equity like discount rate. The companys cost of equity and this may be the same. To recalculate using CAPM and by estimating a beta, in some cases may be it is necessary. First calculated the base of NPV, after that calculate the NPV of every set of cash flows which results from financing. The tax results of using debt rather than equity are most obvious. The cost of debt can be discounted or that shows unknown activities about the tax effects at a higher rate. NPV of the tax effects is added then to the basic NPV. If there are some other activities of financing, also added or subtracted, then APV is the final result. Given capital organization unrelated, savings from the financing should be levelled by changes in the necessary return on equity and changes in capital structure as well. Normally this makes a simple NPV with the WACC like the discount rate suitable. Normal NPV calculation: Where, in a simple situation: These more complicated situations are more easily handled BY using Adjusted Present Value (APV), more difficult conditions are very easy to handle. APV based on the below: APV = NPV of project pretended, itâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all equity financed + NPV of financing results. APV divide the total value of the project into different parts: any debt is no used for value assuming in one part, and then using the debt in capital structure we add the extra value Best Technique: After discussing all the financial appraisal techniques, it seems that the choice of best financial appraisal techniques depends upon the nature of Project. References Internal Rate of Return: A Cautionary Tale Find MIRR with FinEasy MIRR v1.0 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_internal_rate_of_return http://www.bized.co.uk/timeweb/reference/using_experiments2.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finance http://moneyterms.co.uk/dcf/ http://moneyterms.co.uk/capital-structure/

Woody Guthrie Essay -- Biography Biographies

Woody Guthrie   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Woody Guthrie, born Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, was born in Okemah, Oklahoma in 1912. When he was 16 he began to travel around the United States (Feather 428). He had a great love for music and soon began writing his own songs about the Great Depression and the treatment of the migrant workers, who were forced to move west because of the Dust Bowl.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His music greatly influenced many people across the country. However, Woody never let the fame go to his head.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"When Woody Guthrie was singing hillbilly songs on a little Los Angeles radio station in the late 1930’s, he used to mail out a small mimeographed songbook to listeners who wanted the words to his songs, On the bottom page appeared the following: ‘This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don’t give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that’s all   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  we wanted to do.’†(qtd. Pete Seeger www.geocities.com/Nashville/ 3448/guthrie.html) Woody was very passionate about his causes. He felt very strongly about the mistreatment of the migrant workers, probably because he was himself an â€Å"Okie†. His works served as inspiration for musicians like Bob Dylan and Pete Reeves 2 Seeger and not to mention â€Å"countless, less-famous others† (www.geocities.com/Nashville3448 guthrie.html) ...

The Constitutionality of the Patriot Act Essay -- Patriot Act vs US Co

Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Americans fear that another attack is imminent. To ease these fears, lawmakers created the USA Patriot Act which stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. This lengthy bill allows the justice department a great deal of power in criminal cases especially in those dealing with terrorism. While, according to lawmakers, the Patriot Act is aimed at ending terrorism, it is arguable that the Patriot Act is aimed at beginning a Big Brother-type society. For the government of the United States to enforce a law that encourages the obstruction of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments and other civil liberties is highly hypocritical and quite un-American. The documentary Unconstitutional, directed by Nonny de la Pena, follows the evolution of the Patriot Act with interviews from senators who passed the bill, lawyers fighting the bill, and residents of the United States who have come under attack because of the bill. One of the positive points of the act that many like to point out was the bi-partisan support it had. However, former Representative Robert Barr, a republican from Georgia, and Representative Peter A. DeFazio, a democrat from Oregon, both claim that the act was very different from the one that was voted on. The night before the bill was to be voted on it was changed last minute and printed at 3:45 am that morning. The new bill included provisions that had already been denied on the floor. ï ¿ ½No member of Congress read this legislation before us voting on it,ï ¿ ½ says DeFazio (Unconstitutional). Lawmakers passed a bill that they had not read and now the public is paying for it. A childrenï ¿ ½s educational mag... ...http://galileo.usg.edu>. Losely, Lauren E. ï ¿ ½Universities Express Concern About the USA Patriot Act.ï ¿ ½ Academe Sep/Oct 2004: 4. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOHost. GALILEO. Odum Lib., Valdosta State University, GA. 10 April 2005 . ï ¿ ½Patriot Act Overview.ï ¿ ½ Congressional Digest Nov. 2004:258-88. ï ¿ ½Patriot Games.ï ¿ ½ Current Events 17 October 2003. Ridge, Tom. ï ¿ ½Using the PATRIOT Act to Fight Terrorism.ï ¿ ½ Congressional Digest Nov. 2004: 266-68. Sekhon,Vijay. ï ¿ ½The Civil Rights of ï ¿ ½Othersï ¿ ½: Antiterrorism, The Patriot Act, and Arab and South Asian American Rights in Post-9/11 American Society.ï ¿ ½ Texas Forum on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights 8.1 (2003): 117-148. Unconstitutional. Dir. Nonny de la Pena. Public Interest Pictures, 2004. Zeljak, Cathy. ï ¿ ½The USA Patriot Act and Civil Liberties (Part II).ï ¿ ½ Problems of Post-Communism 51.3 (2004): 69-71.

Answer for Abb Case: Strategic Rise, Decline, and Renewal

Case of ABB: Strategic Rise, Decline, and Renewal Carina Gruber([email  protected] hb. se) Yin Wang([email  protected] hb. se) Silvia Abendano Delgado([email  protected] hb. se ) Introduction In this paper, we research the five solutions to the case of ABB: strategic rise, decline, and renewal. We conduct our solutions by analysis of the kinds of CEOs’ strategies and structures from 1988 to 2008.We completed our solutions by identifying the ideas and factors, which cued key areas to go awry and affect the performance of the business; discussing the key strategic initiatives implemented by the various CEOs appointed; analysis of the pros and cons of matrix structures and compare and contrast with the structures; assessing ABB’s current corporate culture; commenting on some strategic options. Our solutions were based on the book called International Management Managing Across Border and Cultures. 1. Identify Percy Barnevik? ideals and discuss the factors which cause d key areas to go awry and effect the performance of the business. Percy Barnevik? s management had a goal, the goal was to build a company that could lead business in each of the major areas of the world, for this he was focused on the next seven points: * The development of a group-wide umbrella culture: ABB established a common set of values, policies and operational guidelines. * The development of core technologies and core competencies: being a technology leader and market share leader. The development and use of multinational teams: Barnevik believed, that the use of such teams throughout the company gave a deeper insight into global and local business problems. * Application to the development of effective global managers: competence was the key to selection, he believed that global managers were made, not born. * Bulding a multi-domestic or federal organisation along a global-locan continuum: some companies would be super local, and some would be super global. * The develop ment of effective communication, nderstanding and patience. * The development of a customer focus programme: main focus was to permanently change the company? s value system and orient every employee towards the customer. Some of the factors, which caused key areas to go awry was in the period of expansion because this could lead to problems in the matrix structure, for two factors: * The world was becoming more regionalised, and was formed the â€Å"Triad economies†, therefore ABB needed to have strong representation in each of these three regions, and needed structural systems. The matrix structures of such size and reach can cause control communication problems. The dual reporting (nature of matrix structures) has always created friction between executives, there was always a conflict of interest between them. * For this Barnevik carried out a major restructuring in 1993. According to the consolidated financial performance, we can observe the large increase from 1993 to 19 94, mainly in the net profit from $0. 07 bn to $0. 76 bn, and the EBIT/ revenues ratio from 4. 8% to 8. 8%. 2.Key strategic initiatives implemented by the various CEOs appointed after Barnevik? s tenure to take the company out of the â€Å"crumbling mess†. Barnevik relinquished to became Chairman in 1997, after Barnevik? s tenure the following were: Goran Lindahl (1997-2000), Jorgen Centerman (2001-2002), Jurgen Dormann (2002-2004), Fred Kindle (2004-2008), and Joseph Hogan (2008 to present). Goran Lindahl as CEO carried out two big restructuring: Firstly he planned to move thousands of manufacturing jobs from Europe and USA to Asia.The another major restructuring was carried out in which the geographic regional reporting structure was reduced in favour of a realignment of business activities on global lines. Finally Lindahl? s strategic originated important financial problems. Jorgen Centerman as CEO was manly concerned with a major restructuring, new aquisitions and issues relating to reducing cost and repairing the balance sheet. Whit Centerman, the company was near to the bankruptcy. Jurgen Dorman as CEO began a strategy that gradually returned the focus of ABB to its two core strenghts of power and automation Technologies.Its goals were to increase the competitiveness of ABB? s core business, reduce overhead cost and streamline operations. Fred Kindle as CEO would be able to focus on competing on an even keel with Siemens, GE and Alstom in the daily battle for new business. He slimmed down Sulzer further to concentrate on four disparate core divisions. Joseph Hogan as CEO will lead to accelerated growth for ABB in Asian markets. In our opinion, after Barnevik, the best CEO is Fred Kindle, because in spite of his experience was limited at the begining, under Kindle ABB? financial situation improved considerably from four years of losses, the company achieved a double-figure EBIT/sales margin which it never previously achieved and net cash from opera tions was higher than any other time in its history. 3. Percy Barnevik laid great store in the use of a matrix structure. Discuss the pros and cons of matrix structures and compare and contrast with those of so-called product/market structures and divisional structures. What particular structure has ABB now developed and why did it take five major restructurings from October 1997 to January 2006?The Pros Of Matrix Structures The matrix structure is a hybrid organization of overlapping responsibilities. The structure is developed to combine geography support for both global integration and local responsiveness; also it can be used to take advantage of personnel skills and experience shared across both functional and divisional structures. In the matrix structure, the lines of responsibility are drawn both vertically and horizontally as illustrated in Exhibit 1. ( Deresky’s text,2011) Exhibit 1 Matrix Geographic Structure The Cons Of Matrix StructuresThis method of management a nd organization maximizes the focus of skills and experience in the company also brings confusion, communication problems and conflict over having more than one boss to whom to report and stress over prioritizing time among overlapping and conflicting responsibilities. Employees maybe run into communication problems leading to conflict over reporting to different superiors because of the superposing responsibilities. Meanwhile, the employees may emphasize the prioritizing time due to the conflicting responsibilities.So this kind of method may result in political struggle and loss of market occupancy. The Matrix Structure And Product/Market Divisional Structures Exhibit 2 Global Product (divisional) Structure Relatively, Global product (divisional) structure is a selective structure based on product lines. The company with this structure use diversifying technology to supply different product lines and services. With this kind of distribution, single product lines will be displayed b y separate divisions. A single general manager who have the responsibility for their own production and sales functions.Every division is called â€Å"â€Å"a Strategic Business Unit† (SBU) with its own functional departments and accounting systems. The advantages of the Global product (divisional) structure refer to concentration and innovation of the company. This structure allows for more responsiveness to new opportunities, as well as facilitating diversification and rapid growth. But now and then, it not only spends scale economies and functional specializations to support diversification and growth, but also make many difficulties in coordination of the broad distributed operations.MNCs are a solution to the difficulties which uses the global geographic (area) structure. ABBs Current Structure and the Major Restructurings We consider that the current structure has now ABB developed is Division expansion with a Global Customer Group (GCG) focus. Exhibit 3 Structure Deve lopments This structure is under Kindle and there are five divisions in it: * Power Products * Power Systems * Automation Products * Process Automation * Robotics * There are also several subdivisions under each division. We deem there are different kinds of aims and destinations according to different CEOs.Barnevik considered that expansion could cause problems for the matrix structure. He regarded the matrix structure as something designed to achieve economic party with the United Stated of America due to more and more European countries become regionalized. It is necessary to run a entity in those areas, such as USA, NAFTA, and Asian, to support the operational issues. Meanwhile, this kind of structure would result in confusion, communication problems and conflict over having more than one boss to whom to report and stress over prioritizing time among overlapping and conflicting responsibilities.In a word, a number of major restructurings were taken to achieve the current structu re: From Barnevik’s Matrix Structure to Lindahl’s Global Products Group (GPG) divisions, to Centerman’s GCG divisions, to Dormann’s Global Power and Automation with GCG divisions, to Kindle’s Division Expansion with GCG structure. 4. Assess ABB’s current corporate culture. Do you think that it has changed since Percy Barnevik’s time? Corporate culture is the population of common values, norms and attitudes which coins decisions, actions and the behavior of the members of an organization.It is also closely connected to the management style of the people in charge of leading positions. Due to the fact that there were a lot of changes concerning the CEO of the company, it can be said, that it also had a considerable impact on ABB’s corporate culture. Having a look only at the past 24 years, there were six different CEOs leading ABB. There were also a variety of changes within the company structure, which changed the corporate cult ure to a certain extend.At first, ABB had a quite complex matrix structure, which the different CEOs tried to simplify over time to make communication within the single business areas and business units easier. At first there was a so-called outline matrix structure with geographic regions on the one dimension, and the single business segments on the other one. Percy Barnevik made use of that decentralized matrix structure. Due to some major changes in expanding the company ABB, Barnevik realized that such expansion could create problems in the matrix structure, such as control and communication problems due to its size and the world becoming more regionalized.It was restructured along the two dimensions of the matrix organization: three geographic regions and three geographic regional heads. Under the leadership of Goran Lindahl as CEO, ABB had six business segments comprising Power Transmission, Power Distribution, Automation, Products/Contracting, Oil/Gas/Petrochemicals and Finan cial Services. The matrix structure was essentially run down when the regional dimension was discontinued. Dormann introducted Global Power and Automation divisions divided into Power Technologies, Automation Technologies and Non-Core Activities focusing on GCG (global customer group).Kindle improved that model further and implemented a division expansion. Finally, the actions each CEO take, also play an important role when it comes to corporate culture. As the management style of each chief executive officer differed from the previous one, the perception of the company’s environment also changes. Concluding it can be said, that there were some significant changes within the company, which could not happen without coining the company in a certain matter to a certain extend, as well as changing the corporate identity over time. . ABB’s current growth strategy is to seek small â€Å"bolt-on† acquisitions to existing product areas rather than via major acquisitions that could take the company into new areas (e. g. aerospace). Comment on these strategic options. According to the case study about ABB (Asea Brown Boveri), the company is lead by its current CEO Joseph Hogan at the moment. His current strategy consists of so-called â€Å"bolt-on† acquisitions, which means that they are looking for expansions for their existing product areas.Joseph Hogan is a member of GE’s Senior Executive Council and formerly CEO of GE. He commenced his appointment as CEO of ABB on 1st September 2008. As already mentioned in the case study, Joseph Hogan was able to develop a record of securing growth through these bolt-on acquisitions. Having a look at the past of ABB and its development until now, it can be said, that there was a huge variety of restructuring measures to keep the company profitable – including changes of the matrix-structure and number of layers.Also the CEOs changed quite often and it was hard for ABB and its managers to ke ep the different departments connected to, and in permanent interchange with each other. Moving through ABB’s company history, it can be determined, that its variety of Business Areas (BAs) was reduced significantly. Nowadays, according to the sound strategic direction developed by Centerman, Dormann and Kindle, it puts its major focus on developing the company globally in power, automating technologies including robotics and focusing on customers.As the past showed, it was a good idea to expand the variety of major acquisitions, but unfortunately that success didn’t last long and the company had to fight against new problems. Markets can change quickly and Joseph Hogan has to ensure that ABB has the flexibility to respond quickly to that. Due to his leadership, the company experienced revenue declines in all divisions except Process Automation. Even though, the first quarter of 2008 is being considered as one of the strongest ever quarters recorded by ABB.Of course, o n the one hand, the idea of acquiring major parts (e. g. aerospace) would make it possible for ABB to enter completely new areas. On the other hand though, Joseph Hogan should try to stabilize the company’s current position on the market. This idea is not totally excluded and – maybe – is likely to be realized in a couple of years. If ABB will be successful with major acquisitions, largely depends on its leadership. With Joseph Hogan as CEO at the moment, the company is likely to look towards a promising future.

Personal Theory Paper

Personality Theory Paper Sherry Richards PSYCH 504 April 8, 2013 Shawn Davis Ph. D. Personality Theory Paper The film Rudy is about a young man from a blue-collar family who wants to play football for Notre Dame, with less than stellar grades, and no money for college Rudy goes to work at the steel mill where his father works. Then things all changed when his best friend was killed in an explosion, Rudy decides to follow his dream. That dream of attending Notre Dame and playing on the football team of the Fighting Irish. He fails to get admitted after leaving for the campus of Notre Dame.He obtains the assistance and sponsorship from a local priest and starts at a small junior college called Holy Cross College; this is to get grades good enough to allow for a transfer so he hopes. After befriending a graduate student and the teaching assistant at the junior college D-Bob, they strike a deal that Rudy will help him meet girls in exchange for the toutoring that he will provided. D-Bob has Rudy tested and find out that dyslexia which was a big part of the learning issues and Rudy then learns how to overcome this disability and becomes a better student.Rudy continues to bomb out with setting up D-Bob until a girl set him up with Elsa. At Christmas when Rudy goes home, the family mocks him and his ambition to get into the college and play football. Once back at school when finally receives the approval for the transfer to Notre Dame, from the junior college, he runs home to tell the family. His father tells everyone via the loudspeaker at the steel mill. Rudy goes to the stadium groundskeeper and offers to work at no charge after not accepted into the college. Since Rudy has no other place, he utilizes the office cot.By using the window to come and go until the groundskeeper realizes this and eventually comes around to liking Rudy and even gives him his own key, Rudy returns once he is accepted into Notre Dame on the last semester transfer. Even though he walks on t he field as a non-scholarship player for the team, the coach tells Rudy that even the scholarship players will not make the dress roster of the players who are on the field during the football games. One thing that the coach notices is that Rudy has more drive than many of the other members of the team that are there on scholarship.Coach Parseghian agrees to allow Rudy to dress for one home game, as it is senior year, so his family and friends can see him on the team. There was a change in coaches and then Rudy was not on the roster for the next to last game so he quit the team. The groundskeeper whose name is Fortune tells Rudy that he will regret it as he will never have the chance again. Therefore, this convinces him to return to the team. The team captain and a senior stand up for Rudy and request that Rudy be allowed to dress for the final game and many say that he can wear their number, as they will not play so he can.The result is the final game that is at home when he will b e allowed to play. Rudy gets to lead the team out of the tunnel and onto the field and he gets onto the official roster of the Notre Dame Football team. Rudy is in for the final play, he tackles the other teams quarterback, and the team carries him off the field on their shoulders. Karen Horney psychoanalytical social theory believes that the childhood experiences are the biggest social and cultural conditions that shape the personality. In this situation, I feel that Rudy would be neurotic search for glory. He is determined to be on the team and be on the field.This to me is a dream yes, but also wanting to search for pride and glory. Horney stressed culture and that it cannot be ignored when working with people. According to the western culture as she saw it that the society demand for success and achievement are almost endless so that normal people have new, additional goals put to them all the time and that with hard work and effort with no regard to the social position, competi tiveness of others or genetics. She believes that childhood is where the majority of the neurotic problems come from. And that without the genuine warmth and affection there are debilitating personal problems.The drive that Rudy shows according to her is due to a neurosis, just because he wants this does not mean that he was not treated right as a child it is a dream and he ended up making it real. Abraham Maslow suggested a hierarchy of needs that illustrate a process of attaining self-actuation through fulfillment of a succession of needs from basic psychobiological needs to important psychological needs (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). The sixteen-personality factor model developed by Cattell, was developed utilizing the work of previous scientists in the field. The esire to have descriptors of low range and high range which then gave the primary factor. The primary factors for Rudy I believe would be social boldness as he wants what he wants and works to find a way to get in the high r ange and high side of self-reliance. He wants to play for the Notre Dame team in his senior year. He with the help of his sponsor start out in a junior college and make it to the college he wishes to be at, then he works to overcome obstacles which are his size and weight to be on the team. He through help of other teammates gets into the last home game of the season and has several accomplishments.The first he leads the team onto the field at the beginning of the game so that his friends and family see him in the Notre Dame uniform, then he sacks the quarterback in the last play of the game and the teammates carry him off the field on their shoulders in celebration. The factors that drive Rudy I feel is the dream he seeks to make real and he does that regardless of obstacles that are there for him, such as poor academics, height, and weight. Works Cited Bohart, D. A. (2013, March 16). Legal, Ethical, and professional Issues in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Retrieved from academ yprojects. org: http://www. cademyprojects. org/alternatives. htm Cervone, & Pervin. (2010). Personality: Theory and research (11th ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. DeSouse, A. (2011). Freudian theory and consciousness: A concptual analysis. Brain, Mind and Consciousness: An International, Interdisciplinary Perspective, 210-217. helpguide. (2013, March 25). phobias and fears: symptoms, treatment, and self-help. Retrieved from helpguide. org: www. helpguide. org/mental/phobia_symptoms_types_treatment. htm Institute of Medicine (US). (2006). Committee on Assessing Interactions Among Social, Behavior, and genetic Factors in Health. Washingtonm D. C. , US.

Ainsworth Strange Situation Studies

Ainsworth Strange Situation Studies The Strange Situation procedure, developed by American psychologist Mary Ainsworth, is widely used in child development research. Much research in psychology has focused on how forms of attachment differ between infants. For example, Schaffer and Emerson (1964) discovered what appeared to be innate differences in sociability in babies; some babies preferred cuddling more than others, from very early on, before much interaction had occurred to cause such differences. It’s easy enough to know when you are attached to someone because you know how you feel when you are apart from that person, and, being an adult, you can put your feelings into words and describe how it feels. However, most attachment research is carried out using infants and young children, so psychologists have to devise subtle ways of researching attachment, involving the observational method. Using the Strange Situation procedure, many researchers have studied the development of child attachment to the mother and other caregivers. However, there continues to be much debate about the origins of the child's reaction in the Strange Situation, and about what factors influence the development of an infant's attachment relationships. The security of attachment in one- to two-year-olds was investigated by Ainsworth and Bell (1970) in the ‘_strange situation_' study, in order to determine the nature of attachment behaviours and types of attachment. Ainsworth (1970) developed an experimental procedure in order to observe the variety of attachment forms exhibited between caregivers and infants. The experiment is set up in a small room with one way glass so the behaviour of the infant can be observed. Infants were aged between 12 and 18 months. The sample comprised about 100 middle class American families. The procedure, known as the ‘_Strange Situation_’, was conducted by observing the behaviour of the caregiver and the infant in a series of seven 3-minute episodes, as follows: (1) Parent and infant alone. (2) Stranger joins parent and infant. (3) Parent leaves infant and stranger alone. (4) Parent returns and stranger leaves. (5) Parent leaves; infant left completely alone. 6) Stranger returns. (7) Parent returns and stranger leaves. Psychologist Mary Ainsworth devised an assessment technique called the Strange Situation Classification (SSC) in order to investigate how attachments might vary between children. The goal of the Strange Situation procedure was to provide an environment that would arouse in the infant both the motivation to explore and the urge to seek security. An observer (often a researcher or therapist) takes a mother and her child (usually around the age of 12 months) to an unfamiliar room containing toys. A series of eight separations and reunions are staged involving mild, but cumulative, stress for the infant. Separation in such an unfamiliar setting would also likely activate the child's attachmentsystem and allow for a direct test of its functioning. Although no single behaviour can be used to assess the quality of the infant's attachment to the caregiver, the pattern of the infant's responses to the changing situation is of interest to psychologists. The validation of the procedure and its scoring method were grounded in the naturalistic observation of the child's exploration, crying, and proximity-seeking in the home. Ainsworth's research revealed key individual differences among children, demonstrated by the child's reaction to the mother's return. Ainsworth categorised these responses into three major types: Anxious/avoidant—the child may not be distressed at the mother's departure and may avoid or turn away from her on her return; Securely attached—the child is distressed by the mother's departure and easily soothed by her on her return; Anxious/resistant—the child may stay extremely close to the mother during the first few minutes and become highly distressed at her departure. When she returns, the child will simultaneously seek both comfort and distance from the mother. The child's behaviour will be characterised by crying and reaching to be held and then attempting to leave once picked up. Strengths The strange situation classification has become the accepted methodology worldwide for measuring attachment (re: Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg, 1988) Ainsworth, M. Infancy in Uganda: Infant Care and the Growth of Love. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1967. Periodicals Spock, Benjamin. â€Å"Mommy, Don't Go! † Parenting 10, June-July 1996, pp. 86+. Weaknesses In addition, some research has shown that the same child may show different attachment behaviours on different occasions. Children's attachments may change, perhaps because of changes in the child's circumstances, so a securely attached child may appear insecurely attached if the mother becomes ill or the family circumstances change. The strange situation has also been criticised on ethica grounds. Because the child is put under stress (separation and stranger anxiety), the study has broken the ethical guideline protection of participants. The sample is biased -100 middle class American families. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings outside of America and to working class families. Finally, the observational study has been criticised for having low ecological validity. Because the child is place in a strange and artificial environment, due to the the procedure of the mother and stranger following a predetermined script.

GE’s Two-Decade Transformation: Jack Welch’s Leadership Essay

Jack Welch received his Master of Science and Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois in 1960. After completing his years of education, Welch was hired by General Electric Corporation (GE) as a chemical engineer for the Plastics department. Promotions followed rapidly and at the age of 45, in April 1981, he became CEO of GE, one of the world’s leading diversified industrial companies. Even though, the U.S. economy was in a recession during that time and unemployment rates were very high, Welch found the way to challenge everyone around him and to made changes that helped him create one of the †Most Admired Companies in the United States† 1.How would you describe Jack Welch’s leadership style? Was his effect on organizational culture positive or negative? Defend your argument. When Jack Welch became CEO of GE, he made a decision to radically restructure the company, realign goals and motivations, and push managers and employees to â€Å"stretch† to new previously unknown limits. He set high standards for each of the business units to become number 1 or 2 in the industry, and if the results weren’t satisfying, he disengaged from that sector or sold it completely. Between 1981 and 1990, GE sold more than 200 businesses that freed up over $11 billion of capacity. Jack believed in complete dedication and always putting 110% into everything he was doing. His management style and motivation included three main areas: empowering/motivation, goal setting and clear communication. Welch was very motivated and full of internal driving passion that made him work for reasons that went beyond money or status. He was always â€Å"thirsty† for better results and continuously raised performance bar for GE. He was a strong believer in incentives and rewards, in addition he also implemented a model where stock options became the primary component of management compensation. Employees who were scored highly on their performance reviews received large bonuses, what further motivated them to even higher performance. Welch continuously worked on creating environment in which people could do their best. He believed that good people were GE’s highest asset and created main foundation for company’s success. In order to improve communication and organizational culture, Welch reduced the hierarchical levels from nine to four and made sure that all business units would report directly to him. Welch focused on creating the boundaryless company, with a friendly, open and anti-parochial  environment. It was important to him to create atmosphere where employees could freely share new ideas and find best solutions to any obstacles that company had to deal with. He was completely aware that employees at GE come from different backgrounds and with different experience, therefore his goal was to take away from the benefits of this diversity and aimed to reshape them and guide them toward the right direction with the use of GE philosophies. He promoted people who were thinking outside the box and were able to challenge the status quo. Through these channels of open communication Welch was able to motivate his employees, as they felt direct connection with the company. Welch spent most of his time on training and developing talent within top managers of GE. Around 70% of his time was dedicated to people issues, various problems and developing others. He used Crotonville training center as a place for communication throughout the GE organization. It was a place where managers learned and experienced many of the GE problems, as well as ways to better cope with various business difficulties and challenges. Through the implementation of the 360 ° reviews he was able to openly communicate with his employees and let everyone know exactly where they stand in the organization. It was a major motivational force that contributed to increased performance and employee’s dedication. Jack Welch wanted to create a work environment where people at all levels would be held accountable for their own work and asked people to use their dreams while setting business targets. His goal was to make everyone â€Å"stretch† and constantly work on becoming a better performer. In order to reward those employees who were able to reach their dream goals, he compensated them with stock options and substantial bonuses. Welch was fully aware of psychological contract that exists between employees and organizations. Throughout his career as a CEO, he knew that GE offers the best jobs for people who are willing to compete and perform at their highest standards. The company offered opportunities for personal and professional growth and simultaneously rewarded top performing individuals. By flattening the organizational hierarchy, removing the bureaucracy, setting clear goals and open communication Welch succeeded in transforming GE and creating healthy organizational culture. His motivational strategy and clear understanding of psychological contract helped him create best managers and company that became a global leader. 2.From a motivational perspective, was Welch an effective or ineffective leader? How so? Explain and support your argument. Jack Welch is a truly legendary leader who has made General Electric into one of the world’s most successful companies and as Fortune described him â€Å"Manager of the Century†. Throughout his career at GE, Welch has continuously concentrated on motivating his employees and â€Å"stretching† their abilities. He believed that leaders should articulate a vision and then energize others to execute it. As we all know, socially skilled people are also expert persuaders who find the right way to motivate others. Their passion for work seems â€Å"contagious† and has a positive impact on other employees. Welch was striving to attract only the best talent and people who would bring the most value to the organization. He succeeded in getting huge numbers of very capable people all pulling them in the same very profitable direction. He knew that good people will steer the company toward success and therefore he was a strong believer in incentives. He made sure that psychological contract between employees and organization was being constantly negotiated and that great performance needed to be rewarded. He expended the number of options recipients from 300 to 30,000 and made sure to distribute generous bonuses to individuals who demonstrated outstanding performance. Another characteristic that helped boost motivation and performance within employees was â€Å"integrated diversity†, this open and friendly environment helped inspire a much broader thinking, new ideas were being generated and it also improved collaboration between departments. Welch encouraged his teams by always looking at change as a never-ending opportunity. He constantly urged his people to reinvigorate their business model before someone else did. This strategy helped him gain new market share and strengthen GE’s leadership position. It further invigorated creative thinking and made the company more competitive. His next objective was to create the culture where everyone felt engaged and important. By eliminating one of the sector levels he was able to gain more direct contact with managers reporting to him. We must remember that motivation starts with employee engagement, and engagement begins with effective communication skills. Welch dedicating most of his time to communicating with his staff, developing special management training programs that would help managers reach their goals and educate  them to become great leaders. As he knew that General Electric was an A-plus company, he only wanted to attract A players. To find the right equilibrium he knew that it was necessary to take good care of his best personnel. He did it through promoting them, offering great salaries and stock options and investing in their further development. According to one of the articles written by Victor H. Vroom â€Å"Work and motivation†, the concept of Force concentrates on efforts an individual will take when pursuing a particular course of action. Vroom also argued that a person’s behavior is the result of a field of forces, each of which has direction and magnitude. Highest level of force will be reached by actions with high level of both valence and expectation. According to Vroom’s equation of force (Force=Valence x Expectancy), valence and expectation cannot be zero, as it will result in no force to adopt given course of action, since anything multiplied by zero is zero. When choosing alternatives, people tend to select ones that correspond to the strongest positive force or least negative force. As we can observe in the leadership style of Mr. Welch, he was fully aware of this relationship and knew it was necessary to take good care of his top management. Welch didn’t concentrate on micro management, by giving his employees clear visions and setting new goals he was able to make his workers determine the necessary level of support required to achieve those goals. He constantly set high expectations and asked for more, this triggered creative thinking, increased performance and set new standards for the followers. He didn’t waste time on trying to train and develop Cs to Bs. Through the use of performance appraisal system and â€Å"vitality curve† the company was able to eliminate poor performers and only keep the best talent. Welch was able to inspire his staff and his employees were certainly glad he was captaining their side. Whether they liked him or not, they respected him, followed his leadership style and admired him.