Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business - Assignment Example In the model, when the expected returns do not meet the expected returns, then the investment should not be undertaken. For this reason, Capital Asset Price Model focuses on price and investment. Arbitrage Pricing Theory is a model that bases its idea that returns of an asset can be predicted using the relationship that exist between the asset and the common risk factors. This theory also defines the price where an asset that is not well priced is likely to be. The model is always viewed as a substitute to the capital asset pricing classical. For this reason, Arbitrage Pricing Theory is a model that has more elastic assumption requirement (Hodrick, Ng and Song Mueller, 76). Multi-Factor Model of Risk and Return is a financial model based on multiple factors. The multiple factors occur during its computation when explaining the market phenomenon and equilibrium’s asset prices. The factor can be used in explaining either an individual securities or a portfolio of securities. The model achieves such objective by comparing two or more factors in analyzing relationship between variables and the resulting performance of the securities. Capital Asset Price Model is a model that describes the relationship that occurs between the expected returns and the risks that are involved. On the other hand, Arbitrage Pricing Theory is a model that which is based on the idea that returns of an asset can be predicted using the relationship that exist between the asset and the common risk factors. The multi-factor model is based on multiple factors during its computation when explaining market phenomenon and equilibrium asset prices. This is an international bond that is issued in a foreign country whose value is stated in their respective currency. Eurobonds are issued by international organization and categories according to the currency in

The Teach for America helps the education reform Essay

The Teach for America helps the education reform - Essay Example ugh the TFA wants to make the best reforms for the American educational system, critics argue that the short duration training is not enough for the corps members. This has brought forth the debate as to whether or not the TFA is indeed making a positive change in the society or if it is making matters worse by giving students inexperienced teachers to guide them. Teach For America (TFA) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1989 by Wendy Kopp. The organization operates on the motto: â€Å"One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education† and is driven by its mission: â€Å"To eliminate educational inequality by enlisting high-achieving recent college graduates and professionals to teach for two years in low-income communities throughout the United States.† In its first year of operation, TFA recruited and placed 500 teachers in various schools across the nation. The number has risen by over 50% over the decades. As suggested in its mission; the TFA recruits college graduates and professionals to teach in urban and rural communities throughout the US for two consecutive years. The recruits are known as corps members, and they do not have to be certified teachers (Tulenko 20). The corps members in TFA are cheaper so that they will give pressure to the tenure teachers to improve teaching performances.  Most of the TFA corps members are fresh college graduates who are eager to make a change in the society. Majority of them are hoping that they will be in a position to help the underprivileged students form low income families to get better grades. Many of them are liable to hearsay about the training program offered by the TFA and how it is aimed at making positive educational reforms. They are also aware of the fact that they will be placed in jobs at various schools across their country. Unaware of the problems that they will encounter due to poor training, they enroll for the program. Once they have

Importance of Human Resource Development (HRD)

Importance of Human Resource Development (HRD) INTRODUCTION It is often debated and generally accepted that human resource development (HRD) activities are important in an organisation. But the question lies within to what extent and how much does it contribute. The reason may lie in the facts that it is not easy to show the direct link between the two activities and that it is both difficult to define HRD precisely and its effect may not be experienced in the short run (Torrington et al., 2005, p.357). The purpose of this paper is highlight on the question on the extent to which HRD contributes to the performance of an organisation. ORGANISATIONS AND HRD Swanson and Arnold (1996) asserted that HRD is a sub-system that operated in the main system; the organisation. In order for the organisation to be successful the objectives and goals of the subsystems must be aligned towards achieving the set goals of the main system. For example, the primary objective of the organisation would be to maximise return on shareholder investment. We may find that the objectives of training and development would be a level removed down, that is to maximise the capabilities of the employees, induce innovation, and produce high quality products and service. They may be different but a closer look at each of these objectives reveals that they serve a singular purpose; maximise the return (Swanson Arnold, 1996, p.15). HRD and Motivation Motivation is certainly the key for the people to keep returning to the job. However it must not be viewed through a single window which shows you that rewards and bonuses makes people motivated. In fact rewards and bonuses and all other financial and intrinsic benefits are classified as hygiene factors. These factors acts as motivators up to a certain level, beyond that they become satisfiers. Extrinsic factors such as the pure feeling of achievement, recognition, job enrichment, job enlargement and training and development are motivating factors. Achievement, job enrichment, job enlargement and training and development are essential elements of HRD and as we can see these elements dominate the motivating factors (Cohen, 2008). Training and development According to Mathis and Jackson (1999), Training is a process whereby people acquire capabilities to aid in the achievement of organisational goals. Simply put training facilitates individuals with the knowledge and skills that are required to perform the present job. It differs from development where, development has a broader impact in providing new skills that is required to perform both present and future jobs (Mathis Jackson, 1999). For example Tesco states that when they have well trained employees on the shop flow it benefits Tescos business image as customers are more confident in the competence and knowledge of staff they deal with. Tesco offers a wide range of training and development opportunities both on the job and off the job to its employees. Tesco takes both organisational objectives and individuals training objectives in account. Tesco believes that efficient and effective training and development programs, helps them to create the flexible and committed employees, delivering the highest standard of service, which is crucially required for their growth and success (TheTimes100, 2009). Organisational Learning CIPD defines learning as an environment where individuals learn to learn and possess the capabilities that enable them to do so to help their employers to build and retain competitive advantage (CIPD, 2008). According to CIPD a firm can achieve competitive advantage when individuals actively seek to acquire the knowledge and skills that promote the organisations objectives. In other words organisations must transform into learning environments, where continuous learning is experienced, thus transforming into a Learning Organisation. Learning organisation thrives for continuous improvement of its capacities in order to make the organisation ready to face the future. For example learning and development process at Corus; a Tata Steel company and Europes second largest steel producer with annual revenues of around  £12 billion, employing around 40,000 people worldwide, is moderated by structuring the learning process within their organisation through setting up a Corus Academy. The Corus Academy was based on sharing best practices and maximizing common approaches. Its main objective focus on Constant Improvement was achieved through the sharing of ideas across the entire company, where both individual and organisational learning occurred simultaneously becoming a learning organisation itself. (TheTimes100, 2009). Other Employee Development Approaches Development is the growth or realization of a persons ability and potential through the provision of learning and training experiences (Armstrong, 2006). Different Organisations adopts different activities in order to enhance their learning capabilities. According to Armstrong (2006), a balanced approach is required, making use of the various forms of learning and development to produce a coherent strategy that contains the plans for creating and maintaining a learning climate and developing and implementing complementary and mutually supportive learning activities both formal and informal. Coaching and Mentoring Coaching and mentoring are informal development activities that organisations practice to facilitate learning. Coaching is an approach based on a close relationship between the individual and one other person, usually their immediate manager, who is much experienced (Torrington et al., 2005, p.394). According to Kram (1983) mentoring benefits from two aspects; the career aspects that primarily enhance career advancement and the psychosocial aspects which enhance a sense of competence (Torrington et al., 2005, p.394). The continuously analysis and constructive criticism and guidance received from the coaches and mentors directly contributed to positive performance. Organisation also benefits, saving a great deal of cost using their own senior experienced staff to develop the junior staff. The Annual CIPD Survey Report 2009 on learning and development practices showed that in-house development programmes and coaching by line managers continue to be rated the most effective learning and development practices in UK (CIPD, 2009). This is perhaps why firms such as Baker Tilly, the seventh largest accountancy practice firm in the UK with a turnover in excess of  £200 million a year and 2,500 staff and its international network being the eighth largest accountancy grouping in the world, strategizes its people development activities to focus on more informal programs such as coaching and mentoring. The firm believes that formal training gives the building blocks for development and learning. However coaching and mentoring and other types of informal development schemes helps people understand for themselves what it is they can do to enhance their ability to meet their objectives all stages, and help them eliminate barriers for performance (CIPD, 2009). Talent management Career Development Talent management is often described as a future-focused activity, encompassing the identification, development, engagement and deployment of talent, with organisations using it to develop their workforce to meet the strategic needs of the organisation (CIPD, 2008). Swanson and Holton (2009) argue that career development theories that describe adult career development are important contributors to HRD practice because they describe adult progression through work roles. Charles Handy stress that employees today must look out for themselves to build their own career. He also notes that education will becomes an investment and varied experience will becomes an asset (Stone, 1998), that will eventually give advantage to employee in the form of employability. Although the traditional view on career development is no longer viable, its integration with talent management creates an opportunity for organisations to develop succession plans. Creating and managing talent and career development processes enables companies to nurture talent for the challenges of the future as well as the present (Eigenhuis Dijk, 2008). For example, when Jack Welch retired in 2001 from General Electric, after having served as the CEO and chair of GE since 1981, he was succeeded by Jeffrey Immelt. Immelt was enlisted for the post as early as 1994 including some 24 candidates to replace Jack Welch. GE identified the next best candidate who would replace Jack Welch on his retirement way ahead. Such capabilities of succession planning are rear unless organisations have competent stars who share the same set of objectives as the organisation. This saves the organisations from going into a cultural and psychological shock, yielding costs that are enormous. Having outs ide top managers to replace comes with disruption all across the board (Eigenhuis Dijk, 2008) creating a turmoil in the management. Net Geners: Learning Gets Social Tapscott in his book Grown Up Digital refers to the generation of individuals born between 1977 and 1997 as Net Gens. Tapscott argument was that whatever that applied to the generation before them in terms of management, training, learning and development would not apply to the Net Gens. For Net Gens technology is like the air we breathe. They are never scarce of information. For them social networking and information sharing sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube are both their mentor and coaches asserts Tapscott. He implies that organisations must change their ways of training and development to adopt this wave of informal learning into their mainstream learning programs. Organisations must encourage Net Gens to develop in their own chosen style; perhaps this will be the only way to capture their talent and capacity. These platforms give an enormous advantage with regard to developing the Net Gens and benefiting from their capabilities. Organisations can in other words make work and learn a fun experience for the fun loving Net Gens (Bingham, 2009). Knowledge management Perhaps the most important aspect of HRD is to retain the knowledge invested over the time on individuals. Employment has become more mobile, where individuals change their jobs in pursue of building their career. In other words, as an individual leaves an organisation the knowledge also leaves with him. Finding ways to retain this knowledge in a database or in retrievable form that is accessible by others in the organisation turns information into useful knowledge crucial to improve process and increase profits (Bogardus, 2004). For example Coruss information sharing network is backed up by databases that are shared by firms all over the world. A problem in a firm operating in Canada can get the solution and best practices that was applied for the similar problem in a firm operating in another country. Conclusion The bottom line is that HRD is directly related with improving and enhancing the performance of the employees, which is regarded by many organisations as the only competitive advantage that can be sustained. This competitive edge is achieved by organisations that discover the knowledge, skills and ability of their work force and build them to achieve unique differentiation. Empirical studies on business effectiveness and sustainability from all over the world suggests that, people are the key to the success of the business. For example, a study conducted to find the employee engagement level in pan-European employees showed that the human resource activities as a whole facilitated a 5 percent increase in engagement levels each year. The study also showed that human resource interventions aligned with customer satisfaction correlated by 72 percent and financial performance correlated by 68 percent (Ward, 2008).

Grapes Of Wrath :: essays research papers

Grapes of Wrath Explain how the behavior of the Joads shows Steinbeck’s view of the responsibility of the individual to society as a whole. Chapter 14 made an interesting point. At one point in the chapter it was stated that a farmer lost his farm. As this man’s family picks up their belongings and heads west they meet up with another family dealing with a similar situation. Now these two families share a common bond. A brotherhood is forming. This is the catalyst. No longer is it one farmer saying he lost his land but two farmers united saying they lost their land. Much the same transformation happens to the Joad family – especially to the characters of Ma, Young Tom, and Rose of Sharon. At the onset of the novel we see the Joad family struggling just to keep their immediate family together. They are focused on just themselves. By the end of this wonderful book we see the Joad family branching out in many different ways to embrace all of mankind as one big family. Ma Joad’s main concern at the beginning of the story is her family. She wants to keep the unit together and works diligently to achieve this goal. However, one by one, family members leave the group for various reasons leading to the slow but sure disintegration of the Joad clan. The first to go is Noah; then Grandpa and Grandma die;Connie walks off and leaves Rose of Sharon; Young Tom leaves because he has gotten into trouble again; and Al becomes engaged and decides to go with his fiancee’s family. Ma deals with each loss as best she can. As the story progresses, we find Ma Joad becoming more and more concerned with people outside the family unit. She feels the need to share whatever meager food and belongings her family has with other families enduring hardships. She saw the needs of her own family at the beginning of the story and by the end of the novel, she sees the needs of her fellow man. Young Tom appears to be self-centered when he if first introduced. He has just left prison after serving four years for murder. Tom want to enjoy life to the fullest and to be with his family. He is very disturbed to find the family home deserted and almost destroyed. He by this time has reacquainted himself with Jim Casey, an ex-preacher. The more Tom listens to Jim and his views on life, the soul of man, and the fellowship of mankind, the less he focuses on himself and his needs. He then begins to focus on the plight and abuse of the homeless farmers.

Romulus My Father Belonging Essay

What particular insight into an understanding of belonging have you gained from Raimond Gaita’s representation of his father’s life in Romulus my Father in the early chapters of the memoir, and how his choice of language, style, voice and the use of the memoir influenced your response to his story so far In the early chapters of the memoir Gaita gives us images and ideas that he himself acquired from his father, for example ‘Though the landscape is one of rare beauty, to the English or European eye it seems desolate and even after 14 years my facer could not become reconciled to it’ is a quote said early on in the book describing Romulus’ disdain for the Australian landscape which Raimond originally also shared until his enlightenment. Romulus does not feel like he can belong in Australia early in the chapter because he still has the images of the lush, green European landscape in his mind and this leads to a sense of not belonging because he hungers for his homeland. The idea that the landscape shapes your identity and sense of belonging is something that Gaita reinforces. Another insight into belonging that Raimond tries to convey is that people gravitate to those who share similar values/language to them. Romulus is a migrant and feels lost in this country but he then finds other Romanian people and bonds with them.The house at frogmore which was isolated helped shape Gaita’s sense of belonging because he felt safe and free there, this is another example of the place where you grew up shaping your sense of belonging. Time and time again Gaita reinforces the idea that his father was a hero and someone who should be admired. This devotion and love for his father is seen throughout the memoir and we are told anecdotes explaining how Romulus made the hard decisions and tried to raise his son as a good person even going so far to beat him to reinforce these ideals such as lying is bad, respect your parents and not to steal . The repetition of this admiration is used to show the bond between a father and his child.The depression motif gives another insight into how hard it is to acquire a sense of belonging. Many characters in the memoir have depression and this is to emphasis the feeling of loneliness, desolation and non-belonging because of the migrant experience and even Romulus himself goes through states of madness during his life because of the migrant experience. Acceptance by all people is something that people must have to belong or else the sadness/loneliness may drive them to madness also. Christina is an example of this because she has no sense of belonging, travels a lot and has a lot of lovers. Gaita never says she is a bad mother even because of these things, he only reminds us she that she has problems and it is not her fault.Her attempted suicide story is used to make us feel sorry for her and pity because she has never been able to connect with anything, ‘alone, small, frailâ₠¬ ¦forsaken†, this accumulation of adjectives gives us a more descriptive picture of what was happening and how she felt. The narrative is in first person narrative and gives us a firsthand experience in what had happened. The memoir seems more real to us because it is real and therefore we can relate to it better and use it to better our lives. Though his language is more matter of fact at the beginning of the memoir, his eventual ascendance changes his language style so much that is clear that is a wiser and smarter Raimond speaking now. This higher intelligence lets us communicate with him better and so we can fully grasp what he is trying to tell us about belonging and how it is to get that true sense of belonging.

Qrb/501 – Week 3 – Forecasting with Indices

Week 3 – Forecasting with Indices QRB/501 Week 3 – Forecasting with Indices The individual assignment for this week tasked the students to select one organization from either our week two assignment or the University material. This paper will show the data in an index using the time series data to forecast inventory for the next year. The Winter Historical Inventory Data from the (University of Phoenix, 2010) shows four years of actual demand of inventory data for the seasonal Winter Highs. Each year is divided into 12 month increments.Methods This breakdown of data allows for quantitative analysis. This approach is objective in nature compared to qualitative analysis which is developed using the judgment of experts. Results The data was plotted and graphed into a chart to show the trend. Based on the chart the index has shown an increase from year to year during December but the other winter months do not show a clear trend. University of Phoenix Material Winter Histor ical Inventory Data | Typical Seasonal Demand for Winter Highs| | | | | | | | | Actual Demands (in units)| | | | | | | | | Month| Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Year 4| Forecast| 1| 55,200| 39,800| 32,180| 62,300| 47,370| 2| 57,350| 64,100| 38,600| 66,500| 56,638| 3| 15,400| 47,600| 25,020| 31,400| 29,855| 4| 27,700| 43,050| 51,300| 36,500| 39,638| 5| 21,400| 39,300| 31,790| 16,800| 27,323| 6| 17,100| 10,300| 31,100| 18,900| 19,350| 7| 18,000| 45,100| 59,800| 35,500| 39,600| 8| 19,800| 46,530| 30,740| 51,250| 37,080| 9| 15,700| 22,100| 47,800| 34,400| 30,000| 10| 53,600| 41,350| 73,890| 68,000| 59,210| 1| 83,200| 46,000| 60,200| 68,100| 64,375| 12| 72,900| 41,800| 55,200| 61,100| 57,750| Avg. | 38,113| 40,586| 44,802| 45,896| 42,349| Conclusion This inventory provides good information to suggest that forecasting December will show an increase but the other winter months are not clear. My recommendation would be to would be to increase the inventory for December but hold the inventory for t he other two winter months at an average level. This would allow for the businesses minimal risk of inventory shortage and overage based on the data.