ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The analysis of one’s perception of personal leadership approach can be derived from a reflection on past leadership experiences and practices. The self-awareness perspective serves as a framework for such exploration as it refers to the conscious idea of what a person can do effectively as a leader. It is also essential for acknowledging what remains to be done and learn for developing one’s leadership skills effectively. Thus, the current exploration will focus on the assessment of personal leadership performance and the design of a leadership development plan to enhance capabilities in various spheres of operation. Leadership Assessment In the personal leadership assessment, one expects to differentiate between the strengths and vulnerabilities of an individual acting in a leadership role. This will allow to development of a further plan to address the identified weaknesses. Leaders are responsible for the creation and the realization of a vision by encouraging followers to work toward their common goal. Thus, leaders who are productive tend to have a better idea of their strong and weak sides. Self-awareness plays an essential role in this as it allows leaders to keep track of their progress and improve both professionally and personally. Through reflection and self-awareness, such positive leadership qualities as honesty, integrity, commitment, excellent communication, accountability, and empathy were discovered. Honesty is manifested through following one’s core values and beliefs as well as fundamental ethical principles. Commitment is related to the passion of an individual to his or her job regardless of the complications of a job. Communication is necessary for transferring information to followers as well as gaining respect from them for leadership work. In terms of accountability, it was determined that the rewards for success and blame for failures were shared by the leader and followers, thus encouraging teamwork. Empathy is the last positive leadership characteristic that is exhibited by establishing closer connections with followers and understanding their needs and desires. However, some weaknesses were found in such areas as delegation, decision-making, inspiration, and confidence, all of which can be improved with the help of leadership development. For instance, it was challenging to delegate important responsibilities to others due to the fear of losing control. Decision-making also appears to be complicated because most leadership decisions are very important, and considering their implications is essential. Inspiring others is a difficult job for a leader because of the need to persuade others to work toward a mutual goal. Lastly, confidence is a quality of an effective leader that can make others follow his or her commands. Although, this characteristic is challenging to establish because of the lack of experience as assertiveness. Plan Development To strengthen the existing leadership skills and improve upon the challenges,
Summary In this report by Amnesty International, the issue of the security of refugees and asylum seekers in Shagarab refugee camps, which are located in the eastern parts of Sudan, is raised. Specifically, the report indicates that such victims are kidnapped from their camps and trafficked to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt where they are held captive for ransom or human trafficking purposes (Amnesty International 3). While in captivity, the victims of this atrocious act are subjected to untold suffering to force their relatives to pay the ransom. If the demanded ransom is not paid, the victims are trafficked into various parts in the Middle East where they are forced to engage in various inhumane activities, such as prostitution and slavery. Analysis The main point raised in this article is that of the lack of security in Shagarab refugee camps, which allows human traffickers to kidnap refugees and asylum seekers and demand ransom. The main questions that arise from this reading include – what is the role of governments where refugees are hosted in providing security to these people? Should such governments be held responsible when refugees are kidnapped and exposed to inhumane conditions? Why does the international community fail to intervene under such circumstances when kidnappings occur? I agree with this article’s argument that the government of Sudan has failed, whether deliberately or due to administrative shortcomings, to protect refugees in Shagarab refugee camps. According to this report, the traffickers have taken advantage of the government’s lack of interest to address this social vice of kidnapping people for ransom or human trafficking purposes. This article challenges the conventional thinking held in many readings that once people escape their countries or regions for various reasons and become refugees in other places they are secure. On the contrary, this report shows that without the commitment of the involved authorities, refugees face even greater threats to their lives once in refugee camps as shown in this article.
Introduction Apple Inc. is one of the most prosperous electronic firms in the world. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started this firm on April 1, 1976. The two were electronic enthusiasts who were interested in developing their ideas into business ventures. They were keen on turning their skills in electronics into a large business unit. Steve Wozniak, popularly known as Woz, was an astute electrician with a keen interest in computers. It was during this time that computers were started. Steve Jobs on the other hand was a shrewd businessperson. Although Woz was more knowledgeable than Jobs in the art of designing computer hardware, Jobs was smatter in entrepreneurship. While Woz considered his skills in making computers as a hobby, while Jobs saw a huge potential of stating a computer firm that would rival the then leading computer firm, the IBM. Jobs managed to convince Woz of the importance of commercializing their skills, and together, they started this company. They later incorporated Ronald Wayne, a rich businessperson who came in to help the two financially. The trio formed a formidable force, which culminated into a company that is prosperous and very profitable. Although this company had various challenges that saw it eliminate its Chief Executive Officer, who was one of the founder members, in 1985, the firm was able to overcome these challenges using a number of strategies. Steve Jobs, having been forced out of the firm in 1985 as the chief executive, returned in 1997 with strategies that transformed this firm to what it is currently. Evans (2012, p. 67) says that Apple is one of the firms that were able to overcome the wave of.com crisis of the early twentieth century that brought down many firm, especially those that were computer based. When Steve Jobs returned as the Chief Executive of this firm, it experienced massive development, especially from 2006 to 2010. Gountas and Mavudo (2008, p. 58) notes that Apple brand was considered as the most expensive brand in the market for the first time in its history. It is also reported that in the year 2010, the total revenue of Apple edged that of its main market competitor, Microsoft, for the first time in since their inception. The future of this firm is however, not as bright as it has been in the past. In the last one year, the firm has been struggling to manage the stiff market competition. It has also been locked in prolonged legal battles with Samsung, one of its main competitors in the market. This research seeks to analyze the firm’s past performance and determine some of the future scenarios in which this firm will have to operate in the next seven years. Review of Apple Inc. Management Style from 2006-2012 Apple is one of the current success stories in a group of companies that have managed to be successful in the face of increasingly competitive environment. This is attributed to management its strategies that have helped it cope with the competition in the electronic market. According to Handlechner (2008, p. 90), in order for a firm to be successful in the current competitive market, it is important to understand some of the current market forces that
Introduction In our work place, there is need for good interrelation; it leads to good performance and employee’s satisfaction. As long as our work places are where we get daily bread, having a good interaction with that environment is important. There are expectation that the boss and the organization in general has upon us and fulfilling them and knowing them is crucial (Kellaway 2). This short paper discusses how to impress our seniors in the work place. Working hard and working smart Bosses need the work in a company completed in good time. There are targets set for individuals and for groups in the company. For the boss to be happy with the work of an employee, then the employee must satisfy his/her duties. This requires hard work and determination. Working smart is an element of hard work which means that other than normal fulfilling of duties, employees fulfill them effectively and conveniently. Observing companies code of ethics Every company has a code of ethics where expectations of employees are well stipulated. The codes act as the public image that the company has. It is as broad as the company’s mission and vision statements, company’s objectives and as narrow as integration between peers. It should be observed in all lengths. The reporting time, departure time and policies defining the operations in a business should be observed. Other than maintaining and observing ethical conduct in the business as expected by the organization, upholding personal ethics is important; these ethics include good manners and being a person of high integrity. Innovativeness and creativity Bosses are always under pressure to perform. To have an effective performance, they require some assistance in terms of mind and new methods that they can adopt to make their work easy. An employee who innovates or is creative and sells the idea that he has to his boss is more likely to be in good terms with the boss. This is the starting point of close interaction between the boss and the employees. When an employee’s gets an idea which he thinks can fit a certain organization, bosses would be more appreciating if the employee shares with them before anybody else. Creating an off-job relations Interaction with the boss should not be limited to the office one only. There should be other interactions outside the office. This mostly takes the part of collaboration in social activities which the boss is a part to, for example in case of a wedding, evening parties and team building activities. When in these activities, the interaction of boss-junior relation should break and replaced by an interaction of friendship (Infante & William, Gorden, 294
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow more and more popular in the spheres that involve processing large amounts of information within limited timelines. Marketing is among those; the key to success in it lies in constant awareness of the recent tendencies in the market as well as in consumer behavior, which calls for never-ending data analysis. The use of AI, meanwhile, helps automate the process, consequently improving the productivity of businesses, possibly by up to 40% (Ramyalg, 2022, para. 3). The improvement means not only saving time and money, but also better quality of customer service due to the possibility to invest more resources in it. Another essential benefit from using AI is the reduction of error rates by minimizing the human factor (“AI could reduce,” 2018). The algorithm does not skip anything and cannot be tired or distracted, which, along with the incomparably higher speed, makes it substantially more effective than humans are. The latter nuance actually is the reason why many assume that AI will be able to replace marketing jobs in the future. In addition, it is worth noting that the human factor involves bias and prejudice, which can distort judgement and, consequently, influence the final decision (“AI could reduce,” 2018). Considering all of the above, it seems to be relevant to guess that artificial intelligence could replace people in marketing jobs because it is substantially more reliable. In the opinion of those who support this idea, such a shift could result in substantially better understanding of consumer behavior, notably, a broader perspective on the recent tendencies and the drivers of change. In fact, however, the use of AI cannot eliminate the involvement of people in marketing activities. The main reason is that it is able exclusively to simplify and quicken the accomplishment of certain tasks, but not organize and control the performance of a business on its own. Notably, only humans can be creative thinkers and generate the ideas that set the directions for further activity, for instance, design marketing campaigns. AI algorithms, meanwhile, are “built for repetitive tasks” and can only assist in analytical routine, but not in decision making (“Will digital marketers be out,” 2021, para. 1). The latter requires not only creativity, but also critical thinking, of which machines remain incapable. Another consequence of the fact the previous paragraph mentions is the need for humans to program AI. Simply stated, someone has to write and adjust the algorithms that it will follow. This actually compromises the above ability of machines to minimize bias because algorithms may involve it in case their authors are prejudiced towards certain topics or categories of people; therefore, their usefulness is limited. Relationships with customers that should be based on trust for maximal effectiveness also are a noteworthy area. Building them requires emotional response and interpersonal connections, which skills are unavailable for AI as well. It can analyze questions and generate answers, relying on the access
Volatility has a high potential to influence companies’ returns due to a number of reasons. Stock and currency exchange markets have always played an important role in the stability of returns and investments. Hence, the lack of stability in prices, or, in other words, volatility, is likely to undermine the returns of many organizations. Volatility involves not only the movement of prices but also the range at which they swing. The major problem is that one cannot predict volatility, as well as the time when it will subdue. Volatility is the method of assessing dispersion around the security’s return. By measuring volatility with a standard deviation, it is possible to predict how steadily the stock price or currency exchange is clustered around the mean or moving average (Wagner). Most commonly, volatility has a strong adverse effect on the returns. Some experts argue that it is also possible to gain profit in conditions of high volatility. Still, one has to be extremely proficient in order to benefit during high volatility (Wagner). Hence, companies should be cautious with their investments during unstable times so as to save their returns. Within the past few weeks, volatility in stock and currency exchange markets has increased rapidly. The reason for such drastic changes is COVID-19, the pandemic that has quickly spread throughout the world. Due to growing unpredictability, the markets experience large drops (Funakoshi and Hartman). Furthermore, markets are very “oversold” and experience the same difficulties as crises in the past, such as 2008, 1987, or even 1930 ones (Tan). Therefore, it is viable to conclude that companies’ returns are contingent on the negative changes driven by volatility. Only the most experienced firms can benefit during volatility, but the risks of losses are still rather high. Works Cited Funakoshi, Minami, and Travis Hartman. “ Mad March: How the Stock Market Is Being Hit by COVID-19. ” World Economic Forum . 2020. Web. Tan, Weizhen. “ Markets Are ‘Very Oversold,’ Analyst Says Volatility will Peak Before Investors See the Bottom. ” CNBS . 2020. Web. Wagner, Hans. “ Why Volatility Is Important for Investors. ” Investopedia . 2020. Web.
The period between the years 1975 and 1985 saw Coors enjoy a very successful business. Coors had weathered the storm that affected other competitors in the beer industry. The cost of raw materials in this period accounted for half the revenue of the beer companies, input costs had skyrocketed, and there was a decline in prices. Coors irrespective of these issues made huge profits, and began drastically expanding. It was only in 1975 that Coors recorded its first drop in sales. The sales volume dropped by four percent. The company had never experienced drops in sales for two decades, although the company was running a large advertising company at that time. After the decrease in sales, the company sold less than twelve million barrels of beer. This exerted pressure on its profits that eventually affected the market valuation. During this period, the company saw stagnant demand for its products. This limited its expansion because the company had to keep the production of its beer at seven million barrels yearly. Before this period, the company was going to launch projects according to which the production would average twenty million barrels annually. This problem is interconnected with another one, namely, capacity conditions. The capacity conditions for Coors are based on small sizes. This period saw its capacity use fall to an average of eighty-four percent down from an impressive average of ninety-two percent. This was way below the industry’s utilization capacity. The company was operating below the industry performance, an exact opposite of the company’s performance in the decade that proceeded. The fall in utilization capacity was also affected by competition. Coors initially enjoyed being physically close to the market. Whereas its competitors’ location was in Wisconsin and others were in Texas, its residence in Colorado was advantageous. Coors, therefore, filled the deficit created by the lack of the capacity by its rivals. This changed during this period when the competitors increased their capacity barrels, which led to the elimination of the advantage, as such, Coors’ capacity fell. Another cause that led to the competitive deterioration of the company was the challenge brought by its poor operating practices. The company was facing frequent strikes by its workers and was involved in numerous legal suits initiated by federation unions. The accusations
The fissile properties of Plutonium-239 Plutonium-239 is an isotope of plutonium commonly used in nuclear reactors to produce nuclear weapons. The atoms of Plutonium-239 primarily disintegrate to release energy and gamma radiation when bombarded with slow-moving neutrons and are said to be a fissile isotope. Because of its fissile properties, plutonium-239 is used as a nuclear fuel in reactors to produce energy. It is also the major isotope used in the production of nuclear weapons alongside Uranium-238. It has an estimated half-life of 24,200 years; however, it undergoes fission when bombarded with neutrons to release energy, more neutrons, and radiations such as beta rays and gamma radiations. Manufacture of Plutonium-239 Plutonium-239 is one of the primary fuels of nuclear reactors. It is generated through a fusion process involving Uranium-238 isotope (U-238) present in the nuclear fuel rods. The process involves exposing the Uranium-238 isotopes to a stream of neutrons, whereby the U-238 atoms capture the neutrons and transform them to Uranium- 239 (U-239). The U-239 formed undergoes beta decay by first releasing beta radiation to form Neptunium-239 followed by second beta decay to form plutonium-239 (Benedict & Thomas, 1981, p.81). The plutonium produced, however, is not pure and requires exposure into the air in the reactors to isolate pure plutonium-239 from the rest of the materials and make it an effective fissile material for use in nuclear reactors. However, the plutonium produced this way contains some contaminants notably plutonium-240. The formation of plutonium-240 is due to the tendency of Uranium-238 to take up an extra neutron during its formation. Much of the plutonium-239 is manufactured in nuclear reactors called breeder reactors using fast-moving neutrons. They utilize less uranium-238 fuel but produce more plutonium-239 hence an efficient method of generating plutonium-239 from uran
The process of retrieving information from the inhabitants of the MENA region may become extremely complicated for the representatives of another ethnicity due to the obvious cultural differences between the representatives of the reconnaissance team and the local residents. Therefore, for the mission to be successful, the understanding of the Arab culture and mentality is required. Consequently, it is imperative that the culture manifestations of deference to authority, suspicion and risk avoidance (Wunderle 42) should be taken into account. Deference to authority: Seeing that the Arab culture involves the idea of respecting the authority of the people that they are related to as subordinates: “Arab culture favors centralization of authority. Subordinates are expected to be submission and obedient to their superiors” (Wunderle 42). Herein the necessity to use the power of authority when insisting on the information retrieval lies. It is crucial, therefore, to make sure that the negotiation process should be carried out after the representatives of the reconnaissance unit should introduce themselves properly and make sure that the local residents realize the significance of the unit’s mission. The unit, thus, will have to use the aforementioned characteristics of the Arab culture in order to promote obedience among the local denizens and make sure that the people inhabiting the MENA region will be willing to answer the questions concerning the insurgents. It will be crucial to supply the team with what may help identify them as the representatives of “authority” (Abdallah 17). Specifically, papers and IDs may be necessary for proving the unit’s power. Suspicion: Unfortunately, displaying mistrust to strangers is another characteristic feature of Arabs, according to Wunderle: “Arabs, in general, are very ‘conspiracy-theory-oriented’” (Wunderle 42). Thus, it will be imperative to establish trustworthy relationships with the local residents, convincing them that the unit is not going to pose any threat to their wellbeing whatsoever. One must bear in mind, though, that the development of a sense of connection between the reconnaissance unit and the denizens of the area may be quite time consuming. In addition, the process of gaining people’s trust is more than carrying out “competitive and collaborative” (Moran, Abramson and Moran 329) negotiations between the representatives of the two cultures successfully. Major efforts will have to be made in order to display the friendliness of the team and prove that no threat is being posed to the security of the people living in the vicinity. Consequently, the specified factor may serve as the reason for the local people to refuse from providing the required information to the reconnaissance team. Risk avoidance: The last, but definitely not the least, the unwillingness to take responsibility for something that may have major consequences is another trait of the MENA region dwellers.