ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Operations management entails overseeing, designing and redesigning business operations in the production of goods and services. It is about ensuring that the business processes are efficient in terms of using as little resources as needed and effective with regards to meeting customers’ requirements. Twentieth Century Fires Ltd is a small company based in Stockport, Lancashire that sells, restores and manufactures fireplaces and their associated accessories (Chapman 1997, 4). The first process is the making of tiles that will eventually form part of the fireplace. First of all, one is required to look at the job sheet to find out exactly what the customer wants in terms of design. It is only after one is certain of the customer’s requirements that they can proceed to the clay mixing room to begin working on manufacturing the tiles. In the clay mixing room, clay is thoroughly mixed with water and sodium silicate. Mixing is done thoroughly so as to enhance the quality of the end product. After mixing the clay is ready to proceed to the next stage. The next stage is placing the mixture of clay into molds of different shapes and sizes as per the design of the fireplace ordered by the customer. The molds are then left on the bench to dry for a whole week. When they are ready, the edges of the dried clay are trimmed to remove excessive clay before proceeding on to the next step. The clay is ready to be baked in the kiln after drying. This process lasts overnight. When the tiles are removed from the kiln, they hav
The first article is named ‘Don’t take it out on us’: Some restaurants face abuse over vaccine passports,’ and the second article is ‘Two Prairie provinces, a twin health crisis.’ The genre of both texts is news articles. They aim to convey the information that reveals the particular issue that happened recently. The news article is a type of article, and it is a significant genre in journalism. The first article refers to straight news because it conveys the fact that some restaurants had faced abuse over vaccine passports. The article uses the direct quotations of the restaurant owners, thus making the most of the story based in the first person. The second article is not straight news since it contains the interpretation of the story from different sides. Since it raises a story that is connected with the politicians and their policies, the opinions of numerous figures on the issue were included in the article. The first article was written by Leslie Young and published by Global News. The second article does not indicate the author, but it is published by Toronto Star. The first article does not have a clear lead, body, and conclusion. It lacks consistency throughout the story; instead, it provides a number of the statements made by different business owners. The second article is more consistent in its structure, and it is constructed from many short paragraphs, including the lead, body, and conclusion. The two news article stories differ, as well as the stylistics. The second story has a more formal tone because it raises a topic concerned with a political issue and the COVID-19 situation. The first article refers to the pandemic situation as well; however, it is more of an informal tone. The first article is made relying on the claims of the restaurant owners; the story does not mention particular political figures. The second story does mention the political figures and the criticisms of their policies. The first story contains a short hook, and even though it does not follow a clear structure, it does not shift the focus of the story. It starts with the problem that the restaurant owners had faced due to the government pandemic regulations, a
Introduction The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive and an in-depth analysis of the financial performance of Suleiman A. G, a German corporation specializing in the manufacture and distribution of a wide range of machine tools and robots on the international market. The analysis will focus on the company’s first four years of its 21 st century business, which proved to be an important turnover due to a high rate of increased profitability. The report aims at providing the stakeholders with the right, correct and concise information regarding the company’s financial health in order to help them in critical aspects of their decision making in regards to their investments in the company. Analysis of the corporate sales growth An analysis of the company’s profit and loss statements for 2001 and the three consecutive years provides a clear indication that the rate of sales growth was increasing significantly. At the end of the 2000 financial year, the company’s balance carried forward in terms of sales was $240 million. However, it recorded an increase of more than $19.9 in the 2001 financial year, which translates to 8.3%. In fact, this was the company’s most significant indication that its financial health was set to increase in the new century. For instance, in the two consecutive financial years, the growth rate continued to increase rapidly, recording 12.1% and 14.9% in 2002 and 2003 respectively. However, the sales growth rate stagnated in 2004, recording a slight reduction of about 0.2%. Noteworthy, the rate cost of goods sold remained statistic at an average rate of 67.75%, providing adequate evidence that the company’s revenue in terms of sales was experiencing a constant increase. In addition, it provides insights into a possible increase in the corporate profitability, especially when other expenses such as depreciation, interests, taxes and other payables remain stagnant. The charts below provide a visual analysis of the company’s sales performance for the 2001-2004 financial years. Figure 1: A chart showing a comparison of sales growth rate, COGS growth rate and net profit growth rates for the 2001-2004 financial periods. It shows that the rate of revenue growth was on the increase while the cost of goods sold remained fairly stagnant. Analysis of Operational Leverage In this category, the rate of growth for the cost of sales (cost of goods sold) and administrative and selling costs are important determinants of operational leverage. As indicated above, the cost of goods sold for the four consecutive years remained fairly constant. For instance, in 2011, the company’s cost of goods sold was 67.9% of the previously recorded amount. However, the rate of increase remained fairly constant over the next three fiscal years,
Union wage effects Union wage premium is currently one of the most analyzed issues in labor economics. It is a ratio which compares the earnings of a nonunion worker member to a union worker. Union wage effect can be analyzed as the percentage by use of the wage gain of typical workers when they join a union. According to research findings, a union worker earns 15% more than a typical nonunion worker. At the Ford Motor company, the union wage effects have pushed the company to its financial limits. In 2007, the company added an additional $1,200 to every vehicle manufactured due to high wage demands. As a result, foreign vehicles gained market share by edging out the expensive Ford vehicles. Estimates of the union wage gap The union wage gap is a percentage of the wage differential between union jobs and nonunion jobs. It is countercyclical since it widens in times of high unemployment and narrows during economic expansions. Wage gap is calculated by comparing workers in both union and nonunion jobs having a similar economic and social background such as education, age, industry and region of employment. Research findings indicate that the union wage gap is slightly lower than nonunion wage gap at a difference of 15% to 25%. In 2008, Ford Motor Company and the workers union agreed to pay new employees $4.50 an hour. This value is much higher when compared to $1.50 per hour earned by the nonunionized workers at Ford’s plant in Mexico. Union wage gap against union wage gain Wage gain is the difference between the earnings of a unionized and a nonunionized worker with the same level of skills. This difference in the wage gap cannot be used to measure the union wage gain since a union worker earns 15% more than a nonunion worker. In the US, Ford pays its workers $8 more per hour than its nonunion counterparts located in other countries. Currently, Ford claims to be paying $58/hour while other automakers pay an average of $50 per hour. Unions and wage dispersion The difference in wages among workers at the same workplace level varies differently between unionized and nonunionized workers. Studies indicate that unionized workers are least affected by wage dispersion. Nonunionized workers face 25% higher wage dispersion in comparison to the unionized firms. Over the past years, Ford Motor Company nonunion employees earned less than their counterparts in foreign motor companies. As a result, foreign automakers are using the pay strategy to discourage its workers from joining unions. Foreign automakers believed that if nonunion worker earns more than union workers, then they will not join the unions. Apart from the little disparity in their wages, union workers are a uniform group in terms of their education level as well as other related job skills. This is because unions aim at collective bargaining and equity during negotiations which leads to a lack in wage setting depending on productivity of workers. The nonwage effects of unions The nonwage effe
Following the recent increase in the cases of crime in society, laws need to be enforced so that organizations and other criminal justice groups are adequately empowered. Of much interest is a corporate crime or white-collar crime, which despite its often huge negative economic and social impact, continues to the public as well as judicial leniency. Resources from the state, police, and other judicial systems should aim at crime prevention and criminal justice. The Australian Institute of criminology (AIC) of 1973 operates under the criminology research act of 1971 as a statutory authority for the commonwealth AIC is responsible for criminology research and gives its results as well as arranging conferences and publishing its works. Companies have obeyed LawLaw, but the use of criminal LawLaw in punishing could be one of the effective strategies that can control illegal behavior in corporate bodies. Corporate crime will include crimes by a corporation such as a business firm or by individuals under vicarious or corporate liability. Corporate crime has been found to cause some overlap with white-collar crime since the employees normally represent the interest of a corporation. Organized crime is seen through corporate arrangement and criminal acts of illegal business, which has resulted in making huge sums of money. State corporate crime has been a corporate crime when links between the corporation and the state create a chance for criminal activities between the two groups. Corporate crime has brought political debates, especially in countries like the United Kingdom, where corporate manslaughter is linked to disaster in rail and sea networks. It also addresses the corporate crime on industries and business enterprises that pose technological hazards. This means that corporate crime poses a threat to the community at large in which their actions and impact on personal injury and cause economic and physical impacts (Glasbeek Harny, 141). Criminal LawLaw is in place to regulate behavior and makes a ruling on the penalty to give. Thus the legislative makes all considerations to justify an act as a crime or offense punishable by LawLaw or to be termed as a corporate crime. Identify the extent of crime committed should follow behavior is a potential threat to loss and damage. Crime and criminal justice should be approached in a very professional manner because businesses are the major strongholds of many states. Due to the mutual relationship of providing a stable economy then the politica
Vodafone Group is an international mobile telecommunications company with headquarters in London, the United Kingdom. The corporation was established in 1991 as the result of demerging of Racal Telecom from Racal Electronics. Vodafone Group is one of the largest telecommunications service providers in the United Kingdom, operating in Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Its mobile network includes 26 countries with the provision of the fixed services in 17 nations. Moreover, it has partners’ shares in additional 57 countries. The company holds 24% of the mobile market share in the UK. In the other states of functioning, its presence goes over 28% and reaches 50% in Africa. Vodafone has 462 million subscribers worldwide. The primary mobile services that the company provides are access to call, the internet, text, video and music streaming. Vodafone Global Enterprise is a branch of the enterprise that serves facilities and business solutions to other corporations and offers communication assistance in hosting, cloud computing, and IP-VPN (Virtual Private Networks). The telecommunications industry is the rapidly changing field influenced by the innovations and deregulation processes. The growing multinational corporations compete in the global market acquiring shares of regional companies and privatising the states monopolies. The continually rising numbers of mobile users, the enhancing access to broadband technology, and the diversity of mobile services which are highly integrated with the Internet have changed the industry perspectives. The Threat of Entry and Substitutes The telecom field is extremely competitive. The fight for the leadership among the equal by size and ambitions companies determines the high level of rivalry. The economic scale and scope influenced by the limited number of operators and the abundance of independent data and applications providers can quickly change the dynamics of the industry. The major rivalries constitute strategic groups with the similar services and customer profiles. BT Group, EE, O2, and Vodafone are the enduring adversaries in the UK domestic market. According to the European regulations, the mobile telecommunications companies can facilitate the same services as the fixed line providers. The laws give the mobile operators additional shares in the industry, but, at the same time, the telecom firms have to accept the rules of the game set by the fixed line facilities distributors. Seen as the obstacle by the dominant industry players, the regulations are supposed to equilibrate the relationships and stimulate the competition between two strategic groups of the
Introduction Communication, either formal or informal is the most important tool in all businesses and other related organization. It is of great essence to take into consideration the actual act of communication when studying the hierarchies, channels and processes associable with communication. It is thus important to take into consideration that communication is human, and thus it comes with all the flaws and strengths of humanity. Organizations are especially held together by cooperation that is strengthened by communication. In such kinds of relationships and networks, information is a key aspect of the network. This is where communication gets its strength from since there is normally demand for properly relayed information between and among relevant parties. Information exchange, a key aspect of operational efficiency in organizations is thus highly valued by organizations to the extent that organizations devise ways of making their communications effective. Good business communication skills both with fellow staff members and with customers are important for business prosperity. The success of a business is identified by the achievements of the business which depends on the relationship between the business stakeholders and can be achieved effectively through quality of communication (May and Mumby, 2005, p. 234). Communication enables a business to address its market availability in identifying and analyzing its competitive position in the market. It is only through communication that a business can establish its performance in the market from which it can realize and determine new and effective marketing strategies. This paper looks at the different channels and ways of communicating in business organizations as well as showing the importance of maintaining good communication skills in a business set up. Communication networks Communication networks are patterns through which information flows in an organization. Communication networks have been groups into two major divisions, centralized and decentralized networks. There are three centralized networks which are: The wheel network where information must be passed through a central figure in the organization that is considered to be at the centre of the wheel. An organization practicing wheel network for communication can be said to be an autocratic organization. The second network is the Y network. In this network, one of the members belonging to the network eventually becomes the epicenter of the network. Lastly, there is the Chain network. In this network, there is minimal control between members of the same network. An example of an organization in which this kind of network can be found is the military. Generally, this network is used in institutions where the flow of communication is top-bottom. The second division which is the decentralized division consists of two networks namely:   * Star network which represents the usual basic patterns of communication in most organizations.   * Circle network
What is happening in the video? The video podcast ‘Al Dura – What really happened?’ broadcasted by FR2 Television Network shows a man and a teenage boy taking refuge behind a tank amidst flying bullets. The video shows two victims being fired at and succumbing to death as the bullets run through their bodies. This is very disturbing for the public to watch on national television such as the FR2 Television Network. Players in the video The two players in the podcast ‘Al Dura – What really happened?’ are the FR2 Television Network who showed the raw video clip and the Palestinian government. Concerns have been raised regarding the validity of the said cold deaths of the two Palestinians in the video clip. First, the video is short and apparently just a small portion of the original version (HonestReportingVideo, 2008). In addition, the video was played on the FR2 Television Network which is a national television without verifying its validity. The players’ loyalty As the clip alludes, the victims were killed in cold blood by the Israeli troops (HonestReportingVideo, 2008). Public display of the deaths by the FR2 Television Network stirred fear and distress among the citizens. Showing the clip on national television was quite irresponsible of the FR2 Television Network media because that had far-reaching ramifications on the citizens. It was after the video was shown that the public went rampant rioting hence causing unnecessary commotion all over the country. The media should be responsible and uphold media ethics to avoid such incidences. Media players’ values The media has been used in the past as a tool to foster propaganda and false information either intentionally or unintentionally. Some media houses are simply under immense pressure to work round the clock and therefore may lack the time to verify the information they get. This gives freelance media an opportunity to create and prepare act scenes. The FR2 Television Network media, therefore, can be seen to have abandoned their responsibilities in fueling violence among citizens by showing such disturbing videos on national television. The FR2 Television Network media should always be on the forefront to promote peace and practice discretion on such matters. The video presents a very emotive and sad event that had the potential of creating unimaginable violence in the country. Under all circumstances, the FR2 Television Network media is supposed to protect the audience from accessing such disturbing information for the sake of peace. After the FR2 Television Network showed the video, violence broke out in the entire city as the angered public reacted in response to the violent emotional pictures of a father and a son cornered by bullets. Ethics with regard to the action on the video Generally, ethics involved what is morally acceptable or unacceptable. For an action to be of moral worth, such an action is expected to achieve admirable consequences and the doing agent has the feeling of positive accomplishment that confirms restraint. Unfortunately, FR2 Television Network’s video report was against this ethical measurement standard. Specifically, conformity to an indi
Introduction The article written by Jeffrey Miron presents a persuasive argument in favor of the legalization of marijuana. Miron successfully employs logical appeals and style to convince his readers that marijuana should be legalized. The style and appeals, which he uses, are consistent with the context of the article. Background Jeffrey Miron, the author of the analyzed article, is a director of undergraduate studies and senior lecturer at the Department of Economics at Harvard University and a member of the Cato Institute. His research interests include the economy of libertarianism, and his views are libertarian: for instance, he advocates allowing banks to go bankrupt. His article represents one of the sides in the ongoing ardent debate about the legalization of marijuana in the United States. The debate has been going on for several decades among politicians, scientists, medics, press, and other thinkers. Jeffrey Miron is a supporter of the legalization of marijuana. Despite the presence of statistical data and references to medical issues, the article is intended for a wide audience, and for a clear understanding of the point of the author, no special knowledge is required. The purpose of Miron’s work is to persuade a reader that legalizing marijuana would be a reasonable, rational decision, which would be consistent with the principles of liberty and will bring benefits, and a lot of countries have already made such a decision while the USA still keep doubting. Appeals Jeffrey Miron does not use his own credibility as an economist and a scholar to prove his point true. In fact, he does not employ economic evidence to support his point at all. The article mostly relies on logical appeals. Miron uses statistical data to demonstrate that a high number of Americans are supportive of the legalization of marijuana. Even when facts seem to contradict his point, Miron manages to explain it in the right way. For example, it is known that the medical marijuana law has failed to pass in Florida. Miron presents the fact in a different light using additional information: because of a constitutional amendment, 60% support is needed to pass the law, so the law failed; but 58% voted in favor, which means that the majority supported this decision (par. 1). Miron does not overuse pathetic appeals. He refers to the principles of liberty once and allows himself to address the emotions of his readers in the final paragraph, claimed that keeping marijuana out of law has already caused “tragic repercussions and unintended consequences,” and this “terrible policy” should be reviewed (par. 21). Style The style employed by Miron is clear, understandable, and vivid. The article is not overloaded with legal, medical, or scientific expressions and terminology, so the language is not academic. Miron avoids another extreme: the language is not completely informal, offensive or too sarcastic, unlike what often happens to articles devoted to the problems of drugs. The tone of the article is calm and neutral but seems mo