ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Article Review The journal article titled “Risk Management as a Process: An International Perspective” by Michael Theil and William L. Ferguson was published in the Review of Business, Vol. 24, 2003. This article explores the influence of cultural factors such as values and norms, religion, nationality, and political structures on the process of risk management. The purpose of the article is to provide insights into risk perception and evaluation across nations with different cultural aspects, particularly with respect to the use of insurance as a primary risk management tool. Culture can be defined in many ways. The methodology used in this paper is mainly a literature review with some graphic tables. This paper draws on Park’s 1993 analysis, which studies insurance demand from the viewpoint of cultural theory. Compared to the wide scope of the subject of risk management, life insurance, on which Park focused, is quite a narrow
Introduction In Canada, the federal government and other provincial and municipal governments are confronting difficult choices as they face persistent deficits. They are facing tough decisions on the means of raising revenue, balancing the budget, and modes of taxation and taxation regimes. These issues continue to affect the individuals in authority and those out of power as well as other particular groups. It is a long recognized fact that the existence of deficits in the budgets has implications for future generations through debt accumulation. In the latest budget that was tabled by the finance minister, the challenges mentioned above are evident. In the budget, Jim Flaherty who is the finance minister forecasted the revenue to be raised in the coming financial year to be at $263.9 billion (Bernier and Thompson 350). This amount is however not enough to cater for the expected government spending for the same financial year, which is projected to be $282.6 billion dollars (Bernier and Thompson 350) meaning that the budget had a deficit of about 18.7 billion dollars, which will have to be supplemented through other forms. This essay focuses on the federal government of Canada’s latest budget for the financial year 2013-2014. Specifically, it attempts to evaluate some of the sectors within it. It also provides recommendations on some of the measures that would be taken to improve the areas under focus. The Budget As stated above, the federal budget was tabled on a Thursday March 21st 2013 by the finance minister. The major highlights of the budget included the provision of a grant for job training, the elimination of CIDA, financial provision for manufacturers, and the cut of tariff for sport equipment (Smyth and Trofymow 1089). In the budgetary speech, the finance minister noted that the budget contained the “smallest increase in discretionary spending n nearly 20 years” (Cockrell and Meyer 14). The allocation of funding to the constituent provinces would be maintained in this budget meaning that the respective governme
Martin Marger in the article Hispanic Americans raises an important problem of ethnicity in the USA. Starting the discussion with the identification of the Hispanic Americans and their place in the population of the USA, the author says that some cities inhabit more Hispanic Americans than Americans. Speaking about several Hispanic American groups differentiated by the city people immigrated from, the author stresses the peculiarities of their immigration, the specific reasons for this and particular manner. For about one hundred years Mexican Americans immigrate to the USA. He strongest wave was in 1848, the one followed by the Mexican war. People went to the USA to protect themselves. Puerto Rican Americans became the part of American population in 1898 after the Spanish-American war. Cuban Americans recently immigrate in their own desire, however, several years ago political situation in the country made many Cubans leave their native country and to go to the USA. Considering the problems which exist in the Hispanic ethnical group, racial status is considered as one of the most urgent. Most Mexican Americans are mestizo that makes them a different racial group even though many Mexican Americans considered themselves as European ones. Puerto Rican Americans ethnicity comprised out of African and Indian ethnical groups. Therefore, Hispanic Americans by all means is the discriminated race which can never be equal to white Americans. Due to the dark color of skin and specific differences, racial status of Hispanic Americans will also remain as the lowest ethical group. I see that the level of discrimination in the USA has lowered but still it exists. Hispanic Americans are not much higher that African Americans in their status, therefore, the biased attitude to them is high. Speaking about social and economic status of Hispanic Americans, it should be stated that most Hispanic Americans do not have good education. This leaves them at the lower social stage. Additionally, most Hispanic American families live below the poverty threefold, therefore, their status is not going to improve. Completing difficult and dirty work, Hispanic Americans do not usually strive for higher positions due to lack of education. One more barrier is the illegal status of many Hispanic Americans. The inability of some Hispanic Americans to come to the USA legally pushed them for illegal immigration. This lowers the status of all Hispanic Americans in the eyes of country population. Many stereotypes exist among Hispanic Americans. Such stereotyping is mostly connected with the way how they case to the country. Illegal status of many people makes Hispanic Americans be prejudiced. It i
Introduction: What Lurks in the Dark Written by Raymond Carver, the short novel What We Talk about When We Talk about Love is a world-renowned masterpiece. Not only does it get a very interesting message concerning the nature of relationships, but also creates strong characters, poses a range of dilemmas to the readers and creates a unique atmosphere, which combines the elements of creepiness and despair, therefore, making the readers consider the concept of relationships from a different angle. Although a lot of strengths of the story come from a well-developed character, a unique premise, and an unusual way of getting a message across, it is the setting, which contributes most to the environment that makes it possible for the characters and the story to exist. The question, therefore, concerns the ubiquitous darkness that surrounds the main characters throughout the story and the purpose of this darkness, whereas the key problem concerns the reasonability of using darkness as the basis for furthering the story and developing the characters. Character Development First and most obvious, the fact that Carver makes his characters communicate in complete darkness can be interpreted as the strategy for showing character development in a more distinct manner. While the background is traditionally created so that it could serve as the foil for the characters’ evolution, in the scenario described by Carver, making the background subtle enough is rather hard. In the plot, when characters only sit and talk, and in a rather composed manner at that, making them distinct and memorable is only possible when the background is barely noticeable. It would be wrong to claim that the characters do not emote – quite on the contrary, they do share their feelings with each other in a rather open manner: “’Mel, we love you,’ Laura said” (Carver 360). However, with the plot literally going nowhere, a colorful background would have drawn too much attention to itself – whereas, in some stories, character chews the scenery, a case in point would have been the example of scenery-chewing the characters. Therefore, the use of darkness as the basic background for the characters to evolve can be considered rather wise. Making the Story Investing Concealing the setting, which the dialogue supposedly takes place in, the darkness that the characters remain in the course of the entire novel can be viewed as a tool for focusing on the plot and furthering the story. Indeed, whereas a detailed description of the environment, which the characters are placed in, would have added to the atmosphere, it would have also distracted the readers’ attention from the main subject of the novel, i.e., the story. Ideas and Concepts: What the Characters Say Much like the comparatively dark setting contributes to the evolution of the plot, it also helps the characters’ personalities shine thr
Corporate-level strategy Disney’s corporate level strategy is anchored on Walt Disney’s corporate vision to “create universal timeless family entertainment”. The synergy and strategies applied by Disney has helped the firm’s market growth and expansion strategy. Disney was informed of the importance of vertical integration and total control by “Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit”. As a result, “Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit” taught Disney the important lesson of total control and vertical integration. “Disney established its own distribution house, film studio, music label and so on to better control quality content and costs. The effectiveness and efficiency of the communication and production department was made possible by the synergy developed by having similar corporate culture” (Smith 2003, p.15). Acquisition strategy Disney successfully acquired ABC which helped it increase market share and reduce competition as it increased its synergy. Brand Image Brand Image is an important corporate strategy that has helped to differentiate and promote the image of Disney among its competitions. To do this Disney has employed horizontal integration strategy to promote its products thus gaining a lot of customer interest and loyalty. To do this Disney used a number of ways such as the Disney Broadway shows which were meant to improve its brand image and the use of parades to get the attention of clients. Disney also licensed its characters as a means of keeping them longer in client’s mind and as opposed to using it as a cash flow mechanism. Geographical and horizontal expansion leading to synergies and leverage in capabilities and resources. Disney had to apply horizontal integration to increase it market niche and awareness. It was able to use cross-promotions to expand its market segment. The company introduced more adult content that was more than the normal family content with animations, movies and theme parks and others that formed part of the market. Geographic expansion was a logical strategy applied by Disney where it ventured to markets in Tokyo, Japan. Leadership and creativity Disney had one executive whom it relied heavily to implement the creativity of the firm. “Walt Disney created the animated film then led his theme park vision to create a total entertainment for the whole family (Smith 2003, p. 56). Business level strategy Differentiation strategy Disney has succeeded to differentiate its products in various ways by providing a range of products which include movies, consumer products, introduction of vacation resorts, development of TV and Radio, it has successfully developed theme parks and lastly it has publishing services. This differentiation strategy has enable Disney command a huge market and it has been able to remain in the minds of customers for long. Clients are able to identify themselves with Disney due to its wide range of products. Product level development Disney has successfully invested in research development to come up with unique products to meet the ever increasing needs of its customers. To this end, Disney has successfully d
Capitalism is a system of economics where by the overall goal for production is to maximize on the profit. In capitalism production is own by private members of the community and not the government. These private individuals have only the interest to make more profit. For the individuals to make more profit, they have to employ more worker and at a lower wage since the cost of production is maintained at manageable rates. Available cheap labor can be due to migration or emigration of people into towns looking for better work. They end up accepting odd jobs offering their services for a very cheap cost. This is where the labor unions come in. They are meant to help employees fight for their deserved rights so that the employers respect every right of their employees. Therefore labor unions are very important and beneficial to workers who have a membership in them. It is still very hard for every laborer to be under labor union because in the third world, there are a huge number of laborers who are unskilled (Sloane, 2010). They offer a huge substitute for the skilled laborers at any particular time. This is the point where capitalistic individuals take full advantage of the situation by employing labor at a very cheap cost with the sole interest of making a lot of profit. Trade union may only be able to protect the interest of a few laborers whom most of them are skilled and experienced laborers. Most unions in many countries only cover workers from the public sector and the government since the laws governing unions has little to do with private sector. To some extent, this also makes them unable to negotiate for higher pay rise since the higher the pay gets, the tax is cut from individual salaries. Unions require that every member has to surrender his or her individual rights and comfort for the sake of the entire group. The union is supposed to fight for the right of every member and not just an individual or few individuals (Sloane, 2010). There are several requirements for running a union and these requirements are clearly stipulated in the law. In the unions the rules of a democracy apply. They hold elections in a free and fair manner to pick a leader for the union after a stipulated period of time within the constitutions of the union. For the unions to be able to run properly they have to be funded and this is the sole responsibility of the union’s member. They contribute some little money after every month for the operations of their union (Sloane, 2010). This money may at times be used as emergency fund for the workers during cases of strike. It is the responsibility of the union representative to bargain for the union members for pay increases, and other working conditions with the employer (Sloane, 2010). However it may not be a must that the employers may give in to their negotiations but it is important that he or she listens and argue with reasoning. Whenever an agreement is reached among the representatives of the union and the employers, a document known as a collective bargaining agreement is signed. This is a legal document that has to be there for the sake of any agreement (Sloane, 2010). Wit
Susan G. Komen for the Cure is a global leader of the breast cancer movement which has so far invested more that $ 1.5 billions since its inception in 1982 (Susan G. Komen For the Cure, 2010b). The organization’s vision is to have a world well informed about breast cancer through outreach, education research and even preliminary education. The organization has122 affiliates all over the nation, making it an employee in almost every state of the country. By giving its employees very competitive packages, it has been able to retain the best employees in the market and have a competitive team. It also takes in interns in different departments to allow students acquire the required experience in their field. The organization also relies on volunteers for some of its operations such as preparing for different events. Its board is made up of well experienced experts in the medical profession and other management positions such as Dr. Alexine Clement among others. Its senior management is also made up of world class professionals with many years of experience in the fields of management, medicine, research, IT among others. It has earned the highly respected charity navigator four-star rating for three years in a row, making it one of the most successful and efficient charity organizations in the world (Susan G. Komen For the Cure, 2010a). The organization’s core function is to address different challenges and problems arising from breast cancer. This it does by funding research and educational programs which make it easier to detect and manage cancer as well as make the life of survivors and their families much easier. It is currently funding several research projects which will help treat breast cancer more easily, avoid recurrence cases and help those already diagnosed with the disease have a better life (Susan G. Komen For the Cure, 2010a). Apart from research programs, the organization supports educational programs including those which will encourage more medical professionals in the country. Its main source of money is donations from corporate and individual partners. Objective                          Measure
Introduction Engine manufacturers around the world have been struggling to come up with new technologies that are more efficient in terms of fuel consumption, and less expensive in terms of construction. In the field of motor vehicles, the competition has been very stiff. The American car manufacturers have been facing stiff competition from Japan and Germany. These companies have been in constant competition to ensure that they develop engines that meet the needs of their customers at a lower cost. Holden Motors Company has come up with a new technology that makes big engines act small in an effort to save fuel among the users of the high-performance cars. This technology, popularly known as Active Fuel Management, came at a time when the world is demanding efficient engines that consume less fuel despite their power. According to Werner (2008), this technology reduces the percentage consumption of fuel to about 7.5%. In this report, the researchers will conduct extensive research into this technology as used by Holden Motors Company in order to determine its social, economic, environmental, and ethical impacts on our society. Sustainability Issues being Addressed According to Edmonston (2011), the need to achieve sustainability in all sectors of the economy has become increasingly relevant in the modern world. As we exploit natural resources, there is a need to ensure that the future generation is not affected. As Pradeep (2013) puts it, we must find ways of meeting our current economic needs without jeopardizing the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs. A company cannot achieve success if its operations are not sustainable. Many firms have been emphasizing one aspect of sustainability, which is the need to get profits. However, it goes beyond this. Sustainability has three main pillars, as shown in the figure below. Figure 1: Pillars of Sustainability. Source (Werner, 2008). As shown above, sustainability is
The purpose of this paper is to present a brief overview of three companies that collapsed due to events that occurred in the past. The companies include Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and Deway & Leboeuf. The paper will focus on the factors that led to the collapse of the companies. Additionally, it will highlight the dates when the companies collapsed and the losses that were incurred. Lehman Brothers was an investment company in the USA banking industry. The company collapsed in September 2008 due to its heavy investment in risky assets. In particular, the company had borrowed a large amount of money to finance its investment activities prior to its collapse in 2008. A large percentage of the borrowed capital was invested in the subprime mortgage industry (Sorkin, 2008). This exposed the company to the risk of making huge losses if a significant number of its clients defaulted. Unfortunately, the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008 led to a high default rate in the banking industry. Consequently, the company made a loss of $2.8 billion in the second quarter of 2008 (Hines, Kreuze, & Langsam, 2011, pp. 40-49). Additionally, the company had to sell assets worth $6 billion and to reduce its workforce by 5% in order to remain solvent. In the third quarter of 2008, Lehman made a loss of $3.5 billion (Hines, Kreuze, & Langsam, 2011, pp. 40-49). Consequently, the firm’s management opted to sell it to other financial institutions. However, this plan did not succeed because no firm was willing to inherit Lehman’s losses. In addition, the government of the USA failed to give financial assistance to the company. Washington Mutual was one of the largest holding companies in the USA’s banking industry. The firm owned Washington Mutual Bank, which was one of the largest commercial banks in the USA prior to 2008. Before its collapse, the company had assets worth over $400 billion (Grind, 2012, p. 213). The holding company collapsed in 2008 after the OTS took a disciplinary action against Washington Mutual Bank. In particular, customers withdrew nearly 9% of the deposits that were held by the bank in less than ten days. The huge withdrawal occurred because the bank’s credit rating had been downgraded. The large withdrawal attracted the attention of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), which is one of the regulators of the USA’s banking industry. The OTS responded by seizing the bank and placing it under statutory management. Eventually, the OTS sold the bank to JP Morgan. Consequently, Washington Mutual went out of business and incurred losses of approximately $13 billion (Grind, 2012, p. 114). Deway & Leboeuf was one of the most successful multinational law firms in the USA. Prior to its collapse, the company had assets worth approximately $100 billion. The firm collapsed in 2012 due to financial constraints
Introduction Death refers to the lasting termination of all life’s tasks in a human being. When individuals become distressed, they may find death as the only thing to alleviate them of those feelings. Other people may get peaceful owing to how they spend their lives; thus, they approach death with a clear conscience. Equal opportunities signify the state of being the alike in capacity, measure, worth, as well as position (Masters 9). When death strikes, it brings equality to all, regardless of race, power, or even lifestyle. Equality in death In the human life, many people experience a lot of discriminative reactions from fellow workmates and family members. Edgar Lee Masters in his book ‘Spoon River Anthology’ (2007) noted that death was an equalizer of all persons, where a community of perfection is created. Individuals from Spoon River “felt at harmony in death” (Masters 8). Death comes to all with no exceptions of any individual in the society. This means that whether a person is poor or rich, young or old, king or a beggar, death must come and has the same effects regardless of status. Passing away summons all society agents to dance all along to the grave. This is meant to remind people of their fragility and the insignificance of worldly glories to their life. Death thus “affects the living individuals that are left behind” (Masters 6). In this regard, Edgar got the interest to write about death, after the demise of his brother and his best friend in his early years of life. Sudden and painful death increases people’s desire for repentance. All individuals often feel this after coming across an ailing person who dies in pain and grief. Thus, death acts as a balance where people gather to repent, regardless of their beliefs. Although people may believe that those close to them love them, reality is made clear at times of death. In Edgar’s book, Rev. Peet realizes after his death that community members did not love him as he thought they did (Masters 222). Thus, we cannot find something equivalent to death due to the enormous imprints that are left behind when one dies. Death chances on its prey in the middle of their actions and strikes equally to all. This means death can approach anyone at any time without prioritizing and thus no discrimination. In a case where an American Airline crashed, affluent stockbrokers along with clerical staff were in the same p