ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Three years after the publication of “Getting Beyond Counting,” the American Institute of CPA’s (1) published a follow-up piece, “Roles Changing for Management Accountants.” This later analysis asserted that the finance function has become more truly strategic, thereby justifying raising the department to “C-level” and ensuring that corporate boards pay attention to Finance for more than just “bean counting” reporting. The facts cited came to light in a 1999 survey conducted by the Institute of Management Accountants among its members. The majority of those surveyed claimed that strategic planning topped the list of Finance functions in point of being critical to a company’s commercial success and on which they therefore spent more of their time than any other task. Second in importance was giving inputs for the building of computer systems and day-to-day operations (a dynamic that has undoubtedly grown more critical since then), process improvement (still as critical as when Six Sigma was all the rage), and finally, the “core” tasks of financial and economic analysis. Moreover, survey participants attested that the first three roles typically demanded more of their time than in 1994. Strategic planning is a perfect example of the earlier thesis that being a visionary is intrinsic to the role of management accountants. After all, the profession needed to shake off the lethargy of simply reporting on results in a timely fashion. To grasp how company strengths can be matched against looming opportunities in the marketplace, how weaknesses can be made irrelevant in the face of relentless competition, and where the company should go for sustainable performance down the road obviously means that a management accountant must, among others:   * Frequently look up from his spreadsheets and executive information systems to visualize the possibilities open to the company;   * Be an agent for change by tramping the rest of the executive suite and finding out how they do what they do; and,   * Join the strategic planning task forces in reviewing what can be done to get more out of the supply and value chains. The examples of EDI and deregulation given in the 1999 article are already a dozen-odd years out of date. Today, the management accountant must grapple with million dollar enterprise resource planning systems, leading the march forward to larger cash flows from e-commerce, a Democratic government intent on shaping a socialist America, bastions of Wall Street falling by the wayside, and ethical questions raised by outsourcing to semi-totalitarian nations. Twice already in this decade, the nation has endured recessions and there is no light at the end of the tunnel
Introduction Starting and maintaining any operation in today’s business environment is a process that requires determination, motivation and general know-how in regards to how to operate a business and ensure that it remains profitable despite the present challenges and risks. As such, there are several considerations that should be carried out to ensure that all details regarding the business are addressed and well planned for. The considerations include but are not limited to: the identification of the business opportunity, development of the product or service, evaluations of the suppliers, clients and business environment and market analysis among others. A recurrent and most important concept that must be considered is the quality of the output produced by all processes within the business. This can only be guaranteed by evaluating and utilizing the critical success factors that affect a particular business. This report sets out to explore the critical success factors that affect the maritime logistics sector. This shall aim at exploring various factors that hinder or facilitate the success of COSCO group in this sector. To this end, the most prominent CSFs shall be evaluated in regards to how they affect the company’s success and competitive advantage. My research indicated that customer satisfaction, supplier satisfaction, support from top management and motivation of employees are among the key critical success factors that affect the maritime logistic sector. As such, this report shall shed some light on these factors. To guarantee the credibility of the information provided herein, I shall apply organizational theories and principles that connect the factors to this sector. Critical Success Factors (CSFs) in Maritime Logistic Sector Throughout their existence, organizations and businesses are considerably under a lot of pressured to raise their levels of performance and productivity. This is especially so in the modern-day business environment which is characterized by aggression and excessive competition. This constantly forces businesses to exhibit innovativeness and enhanced performance so as to remain relevant and profitable in the ever increasingly competitive arena. With these undertones, it is important to understand factors that are critical to a business if it is to succeed. Shenhar et al (2002) state that in most cases, CSFs help organizations to instigate change in business processes, strategies and productivity. As such, CSFs aim at improving business performance, profit margins, expenditure, products and services and market position. Zwikael and Globerson (2005) assert that organizational success can be assessed by evaluating the critical success factors considered while running the business. They include commitment to the business, support from top management, personnel welfare, clarity in defining project and organizational goals and objectives, strategy and communication among others. These factors are very important to maritime logistic organizations and enable the managers to make the right decisions and
For this assignment, I decided to take field notes in a gentrified affluent neighborhood to determine which inhabitants generally participated in more health-inclined behavior. In general, a cursory stroll along the shopping district revealed that the area had a couple of organic grocery stores, coffee shops, gyms, yoga studios, and a multitude of parks and trees in general. This pointed towards the fact that the neighborhood responds well to health-conscious business ventures, and there is ample opportunity to make healthy exercise and nutrition choices. It should be acknowledged that almost half of Americans do not feel comfortable going to exercise classes because of the pandemic, which could have artificially influenced the data 1 . I situated myself in a cafe overlooking what seemed to be the busiest street to attempt constructing a general demographic profile of people that went into the exercise facilities or chose more health-oriented restaurants. The yoga studio, pilates center, and gym had a high amount of incoming traffic, mostly from fit, thin women that I would guess ranged from twenty-five to forty. Almost all women greeted each other by the door and tended to chat for a few minutes before entering the building. There was no distinct racial, linguistic or cultural majority that could be identified at this point. However, the few women parked near the studio generally had new cars from the middle range, indicating the prevalence of middle-class socioeconomic status. The healthier nutritional options, i.e., the salad and acai bowl cafe, were mostly visited by young women in sportswear traveling either alone or with other women, possibly before or after an exercise class. A small percentage of men entered, and they were all white, young, and traveling alone, also in sportswear. Male groups, groups with mixed genders, families, and older patrons tended to wear casual clothing and enter Starbucks or the Italian restaurant. Ultimately, my observations revealed that middle-class young women running errands either alone or with other women were most likely to visit health-related businesses. Reference Lange, David. “COVID-19: Share of People Who Would Return to Gym/Exercise Classes in the U.S. 2020” . Statista. Footnotes  1. Lange, David. ” COVID-19: Share of People Who Would Return to Gym/Exercise Classes in the U.S. 2020″. Statista. Web.
Diverse people/cultures constitute this world and such diversity is reflected via the cinematic experience. Film emanates the entire infrastructure of a people’s culture (gender, age, creed, race, personal impressions, ideas, emotions, prejudices and religious/political/ economic/educational institutions, etc.). At the height of the 20 th century, many countries witnessed a rise in cinematic prominence and Sweden was no exception. Gustaf Molander , Alf Sjöberg , Victor Sjöström , Mauritz Stiller and most recently Lasse Hallström as well as Lukas Moodysson brought prominence and popularity to Swedish film. Among this distinguished cadre of Swedish filmmakers is the accomplished and prolific Ingmar Bergman. A repertoire comprised of over sixty documentaries and films (television and cinema) as well as one hundred and seventy theatrical plays, Bergman’s work featured a typical element of Swedish film – slow pacing and austere landscapes. His distinctive style/attribute and contribution, however, was exploration of human emotions and its vast landscape with death, illness, betrayal, and insanity as the focus. Bergman’s 1957 film, Wild Strawberries , is superbly characteristic his style. Wild Strawberries was written and directed by Bergman and has an acclaimed cast of Swedish actors, among them Max von Sydow. Deemed a classic and one of Bergman’s best films, thought-provoking themes such self acceptance and discovery as well as human existence constitute the thematic core of the film. Bergman wrote the screenplay while hospitalized and such experience served as an impetus. Wild Strawberries is character and plot driven in that the two intertwined bring the fundamental themes to the surface and explain them. The film chronicles the emotional voyage of an elderly physician named Eberhard Isak Borg ( Victor Sjöström ). This emotional journey filled with self introspection/re-evaluation is introduced at the onset of the film with Borg’s opening statement – “ In our relations with other people, we mainly discuss and evaluate their character and behaviour. That is why I have withdrawn from nearly all so-called relations ( Wild Strawberries ). At seventy years old, Borg appears to have come to a point in which evaluation of his behaviour and character is of primary concern rather than others. The journey unfolds as he travels to receive an honorary degree/award at Lund University. Such accolade, however, has no value and does not bring him happiness for he comments prior to his trip “Honorary Doctor! They might as well appoint me Honorary Idiot (Wild Strawberries). ” During the 400 mile sojourn from Stockholm to Lund, in which he is accompanied by his daughter-in law – Mariaane (Ingrid Thulin), Borg seventy eight years old, undergoes a life assessment or revaluation process. The various people he meets along the way force him to confront various personas about himself (aloofness, loneliness, etc.), his past and relationships (mother, son, etc.) that contributed to his behaviour. Self examination also comes in the form of nightmares and daydreams throughout the film. At the conclusion
Managing in a country which has great cultural diversities from your native country is not an easy task. This is because it requires a comprehensive understanding of the cultural values of both the native country and also that of the foreign country in which you are supposed to carry out your business activities. Here we going to identify Japan as our country of interest and see how we can successfully negotiate for a contract in one of its organisations. We will also look at various cultural aspects of both countries and also how they differ with one another (Douglas, 2001, p. 12). Last but not the least; we will look at some assumptions that exist towards this country. The Japanese people have various distinct cultural aspects. One of them is that their success is based on communism. Here the individual’s efforts are not highly regarded than that of the community efforts, thus decisions are arrived at group level and responsibilities are also assumed by the community as a whole. Secondly, the culture of Japanese people can be termed as neutral. This is because they does not express their feelings openly. For example it is taken offensive when people of opposite sex touch in public. Thirdly, it should be noted that it is a cultural practice for the Japanese people not to say “no”, thus they prefer to say “yes” even when it is very evident they mean no. This is a very critical fact to keep in mind especially when negotiating for a contract or any sort of business with Japanese people. Finally, the Japanese are not very receptive to peoples from other countries (Burke, 2009, p. 11). This implies that, establishing good relationships with them and also being loyal to them is of paramount importance for one to do business with them successfully. There are some common assumptions which at least everybody has in mind about Japanese. One of them is that, they are perceived to be homogenous. This is because they are assumed to have same race and culture and also use a common language as a means of communication. Secondly, it is also assumed that some simple business etiquettes such as going into a negation with Japanese without a credit card means no business will take place. Also it is a common assumption that investing in Japan is a difficult task which is likened to water flowing uphill. The sources of information proofing the above assumptions are from comparative business literature and also the mere fact that Japanese consumers cannot buy American cars since they have their own locally made cars (McCarthy, 2009, p. 7). The Japanese culture differs from my countries culture in a number of aspects. Firstly, the Japanese embrace communism while my country supports individualism which emphasises on personal responsibilities and decision making. Here one will bring some cultural values such as use of credit cards during negotiation commonly known as “meishi” in Japanese language. Also other cultural values such as dress code for business which is supposed to be dark, conservative att
Education does not only concern itself with going to school to study, but all the implications it has on an individual, be it positive or negative (Colombo, & Lisle 4). In the American context, students who hail from other backgrounds away from the mainstream American backgrounds must give up their cultural heritage as well as home values in order to go through the American Educational system forcing them to get more exposure to the new cultures as much of their time and effort is geared towards education. After giving up their heritage and values, what do they achieve in the long run; is it worth the sacrifice? Thesis “Education accelerates culture erosion in mainstream America” Richard Rodriguez in his effort to pass his gospel across examines what education does to an individual, his major point of concern being the alienation and separation from ones culture that is brought about by the American Education System (Rodriguez 205). He portrays education as the major reason for cultural erosion, which is seen through the longer time an individual is held to schooling and therefore opening a way for the same individual to be detached from this or her culture (Rodriguez). By merely leaving for school and exposure to education, Rodriguez comes to see how different his parents were in terms of their speech (Rodriguez 196), to an extent that he felt embarrassed by their pronunciations of words with their rich Spanish accents “I was not proud of my mother and father (Rodriguez 200)”. I was embarrassed by their lack of education (Rodriguez 200)”. He further goes ahead to point out that through his parents insisting on him to read, it got him detached from his culture and at the end of the day he gets his academic achievements but looses his cultural touch. He also admits that his separation from his mother was one of the worst experiences that ever occurred to him in the name of schooling but he had no choice so going to school was a must (Rodriguez 199). Michael Moore on the other hand in “Idiot Nation” focuses on criticizing the intelligence of Americans as well as the general American Education system, his major concern is that the general American system takes in very useless information for example sport facts instead of very important matters (Moores 130). Moore, seeks to pass across the message that “education system in a way has failed due to lack of financing which has led to deteriorating of the educational system in the United States of America, and that despite the progression of one in acquiring education, the more disappointing the outcome because the prerequisites for the standards of lear
Spot Mini, a four-legged all-electric robot, was introduced by Boston Dynamics at the end of June 2016. It is the latest model in the line of quadruped robots capable of navigating themselves in space and keeping balance on any surface (concrete, earth, dirt, ice, gravel, etc.). Unlike the earlier versions of the robots replicating the movements of four-legged animals, Spot Mini was not designed to carry heavy loads and help the military. Equipped with a sensitive electric hand, this lightweight robot is meant to perform household chores like picking the garbage and putting dishes into the dishwasher. The company has not yet announced whether it plans to launch the mass production of the model but some optimistic predictions can be made. Feasibility – 5. Spot Mini will be successful once introduced to mass production because it possesses a number of characteristics making it more of a consumer good than a specialized unit: it is small, light, and certainly looks more appealing than its heavier and stockier hydraulic forerunners. A complex machine, Spot Mini has a variety of features that can be upgraded, such as, for example, the battery life. Although the prospects of its actual market debut are quite vague, Toyota company is known to take extreme interest in this specific model. Worthiness – 5. While the bigger robots by Boston Dynamics are designed to operate in extreme conditions, Spot Mini is a household robot, which makes it marketable to a wider community and, therefore, profitable. Besides, this model has a unique feature that has made a revolution in robotics and adds up to its applicability. Its hand is so designed that the robot knows how much force to apply not to break whatever it is holding at the moment (which is precisely the technology Toyota is interested in). Knowing their strength is natural for a human but not for a robot, which makes this a major achievement. When this technology is harnessed completely, the robots can be used in home health care that requires human contact. They could work as babysitters or nurses looking after the elderly: while at the same time safeguarding the patients’ dignity, the robots could help them with personal hygiene, dressing, and eating as delicately as a human being. Ethicality – 4. The ethicality of robotics is a hotly debated issue because the public is concerned that robots will “replace” human beings, which ultimately means that many will lose their jobs. In Spot Mini’s case, the unemployment is likely to affect those working in the cleaning business or self-employed cleaners who might be already marginalized and vulnerable. At the same time, the “replacement” of the human workers with robots is highly unlikely because, while being able to operate at greater exactitude and efficiency than humans, robots do not possess full autonomy. In fact, robotics in general may actually be able to create jobs rather than taking them away from humans, and they will not be confined to technicians and operators. As automation increases, entirely new businesses and fields of robotics-related services will appear, which do not exist now because the field is unde
Session description This session was designed to inform the participants about the existing issues of improper anger management and to provide them with possible solutions for dealing with the problem. The group was formed from six students that were having troubles with anger management: Student A, Student B, Student C, Student D, Student E, and Student F. As the state of each participant is very dynamic in nature, it was important to collect as much information as possible before carrying out the session (Brown 227). All of the participants were teenagers of 20-22 age and were known for reacting with great anger towards the irritating factors. Some of the students had cases of abuse and violence caused by an uncontrollable rage. Not all students decided to participate in the session willingly, some of them (Student A and Student E) were forced by their parents, thus, more attention was given to those two students. The meeting was held in a quite ventilated room that had almost no distracting elements. Seats were placed at a considerable distance from each other in order to assure that no member would be irritated by the close presence of another person. All these preparations have been done in order to reach the minimal number of possible distracting and irritating factors so that all members could feel comfortable and no pressure of any kind. The room was safe from outsiders’ watch as well. Reflection As the goal of the group was sharing experiences between participants and learning to develop specific emotional skills in order to deal with the anger issue, the group can be referred to the support group type (Dominica par.5). Learning to control anger and to acknowledge the possible harmful consequences of actions caused by anger were the two primary objectives of this session. The session was carried out in the clean and cool room and in a friendly and calm manner. It was done that way in order to avoid possible anger outbursts by some students if they were to be triggered. As the group leader, my task was to assure the participants that the purpose of this session was to help them discover the importance of anger management, rather than to tell them that being angry is bad. On the contrary, one of the main points I was trying to make was that anger is a natural emotion of every human and it cannot be avoided. Anger can occur as frequently as happiness, joy, sadness, etc., but what differs it from other emotions is that if left unchecked, it can lead to conflicts and abuse (Belmont par.5). Most of the students agreed that they did not originally intend to offend or hurt people while being enraged and felt guilty afterwards for what they have done. Student A and Student E, however, did not share the same opinion. Student A reported to have actually beaten one of his classmates, Tim, because of a supposedly not-so-funny joke he made about Student A. Tim has received several bruises on his face and a brow dissection. Student E also shared her experience of anger bout with other participants; she talked about how one day her friend Lisa accidently dropped her phone by touc