Leadership and Motivating the Employees

Introduction A project is a temporary endeavor that is undertaken to produce a product or provide a service. Project management is an analysis that seeks to define how a particular project executes its operations, monitors the already executed operations, and how the executed operations are controlled (Kerzner 2010:14).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Leadership and Motivating the Employees specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Any project has some requirements that are necessary for the successful completion of the project tasks; these requirements are commonly referred to as resources. Project resources are not standard since individual projects will call for different capital resources, human resource, scope, technological skills, and target market, among other factors. To accomplish the mission and vision a given project, the project must take into account the analysis of the scope, the financial requirem ent, as well as the short, middle, and long-term goals of the project. Most importantly, project management cannot thrive without adapting to leadership style that is congruent with the needs of the employees. The subsystems of the firm have to adjust to an effective organizational structure in order to facilitate success of the project. The effective integration of values can be achieved by leadership development, as this helps to highlight the changes that are taking place within a particular market segment. This study will be guided by one key question: is the issue of leadership an extremely complicated task while motivating the employees working in projects? Background Of The Study JovanovicÃŒ  PetrovicÃŒ  (2000) affirm that proper dissemination of project management plan should be provided to the employees in a manner that outlines vigilant steps, which point out the corresponding responsibilities, the person responsible for the task, the timeline for performing the task, a nd the expected output (Kerzner 2010: 23). However, the management of projects highly depends on the flow view theory, which seeks to eliminate the unforeseen risks (Hanisch et al. 2011). Additionally, the theory of value generation view is used in project management to facilitate an assessment of the clients prior to provision of goods and/or services. This theory substantiates that the needs of the clients should be viewed differently from the work process.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, the project management should define the plan, the cost, the activities, the project’s human and capital resources planning, and judgment of duration of time for the completion of the projects (Rad 2002: 36). An effective budgeting of the project’s cost facilitates this, while an effective execution should define time and quality specification, as they are cri tical in ascertaining a project’s sustainability. Controlling, on the other hand, should be designed in such a way that it is able to use performance reporting that executes corrections or overall change control that recommends changes at the planning procedure (Kerzner 2010:94). But while all the above are valid procedures and theories that aim at ensuring that projects achieve their main objectives, the strategy of using the resources and time constrains remains unconvincing, given that motivation plays a critical role in the performance of a project. Some of the key motivators include organizational hierarchies, relationship with the boss, working conditions, relationship with the peers, and recognition in the workplace (Miner 2007:158). However, these theories often seem challenging in the process of their implementation, making some organizational cultures disapprove their authenticity in the project management. This stems from the fact that different cultures have diffe rent opinions regarding the use of organizational theories in the projects. The United States, for case in point, believes that the use of hierarchy tends to break a project’s task into smaller achievable and manageable task and find vertical leadership more appropriate, while the Asian culture, which believes in authority ranking, finds the vertical form of leadership more appropriate(Miner 2007:169). Thus, the Western culture manages their projects by encouraging employees’ participation through brainstorming sessions as opposed to the some of the Asian cultures. These two perceptions need to be substantiated in order to come up with an effective management of projects.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Leadership and Motivating the Employees specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More But according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, organizations as well as people’s needs change overtime, and therefore, employee motivation is a continuous practice rather than a task (Miner 2007:177). Thus, a good motivation theory for projects should involve finding new ways of motivating their employees. It is imperative to note that a number of factors associated with the leadership/ managerial practice may lead to higher than necessary rates of departure prior to ending the project’s contracts. Key among them include restricted motivation, insufficient socialization, cases where employees feel discriminated, exempted from making decisions that regard them, insufficient levels of commitment, and lesser acceptance (Miner 2007:142). There are some empirical studies reporting on the experiences of leaders taking the role of motivation to explain the complexities of projects with regard to productivity (Miner 2007:69). Some of the studies also link the motivation role mostly to management outcomes. These studies contribute to a research gap on the importance of the managersâ₠¬â„¢ role in improving project management processes and outcomes based on data from a qualitative perspective. The results enhance leadership knowledge by providing another perspective of the manager’s role with implications on the acceptability and viability of employees’ participation. Methodology Purpose of Study The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigative whether the issue of motivating employees is an extremely complicated task in project management. Using a qualitative study allows a thorough investigation of the research problem because it collects data on the accounts and descriptions of employers as well as employees working in a construction project (Creswell 2003:183). The research design involves causal investigation of the research problem by using a wide range of resources (Yin, 2006). Thus, the causal relationship investigated involves linking leadership and motivation with the productivity of a construction project. The study answers one k ey question: is the issue of motivating employees an extremely complicated task in project management? This question draws insight into the challenges surrounding the leadership role as they seek to motivate employees working in projects.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Design of the Study The study employs the qualitative method. This method applies to studies that require in-depth investigation of accounts and descriptions of the research problem studied (Creswell 2003:194). This included company’s structure, the work processes involved, and the relationships between the employees, as well as the relationship between the employees and the managers. This is the appropriate method because it is able to investigate how important motivation is in improving project management process and outcomes based on qualitative data. While the study also involves variables, the intention is to determine the importance of the role of leadership to the employees in the construction project, and not to measure the relationship of variables. The research design involves an in-depth inquiry into a single finding by using multiple data sources to provide understanding of the multiple factors attributed to the research problem (Yin 2006). This supports a thoroug h investigation of the research problem, as it uses a wide range of data collection methods, including document analysis, interviews, archival research, and observation. The selection of the sources was carried out in a manner that interconnects all the theories of leadership and management, and therefore facilitated an effective analysis that created room for understanding how they motivate the employees differently. The primary data, on the other hand, was obtained from the employees working in a construction project Data Collection The data collection method for the secondary sources was carried out by determining the scope of the research and then defining the extent to which management and leadership theories influence employees working in projects. This was followed by determining the evidence that demonstrates the challenges facing the leadership theories and frameworks while motivating the employees towards achieving the goals of the projects. Finally, the researcher organiz ed the ideas collected from the secondary sources, including textbooks as well as from the journals articles. These ideas worked as the background for the questionnaire provided in the case study. Results of the Study The primary data revealed that the construction project has already adopted modern communication technology in an effort to facilitate effective communication between the employees, as well as between the employees and the clients, due to tight working schedule and a high turnover of customers. This strategy, however, is faced with challenges due to poor company structure and work processes such as lack of prioritizing project’s information due to huge number of emails, presence of scattered data due to saving data in diverse formats, low levels of email security , ambiguity due to unclear terms used for products’ descriptions, and work overlap between the workers. The findings obtained from the qualitative design are consistent with the Fiedler’s contingency model as they portray that employees working in projects would only be motivated if the leaders put much emphasis on organizational culture that seeks to achieve organizational goals through close human relations (Daft Marcic 2010: 196). This stems from the fact that the model provides a link in the organizational structure as the go-between of management and employees. More so, the model helps the employees increase a sense of accountability for their tasks since they have already developed a sense of confidence with their leader. This model is imperative since it introduces the employees to a thorough analysis that facilitates definition of how a particular project executes its operations, monitors the already executed operations, and defines how these operations are controlled through teamwork amongst the employees (Daft Marcic 2010: 197). More so, using this model helps the leaders express confidence on the subordinates’ abilities to learn how to share great information with their leaders. And in this regard, the leader advices the subordinates to learn how to focus on results by providing them with tips on how best they can acquire expected results based on teamwork. This claim is supported by Herzberg’s theory of motivation, which states that a good relationship between workers, as well as between the workers and the managers, serves as a key motivator towards the employees (Miner 2007: 183). However, according to Kerzner (2010: 95), adopting a theory that is relationship oriented does not motivate task-oriented workers, simply because relationship oriented models are vulnerable to teamwork discrepancies. This translates that one or two members of a team will not work, and hence, others will be working for such an individual(s). Additionally, adopting relationship-oriented leadership does not help because at the end of the day, evaluation of the project’s employees goes back to an individual level as opposed to a teamwo rk level. Therefore, each individual has to undergo self-reflection to establish his/her contribution towards the success of the project. Kerzner (2010: 98) affirms that employees working in projects are always looking for individual recognition and that employees who do not attest to this fact are ordinary performers who are fond of preferring teamwork because they do not want the public to know that they do not have many talents at an individual level. This idea, therefore, complicates the role of leadership in motivating the employees working in a project. Additionally, the study used the Hezberg’s theory to highlight how leaders can motivate employees working in projects by exploring the extent to which employees can be motivated by job enrichment as well as job rotation. And while the primary sources revealed that a project could only acquire a good leader/ employee relationship when the leader is charismatic as opposed to autocratic, Miner (2007: 210) affirms that motiv ating employees depends entirely on the character of the employees. In this regard, the employees from group X necessitate carrot and stick motivation, while employees from group Y necessitate recognition and job enrichments as the prime motivators. All these show that using leadership theories to motivate employees is an extremely complicated task in project management. Limitations of the Study Even though the research attempted to employ casual investigation of the problem by using a user-friendly approach that would encouraged the participants to be honest with each other, the research study was still imperfect because some respondents proved to be unresponsive. This was more evident when it came to discussing the Adam’s equity model, perhaps due to the sensitivity of this area because some responses could be termed at discrimination following unfair judgments of other people’s inabilities. Conclusion/ Recommendations For Future Leadership Strategies For A Project F rom the finding presented in this paper, it is clear that the use of leadership theories to motivate employees is an extremely complicated task in project management. However, despite the challenges faced with leadership in an effort to motivate the employees working in projects, effective leadership calls for a close cooperation between the employees and the leaders/ managers of the organization. It is from this cooperation that the leaders demonstrate full responsibility of assessing the key motivators of the employees. Thus, evaluating the future strategy of leadership potential in the project should bring rise to a number of questions: what are the theories of leadership/management that the workers consider as motivators? What do employees anticipate as some of the disadvantages that would result from such theories? And most importantly, what do employees anticipate as some of the advantages that would result from such theories and frameworks. The answers to these questions shou ld be achieved through a brainstorming session comprising of employees who have dissimilar theoretical backgrounds relative to motivation. This emanates from the fact that a project management is greatly enhanced by leaders who adopt a leadership style of sharing their personal knowledge and opinions with all their employees (Mears 2009:57). Through sharing of views, the management should realize that one of the main challenges experienced by a project while coming up with a new line of business is inadequate training that would ensure the employees take the upcoming jobs. However, this challenge can be countered by adopting a talent development approach, which takes into account that projects should always assess the talents of its employees in order to outline the level of competence along the new line of operation. Therefore, the management should encourage the employees to develop their skills before the actual shift occurs, as this helps to eradicate fear and resistance to the proposed vision of the project. This can be achieved through a performance management program, which should be characterized by the following feature: standardization, validity and conciseness, and due process. In standardization, the ideal performance management system requires that the aspects of performance measured are uniform and there is a constant level of strictness in its operations. (Kerzner 2010: 114). This is meant to ensure that employees do not loose faith in their managers and the system that might result from variations, such as unreasonable teamwork. According to Kerzner (2010:123), validity and conciseness translates that evaluation criterion of every employee is done only on issues that regard their line of work, as this would serve to motivate the workers who view work itself as the key motivator. Due process, on the other hand, should endeavour to motivate employees who are lowly rated by giving them set guidelines that dictate the appraisal of good performers w ith high salary increases and bonuses should they improve their performance. List Of References Creswell, J. W. 2003. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage. Daft, R., Marcic, D. 2010. Understanding Management. Independence, KY, Cengage Learning. Hanisch, B., Wald, A., Project Management Institute. 2011. A project management research framework integrating multiple theoretical perspectives and influencing factors. Project Management Journal 42(3). JovanovicÃŒ , P., PetrovicÃŒ , D. 2000. Project management and multiproject management in a company. Senet Project Management Review (1)1, 34-43. Kerzner, H. 2010. Project management best practices: Achieving global excellence. Hoboken, N.J., John Wiley Sons. Mears, M. 2009. Leadership elements: A guide to building trust. New York, iUniverse. Miner, J. 2007. Organizational Behavior: From theory to practice, Volume 4. Armonk, NY, M.E Sharpe Publishers. Rad, P. 2002. P roject estimating and cost management. Management Concepts, Vienna, Va. Yin, R. K. 2006. Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, Calif, Sage. This research paper on Leadership and Motivating the Employees was written and submitted by user Jesse Delaney to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Congo essays

Congo essays The book Congo is about a group of people who go to the African Congo to return a gorilla to her homeland and to find type IIb blue diamonds. On their journey they discover the lost city of Zinj and a new species of killer gorillas, which they must overcome to survive. The story takes place in June of 1979. The three main characters are: Dr. Karen Ross, supervisor of Earth Resources Technology Services (ERTS), Dr. Peter Elliot, a primatologist who trained a gorilla named Amy to speak by the use of sign language, and Charles Munro, the guide who leads the expedition through the Congo. ERTS has already sent an expedition of eight into the Congo to retrieve type IIb blue diamonds. They are contacting them back at the base in Houston. The camera in the expeditions camp turns on revealing a destroyed campsite: torn tents, supplies and clothing scattered everywhere, and dead bodies. As the camera moves around scanning the area, a big gray object runs by the camera and destroys it. Every at ERTS is in shock. They replay the footage and freeze it on the big gray object. It looks like a gray gorilla, but gorillas dont kill people. Karen Ross decides to take another expedition into the Congo to get the blue diamonds. Because of the bewilderment over this incident she contacts Dr. Elliot to find out what this gorilla is. She tells him that theyre going to the Congo and he wants to come and bring Amy, his gorilla. Amy has been experiencing bad dreams because of her past which is unknown to Dr. Ross. She begins finger painting, which helps her sleep at ease because tries to banish the dreams onto paper. Elliot realizes she wants to go to the jungle because all her paintings are of it. The expedition leaves quickly because there is a competing company that is also making its way to the Congo to get the blue diamonds, which are an amazing source of energy. The expedition is set to meet Charles Munro; the best guide there is, t ...

A company shall be deemed to be a subsidiary of another

A company shall be deemed to be a subsidiary of another Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work produced by our Law Essay Writing Service . You can view samples of our professional work here . A company shall be deemed to be a subsidiary of another According to section 4 of the Companies Act, a company shall be deemed to be a subsidiary of another, if and only if: (a) that other controls the compositions of its Board of directors; or (b) that other holds more than half in nominal value of its equity share capital(where a company had preference share holders, before commencement of the Companies Act,1956, enjoying voting rights with that of equity shareholder, for the purpose of control, holding company should enjoy more than half of the total voting power)   [ 1 ]   ; or (c) the first-mentioned company is a subsidiary of any company which is that other’s subsidiary. For example, where company B is a subsidiary of company A and company C is a subsidiary of company B then company C shall be the subsidiary of company A. if company D is a subsidiary of company C, then company D shall also be a subsidiary of company B and consequently also of company A.   [ 2 ]    In the case of M.Velayudhan v. Registrar of Companies   [ 3 ]   the position regarding holding-subsidiary relationship was extensively laid down : â€Å"Sec. 4 envisages the existence of subsidiary companies in different situations. It may be that by acquiring sufficient share capital of a company, sufficient control may be obtained over the company to enable control in the composition of BOD. But, it is also possible to obtain such control in regard to the composition of the BOD without making such an in equity capital of the company. Such control may be by reason of an agreement such as where one company may agree to advance funds to another company and in return may, under the term of an agreement, gain control over the right to appoint all or a majority of BOD. The first of the cases envisaged in section 4 is the case where a control is obtained by a company in the matter of composition of the BOD of another company. That would be sufficient to constitute the former as holding company and the other as subsidiary. The second type of cases is where more than half of the nominal value of the equity share capital is held by another company. By virtue of such holding that other company becomes a holding company and the one whose share are so held becomes a subsidiary company. The third case envisaged is where The Use Of Subsidiary Corporations The control of subsidiaries may be accomplished through the creation of a separate corporation to handle a distinct phase of the company’s business, or through the purchase of interests in companies previously existing, the main corporation being in this case the holding company. The use of subsidiary corporations is becoming more and more extensive. A certain manufacturing corporation, for instance, has one operating company, one selling company, one purchasing company, one company owning a short railroad, one real estate company to buy land and erect buildings, and another company to operate these build ings. The United Cigar Stores Company also has a distinct corporation for the handling of its real estate operations.

Analysing the Impact of Capital Structure on the Performance of UK Dissertation

Analysing the Impact of Capital Structure on the Performance of UK Financial Institutions - Dissertation Example The Miller-Modigliani Theory 15 2.4.3. Pecking Order Theory 16 2.4.4. The Agency Cost Theory 18 2.5. Potential Determinants of Capital Structure 19 2.6. Statement of the Problem 26 Chapter 3: Data and Methods 28 3.1. Research Methodology 28 3.2. Research Purpose and Research Approach 29 3.3. Qualitative Research 29 3.4. Quantitative Research 30 3.5. Primary Research 30 3.6. Secondary Research 31 Chapter 4: Analysis and Results 34 4.1. Overview 34 4.2. Selection of Dependent Variables and Independent Variables 35 4.3. Data Analysis Techniques 36 4.4. Fieldwork and Data Collection 37 4.5. Hypotheses Formulation and Variable Selection 38 4.6. Data Sources and Data Presentation 44 Chapter 5: Discussion and Interpretation of Findings 50 5.1. Data Analysis and Discussion 50 5.2. Regression Results 51 Table 5.2.1 - The Regression Analysis of RBS 53 Table 5.2.2 - The Regression Analysis of Standard Chartered Plc 54 Table 5.2.3 - The Regression Analysis of Lloyds Group Plc 55 Table 5.2.4 - Th e Regression Analysis of Barclays Plc 56 5.3. Robustness of Statistical Data 58 5.4. Interpretation of Findings 60 Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion 63 6.1. Summary 63 6.2. Theoretical Implications 65 6.3. Practical Implications 65 6.4. Limitations 67 6.5. Directions for Future Research 67 6.6. Reflections 68 References 71 Bibliography 77 Appendices 80 Table 1 – Regression Model of Royal Bank of Scotland 80 Table 2 – Regression Model of Standard Chartered Plc 84 Table 3 – Regression Model of Barclays Plc 89 Table 4 – Regression Model of HSBC 93 Table 5 – Regression Model of Lloyds 97 Chapter 1: Introduction The functions of financial management of a firm deal with the management of the sources from which funds are received and the effective utilization of such funds. Debt holders and equity holders are the suppliers of finance, and they supply finance for raising capital for assets of the company. So they have the right to participate in cash fl ows generated from the investment of the raised capital. The ratio of share of profits generated is determined by the debt equity ratio. As debt holders are the first to be paid, they become important to the firm if the firm wants to maximize the returns of the equity holders. As cost is also an important component of financing, so on a way to examine the net benefit from an investment, the cost incurred on such investment is also to be accounted. The objective of the study is to analyse the impact of capital structure on the performance of financial institution of United Kingdom. In order to achieve the objective, the study covers literature review and theoretical framework of the topic. Research design has been done with the intention of selecting appropriate methodology and data collection analysis. Moreover, the data will also help to get the findings of the research. After interpreting the research findings, the study finally ends with conclusion, practical implication of the r esearch and directions for future research. 1.1. Background of the Study The mix of financial liabilities of a firm is referred to as its leverage (i.e. a mix of financial instruments that tends to increase the potential of return of investment undertaking the risk associated with it). Although financial capital is uncertain, it is still considered to be the critical resource by all firms, and suppliers of finance make this investment so as to have control over the firm. In a firm debt holders and equity holders are the two types of investors who invest in equity and debt

International comparisons of stock market volatility Essay

International comparisons of stock market volatility - Essay Example Even researchers and practitioners have made modeling of stock volatility a subject of empirical and theoretical study. Historically, stock market volatility is approximately 20% per annum and 5.8% per month even though periods of high and low volatilities are experienced. During the financial crisis, there was a 50 percent drop in stock prices. The effects of the crisis are still being felt due to increased public and private debt, levels of unemployment and global capitalism. The governments are doing their best to prevent and contain the situation buy formulating new policies and reforming major sectors. Volatility measures the degree of variability between stock prices. In other words, it determines the degree of deviation between the current price of an asset and the average past price. To understand volatility, it is important to take a look at the nature and trends of global markets and the correlation of the stock market returns. For many investors, volatility is a risk, thus , it is to be taken into consideration in analyzing their portfolios. Some of the factors that lead to volatility include changes in technology, new financial instruments such as derivatives and the increased integration of global markets. Volatility is measurable, and the commonly used measure is Chicago Board Options Exchange Index (CBOE) of implied (VIX) volatility. In this paper, we will use a sample of 19 emerging markets economies (EMEs) and developed market in Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Asia as a basis of comparison on the stock market’s volatility. Most of the previous research papers focused on regional and local stock markets but due to the national integration that is linking markets globally, we use will compare countries from different continents (Beirne et al 2008). Nature of stock markets in emerging and developed markets Global markets consist of emerging and developed stock markets. A few studies have been done to examine the characteristics of em erging markets. According to these studies, emerging markets are characterized by higher average returns, low correlations with developed markets, higher volatility and more predictability of returns (Chukwuogor 2008). Their main argument was that volatility in emerging markets is high and difficult especially in the segmented markets. Segmented markets are influenced by local factors. Their returns tend to be skewed and highly non-normally distributed. Volatility in emerging markets has been declining following capital market capitalization. The correlation in emerging markets is quite higher than in the developed markets due to lack of diversification and trading depths (Chukwuogor 2008). The volatility in these markets is highly influenced by social, political, economic factors. Data and methodology The studies also focused only on the emerging markets and not developed markets. We will use daily returns and volatilities of such returns for the 19 countries using data from 2001 t o 2009. We use the GARCH model to determine the means and variances of stock returns in these countries. The Standard and Poor (S & P) index is used to rank the countries. Below is a table showing the emerging and developed markets. TABLE 1 Country Index USA S&P 500 UK FTSE 100 France CAC 40 Germany DAX 30 Xetra Australia All Ordinaries China/Hong kong Hang Seng Singapore Strait Times Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Thailand stock exchange of Thailand China Shanghai

Are Friends More Important Then Family Essay Example for Free

Are Friends More Important Then Family Essay In our daily lives, we socialize with a lot of people, because we have been evolved to cooperate with our species in needs of survival against extreme weather and wild carnivores. generally, in our social life, we are personally closest to two groups of humans : families and friends. Families are the group of humans who shared genetic material with us such as: father,mother,brothers,sister,wife,and son.naturally, family is the most important group of humans to me,because of default characteristics of human genes. Too, because i have a lot of great moment with them.For instance, i remember a moment when we went to a beach and have a lot of fun with them. Also, the one that i most remember, when we are struggling together in poor economic condition Friends are the group of humans outside of family and personally close to us .I have a lot of friends from when i was in junior highschool until now in university.But, from all of them i feel closest to my friends from senior high school.Because, like with my families, i have a lot of good moment with them too. For example, the one i would never forget, we always make a joke about our teacher in the class. Moreover, we also have fought together against students from another school. However, besides my love to my friends, my first priority is my family.For instance, if at the same time i have to choose between hangout together with my family and hangout with my friends, i will gladly choose to hangout with my family.

Shaping Heian, Japan :: essays research papers

Shaping Heian, Japan Tenth-century Japan is characterized by images of elegance, beauty, and sophistication. Ritual and ceremony shape nearly every aspect of life during this time. Throughout The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon there are several examples of how everyday lifestyles are shaped through these mediums. Politics, religion, self-image, and interpersonal relationships played important roles in shaping life in Heian society, and a form of either ritual or ceremony influenced each of these assets. Government and political forces were a very important part of Heian Japan. The government and its actions affected all aspects of life. Under the emperor, the government was divided into two separate entities, one religious and one secular. One’s rank within the government was closely related to the political position held. Aristocracy and the civil service were combined so that a person was usually given a rank first, then a suitable office to fit that rank. This made it nearly impossible for anyone to enter the rank hierarchy by merit, allowing the Japanese to make their system diverge in fundamental and damaging ways from the Chinese governmental model. Those who held rank were afforded special tax breaks, special rights to have certain clothes, or to send their sons to universities (Morris 64-5). It is only natural to assume that when religion and government are so closely tied that a level of ceremony and ritual would be incorporated into political practices. The detail and precision put into deciding rank and position is just one example of how ceremony plays a role in politics during this period. Religion played a very significant role in tenth-century society, especially as it was tied to the political affairs of the country. During the time that Shonagon wrote, the traditional religion was Buddhism. Ritual and ceremonial practices dominated all aspects, from the practices to the wardrobe. For instance, â€Å"†¦ priests pay their respects to the statue [Buddha]; then, while intoing words of praise, they pour coloured water on the statue’s head. The Court Nobles also pour water over the statue, make obeisance, and withdraw†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Morris 160). Throughout the course of a year, several different ceremonies were held each representing some important face of the Buddhist lifestyle. One ceremony, which took place near the end of the Twelfth Month, was The General Confession. This ceremony was aimed at expunging the sins one had committed during the course of the year with â€Å"†¦painted screens depicting the Horrors of Hell are set up under the eaves as a reminder of the need for penitence† (Morris 165).

Ratio Analysis Memo

Ratio Analysis Memo July 9, 2012 Memo To: From: Date: July 9, 2012 RE: Kudler Fine Foods ratio analysis One of the things that we will be going over is some of the ratios for Kudler Fine Foods through Liquidity, Profitability, and solvency ratios. We will look into some of the finding that were found through these ratios and discuss them. One of the things that we found was where Kudler Fine Foods’ position is with these ratios. The first area that we look at is profitability. Profitability Ratios:When looking through the profits of the company through the balance sheets we will look at a couple of areas. The first area that we will look into is the asset turnover of the company. The beginning assets started in at $1,971,000. When you take that by the total assets of $2,675,250 you get the turnover margin which is 4. 04. Net Sales___ = Asset Turnover $10,796,200 = 4. 04 Total Assets $2,675,250 Next area we see is the profit margin. You see through the balance sheet that Kudler Fine foods over the board did pretty good when you look at it from a profit stand point.The way we calculated the profit margin was Net Income over sales and this was the information that we got: Net Income = Profit Margin$668,950__ = . 06 Net Sales $10,796,200 Looking into the return on assets it was interesting to see some of the findings when we calculated. Net Income____________ = Return on Assets $668,950 = . 28 (Beginning + Ending total assets)/2 ($1,971,000 +$2,675,250)/2 Return on Common stockholders’ equity: Net Income = Return on Common stockholders’ equity. $668,950 =. 0 Shareholders’ equity $746,290 Solvency Ratios: Solvency ratios measure the company’s ability to meet long-term obligations. This is a ratio that measures the company’s size after tax income. One of the things that you look at with solvency ratios is debt to total assets. Total liabilities = Debt to total assets $746,290 = . 27 Total Assets $2,675,250 The other area that is measured in Solvency ratios is Time interest earned: Earnings before interest & Taxes = Time Interest earned $10,796,200 = $1,376. 8 Interest Expense $7,845 Liquidity Ratios: A company is labeled by how easily it can meet its short term obligations. Something that I think is happening pretty well at Kudler. When you look at the different ratios of the Liquidity you see some good numbers. Let us dive into these ratios so you can see what I am talking about. Current Ratio: Current Assets = Current Ratio$1,971,000 = $16. 94 Current Liabilities $116,290 Receivables Turnover: Sales Revenue = Receivable Turnover $10,804,000 = $12. 60Average Acct Receivable $86,000 Inventory Turnover: Cost of goods sold = Inventory Turnover$8,974,831 = $10 Average Inventory($467,890 + $429,090)/2 Acid Test: Liquid Assets = Acid Test$1,971,000 = $16. 94 Current Liabilities$116,290 When you look at the overall ratios of Kudler Fine Foods you see that things are going in the right direction. Looking at th e profitability margins you see increases in a short amount. Anything with an increase is good news. I would say that Kudler Fine Foods is in good condition and is steadily improving.

Application of Logic in Everyday Living

Many branches of science can be Involved and applied In our dally life, even the broad study of logic also are included to our everyday living, it is a reasoning of life circulation to improve and explore. Basically, human being is the most powerful creature on earth that controls deferent physical, mental physiological, psychological and intellectual preferences. A proven capability of a person to make his environment change according to what he/she plans, or we can say to Innovate and evolve feasible things to make work, to grow, to process and to develop.Considering that present events, evaluations, and information are connected to which everyday composure or situation to our environment gets affected. Living in a world full of challenges is a broad act of adapting and adjusting to various conditions of how to live, suffer survive and conquer preparation for death, start of a new beginning, hopes of those hopeless, being strong from weak, living and dying In many reasons, sharing life to others, counting blessings you have, and making advantage and achievements, are just examples of how we deal to keep us alive.As individual hanger, the world also gone changes from its form, structure and growth. It is Just a matter of becoming pessimistic or optimistic. There are different levels of understanding how people change or maybe how the world change. Some answer, that history repeats itself, a part of the new generation, acquisition of powerful mankind, making choices for a better living. Well†¦ Being able to ‘predict' how systems and people (which are much the same really) will act in certain conditions and situations is a very useful skill to have.In ancient times image you are finding your way through a landscape and you come to a did no way round (in sight) well from the logical standpoint you look at it like this 1 how deep Is the void 2 how far can I Jump 3 will I make the Jump based on that measurement/experience? If you didn't have logic then y ou would Just jump and hope for the best†¦ Welch Is the mentality an awful lot of people seem to employ when making decisions now†¦ Look at the supreme crisis! Of course having too much Logic is the flip side.Imagine not leaving your house because statistics tell you that % of people get run over, shot, stabbed, attacked, abducted, struck by lightning, killed by flying debris†¦ Etc†¦ , well logic would tell you Don't leave the house It safer in here! So logic Is Like theory and then there is in practice which is usually slightly different. In essence you don't want to be too logical, or too creative, which Is why most people have a proportion of both†¦ Nature intended it that way for a very good reason.ANSWER Logic: thought processes are clarified, the use of logic enables consideration of all available options for opinion and action, and decreases the persuasive power of popular opinion; Because available options have been fairly considered, the use of logi c increases the likelihood that subsequent opinions and actions will adhere most closely to the truth. Adherence to the truth, while sometimes painful, is the human condition more likely to lead to satisfactory outcomes in most situations. Therefore, logic's relevance to everyday life is that its use improves the likelihood of satisfactory outcomes in the day-to-day decisions each person makes. Russian's Logic is the ability of reasoning your choices, to examine the consequence of every available action and then choose the best one. It has been proven that a simple rat has basic logic, Scientists created a machine that would create two types of sounds: a long beep and a short beep.They also gave the rat three small levers to pull, Lever 1 and lever 2 and lever 3. When the scientists played a long sound or short sound, the rat would get fed a large amount of good food if it pulled the correct corresponding lever to the sound played, left lever for long beep, right lever for short bee p, if the rat pulled the middle lever, it would get fed some food, but not as much, no matter what sound was played. If the at pulled the incorrect lever, it would not get fed anything for a while.The rat eventually caught on that if it pulled the correct lever it would get much better food, so it started pulling the correct levers. One day, to test the rats logic abilities, the scientists decided to play many different sounds, long short short long long short, to see what the rat would do. The rat was able to think about his choices, he chose to pull the middle lever, and he took the small amount of food because he knew it was the best choice.The rat would rather not take a chance at missing out on his food. Without logic, everybody would act instantly on their emotions, thus making many many radical choices, without logic there would be more criminals, for example: you catch your girlfriend or boyfriend cheating on you, you have tons of choices you can make at this point A. Some p eople Just end the relationship and walk away B. Some people might try to talk about it C. Omen people might even do something bad like attack somebody Without logic, most people would probably Just attack somebody at this point because they didn't think about which choice was best, obviously either A or B is a deter choice than C, but because you were angry, you didn't use logic, and Just chose. Imagine if everybody chose option C for all of their choices? Life would be a lot worse than it is now.Without logic, life would be chaos, without logic, the rat would starve ANN. Answer Logic, is a deductive reasoning that results when the human brain calculates the most rational and acceptable outcome of any given situation and recognizes that answer as the most constructive, and consequently the most two groups; rational or irrational, instinctual or improve, emotional or logical. Emotional responses tend to be the strongest desire in the moment, when followed outcomes like crimes of pas sion or moments of extreme passion.I tend to think that acting on an emotional paradigm feels better, and tends to be more rewarding but it also tends to precede more danger. Logical responses happen when the individual looks at a situation from a third party and recognizes the moral obligation or larger demographic of opinion that would rationally decide the correct decision. Why logic is so relevant to everyday life is a difficult question. I believe it stems from a natural unman desire to help support a social group and thus keep everyone content.

Homo Habilis essays

Homo Habilis essays How do we describe early human behaviour? Certainly this is a debate that has been argued more than once. It seems that there has been some kind of a consensus between archaeologists and anthropologists that the earliest form of human behaviour was the making of tools. It is generally recognised that early Australopiths may have used rudimentary tools in much the way modern chimps do to coax termites from there nests, but these where simply fashioned sticks and twigs. (Feder, 1996 p.79) Scientists were looking for a hominid that had the ability to create a permanent tool. Feder (1996) was certain that this required increased intelligence and a sophisticated process of forethought.(p.79) These tools where found in the form of stone tools made by the early hominid Homo habilis. Homo habilis, handy man represented an important turning point in the evolution of humans. The species appeared about 2.5million years ago. It is likely that it evolved from Austalopithecus afarensis or africanus and the main thing that differentiated it from early hominids was the brain size. This had increased by over 20 percent from earlier hominids but was still only about one third the size of modern man. This was revealed through skulls found in Africa, which exhibited a rounded cranium resulting from an increased brain capacity. (Mohammed, 2002) This increased brain size allowed Homo habilis to develop a characteristic that is unique to man, the ability to engineer tools. Homo habilis set out to create tools by deliberately hammering on rocks to crack and flake them into useful shapes. Oldawan tools, named by Louis and Mary Leakey, are the oldest stone tools found to date. The Leakeys made their discovery in 1935. The tools date back to some 2.5 million years (Feder, 1996). Oldawan describes tools that had a specific shape and were sharpened in a specific way. The name is derived from the Olduvai Gorge area in ...

Explaining Childrens Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Explaining Childrens Development - Essay Example His definition of this approach was highly practical. Thus, Watson believed psychology should be a purely objective field of knowledge used to accurately predict and control human behaviour and development. Introspection and self-analysis are useless if applied to psychology and there is no difference between humans and animals. In fact, Watson neglected the concept of the conscious and unconscious as such (Littleton, Toates, & Braisby, 2002). Formulating his views Watson relied primarily on the Ivan Pavlov's discovery of the mechanism of classical conditioning. Pavlov's studies of dog's digestion transformed the common understanding of learning and development. The scientist carried out a series of experiments in order to test his initial conclusions. He provided a sound or light signal that was immediately followed by some food placed in the dog's moth. The dog started to perceive the signal in conjunction with the food and after several repetitions the dog salivated immediately after the signal even without any food. This fact made Pavlov introduce a new psycho-physiological concept of a conditional stimulus in distinction to an unconditioned stimulus (Littleton, Toates, & Braisby, 2002: 170-171). Although Pavlov revealed the phenomenon of classical conditioning during experimental studies, which involved animals, the key principle of this process proved valid in human behaviour too. Watson described an example of the classical conditioning in human beings. Albert, an infant with a pet rat, was not afraid of it until once Watson banged a metal plate while the boy was reaching for his pet. Subsequently, Albert started to demonstrate fear of the rat (Littleton, Toates, & Braisby, 2002: 172). Another good example of the classical conditioning in human behaviour is the bell-and-pad technique that is often used to cope with bed-wetting in children. Two perforated metal sheets connected to a low-tension battery are placed under the bed sheet. When a child moistens the bed urine short-circuits the sheets, and the battery produces a laud alarm making the child wake up. After several alarms the child is able to wake up without the alarm: the sensation of a full bladder is finally conne cted to the necessity of waking up (Lattal & Chase, 2003). Skinner further elaborated on the behaviourist conception of behaviour by paying attention not only to stimuli resulting in certain patterns of behaviour, but also exploring the stimuli affecting the actor after performance. In a series of experiments involving rats and pigeons that were rewarded with food for pressing a lever in the Skinner box, the scientist observed that positive stimuli led to more frequent repetition of the act that caused them; he called such stimuli "reinforcers" (Littleton, Toates, & Braisby, 2002: 175-176). Skinner recognised situational influences as predominant factors that cause different reactions of children. The reactions largely depend upon the previous experience and genetic code of individual. Skinner also believed that analysis of specific mental states, which had been so popular in psychoanalytic

Reasons why scientist believe the global climate is in the state of Essay

Reasons why scientist believe the global climate is in the state of crisis - Essay Example Earth’s energy budget constitutes the shortwave radiation net flow into the earth from the sun and the long wave radiation out to space. The weather and climate experienced on Earth are determined by the amount and distribution of incoming radiation from the sun. For an equilibrium climate, outgoing long wave radiation (OLR) necessarily balances the incoming absorbed solar radiation (ASR). However, there is a great deal of fascinating atmosphere, ocean, and land phenomena that couple the two. Greenhouse gas warming is caused by a shift in this balance where OLR is reflected back to the surface by the atmosphere. This reflection is due to the presence of heat-trapping gases (greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere. These gases include: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Naturally this reflection helps maintain the life sustaining surface temperature of the earth. Human activities have however increased the concentration of these gases; specifically carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has been building up since the advent of the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s, mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and the cutting down of forests. Human activities have also increased the emissions of other greenhouse gases, such as methane, nitrous oxide, and halocarbons. Halocarbon emissions come from the release of certain manufactured chemicals to the atmosphere. Examples include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used extensively in refrigeration and for other industrial processes before their presence in the atmosphere were found to cause stratospheric ozone depletion. Methane concentration has increased mainly as a result of agriculture; raising livestock (which produce methane in their digestive tracts); mining, transportation, and use of certain fossil fuels; sewage; and decomposing garbage in landfills. About 70%