ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction This paper seeks to discuss the statement that managers cannot take what they receive at face value and they should test the same by questioning the underlying assumptions, relating them to the context, considering the alternatives and recognizing the limitations. Discussion will use examples with emphasis on ‘critical thinking’. Analysis and Discussion Management are expected to produce results in terms of meeting their objectives and to be able to do so they are empowered to decide between or among options in relation to what is most beneficial to the organization in terms of meeting organizational objectives (Massie, 1987 ). As such, they do not exist just to obey orders. Given such decision-making as a critical part of management, taking things at face value would be the least thing to expect. Thus, management theories vary and that no single theory could be applicable solely in a particular case and the decisions of the managers must consider many other factors. Under these management theories are the various motivational theories, which consider different human personalities. One particular thing that could be used is the very variable pay or incentive plan could be implemented in an organization under one or more motivational theories (Frey, Gouran, and Poole, 1999). There are advantages and disadvantages of each option if a company would have to adopt and implement variable pay and incentive plans for its employees. If managers adopt such a plan, they should be guided by the purpose why such a plan should be adopted. Basically, an incentive plan is designed to improve performance of employees in relation to attaining company goals. The need to increase revenues should not therefore be dependent solely on external factors like the fact that the economy is slowing down when management could find ways to motivate employees as an option of reaching objectives. In applying for example an incentive plan to generate revenues, sales staff or marketing people could be given enough commissions or bonus based on performance. But an option could have several sub-options. It could pay its marketing staff with 100% commission or salary plus a certain commission basis. As motivating sales or marketing staff is most critical to certain stage in the life and condition of the organization, management must not just accept a news report that the economy is slowing down and that companies may just brace for lower sales. Although generally the external condition could be material in determining the proper strategies, the internal environment of the organiza
Introduction Stocks’ beta expresses how much the stock prices may change as a result of changes in the financial market prices. A stock’s beta of 1.06 indicates that for a 1% change in general market prices, the price of the particular stock will change by 1.06%. Such a stock price is considered to be less volatile. Assets’ beta is the average of the different sources of finance that a firm chooses. The assets’ beta for a company that has been financed without debts is equal to equity’s beta. Weighted cost of capital represents the least amount of return that an investment can offer stakeholders. When the expected rate of return from a project is lower than WACC, it is considered unviable. Managers may consider those that break-even because of the economic level of returns. However, a project must have a higher rate of return than WACC before wealth is created for holders of securities. A majority of firms uses debts to finance growth rather than wait for the profits. Fabozzi et al. (2008, p. 507) discuss that when a firm has no debt, “the beta of its equity is the same as its assets’ beta.” They also note that it is very rare for a company to operate without incurring some debts. Using debts makes a company’s equity riskier. Fabozzi et al. (2008, p. 507) explain that financial leverage causes “the market risk of a company’s stock to be higher than its asset’s risk.” In that case, equity’s beta exceeds assets’ beta. When the firms choose to fund assets by a combination of equity and debts, the risk involved is shared between the two groups of stakeholders. Fabozzi et al. (2008, p. 508) discuss that the “asset market risk is the weighted average of the company’s debt beta and equity beta because the asset’s risk is shared between creditors and owners.” In simple terms, the asset beta = debts beta (fraction of assets from debts) + equity beta (fraction of assets from equity). The equation of assets’ beta average is true because the variations from equity’s and stocks’ betas are correlated. The effect on one source of capital influences the chance of the other sources volatility. Corporate taxable income is generated after deductions of interest paid on loans. The effect reduces what a firm pays as tax which makes their burden less. On the other hand, interest received by creditors is taxed after it is paid to them. As a result of interest on debt being deductible, debts beta in most cases is assumed to be negligible. WACC is used to “evaluate the impact of debt-financing on risk and returns to investments” (Geltner et al. 2010, p. 307). Leverage is a term used to describe the common practice used by firms to fund their projects from debts, and equity. The WACC is derived from th
Introduction Also known as cannabis, Marijuana primarily consists of dry leaves of the hemp plant that people chew or smoke in order to experience euphoric effects. Besides tobacco and bhang, people around the world consume large quantities of marijuana, and as a result, debates have emerged on whether governments should legalize marijuana like alcohol or maintain its ground that it is an illegal drug. In the United States, for example, a major debate ensued in the year 2005 on whether or not to treat marijuana like alcohol (Debusmann Para. 2). Prior to this debate, approximately 5000 economists, among which there were three winners of the much-coveted Nobel prize, had written an open letter calling for attention towards the economic benefits that would come as a result of treating marijuana like both alcohol and tobacco. The responses to these debates were diverse and depended on the angle from which one approached the issue. One such response came from William Buckley. According to Buckley’s argument, it would be good if people treated marijuana like alcohol. To ensure that its legalization would not bring any problems, he further added that the government should intervene in its regulation, control, and taxes on top of making it illegal to children as it does to alcohol. Considering the benefits that would accompany the legalization of marijuana and its treatment like alcohol, I strongly agree with Buckley’s comparison; marijuana should be treated like alcohol. Comparison between Marijuana and Alcohol Though consumed differently, marijuana is similar to alcohol in many ways. First, the use of marijuana affects the body initially in a similar way as alcohol. The short-term effects are decreased concentration and slowness in making decisions. The use of alcohol also causes similar short-term effects. The second similarity between marijuana and alcohol is how it stimulates the body. Ashton argues that, once an individual takes marijuana, “the body responds shortly afterward, but the effect lasts for only three hours” (104). When one takes marijuana in combination with other consumables, the body takes longer to respond, and the resultant effects last for quite a long period. Alcohol also has similar short-term effects. When taken alone, the short-term effects are short-lived but more intense. When taken with another drink, the effect on the drinker’s body is less intense and slower but lasts longer. The third similarity
Ernest Hemingway’s 1927 short story “Hills like White Elephants” has lately become an important short story, despite being ignored for more than 50 years due to its lack of conventional literal characteristics. From a critical view, the story has several in-depth meanings that were previously ignored. In particular, the feministic view of Hemingway’s society is evident in the story. Hemingway attempts to express the feministic movement of the mid 20 th century. Using Jig as an example, the author has attempted to show how the early 20 th century European and American societies viewed females. The story provides an example of male dominance over females in all aspects, which makes women unable to make their own decisions. Arguably, the author uses Jig to portray the development of women rights and feminist movements against the male-dominated world, which is demonstrated by the American boyfriend. Jig is probably 19 or 20 years, judging from her perceptions and expression of ideas. She seems to be naïve but ready to settle down for marriage or bring up her children. On the other hand, she is afraid of her American boyfriend, and cannot express her ideas, fearing to disappoint him. However, her character changes significantly towards the end of the story. According to Renner (1), the development of Jig’s character and perception is a representation of the development of women through feminist movements and can be divided into four basic stages. The first step concerns the submissiv
In the current world, education has become a necessity that individuals strive to acquire. The degree to which the demand and supply for education react to changes in fees is what defines elasticity. Each product has a different elasticity depending with the level of its necessity. Products which are essential to the consumer tend to have an inelastic demand, such that change in price does not result in an equal change in demand. This is because consumers will continue to purchase the product even at higher prices since it is a necessity. In contrast, a product that is less essential will have an inelastic demand whereby a slight increase in price will affect the demand downwards. It is apparent from the case study that the demand for students applying to universities is elastic. This is reflected from the big change in the number of student applicant to English University due to the changes in fee charges. The demand for applicants fell when the fee charges went up by a relatively high margin. There are three key factors that influence the elasticity of demand for students applying to university. These factors are availability of substitute institutions and the level of income available to spend on university education and time. Dividing the percentage change in number of applicants by the percentage change in fee charges is used as the measure for elasticity of student’s application. In this case, there are substitute universities, which are the Scottish and the Welsh Universities. Demand for applicants in English university decreased when they initiated the scheme of increasing their fees up to a maximum of £3000 from £1175. Scottish and Welsh University did not adopt the scheme and experienced an increase in the number of applicants. This means that when students realized that English University was charging more fees than Scottish and Welsh University, they opted for the cheaper institutions which offered similar courses. The other factor that affects applicant elasticity is the availability of income to be spent on university fees. When the amount of income is high, an increase in fee charges will not result in a significant change in demand. Similarly, when the amount of income is limited, an increase in fee charges will result in a significant downfall in demand. In this case, the amo
Website development for any growing company is of benefit especially due to the rapid globalization of companies. Most companies despite their size and location are fighting hard to reach the top in terms of providing their products and services to the whole world. Research done on most companies show that most companies have developed websites so as to be able to reach as many customers as possible. This is the case because of the high competition from companies dealing in related products or services and the need to globalise their company. Statistics show that there are an approximate 1.8 trillion internet users it the world as at December 2009. Asia was rated the highest continent in internet usage with 764 million users while china was rated the country with the largest population of internet users. This data indicates that over fifty percent of the world’s population has access to the internet. This means that any advertisement on the internet will reach a larger population as compared to regional or location advertisement using other ways such as newspapers or sales promotions. Websites are used by many companies as a means of communication as well as for the purpose of marketing and selling of services offered. A printing company is no exception since its services are demanded in almost all parts of the world. Implementation of a website in a printing company would definitely lead to increased sales of the company at the same time satisfying the customers (“World internet users”, 2010, p. 1). This is a recent development in the printing industry since it has been before thought to be a minute industry and available in almost every location. The idea of globalising such an industry through website development is beneficial because of the many advantages related to website marketing. Some of these benefits have been reported to be satisfaction to the customers by adding value to the products or services offered. The website gives a site where the customers can be served at any time and day even if the printing shop is closed; they also get instant feedback without having to travel hence saving much of their time. The customers are able to view free tips and guidelines concerning the services they require. Websites have also been known to market companies, potential companies despite their location will be able to view the company throu
Power reflects the wishes and outcomes one wants to realize. It is one of the universal dimensions in society. In this connection, it is necessary to examine the power in the US focusing on four fundamental theories of democracy, elite class theory, pluralist theory, and hyperpluralism. The elite class theory referred to as the functional concept of the society organized by more or less cohesive minorities having at their disposal the levers of power. However, such a power in society is a violation of the democratic rights of the people, a challenge to democracy, and the position that condemns the majority of the population for political passivity and turns into the manipulation by the ruling elite class (Ginsberg 127). The elite class society possesses complete power, namely, in the hands of owners and senior managers of industrial, commercial, and financial corporations. Democracy means living in safety and enjoying both justice and liberty. Citizens are voting for their preferred representatives. It also supposes the recognition of the people as the source of power and suggests the power of the majority, of citizens’ equality, and the rule of law. Nevertheless, it seems that the theory of pluralism suits the US more than democracy. The theory of political pluralism is not only the most widespread but also almost completely dominated in the American political science in the last decades. It continues to dominate and remains the most common explanation of US democracy’s existence. The pluralistic concept is relevant for American politicians and theorists of political science as its provisions are liberal. Not by chance, pluralism in modern US political science has become almost synonymous with democracy as the barriers between them are blurred to some extent. The pluralism in the US assumes diversity and equal opportunities for each citizen. Consequently, people join in groups making the society decentralized, in other words, pluralistic. Power in the pluralistic society is also decentralized among different groups. Taking into account that the US society votes, has protected individual rights, freedom of choice, and reliance on self, in general, one can consider that the US has a pluralistic power distribution. It should be stressed that such a position has its disadvantages as well. For example, it leads to the individualistic behaviors breaking families and loss of the home value (Dorabji 38). As one can also observe on the example of the US, in particular, California that suffers from unemployment and economic crisis that are the consequences of the pluralistic model as well (Walker and Lodha 62). Political pluralism tries to connect the democratic nature of the American society that has evolved as the ideals of democracy and ideology of technocratic industrial society. Pluralism draws an uncovered leading system, which allows people from the lower-class approach to climbing in the upper strata of society as Obama did (Wise 245). The above fact confirms the existence of the pluralistic power distribution, too. However, the
Introduction Public diplomacy entails the impact of public attitudes on the compilation and implementation of foreign policies. Public diplomacy includes the execution of public opinion by a government to a foreign country. Public diplomacy can also be viewed as the process of communicating foreign affairs and its influence on policy as well as the system of inter-cultural interactions (Melissen, Lee, & Sharp, 2009). This report will first offer a brief background detail on the U.S. public diplomacy, its legal underpinnings, and the evolution of the current U.S. public diplomacy. Public diplomacy will be viewed as a fundamental tool for facilitating security, liberty, and economic sustainability across the globe. This paper will look at the events that ensued after the September 11, 2001 terrorist’s attacks, to show how the United States public diplomacy has changed to mitigate further threats to the U.S. security. This paper will also examine the application of hard power and soft power, according to the U.S. public diplomacy. Background This section offers an analysis of various platforms that the U.S. government initiated to promote its public diplomacy across the world. In this case, public diplomacy will be defined as the advancement of the U.S. interests, culture, and ideologies via sensitizing and manipulating foreign populations. The U.S.
Background   * Rise of international corporations;   * Increased demand for skilled specialists;   * Arising ethical dilemmas related to staffing;   * Diverse policies used to solve these problems;   * Significant importance of international relations;   * Diverse stakeholders` groups as main actors. The last several decades could be characterized by the increased significance of international corporations that are central players in the world of business. For this reason, the global intercourse and relations between these corporations acquire the top priority (Banai and Sama 221). At the same time, it also means that particular organizations have to hire employees from different countries to ensure that the peculiarities of local markets and cultures are taken into account and used to guarantee the best possible outcomes. Therefore, the rise of demand for international specialists precondition numerous ethical dilemmas related to staffing policies. Central Ideas   * Existence of ethical rationale for specific policies;   * Investigation of ethical dilemmas acquires the top priority;   * Enhanced importance of efficient solutions;   * Better international cooperation;   * Economic rationality as one of impacting factors;   * Utilitarianism, moral rights, and distributive justice as central concerns. The paper assumes that in the age of the rise of global international corporations international staffing policies acquire the top priority because of their impact on outcomes and overall efficiency. For this reason, the article suggests a conceptual framework according to which ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric staffing policies are closely related with the decision–making modes of instrumentality, bounded and economic rationality (Banai and Sama 221). This idea is investigated regarding the ethical dilemmas that might arise during the cooperation of international workers within one organization. (Banai and Sama 221). The authors also discuss potential applications of their idea to diverse frameworks that are used by the modern international corporations. Purpose of the Paper   * Examine the three international staffing policies;   * Investigate a new framework that relates to underlying decision-making;   * Assess the ethical approach of every policy;   * Research ethical consequences of these policies;   * To offer guidelines
Introduction: The need to belong Human beings, regardless of their location, have a need to belong. The sense and need for belonging may be satisfied within the context of family, friends, work colleagues, or in an interpersonal relationship with a member of the opposite sex. To satisfy this sense of belonging, an individual has to develop a relationship with the above-mentioned entities. The subsequent relationship so developed has to be maintained and nurtured in a manner that satisfies all the parties involved in the relationship. A relationship that satisfies an individual’s need for belonging boosts the self-esteem and general sense of motivation of the individual. For instance, an individual who has a strong and positive family relationship with his or her siblings and parents tends to be confident, outgoing, and has a positive outlook on life. Similarly, many studies suggest that people in committed long-term relationships with persons of the opposite sex, for instance within the context of marriage, are generally more motivated, and have a higher self-esteem (Alea & Vick, 2010, p.735). There are also immense benefits of having the support of friends and colleagues during difficult and trying times in one’s life. Therefore, the different types of positive relationships in a person’s life are important for the overall well-being of the particular person. The influence of Culture/Society Besides family relationships, a relationship that eventually leads to marriage is the second most important relationship of an individual’s life. Many societies and cultures around the world encourage such relationships, with some limitations on the extent to which such relationships can flourish before marriage. Therefore, an individual’s ability to develop, maintain, and repair such an intimate relat