ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Pay represents a continuous element of the employment relationship which is of equal interest to the employee and the employer. Traditionally, salaries were determined by a contract of employment or labor courts. They were also dictated by union deliberations, minimum wages, and government policies. In addition, features which determine increase of wages include skills and the negotiation powers of the parties. Other factors are comprised of labor availability, cost of living, seniority, and job assessment. Other factors of measurement such as profits associated with performance and productivity are not significant in the estimation of wages. Despite the fact that skills are incorporated in payment structures, these systems do not enhance the use and acquisition of skills. Therefore, systems of payment have become a function of human resource departments to achieve organizational strategies and objectives (Pettersen, 2011). However, whether these schemes motivate individuals is a controversial issue. This essay compares performance-based pay with knowledge-based pay systems. Comparison The performance-based pay is a good system for both employees and employers. Most scholars argue that it rewards the best performer, which motivates the employees. There is a positive relation between performance and efforts. Therefore, retention of employees will be encouraged because those who perform well are rewarded for their work, and hence are likely to stay. For instance, organizations use performance-based pay systems to reward their best performers and weed out weak employees. Although this system enhances the company’s performance, it discourages those who are weak. In contrast, knowledge-based pay systems act as a basis of motivating the employees. However, it may undermine the productivity of the company because it rewards employees based on their level of knowledge and skills. In addition, knowledge-based schemes are significant for organizational development. For instance, organizations use knowledge-based schemes to train and educate their employees to perform well. Therefore, even though performance-based schemes encourage performance, they discourage organizational development. On the other hand, though knowledge-based schemes enhance organizational development, they discourage productivity. In addition, knowledge-based pay may demotivate good performers, because they will be discouraged by a system which does not
The insurance sector in Australia plays an important role in the country’s financial service market (Kellam, 2011, p.1). This sector depends on insurance agents and brokers to plan, market and distribute their products and services in the Australian market (Anne, 2010, p.332). However, numerous cases abound where insurance brokers have failed to discharge their duties in a proper way. This paper will focus on one particular case illustrated below. Con-Stan Industries of Australia Pty Ltd (Con-Stan) solicited services of an insurance broker to advice it on suitable insurance products for a variety of risks. Norwich was selected by the insurance broker to underwrite Con-Stan. The latter that insurance premiums submitted to the brokerage firm failed to submit payment to Norwich. Later on, the brokerage firm went into bankruptcy and Con-Stan was sued for unpaid insurance premiums by Norwich. However, Con-Stan disputed that there was an oblique term in the insurance agreement, as it was obligated only to remit insurance premiums to the broker (Doyle, 2007, p.1). However, the court discovered later that the implied term, contained in the contract, was neither agreed upon by all parties, nor was a standard in the insurance sector. Hence, the failure by the brokerage firm to remit insurance premiums to Norwich did not release Con-Stan’s from its obligations (Doyle, 2007, p.2). The custom used to draft the contract was not acknowledged by all parties. As a matter of fact, there was no evidence to prove that the inclusion of the implied term in the contract was a professional custom in the insurance sector (Jackman and Faulkner, 2010, p.18). Consequently, there were no indirect terms to satisfy business efficiency, as the assumed implied term was not apparent to the parties and that it could not assume that both parties would have acknowledged the inclusion of the implied term in the agreement (Byrne, 1998, p.18). The court ruled that a term can only be implied in the agreement if the prevailing custom was acknowledged and accepted in the contract by all parties. The contracting parties should not make assumptions that oblique or obscure terms to be implied into contracts. In case they have doubts regarding implications of the implied term, it must be clearly expressed in the contract (Doyle, 2007, p.1). The obligation for good faith in insurance agreements is not restricted to the obligation of full disclosure of material facts, but is enforced by all relevant parties. This phenomenon has been acknowledged and adopted legislatively as a professional practice in Australia’s insurance industry (Meagher, 2006, p.2). The requirement of good faith in contractual agreements does not require that a party considers the welfare of the other party. However, having given the opportunity costs of the contract, the party is prevented from using contractual powers to recover them. The court deals with the matte
Demographic Characteristics The quantitative study engaged 30 participants to assess health and nutritional behavior of college students in Flinders University. Over half of the participants (53.3%) were aged between 26 and 30 years, while slightly over one-third (36.7%) were aged between 21 and 25 years. The rest of the participants were over 30 years old. 20 (66.7%) of the participants were male. All participants came from Saudi Arabia, were married, and spoke fluent Arabic. Two thirds of the participants (66.7%) were undergraduates and the rest were high school graduates. The weight distribution of the participants is demonstrated in the below figure. Figure 1: Weight Distribution of Participants. The above figure clearly demonstrates that only four in every ten respondents (40.0%) weighed over 90 Kilograms. This observation is a valid indicator that many of the students in college lad a healthy lifestyle. 27 (90%) of the students said they visited the university cafeteria/canteen at least 1-2 times per week.
Introduction Oceanography is a diverse discipline that studies the ocean and its associated processes. It has four main sub-disciplines – biological oceanography, physical oceanography, geological oceanography, and chemical oceanography (National Geographic 1). Biological oceanography involves studying marine organisms, how they adapt and live in the marine environment and their temporal variations in the same environment. Comparatively, geological oceanography focuses on exploring the ocean floor and the physical processes that contribute to its formation. For example, geological oceanographers explore how mountains, valleys, and canyons affect the topography of the ocean floor (National Geographic 1). Similarly, they help us to understand the processes that create ocean basins and how such basins affect the ocean environment (National Geographic 1). Physical oceanography studies the natural properties of oceans, such as tidal wave formations, atmosphere-ocean relationships, and ocean temperature influences on marine life (National Geographic 2). Lastly, chemical oceanography studies the chemical composition of ocean waters (mainly, researchers in this discipline understand how such chemical components influence marine life). The National Geographic (2) says the subsets mentioned above of oceanography emerged from exploration, trade, and scientific studies. Different topics of oceanography also developed from the same events. For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2) say oceanography covers different topics, including marine life, marine ecosystems, and seafloor geology (among others). Different oceanography topics are interdisciplinary because it is difficult to understand one topic without evaluating its relationship with other topics. This paper focuses on marine ecosystems, as an important topic in oceanography studies, and explains the lessons it offers oceanography students. However, first, it is crucial to define and understand marine ecosystems (below). Marine Ecosystems Tengberg (10) says marine ecosystems are among the largest ecosystems on earth. For more than three decades, scientists have used such ecosystems to understand the problems that affect the world’s coastal and marine environments. The broad ecosystem influences different aspects of ocean governance. For example, Tengberg (10) says marine ecosystems “focus on the methods of marine science, policy, law, economics, and governance on a common strategy for assessing, managing, recovering and sustaining marine resources and their environments” (Tengberg 10). These concept areas help students to gain a lot of new knowledge about marine ecosystems. What to Learn in the Class Marine ecosystems offer several lessons to oceanography students because it outlines the bedrock for understanding ecosystem-based management skills. Its relevance, in this regard, is also important in institutional studies that explore the marine environment. Marine ecosystems have a broad thematic coverage because they address different areas of the marine environment, including “productivity, fish and fisheries, pollution and ecos
Introduction: The Time for a Global Reach Has Come The introduction of the concept of a Creative Class has changed the world (Mellander and Florida 7). The given phenomenon has offered an opportunity for not only evaluating the efficiency of the states in a new and unbiased way, but also for exploring new avenues of economic development. Florida, with his concept of the Three Ts, has, in his turn, suggested a new method of calculating states’ rates of economic performance numerically. Although the given method seems to be working quite well within the current business and economy setting, it still obviously lacks a very important element. Thesis statement: even though Florida’s theory of three Ts sounds legitimate and encompasses the key elements required for conducting a comparative analysis between the economic performances of the states, it lacks a political insight, which can make the given model viable within the present-day globalized environment. Watching the Principle of Three Ts Set in Motion: Examples and Their Analyses It should be noted that for several states, the formula suggested by Florida has proven right. Indeed, when tracking down the history of economical development of some of the states that top the lists of the most economically successful countries, one may notice that each of them introduced one or more components listed by Florida into its structure. Taking a closer look at some of the most famous examples will help figure out how efficient the principle of the three Ts is and whether sustaining these components of social, economical and political life is enough for a state to enhance its progress. Technology and economical development: a disruptive force The effect of disruptive technology is often compared to that one of a revolution, except the loss of people’s lives and the following devastation. On the one hand, technological development gives chances for offering new products to the global market and, therefore, for the rapid growth of SMEs; on the other hand; technologies demand fast adjustment. When it comes to defining the positive effects of technology on the economic evolution of some of the world’s most influential states, the example of the USA should be provided: “Today, we see many rapidly evolving, potentially transformative technologies on the horizon—spanning information technologies, biological sciences, material science, energy, and other fields” (Dobbs & Manyika, 2013, p. 2). Indeed, while the state has clearly faced a number of crises over the past few decades, it still manages to be on top due to the introduction of the technological component, which, with the state’s policy on tolerance and with a massive brain leakage into the U.S. state universities makes a case for Florida’s Three Ts Theory. Talent: a binding constraint in economic growth There are other examples in which the lack of such a component as talent has blocked the way for the state to introduce the phenomenon of a
Introduction Saudi Arabia is known to be the world’s largest exporter of oil products. It is one of the richest nations in the world and is dominated by the Islamic region. The kingdom is both powerful and complex in both economic and social aspects. Discussion Different agencies in the Saudi Arabia Kingdom promote export from it. These include the Islamic Development Bank and OPEC Fund for International Development. These are the agencies that joined the Arab Funds and became the big donors to developing countries. In addition, a number of traditional aid institutions do exist alongside others that are funded by governments. All these provide export finance support within the Kingdom through these export finance bodies operate differently from traditional donor institutions (Arrow smith, Linarelli and Wallace, 2000). Official Export Credit Agencies (ECA’s). These emerged in the economic market and played a dominant role in the export sector. It was a government or state-owned organization that runs under charter or laws that defines powers and responsibilities (Choudhury, Kikuchi, Mansilla and Wang, 2005). These agencies’ main function is to promote exports from their own countries. They aim to promote the export of capital goods thus making short and long-term financing that is available to overseas buyers some of which are government and public enterprises. There are various bilateral agencies some with joint financing from an export creditor agency of the same country as the aid agency. The above agencies encourage Saudi firms to export to the rest of the world because of the following; there is the free spirit of entrepreneurship, private ownership as well as respect for the powerful private sector. This makes it easier for firms to export their products which further means prosperity for their businesses. Trademarks protection is well managed. Copyrights and patent laws have contributed greatly to the Kingdom’s export sector. Similarly, adequate capital base and stable exchange rates have contributed to a stable export capacity. Better services are being provided in the firms by various existing agencies. The country largely depends on business activities because of the abundant extraction of natural resources and huge investments. In addition, the country has well-developed banking systems. It also gets aid from other banks like World Bank. There is also an effort to improve conditions for foreign investments by reducing taxes to attract more foreign investors to the country. It has multiple establishments of business contacts. Various advertising agencies in the newspapers, televisions, and trade shows contribute to a high export rate. Commercial contacts and business shows are being sponsored by the government. Trade exhibitions and missions to the United States also facilitate exports. All this has been achieved because of stable financial investments in the Kingdom. There are no capital and income mobility bottlenecks. Initially, the capital movement was not controlled thus making the country attract huge investments. Most of the profits made by businesses and investments in foreign countries are eve
Background of the Study The essence of customer service in companies has been emphasized worldwide. Many companies have improved customer service in their organizations which has led to improved performance in their businesses. Accordingly, customer satisfaction, loyalty and increased profits have been some of the benefits of excellent customer service. In order to cope with the challenging business environment, companies have resorted to the adoption and implementation of various strategies that would improve customer service. Provision of quality customer service is a dynamic and interactive process that goes beyond exchanging money for particular goods and services. Provision of quality services requires customers to take part in the process by cooperating with the service providers . Research has shown that good customer service heavily depends on the employees, especially those who interact with the customers directly. Quality customer service implies that the customers are provided with impressive services which in turn enhance their satisfaction. Delivery of quality services to customers is often associated with customer loyalty. Exceptional and quality customer service satisfies the customers and it follows that satisfied customers remain loyal to the company. Delivery of attractive customer services encompasses psychological research and practices aimed at satisfying the customers. It also gives a chance for the development of a framework used in customer service. Expectations of the customers, brand equity, cultural and regional differences and measurement are factors that determine the success of a business in terms of quality customer service . Customer service requires companies to develop certain skills for dealing with customers. Among the most important skills when dealing with customers is the ability to comprehend and respond to their needs and concerns appropriately. For many years, sales have been associated with the ability to convince customers to use the services of a certain company. Good customer service begins with complete knowledge of the customer, his conditions, aspirations and challenges. In addition,
Organizations are often faced with a hard time when making decisions and for this reason the critical thinking process is applied in such situations. For an organization to be successful the process of decision making should be procedural. This ascertains that proper solutions are achieved in solving a problem because the decision making process is part of problem solving. The ANC Company is experiencing a lot of problems as it establishes its operations in the KAVA region. Being a young company in a new region the company is likely to be faced with stiff competition, entry point barriers and other environmental obstacles that may require in-depth critical thinking as part of the decisions making process. Kava being a place that is embattled politically, economically and socially may not seem the best place to establish a company. However, to the prospects the company has are great compared to the risks being undertaken. Based on the mission of the company of creating opportunities through the conversions of probable threats the company has to develop solutions that may impact the company as well as the people of Kava region. As part of the assignment, the paper identifies a decision making technique that identifies possible solutions aw wells as providing an analysis of the steps that have been applied in the selected decision making model. The paper also gives the impacts the proposed decision making model may have on the proposed solution(s). There are several decision making techniques or models applied in the course of achieving solutions. Some of those are active while the others are passive. The problems being faced by the ANC Company in Kava can be addressed using the brainstorming decision making technique. The brainstorming technique involves application of critical thinking were possible the participants give the possible solutions to the problems facing the organization (Virine & Trumper, 2008). The reason why brainstorming has been chosen is because it offers room for various solutions to be made by different participants who share different perspective. This can be health because the opinions given are directly related to the problem in hand. After the listing of all the possible solutions each participants is handled with the solutions are let’s say requested to select at lea
Central Theme In the article, Zenger explores the problem that is rarely addressed in business school curricula. Instead of focusing on competitiveness and rivals, a company should explore and invest more in its ability to grow and create value. The author argues that it is not as crucial for a leader to sustain a competitive advantage; instead, the leader should focus on the new ways that can help them create value. To explain how a company can create value, Zenger provides a solution: the corporate theory. It should not be seen as a strategy, but, rather, as a set of strategies that can stimulate growth in value. One of the major examples that can support the importance of corporate theory is Disney’s period of rising, decline, and successful rise again during several decades of the XX century. While the founder of the Disney Company had a clear and coherent theory that helped him create and enhance value, after Walt’s death Disney had to experience a serious decline in its business: revenues from films reduced, Disneyland had welcomed much fewer visitors, character licensing slipped as well. However, the company’s success depended on its connections between different products (comic books, toys, music, a theme park, and, of course, films). Since the company has shifted away from its primary product – animation – all other branches experienced a decline as well. New management, specifically Michael Eisner, had brought the desired turnaround: the company focused on investment into animation, which eventually resulted in infamous animated movies The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast . Disney’s revenues began to rose, and so did the company’s share in box offices and the popularity of Disney theme parks. Thus, corporate theory was implemented and led to growing success. The decline/rise scheme repeated several times in Disney’s history, but the original theory provided by Walt Disney was applied successfully again and again. According to Zenger, this is an example of “posthumous leadership”. The corporate theory can be implemented only if one considers the three crucial “sights” as well: foresight, insight, and cross-sight. It might be clear that foresight examin
Introduction Property investing is quite popular. Banks enjoy giving credit to investors who wish to take their money in that sector. The most popular and renowned rich people deal in real estate. Is this the allure or is there another hidden factor? My thinking is that what makes people feel attracted to real estate or property investments is the success associated with the big boys in that sector. On the other hand, it might not be that popular if people took time to look into the real world of property investing. This part of the world has many disappointments and phenomenal losses. It is a world so uncertain and unpredictable. Property investors should look into all the stakeholders in this market before making the huge decision to invest in it. This paper critically analyzes property market in light of risks in it. It draws a conclusion on the question if it is still popular and why. Arguments Against Investing in property is still popular despite the harsh manner in which the investors may be treated by the market. One of the reasons why I still think it is popular is the amount of money involved. Property business has the largest amounts of money and investors from many countries around the world feel the thrill to chase that money. In United States, where the observers calculated the amount in 2008, observers estimate that close to 60% of the amount of money in the economy was in the housing and property sector. This is an indication of what is actually happening in the other parts of the world despite the lack of stats 1 . In financial terms, investing in property is a risky affair. The amount of debt and uncertainty involved is too much. This is considering the fact that properties are quite expensive. The amount of debt that banks have to extend to pull off one property deal is too much