ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
A good understanding of what CDS is and the impact it has in the financial market is important. Securities is the term used to refer to combined financial instruments such as shares, bonds and treasury bills (Warren 293). A CDS is like an insurance policy. As an unoriginal financial instrument (derivative), it serves to protect against the failure to pay by a corporation or a person who is in debt. Just as securities are tentative in the financial market, so is CDS. Everything was right for AIG until the point when the level of CDS became uncontrollable. An unchecked accumulation of CDS was the beginning of the end for the once World’s greatest insurer. In many business entities holding companies may have subsidiary (subordinate) or even associate (connected) companies. For AIG, owning several subsidiaries can be regarded as an obvious phenomenon by virtue of its expansive business empire (Skeel & Cohan 28). A subsidiary of AIG was responsible for the onset of the collapse. The subsidiary offered protection to buyers against losses that accrued from debts and loans. CDOs and mortgages (loans acquired to purchase houses) were also sold making the subsidiary collect a lot of premium in the process (Adam 43). The earnings were very high and this encouraged the business on these unoriginal financial securities. A collapse of the housing market was the commencement of increasing rates of foreclosures. The mortgage pools which AIG had insured were devalued implying a low face value (Lewitt 2008). The credit crisis was on the rise as the credit rating of the company recorded remarkable drops in 2007. It was funny to reflect on the historical growth of the company that had began in 1919 in China. A 40-year tenure for the then CEO Maurice Greenberg ended in 2006. The period was characterized by a positive business growth that made AIG enjoy a trillion-dollar balance sheet (Warren 141). The realization that all was not well was not directly addressed by the management. The use of some accounting exercises was adopted in order to otherwise convince the public that all was working. It is after a thorough inspection of the books of accounts that it was realized that indeed AIG had for a long time been overvaluing its CDO liabilities and swap related write downs. In fact the investigation brought to light the fact that the losses were in excess of $20 billion in the first quarter of 2008.Losses were the order of the day for AIG as it succumbed to effects of CDS decline. Cumulative losses summed to $ 18 billion for the three quarters that proceeded the year 2008 (Adam 44). $ 5.3 billion was posted as security against CDS contracts that AIG had written. The lowering of the firm’s credit rating triggered the rise of security margin by a further $ 14 billion. A massive injection of capital to offset these losses was necessary. The greatest problem, however, lies with the valuation of CDOs (Warren 287). Unlike shares which are valued on existi
Introduction Founded in 1973, the Argos is one of the largest catalogue merchants in the UK. The company has more than 700 stores and has famous brands such as the Elizabeth Duke, Chad Valley, Bush, and Alba. These brands have featured in products such as the Pro Action, Opticom, Aquarius, Visiq, and Mega Games among others. The company has an active price comparison website and it own television network called the Argos TV (Argos, 2014). Thus, this analytical treatise will provide an explicit analysis of the Argos Retailer’s external business environment. PESTLE Analysis Political In the UK, the government’s regulations, taxation strategies, directives, norms of leadership, and employment regulations are highly flexible for business. The UK is one of the most promising business places with remarkable expansion in corporate world. The company has taken advantage of the favourable UK economic condition to expand its market niche. The stable economy of the UK has been a pull factor for the company’s products since the purchasing power of many of its potential customers is high, especially for its food stores (Miller, Vandome, and McBrewster, 2011). Legal The legal system in the UK is very stable and functions on the pillars of serving the interest of everybody equally. However, when carrying out its business, the Argos Company has to keep in mind that it needs to comply with all the business laws of the UK and federal laws as well. Being a tax compliant store, the Argos Company has fulfilled its legal mandate as a business and has the freedom to do trade within the territories of the UK and Ireland (Kluger, 2011). Economic environment Despite the global economic meltdown in 2009, the economy of the UK has recovered from these effects and is currently one of the leading economic powerhouses in Europe. The recent economic boom in the UK has resulted into growth of many businesses due to increased demand for products and services. Being one of the most strategically located businesses, the Argos Company positioned to benefit from the economies of scale and improved revenues since it has several brands within the UK and Ireland (Miller, Vandome, and McBrewster, 2011). Social environment Many social issues affect any business sector or industry. However, the Argos Company has aligned its services with the target market needs by actively participating in series of corporate social responsibility initiatives. Besides, the products and media services provided by the firm are aligned with the socio-cultural needs of customers in the UK and Ireland. Currently, the firm is investing in are
Managed care is an arrangement whereby health insurance plans work in conjunction with health care service givers and health care facilities to give services to enrolled members at a lower cost (Birenbaun, 1997). There is increasing use of managed care in today’s health care provision hence the need to ensure its success. According to Ayers and Benson (1995), ten practices would greatly improve the chances of success of managed care. These ten ways are further grouped into three; those practices which focus on strategic planning, those that focus on operations control, and those that focus on operations effectiveness. In strategic planning, some practices take care of the structure, capital assets, and management team of managed care businesses. Provider integration is also essential for the success of managed care. The health care provider needs to form horizontal alliances, with others giving similar care, and vertical alliances, which puts all medical services under a single organization (Ayers and Benson, 1995) The business of managed care has a huge capital requirement in terms of facilities, supplies, and even financial assets. Infrastructure management is, therefore, necessary to take care of these aspects of managed care business. A management team with true leadership and good negotiating abilities is needed in managed care to ensure the smooth running of operations. The lack of such a team would lead to the misappropriation of funds and hence poor performance of the managed care enterprises (Ayers and Benson, 1995). Operations control deals with practices that help control cost and maintain the quality of services. There are four practices used to ensure effective operations control. Protocols are necessary for each managed care provider since they act as product definitions for the particular provider. Risk assessment is also useful as it helps in setting the cost and preparing for the future of the enterprise (Ayers and Benson, 1995). Utilization measurement looks at information on services delivered. This information helps in cost control and optimization of health care services. Activity-based costing is another practice that provides for control of costs hence contro
A theory is defined as a set of principles that form the underlying structure that can be referred to in a discipline of study. Accounting, being a human activity, considers such things as the behaviour of people and their needs in regard to information that is financial in nature. It also considers why an organisation might choose to divulge or give information to a particular group of stakeholders. The theories of accounting date back to the early 1920’s when researchers were basically relying on observation. All through this period, there has been an attempt to prescribe how assets should be valued for the sake of external reporting, predict on what basis managers should be paid or motivated, predict the power of different stakeholders, and how the organisation aspires to be judged by the community. This essay will discuss three accounting theories namely the stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and institutional theory. It will show the major principles of each particular theory, its effectiveness, and weaknesses. For purposes of organisation, three subheadings will be used. Stakeholder Theory According to Freeman and Reed (1983), a stakeholder is any person or group of persons who has an effect on the accomplishments of an organisation’s goals or is affected by such accomplishments. The stakeholders can further be divided into two; primary and secondary. Without the continuous involvement of the former, a company cannot survive. For the latter, the company can still survive (Clarkson, 1995). The stakeholder theory is further divided into two; ethical and managerial branch. The ethical branch argues the right to be treated fairly should be enjoyed by all stakeholders. The organisation should endeavour to give information to all stakeholders as soon as it is required without withholding anything. The managerial approach suggests that information should be given only when the organisation deems it prudent. The core belief of the manager’s approach is that information is a vital tool to manage stakeholders so as to win their acceptance and support. Further, the same information can be used to manipulate the stakeholders so as to avert disapproval and distract opposition. The theory considers the organisation as part and parcel of the society. The major strength of this theory, especially the manager’s approach branch, is that it specifically considers how the different stakeholders should be best handled and managed so that an organisation not only achieves its objectives but also survives. Freeman and Reed (1984) assert that the task of those in management is to assess the benefits of living up to the expectations of shareholders and achieve the objectives of the firm. If all stakeholders are well coordinated, through voluntary exchanges, then each stakeholder will endeavour to give his best making it better for everyone (Freeman and Reed, 1984). It has been found out that particular groups of stakeholders are more effective than others in regards to disclosure of social responsibility demands (Nue, Warsame and Podwell, 1998). Companies have been found to be more responsive to demands of stakeholders which a
The inception of the Frankfurt school The failure of communism in throughout Europe, led the foundation of Frankfurt school in Germany in 1923 to present the Marxist views. The Frankfurt school was founded by Felix Weil, a young orthodox Marxist He looked at the scientific aspect of Marxism and put emphasis on the need of research in the field of history and social system through this institute. The initial period of the institute was devoted mainly to the conventional historical research. Georg Lukacs wrote a book called ‘History of Class Consciousness’, which was published in 1923. This book provided a great inspiration for the work of Frankfurt school (Lassus, 2001). His work, suggests that it is necessary to be free from the Communist Party to promote authentic theoretical work. It was directed by a firm believer in Marxism, Carl Grunberg from 1923 to 1930 (Lassus, 2001). The four development stages of the Frankfurt school Ever since the classical theory of Marx came into existence, there were many changes seen in the Western society that promoted theories related to capitalism. The great theorists like T. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, etc. were actively participating in making crucial accounts to ensure and establish the impact of mass culture and communication in their critical social theory. This was the first phase of the development of the Frankfurt school during which it “generated one of the first models of a critical cultural studies that analyzes the process of cultural production and political economy, the politics of cultural texts, and audience reception and use of cultural artifacts”( (Kellner 1989 and 1995as cited in Kellner, n. d. Para 1). Friedrich Pollock took over as the director of the institute after the death of Carl Grunberg. He was associated with the institute right from the initial period. Max Horkheimer, who became the director of the institute in the later years, was the leading representative of the Frankfurt school. Due to h
Introduction The suffering servant in the book of Isaiah chapter 53 refers to the prophet’s song about the future Messiah. Many Jews and other scholars, who mostly refer to the suffering servant as the nation of Israel, misinterpret this controversial chapter. On the contrary, other scholars argue and interpret the suffering servant as Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The interpretation and application of the chapter have been a debatable issue over a long time, yet the different sides have not agreed on one rendition of the chapter. The prophetic song describes the sufferings and punishment of the suffering servant in his mission. The chapter is a continuation of the messianic prophecy, which portrays the actual situations and activities of the suffering servant, while executing his sole purpose. This paper will highlight the actual symbolism of the suffering servant by Isaiah, his missions, and the relationship with the individual servant in the New Testament. Moreover, the paper will describe the relationship between the Messiah and the suffering servant in the prophetic poetic song of Isaiah chapter 53. The corporate suffering servant The chapter describes the suffering servant as rejected and despised by the people that he came to save. Moreover, the prophecy describes the servant as the one who undergoes suffering by growing in an unfavorable community of impunity. Isaiah portrays the suffering servant as neglected and unnoticeable in the society during his growth (Zuck and Campbell 2002, 78-85). The suffering servant is expressed to be filled with sorrows in his mission. In verse 4 of chapter 53, the suffering servant bears the burden of carrying the iniquities and sins of a people gone astray. The prophecy by Isaiah reveals the messianic symbolisms of the suffering Messiah; for instanc
“How is the position of Sister Mary Prejean against the death penalty rooted in her religious beliefs, traditions, practices, and values?” The essence of Sister Helen Prejean’s argument in rejecting the death penalty is her strong belief in a God Who is neither vindictive nor oppressive. She cites the Biblical phrase “an eye for an eye” as a thing of the past and further contradistinguishes the same with passages of God’s loving forgiveness and His divine desire of reconciliation with sinners. Although she recognizes that there must be some form of retribution that must be given to the victims of criminality, Sister Prejean nevertheless argues that the kind of punishment that a criminal justice system should mete out must be commensurate to the degree of the wrong or infraction done, and to which the state must not find an occasion to commit an act (of killing) which is the very evil (the act of killing) the state seeks to punish or prevent in carrying out its duty to preserve and protect the social order and its inhabitants. In effect, the criminal justice system goes beyond the confines of providing retribution. Instead, criminal punishment has now become a form of vengeance through the instrumentality of the state’s system of criminal justice. According to Sister Prejean, the whole prosecution process is not even beneficial at all as most of the victims still remain in deep grief and anguish for their loved ones whom they have lost despite the execution and death of those responsible, therefore. Thus, the death penalty fails to meet justice’s ends in so far as the victims are concerned. As a nun of the Catholic Church, Sister Prejean adheres to the teachings and philosophy of Jesus Christ. She extends the life experiences of Christ to the wards (Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Willie-both death row inmates) under her care and guidance.
Scholars from the social science discipline have focused on the study of religion. Their interests are geared towards understanding the various aspects related to religion. There exist certain social theories to explain this variant form of organizations, movements, beliefs, and religious ideologies. The sociology of religion seeks to find the concept that underlies the complexities that come with religious organizations, as well as movements such as churches, cult, or even sects. However, the challenge with the sociology of religion is that, in this field, it is seldom to distinguish or separate whether the researcher’s thinking is purely sociological or religious (Hood et al, 89). Theologians will be taught or trained in a manner that makes them biased when testing the question of sociology of religion. Furthermore, the methods they are likely to use will most likely be uninterested in sociology as a science. However, theologians are not at all insignificant in sociology. Theologians have also had a positive impact on the advancement of sociology. In most cases, theologians introduce aspects that propagate confusion in this study. However, the study of religion has enjoyed contributions from many other disciplines which have enhanced the growth of the topic by developing themes, points of view, and certain problems that face the sociology of religion. This has enhanced the position of the sociology of religion in many social sciences and especially in sociology. Sociological ideas may be defined through the identification of a social occurrence although the meanings deducted will vary depending on the researcher. To examine the sociological ideas behind churches and sects, show how the interpretation of these institutions will change over time, and show how their analysis and comprehension by sociologists will vary over time. One may use a three-part analysis. In the analysis, I will begin with the church-sect typologies. Here, I will elaborate on the earlier opinions regarding the aforementioned section. Secondly, the analysis will focus on the transition period. This section will focus on the various groupings of the sect typologies. The focus will also be on the cults and other aspects related to religion. The third part covers the modern day era and seeks to show how the debate on cults and sects in the transition period enhanced the growth the debate on the same (Christiano 453). The church-sect debate has a long history especially as far as church historians are concerned. However, the debate took a sociological perspective much later and was pioneered by Max Weber. According to Weber’s arguments, the nature of the church is closely associated with the political realm. Weber’s a
Introduction Decision making has been defined as “the process of identifying and selecting a solution from among possible solutions to a problem according to the demands of the situation” (Texas State, n.d., p. 2). The most fundamental aspect of a leader in every institution or an organizational setting is not only his/her ability to make decisions but the quality of his decisions; this, however, does not make it unavoidable for us to make wrong decisions because we tend to apply the least productive approach. The most conspicuous of this least productive approach is advocacy; advocacy implies the desire of some leaders to view their positions with a lot of passions and hence might lead to them ignoring any opposing or conflicting views. Leaders often downplay the weakness of their positions as a tactic of boosting their probability of winning. This may always be disastrous since it hinders innovation of ideas and it cans also suppress any diverse and valuable viewpoints. Advocacy can be compared with another approach called inquiry, which is far much more productive approach of decision making. What distinguishes inquiry from advocacy is that inquiry involves weighing several options and it encourages cooperation with others in order to identify the best solutions; this is considered important since it can stimulate innovative thinking unlike advocacy which suppresses our ability to think soberly. As such, inquiry leads to an enhanced decision which advances the goals of the company and will also facilitate faster realization of decisions in a timely manner and its effective implementation. Inquiry, however, is not easy in application because it requires disagreeing and also allowing ambiguity. It involves the balancing between divergence at the initiation of decisions and unity during the time of implementation of the decisions (Garvin & Roberto, 2003). Identifying one’s strengths Majority of the leaders regard decision making as just an event and a discrete choice that happens once in a time which is a wrong notion. It is good to acknowledge that individuals when propelled by their desire, urge and ambition can rise to top positions of responsibility whenever confronted with such an opportunity. Identifying one’s strengths is one of the hard tasks that confront all individuals. An individual who is willing to identify his strengths can use an approach referred as the feedback analysis. According to this approach, an individual should, after making key decisions write down the expected results which should be instrumental in comparing it with the actual results; this is important in the realization of the pattern witnessed from the key comparison; the anticipated results from the decisions so that one can be in position to identify the abilities that might be required to achieve desired results, the unproductive habits that hinders someone from real