Evaluate the relevance of cross-cultural theories in explaining how to Assignment

Evaluate the relevance of cross-cultural theories in explaining how to manage companies in different countries - Assignment Example This, in itself, puts the workforce and the management in a multicultural stance. Universalism as a general theory might help ‘blend the culture’ and improve performance, while on the other hand it does not take into account the essential differences in cultures and particularism has to be followed (Alexandria, VA, 2008). It is pertinent to understand that while setting up a global mind set is productive, not all human resource strategies will fit every culture and situation, hence the need for adaptability (HRMagazine, 2008). Sensitive factors like religion and gender often define whether the host culture is neutral or emotional. Recognizing this has significant advantage in terms of control over the business and workforce itself. For example, ignoring a religious taboo might result in a strong setback for the company if the relevance of cultural differences is ignored (Himmelberg, Michele, 1998). Language barrier, the most common issue, is crucial and requires new communication skills to be dealt with (Carter, L, 2005). When a lingua franca does not already exist, it might be useful to train the local workforce in an international language (Feingold, Jean, 2006) but training the management in the vernacular has its key advantages including elimination of redundancy, direct management and easy understanding of the culture (Carter, L, 2005). These key theories are relevant most of the time even in the internet age, but when companies approach different cultures not only to utilize the workforce but also for marketing, the cultural dimensions take a more significant role. Cultural dimensions such as perceptions of justice, power distance and individualism define the employee behavior resulting in direct influence on turnover and other outcomes directly affecting the company’s ability in the competitive market (Kim et al, 2007, p. 104, 83-95). According to opposing studies, the cultural

Increased Demand For More Resource Intensive Food Economics Essay

Increased Demand For More Resource Intensive Food Economics Essay The increasingly of enhanced productivity and yields of the farm sector have been driving the worldwide food prices falling for the past 25 years. However, this phenomenon came to a sudden change due to the global food prices increased dramatically by 2007, creating a global crisis and causing political and economical instability and social unrest in both poor and developed nations. Increased demand for more resource intensive food The head of the International Food Policy Research Institute stated in 2008 that the gradual change in diet among newly prosperous populations is the most important factor underpinning the rise in global food prices(Wikipedia, 2010), most notably in developing country like China and India. Rising of consumption of meat particularly has resulted in increase demand for grains; One kilogram of beef requires eight kilograms of feed grain, so as the demand for meat surges, consumption of grains by cattle soars, that driving up grain prices. Issue of bio-fuel subsidies Both the United States and European Union have implemented policies by giving the subsidies for ethanol and bio-diesel production to many farmers which have prompted them to switch to production for bio-fuel, even though exactly how effective they are at generating less CO2 emissions and decelerating global warming is actively debated. Ultimately this has diverted the land away from production of corn and soy for food, and reduced the supply of land devoted to growing crops that dont received bio-fuel subsidies, such as wheat. As a result, it generated a huge effect on demand for corn and soy beans. In 2007, for example, the U.S. increase in demand for corn-based ethanol accounted for more than half of the worldwide increase in demand for corn. The problem of imposition of high tariffs From the U.S. and EU markets by high tariffs, which are shutting out manufacturers of alternative products that can be turned into bio-fuels, most remarkably sugar cane, So as a result, the price of imported sugar cane is increased and making it extremely uncompetitive with subsidized corn and soy beans, this is unfortunate as sugar cane is a more environmentally friendly raw material for bio-fuels than corn and soy beans. As matter of fact, the circumstances may get even poorer, in case policy makers have their way. Policies in both U.S. and the EU require increase in the production of bio-fuels, but none of them has permitted decreasing tariff barriers on sugar cane or to remove the trade distorting subsides given to those who generate corn and soy for bio-fuels. 2) Case Discussion Questions 1 Answer Who benefits from government policies to (a) promote production of ethanol and (b) place tariff barriers on imports of sugar cane? Who suffers as a result of these policies? The policies who benefit from the government policies to promote production of ethanol will be the country and its domestic producers. For this case, it will be United States and the domestics producers in United States. Also, it will provide the producers with the chance to expand or increase their export market. For example, Archer Daniels Midland Company is one of the United States domestic company which turn crops into renewable products. At the same time, the tariff barriers on imports of sugar cane would minimize the foreign imports. Most of people believe that the ethanol production provides large benefits to the farmers, but in fact the profits to farmer are minimal. However, most of the domestics producers (like Archer Daniels Midland) are making huge profits from ethanol production which were received the ethanol subsidies. (EV World, 2002) Refer to the attached table from the United States Energy Information Administration: Table 1: In the recent year, the production of ethanol in United States is fully consumption by them and the continuous declined the import of ethanol. This is well obviously the domestics consumption and no import market for the ethanol. In additional, sugar cane, corn and soybeans are mainly used for production of biofuel. Most of the developed countries (e.g. China and India) are usually provided the subsidies, it will make the production of corn, sugar cane increasing faster and the farmers will plant more. These will be also beneficial to the developed countries. The land owners will give the benefit as well as the more ethanol production needed more arable land for crops. On the other hand, the consumers will suffer by paying more for the corn, sugar cane, etc. as the demand for ethanol is increased. In addition, the drivers in United States will suffer a lack of competition as the ethanol prices are higher. Also, the energy and pollution need to be balance of the whole cycle of ethanol production. 3) Case Discussion Questions 2 Answer One estimate suggests that if food prices rise by one-third, they will reduce living standards in rich countries by about 3%, but in very poor ones by about 20%. According to the international food policy research institute, unless policies change, cereal prices will rise by 10% to 20% by 2015, and the expansion of bio-fuel production could reduce calorie intake by 2% To 8% by 2020 in many of the worlds poorest nations. Should rich countries do anything about this potential problem? If so, what Yes we do, from the perspective of ethics the rich nations should provide helps hence these nations is already very well developed and they have more resources or extra resources to reallocate to the poor nations by providing helps to save life. Double approach To tackle the current situation of high food prices by providing emergency assistance to the poorest countries is needed. By revitalizing rural communities and re-launching agriculture are the key elements to reduce hunger and ensure an improved world food situation. Protecting the people who suffers hunger in rural and urban areas would require direct food distribution, food subsidies, cash donation and nutritional programs, such as school feeding. Enhance social protection is also very important for vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, elderly and the children. For short-term action, local food production should be the first prioritize. Subsides program should include the distribution to local farmers of fertilizers, seeds, animal feed or other input. Support should focus on agricultural research serving the needs of poor farmers, many of whom farm in increasingly marginal areas; poor farmers should have better access to factors of production, namely land, water and inputs. If this program worked effectively, such program would enhance the supply response in poor countries and improve food availability, during the increase of the income with small producers and it might also reduce price increases in local markets as well. For mid and long term actions, high food prices also represent an opportunity for increase investments in agriculture by both the private and public sectors to stimulate production and enhance productivity. Invite private firm for investment into long neglected areas such as agricultural research, extension for infrastructure, on the other hand production and trade policies on bio fuels may also need to be re-examined for their possible effects on food markets and food security, especially in those vulnerable countries. If all the short and long terms projects which works effectively, the food prices should decline dramatically because the supply of food increase and it could save millions of peoples who dont have to suffers of hungers and diseases, It may stop the wars between the poor countries which competes again for access to resources. 4) Case Discussion Questions 3 Answer The argument for giving subsides to ethanol producer rests upon the assumption that ethanol results in lower CO2 emission than gasoline and therefore benefits the environment. If we accept that global warming is a serious problem in itself, should we not be encouraging government to increase such subsides? What are the arguments for and against doing so? On balance, what do you think is the best policy? Biofuel as E85 is an ethanol fuel that typically contains a blend of up to 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. E85 is commonly used in the United States and Europe. Ethanol is one of the best tools to address environmental issues such as reduction in greenhouse effect and exhaust pipe emissions. Because ethanol is made from renewable, plant-based feedstock such as corn or sugar cane. The CO2 released during a vehicle in motion is recycled during the growth of ethanol feedstock. In 2007, U.S. governments have given subsidies to farmers caused that corn production increased to 85 million tons from around 15 million tons in 2000. Also subsidies amount to between $0.29 and $0.36 per liter of ethanol. In Europe the subsidies are as more as $1 a liter. The greenhouse effect is an essential environmental prerequisite for life on Earth. The problem is human activities destroy and accelerate the process by creating more greenhouse gases which include carbon dioxide, emitted by fossil fuel combustion and deforestation etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Global warming is produced mainly by the growth of greenhouse effect and emission of carbon dioxide. The Earths average surface temperature rose by 0.74 ±0.18  °C over the period 1906-2005. The carbon dioxide emission is estimated some 80 % rise in the economic growth of China. In the meantime the US and EU managed to reduce emissions slightly. It seems that global warming is a serious problem. The initial purpose of the subsidy was to help a nascent biofuels industry, hope to reduce Americas petroleum dependence. However, the ethanol is an effective way to break our petroleum addiction but not be the best of tools to improve the environmental and economic. In case we still encouraging government to increase the subsidies in the ethanol. It can be improved cellulosic technologies for energy efficient, reduce reliance on petroleum or displacement if possible. on the other hand, it may be developed an agriculturally-based rural energy workforce and help domestic producers to earn more revenue and advance economic growth because as the government policy to compete against low-cost foreign imports, gain export markets and improve the environmental better. In turn, Eliminating or not increasing ethanol subsidies will lower your grocery bill, saving $30 billion in wasteful spending and increasing edible maize by 14%. Because subsidies caused high demand for corn and soy beans turn into ethanol, then reduce the supply of land devoted to growing crops, that its existence increases the price of corn, and that food prices rising. On balance, I think the best policy is ethanol has helped in the development of the biofuel infrastructure. The subsidies still carry on but should be set up expiry dates and limit budget, also able to increase subsidies directed towards a broader range of approaches. From the technological and economic benefits, ethanol production still has little potential upside left in process cost reduction. Some subsidies should be used to introduce new competition to markets or support other new technologies to get higher revenue. 5) Application to Hong Kong Business Environment Governments policy is a critical factor. US and EU government implement Bio-Fuel Subsides and high tariff for sugar cane which is part of reason to rise global food price. There are many similar cases in Hong Kong. MTR Corporation Ltd is a typical example. The MTR Corporation was established in 1975 as the Mass Transit Railway Corporation and the Hong Kong Government was the only sole shareholder. Although the Hong Kong Government sold 23% of its issued share capital to private investors in an Initial Public Offering in 2000, Hong Kong Government is still a main shareholder. Since 90s, Hong Kong Government has adopted a transportation policy Railway as a backbone on the public policy. There are now 10 lines, but the Corporation is still developing and expanding its network. Within the next decade, the Corporation will complete five new strategic rail extensions. They include: West Island Line, Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong Express Rail Link, Shatin to Central Link, Kwun Tong Line Extension and South Island Line (East). The Hong Kong Government supports the MTR Corporation Ltd non-stop network expansion. On the other hand, the Government adopts a tight control to others transportation with direct competition with MTR Corporation Ltd. For Example, franchised public bus KMB, who has been constrained the No. of vehicles, Bus routing expansion / abridgment and so on. Application to Hong Kong Resident Supply and Demand is an important issue. Due to the population growth the demand of meet, so the demand of food relatively increase which cause the global food price rise. Hong Kong residents are also affected by the issue of supply and demand of property. The price of property has been dramatically gone up from 40 to 115 since 2002 up to 2012 according to Centa-City Leading Index. In past, the ex- Chief Executive Donald Tsang did not have any policy to increase the supply of property. This result the supply of property maintains on the low level. However, the population of nubile age is increasing and they have a huge of demand on the property. Government is the main supply of property as it provides lands to property developer before property building and it directly build subsidized houses. However, in the past ten years, the supply of property is relatively low. The stop building of subsidized houses and slow land sold by Land Sale by Application, the supply of property is only around 10 thousand per last few years, but the demand of property is around 25 thousand as the No. of the marriages is over 50 thousand in the recent years. It causes a sharp difference between supply and demand. There is not enough supply to fulfil all demand. 6) Conclusion The global food price increase is one of the signs of the global food crisis. Global food crisis is a profound problem to all the human being. 22 countries have already suffered from this issue and more than 900 million people suffer from not having enough to eat every day according to FAO 2010. Global food crisis is more serious than war and environmental crisis as it would create a lot of social issue and affect social stability. Therefore it is time to take precautions before it is too late, we start! General public can as well reduce the food waste. In addition, the case study of global food price increase also shows the importance of governments policy. Government policy affects the business environment the industrys recession or boom. Government policy affects the living standard of general public. To take necessary precautions, Hong Kong resident should keep an eye on government daily operation.

Albrecht Ritschl Essay examples -- Christian Theology

Introduction Albrecht Ritschl was one of the most pivotal theologians in the history of Christianity. While many charge him with introducing ideas that led to a more liberal theology, his intentions were nevertheless honorable. Ritschl lived in a time where Christianity was no longer considered relevant or feasible, and his reinterpretations were an attempt to keep Christianity applicable to modern society. His defenses, however, often resulted in a corruption of doctrine and left Christianity open to attack. Thus Ritschl was an extremely influential theologian, though many question how positive that influence may have been. Ritschl’s Theology Ritschl’s theology was greatly affected by the philosophers of his time. Immanuel Kant had declared that the mind was incapable of understanding anything more than what could be experienced sensorially or was beyond ordered reason and logic. Similarly, Ritschl was influenced by the Tà ¼bingen school of theology, which he came to firmly oppose. Tà ¼bingen theology was extremely skeptical about Christianity, yet also promoted mysticism. Further, the school disregarded church history.1 Thus Ritschl’s theology would take a less extreme approach. He would reject mysticism on the grounds that theology must be firmly rooted in reality, particularly moral and ethical realities. On this basis he also rejected natural theology.2 Ritschl’s theology agreed with Kant’s philosophy to some extent. He agreed that the mind was limited to its experiences, but believed it could understand moral issues as they affected the individual.3 Thus everything was reduced to judgements of fact or value. Fact judgements could be proven objectively, but value judgements could not. Thus value judgements were left... ... Bibliography Ahern, Annette. â€Å"Social Justice: Now, Later or Never? The Contribution of Albrecht Ritschl and Johannes Weiss to Social Justice Theology.† Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 32, no. 3 (2003): 281-97. http://sir.sagepub.com/content/32/3/281 (accessed February 18, 2012). Douglas, J. D., Philip Wesley Comfort and Donald Mitchell. Who's Who in Christian History. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992. Eckman, James P. Exploring Church History. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002. Geisler, Norman L. and William E. Nix. A General Introduction to the Bible. Rev. and expanded. Chicago: Moody Press, 1996. Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity: The Reformation to the Present Day. 2nd ed. New York City, NY: HarperOne, 2010. Pierard, R.V. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. 2nd ed. Edited by Walter A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Academic, 2001.

Discuss the Notions of Ideology and/or False Consciousnes

â€Å"The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i. e. the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. † (K. Marx and F. Engels. (1998) â€Å"Ruling Class and Ruling Ideas†. In J. Storey. (ed. ). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader Harlow, Essex: Pearson, 191. ) Discuss the notions of ideology and/or false consciousness. Ideology is something that has and will be always in everyone’s life. This is a part of human life.In my essay about ideology I am going to write about Karl Marx ideas about ideology and also Louise Althusser interpretations about ideology. In my opinion they are the two that explain ideology and false consciousness in the best and most understandable way. I am going to start with Karl Marx and write about his thoughts on ideology, false consciousness and how does it fit in to everyday life. Afterwards how Althusser complicated Marx’s ideas and ex plained how ideology works in people’s lives in his own way.The Expression â€Å"Ideology† was created by Cabanis, Destutt de Tracy and their friends, and they defined it as an object the theory of ideas. Afterwards it was picked up by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and few years latter Louis Althusser (1918-1990) started expanding Marx ides on ideology. Main ideas on ideology by Karl Marx appeared in â€Å"The German Ideology†, that he wrote with Frederick Engels. Althusser wrote about Marx’s ides that (2001) â€Å"Ideology itself represents the â€Å"production of ideas, of conceptions, of consciousness,† all that â€Å"men say, imagine, conceive,† and include such things as â€Å"politics, laws, morality, religion, metaphysics, etc. Ideology functions as the superstructure of a civilization: the conventions and culture that make up the dominant ideas of a society. † Ideology is basically ideas of social groups. People think that something has some kind of purpose to serve them, but really it has a different purpose. For example police, everyone thinks that they are here to protect us, but actually their purpose is to keep us under control. The ideology is based on the ruling class and their ideas. Ruling class tries to keep everything running properly and keep people under control.It is said by Althusser â€Å"Since one goal of ideology is to legitimize those forces in a position of hegemony, it tends to obfuscate the violence and exploitation that often keep a disempowered group in its place. † For masses ideology is as a system of illusory beliefs – False Consciousness. False consciousness is a misrepresentation of different social relations between privet and public. Daniel Little (no date) wrote â€Å"â€Å"False consciousness† is a concept derived from Marxist theory of social class. The concept refers to the systematic misrepresentation of dominant social relations in the consciousness of subordinate classes.Marx himself did not use the phrase â€Å"false consciousness,† but he paid extensive attention to the related concepts of ideology and commodity fetishism. † Marx never said in his work that ideology is false consciousness, but ideology in his work can be interpreted as false consciousness in some ways. Ideology is seen as illusionary beliefs, people see things in one way, helping them, their living conditions and different organisations working for people, for example schools, clothing factories, etc. But in reality all this organisations work for ruling classes to keep masses under ruling classes power.Schools educate people to make them able to work for the ruling class in the future and keep the economy going. Clothing factories create clothes for people, and everybody thinks that their made for them to feel better, so they could go out and buy new clothes and feel happy. In reality clothes are produced to lure people to buy them and spend money , give hardly earned money back to the ruling class and most of the clothes are produced to last for a short time, so people would keep coming back and buying more.Looking through people’s point of view, ideology can be interpreted as false consciousness. Andrew Butler (2009) said in our lecture â€Å"Ideology – people doing what they’re doing without knowing what they’re doing or why. † If people are doing what they are doing without knowing, it can be translated as false consciousness. They think that they know what they are doing and why they are doing it, but actually not. Ideology is false beliefs and ideas, false understanding how world works. Louis Althusser, expanded Karl Marx ideas on ideology.Marx separated everything, he thought that superstructure has a relative autonomy with relation to the base, that superstructure is not influenced by base and other way around as well. But Althusser did not reject these ideas but complicates them, he sees superstructure and base working together, he does not separate them from each other. It was said in our lecture by Andrew Butler (2009) â€Å"Whereas classic Marxism sees the economic base as determining the superstructure Althusser sees them as having a Double function. By double function he meant that there is not a separation between public and private, everything is linked together. A good example was brought in our lecture notes by Andrew Butler (2009) â€Å"Imagine a kind of network where everything impacts on everything else. the feminist slogan the personal is political would be a good way of thinking about this. So the family – something that might seem personal or more specifically say breastfeeding might seem private is in fact linked to the economic base and influenced by the superstructure.Breastfeeding could be part of a medical fad or you might do it because of education but doing it or not impacts on when you go back to work or whether you buy formula milks so it is an economic and political decision as well as a private one. † In Althusser’s opinion ideology treats people as subjects, because ideology has a material existence. Ideology always reveals through human actions and participations. For example art, art is produced for people to buy, to give money back to the country, but art is produced through another person, through hard labour and he also gets paid for it, this is a job for him.David Hawkes (1996, p. 122) said â€Å"an ideology always exists in an apparatus, and its practice, or practices. This existence is material† Ideology is an ideal idea of perfect state; it has a material existence that treats humans as subjects. In our lecture notes by Andrew Butler (2009) Althusser asked â€Å"why subjects are obedient, why people follow the laws and why isn't there a revolt/revolution against capitalism IF IT IS NOT IN THE INTERESTS OF THE LOWER CLASSES† and he explained this through complicating Marx’s ideas by bringing in Repressive State Apparatuses and Ideological State Apparatuses.Repressive State Apparatuses can control people by force so everybody would behave in the way as the ruling class wants; it includes organizations like the police, prisons, security, etc. Ideological State Apparatuses include institutions that create ideologies on what people can act and believe, for example schools, churches, legal systems, radio, press, television, etc. ISAs acts through ideology, they tell people how to think and influence people mentally, not like RSA, which acts through violence. In conclusion I would say that Ideology is a set of ideas of social groups.People think that something has some kind of purpose to serve them, but really it has a different purpose – false consciousness. For masses ideology is as a system of illusory beliefs – False Consciousness. Though Marx never said in his work that ideology is false consciousness, but ideology in his wor k can be interpreted as false consciousness in some ways. Louis Althusser was another ideology theorist and he expanded Karl Marx ideas on ideology. Where Marxism saw the economic base as determining the superstructure Althusser saw them as having a Double function.That they work together, superstructure determines economic base and economic base determines superstructure. He explained this by expanding Marx’s ideas by bringing in Repressive State Apparatuses and Ideological State Apparatuses. That people are seen as subject and state has different associations to keep people under control by force, violence and also by giving people ideas how everything works and it is all meant to be for people, to make their lives better and more organised. Ideology is meant to keep people under ruling class power and order.In my opinion the ideology is working just fine, it keeps the world organised and together. Only it does it through false consciousness, lies. †¢ Hawkes, D. (1996) Ideology. reprint edition. Routledge †¢ Althusser, L. (2001) Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. Trans. Ben Brewster. New York: Monthly Review P. Available at: http://www. cla. purdue. edu/English/theory/marxism/modules/marxideology. html (Accessed: 21 April 2009) †¢ Althusser, L. (2001) Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. Trans. Ben Brewster. New York: Monthly Review P.Available at: http://www. cla. purdue. edu/English/theory/marxism/modules/marxideology. html (Accessed: 21 April 2009) †¢ Althusser, L. (2001) Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. Trans. Ben Brewster. New York: Monthly Review P. Available at: http://www. cla. purdue. edu/English/theory/marxism/modules/marxideology. html (Accessed: 21 April 2009) †¢ Little, D. (no date) False Consciousness, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Available at: http://www-personal. umd. umich. edu/~delittle/iess%20false%20consciousness%20V2. htm (Accessed: 21 April 2009)

Mozart’s “Clarinet Quintet” and Mahler’s Symphony no.1 in D major “Titan” Essay

The Music of the classical and Romantic era is a period of time where it shows the development and different styles of music. This can be shown through the manipulation of musical elements, (dynamics, pitch, tempo, rhythm, texture, meter, tonality, structure, melody, harmony, instrument) while contrasting them, but it can also be shown through the composers of the music, the size of the orchestra, musical directions, emotional content, and non-musical developments through that period of time. After the Renaissance and the Baroque era, the Classical era soon followed at around the 1720-1820’s. During these times in Europe, there were many non musical developments, ideas of the enlightenment, political issues, scientific discoveries and the reexamination of established ideas, including the existence of God. Many of these ideas and has got huge impact on the heavy Monumental baroque style and later developed with a more intimate rococo style, with its light colors, curved lines, and graceful ornaments, which greatly resembles the classical period. Shortly after the Classical period, the Romantic era appeared during the 1820-1900’s. At these times, non-musical developments such as cultural movements strongly expressed emotion, imagination, and individuality. People such as Romantic painters and writer often emphasized the freedom of expression; they often saw political revolution as a reflection of their own struggles for artistic freedom. This had made a huge i mpact on Romantic music, because the emotional subjectivity turned into a basic quality of Romanticism. Comparing the musical elements of Classical era and Romantic era, we would notice the many differences, and hence we can identify and recognize the music of both periods. The first musical element that I will discuss is rhythm. As we can see, the rhythm of the Classical era tends to be less complex and quite repetitive. Classical style usually includes unexpected pauses, syncopations, and frequent changes from long notes to shorter notes, and the change from one pattern of note lengths to another may be either sudden or gradual. As we can see in the Finale of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, we can see that during each of those variations, the rhythms are not very complex and quite repetitive, for example, the first 3 – 8 bars of the introduction in Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet show a somewhat consistent rhythm  consisted 4 of crotchets each bar, the 2nd variation show a consistent rhythm of 4 sets of triplets between the 2nd violin and viola, the 3rd variation shows a consistent rhythm of 4 sets of semi-quavers in each bar, with the clarinet normally. Through what I have described just now, one could see that the pattern of note lengths have gradually changed to shorter and shorter, in this case, from 4 crotchets to 4 triplets to 4 semi-quavers. Also, in variations like Mozart’s clarinet quintet, triplets and syncopations can be found frequently. In contrast, romantic music tends to not emphasize that much on simple and consistent rhythms. There are often changes in the number of beats in a measure, cross-rhythms, syncopations, etc. For example in Mahler’s Symphony no.1 in D major â€Å"Titan†, consistent notes goes against syncopations, there are accompaniments with skips and staccatos etc. (p.116) Both Classical and Romantic eras have written musical directions, unlike Renaissance and Baroque which does not have any. Moreover, I have noticed that the musical directions of both pieces have extreme differences. As we see in Mahler’s symphony no.1 in D major â€Å"titan† 3rd movement, there are many written musical directions: dynamic, emotional, tempo directions. For example, in the first 20 bars, there are already 7 written musical directions, whereas in Mozart’s clarinet quintet, there are extremely small amounts of written musical directions, only 2 written musical directions in the first 20 bars. This significantly shows that there are differences in the use of written musical directions in the Classical and Romantic era. Classical and Romantic music has differences in melodies and structures too. In classical music, the structures emphasize more the grace of proportion and balance, moderation and control; polished and elegance in character with expressiveness and formal structure held in perfect balance. Furthermore, the forms do not vary as much as the Romantic era, they had forms like sonatas, symphonies etc. The melodic phrases are usually balanced and symmetrical made up of two phrases of the same length. For an example, in Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, the music is very symmetrical and well balanced, in a variation form. However, in Romantic music, they rather emphasize on the emotional content than trying to sound balanced and symmetrical, and expanded their use of forms and created new forms, like impromptu, ballade,  etude, nocturnes etc,. Moreover, the melodies normally have either really long or short phrases, increased in range, but also increased in chromaticism. For example in Mahler’s symphony no.1 in D major â€Å"Titan†, we can see that except it is in a ABA form, the whole movement was not as symmetrical and well balanced as the Mozart, although it is in a variation form, the melodic phrases have increased in range, are either really long, for example in the first 18 bars, or really short, where the melody can be hardly seen in bar 134-137. Classical and Romantic era are very different in the use of harmonies too. In Classical music, harmonies were formed from the chords. If the chords in a music composition are all major chords, then the harmonies would create emotions that express bright, happy and positive feelings, in contrast, if the chords are all minor chords, then the harmony would express the emotion which is sad and depressed, negative feelings. However, in Romantic music, harmonies are more complex due to the development of the complex chords. For example, a diminished chord that is usually found in Romantic music would create a harmony that is rarely found in Classical music. In general, the use of harmonies is very different in both Classical and Romantic music. Another difference I have noticed between Classical and Romantic music is the range of dynamics used. In the Classical era, the dynamic range normally used was between pp – ff. This range was expanded in the Romantic period, ranging from pppp – ffff. This difference can be evidently proven in Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, where the range was kept within the range of p – f, a small range of pitch in each part of instruments. However, in Mahler’s symphony no. 1 in D major â€Å"titan†, the range of dynamics increased to pppp – f, with a big range of dynamics in each of the instrumental parts. In general, the range of pitch of Classical and Romantic era varies when the classical as small range of dynamics, whilst the Romantic as a larger range of dynamics. The range of pitch of the Classical and Romantic era is used very differently too. In the classical era, the range pitch is not as big as the Romanic era, as he range of pitch in the Romantic era was expanded, as the composers seek  for more extreme high and low sounds. For example in Finale of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet as a Classical song, the range of pitch of the whole song was only D2 – C6 with little range of pitch in every instrumental part, but the range of pitch in Mahler’s symphony no. 1 in D major, as a Romantic song, is B1- D6, with a very broad range in every instrumental part. In general, the range of pitch of Classical and Romantic era varies when the classical as small range of pitch, whilst the Romantic as a larger range of pitch. The tempo of classical era and Romantic Era is used very differently too. In the Classical era, the tempo only changed when there are written musical directions to change the mood, but tempo of Romantic music changed the mood constantly with not only the written musical directions, which is often underlined by Accelerando, Ritardando, and subtle variations of pace: but there are many more fluctuations in tempo than there are in Classical music, which they also intensify their emotions by using effect of Rubato. As we can see in Mozart’s clarinet quintet, there are only 3 written musical directions: â€Å"Allegretto con Variationi†, which means a little lively, moderately fast, with variation, â€Å"Adagio† which means at ease: slow, and allegro, which means cheerful or brisk; but commonly interpreted as fast, lively, and there are no written musical directions which guide the tempo within the scores. However, in Mahler’s symphony no. 1 in D major, there are not only main musical directions to guide the tempo, like â€Å"Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen†, which means dignified but not too slow, but there are small ones in between the scores which appears constantly, like Zurluckhaltend which means holding back tempo, creating Rubato effect and Poco. Rit etc. These two pieces, Mozart’s clarinet quintet as a Classical music, Mahler’s titan as a Romantic music, clearly shows that there are significant differences in the tempo of the Classical and Romantic era, Classical with a less frequent change of tempo, Romantic with a frequent change of tempo. The texture of Classical and Romantic music can be contrasted. Classical music is basically homophonic; for example in Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, we can see that the texture is basically homophonic, with a few that is  polyphonic, and the pieces shifted smoothly from one texture to another, like in the changes from variation 1 to variation 3, there is a gradual change from thin texture to thicker texture. In contrast, even though romantic music can be homophonic and polyphonic and most of the time between the two, the texture turns thicker, it has lots of changes in texture, more drastic and frequent, and they use a lot more instruments to exaggerate this thick and emotional content. As we can see in Mahler’s symphony no.1 â€Å"Titan†, the texture is pretty thick in general, due to the size of the orchestra which creates density, and during the bars of 134-137, the whole orchestra is used, which creates the intense and climax moment. In general, although both Classical and Romantic music are mainly homophonic, the thickness of the texture is contrasted significantly. Chromaticism was also used differently in the Classical and Romantic era. In the classical era, melodic chromaticism was used frequently (especially by Mozart) to balance the harmonic plainness. In its simplest form of chromatic scales, it occurs a lot in unaccented passing notes. Melodic chromaticism does not usually affect the harmony; it is mainly used for color-modification of diatonic notes, to add tone color by composers. However, Romantic music generally uses chromaticism to form the music’s harmonies and create chords. This helps the composer to expand the emotional contents and express a few different emotions of the musical piece. In general, chromaticism was used very differently in the Classical and Romantic era. Cadenza chords of Classical and Romantic music is similar, but you can say that cadenza chords of Romantic music are built on top of the cadenza chords structures of Classical music. In Classical music, they generally have a cadenza chord structure of I – V – I. In Mozart’s clarinet quintet, the cadenza chords can easily be recognized as chords I – V – I, as we can see in the first 16 bars. In Mahler’s symphony no.1 in D major â€Å"titan† however, the cadenza consist of only chord I from bar 158 to the end, 11 bars all written in chord I. This type of chord structure is seldom found in Classical music, because Classical music usually ends a piece of music in an authentic cadence, plagal cadence, or deceptive cadence. In Romantic music,  these cadences are still used, but composers like to end their music in their own unique way, just like Mahler’s symphony no. 1 in D major. Another difference that I have noticed between Classical and Romantic music is the size of their orchestra. In a Classical orchestra, there are normally only 20-60 players, which involve strings: 1st & 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double basses. Woodwinds: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons. Brass: 2 French horns, 2 trumpets. Percussion: 2 timpani. However, towards this end of the Romantic era, the orchestra might have included around 100 musicians. The constant expansion of the orchestra reflected composes changing needs as well as the growing size of concert halls and opera houses, due to technological advances. The brass, woodwind and percussion sections of the orchestra took on a more active role, calling for trombones, tubas, and more horns and trumpets. The woodwind took on new tone colors such as contrabassoon, bass clarinet, English horn and piccolo. Orchestral sounds became more brilliant and sensuously appealing through increase uses of cymbals the triangle and the harp. One of the most evident differences between Classical and Romantic music is how composers express their emotion and creating emotional intensity. Composers from the Classical Period tend to focus more on the structure of music, creating music that is structural and compact in form, and captures our attention by the beauty and structure of the music, which usually just expresses one emotion. However, composers from the Romantic Period focused more on depicting their emotions in their music, emphasizing on expression rather then structure, expressing several different emotions. When we compare Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet to Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major â€Å"Titan†, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet tends to be more focused on perfecting the harmony between the different melodies and also the structure and forms, while Mahler’s Titan emphasized much more on the emotional content. In short, Classical music tends emphasize on the beauty of balanced structures, expressing one emotion, while Romantic music tends to express more emotional contents, expressing several different emotions. In general, the music of Classical and Romantic era are very different in  many ways, in all aspects of the elements, dynamics, pitch, tempo, rhythm, texture, meter, tonality, structure, melody, harmony, instrument, and especially how they express their emotional contents. However, the Classical and Romantic eras are both historical developments of western music, which significantly contributes to the music that we listen to today. References Classical music. (2007, April 11). Retrieved April 15, 2007, from wikipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_musicClassical period (music). (2007, April 13). Retrieved April 14, 2007, from wikipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_music_eraLogan, J., & Swann, J. (n.d.). Classical Music and Romantic Music – Part 1. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from http://trumpet.sdsu.edu/m345/Romantic_Music1.htmlRomantic music. (2007, April 12). Retrieved April 13, 2007, from wikipedia Web site: http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_musicSchmidt-Jones, C. (2006, January 3). The Music of the Romantic Era. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from connexions Web site: http://cnx.org/content/m11606/latest/Sexton, T. (2007, January 17). The Classical and romantic Eras in Music History. Retrieved April 4, 2007, from associatedcontent Web site: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/119869/the_classical_and_romantic_eras_in.html

Definition and Examples of Reduplicatives in English

Definition and Examples of Reduplicatives in English A reduplicative is a word or lexeme (such as mama) that contains two identical or very similar parts. Words such as these are also called  tautonyms.  The morphological and phonological process of forming a compound word by repeating all or part of it is known as reduplication. The repeated element is called a reduplicant. David Crystal wrote in the second edition of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language: Items with identical spoken constituents, such as  goody-goody  and  din-din, are rare. What is normal is for a single  vowel  or  consonant  to change between the first constituent and the second, such as  see-saw  and  walkie-talkie.Reduplicatives are used in a variety of ways. Some simply imitate sounds:  ding-dong, bow-wow. Some suggest alternative movements:  flip-flop, ping-pong. Some are disparaging:  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹dilly-dally, wishy-washy. And some intensify meaning:  teeny-weeny, tip-top. Reduplication is not a major means of creating lexemes in English, but it is perhaps the most unusual one.(Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003) Characteristics Reduplicatives can rhyme  but arent required to. They likely have a  figure of sound  represented in them, as alliteration (repetition of consonants) and assonance (repetition of vowel sounds) would be common in a word or phrase that doesnt change much among its parts, such as in this by Patrick B. Oliphant, Correct me if Im wrong: the gizmo is connected to the flingflang connected to the watzis, watzis connected to the doo-dad connected to the ding dong.† According to Gift of the Gob: Morsels of English Language History by Kate Burridge: The majority of...reduplicated forms involve a play on the rhyme of words. The result can be a combination of two existing words, like  flower-power  and  culture-vulture, but more usually one of the elements is meaningless, as in  superduper, or both, as in  namby-pamby. Now, it struck me the other day that a large number of these nonsense jingles begin with h. Think of  hoity-toity, higgledy-piggledy, hanky-panky, hokey-pokey, hob-nob, heebie-jeebies, hocus-pocus, hugger-mugger, hurly-burly, hodge-podge, hurdy-gurdy, hubbub, hullabaloo,  harumscarum, helter-skelter, hurry-scurry, hooley-dooley  and dont forget  Humpty Dumpty. And these are just a few!(HarperCollins Australia, 2011) Reduplicatives differ from  echo words in that there are fewer rules in forming reduplicatives. Borrowed Reduplicatives The history of reduplicatives in English starts in the Early Modern English (EMnE) era, which was about the end of the 15th century. In the third edition of A Biography of the English Language,  C.M. Millward and Mary Hayes noted:   Reduplicated words do not appear at all until the EMnE period. When they do appear, they are usually direct borrowings from some other language, such as Portuguese dodo (1628), Spanish grugru (1796) and motmot (1651), French haha ditch (1712), and Maori kaka (1774). Even the nursery words mama and papa were borrowed from French in the 17th century. So-so is probably the sole native formation from the EMnE period; it is first recorded in 1530.(Wadsworth, 2012) Morphological and Phonological Sharon Inkelas wrote in Studies on Reduplication that there are two separate methods, producing two different types or subsets of reduplication: phonological duplication and morphological reduplication. Below we list some criteria for determining when a copying effect is reduplication and when it is phonological duplication. (1) Phonological duplication serves a phonological purpose; morphological reduplication serves a morphological process (either by being a word-formation process itself or by enabling another word-formation process to take place...).(2) Phonological duplication involves a single phonological segment...; morphological reduplication involves an entire morphological constituent (affix, root, stem, word), potentially truncated to a prosodic constituent (mora, syllable, foot).(3) Phonological duplication involves, by definition, phonological identity, while morphological reduplication involves semantic, not necessarily phonological, identity.(4) Phonological duplication is local (a copied consonant is a copy of the closest consonant, for example), while morphological reduplication is not necessarily local.​  (Morphological Doubling Theory: Evidence for Morphological Doubling in Reduplication. ed. by Bernhard Hurch. Walter de Gruyter, 2005)

Krystynas Story Essay Example

Krystynas Story Essay Example Krystynas Story Essay Krystynas Story Essay In the thought provoking novel ‘Krystyna’s Story’ by Helina Ogonowska-Coates, Krystyna underwent a dramatic change from her beautiful loving home in Poland to the harsh inhumane conditions of the Siberian Labour camp – Camp Niechodnile. This change is important as it makes Krystyna a better person and helps others to realise the brutality of war. Before the Russians invaded Krystyna’s home, she had a happy and loving family that loved and cared for her, ‘I remember learning to walk in the warmth of the kitchen with mama leading my footsteps’ Krystyna had an innocent naive childhood, she lived in the moment with no worries crowding her thoughts ‘I loved to play in the orchard, climbing the apple trees or just lying in the shade listening to the birds’. Krystyna’s life had a simple regularity. Then suddenly everything changed. It happened without warning and dragged us along with it’ The Russians stripped Krystyna’s family and home apart, transporting them to a Siberian labour camp called Camp Niechodaile. Krystyna’s living conditions changed significantly, there was no comfort or luxury, everyday was long and hardworking ‘those who do not work do not eat’. Months passed and people were going insane, committing suicide as ‘living had lost its meani ng’. Krystyna’s family were slowly losing hope, losing Krystyna and losing life itself. Yet Krystyna never gave up hope and was determined that she would survive. This change was important because it made Krystyna grow as a person; she gained maturity, courage and determination ‘now I needed to be an adult too’. She constantly assured herself and others that everything was going to be okay even though she had little/almost no knowledge of what was going to happen â€Å"Don’t worry mama, we must concentrate on keeping together†. This change was also important because it changed Krystyna as well as my outlook on life, showing that we must value our family, friends, home and life because you never know what tomorrow could bring ‘living each day had become a chore’. From this novel we see that Krystyna had a wonderful and carefree life until the Russians ripped away their family, friends and every treasured possession. This change caused Krystyna to grow and become a stronger character. The inhumane conditions of the Siberian labour camp made me realise just how precious life is and that we should appreciate every second.

We Decide if Rejection Fits

We Decide if Rejection Fits When we are rejected, whether Yea, yea, youve heard all that, and its easier said than done. You know, the standing back up stuff. After all, arent we just getting shot, then standing back up to be shot again? Maybe. But sooner or later, those people run out of ammo. I had a real pity party this week. Hey, didnt I have one of those not too long ago? Yes, but there are all sorts of ways to be rejected, you know. And about the time you toughen up to one form of it, another slaps you from behind. This time, I actually sat down with a cup of coffee and asked myself some pertinent questions because I didnt like how this situation made me think. I was not chosen for a speaking engagement that Id spoken at before. And its laughable now, but I caught myself seeking ways to criticize the event and the players involved rather than looking in the mirror. Childish. Then I asked myself: Do you feel like a lesser person because you didnt make the cut? Is that the problem? Did they make you question yourself, make you think you were on the wrong track? Then I asked: Is there anything in this situation that would make you change who you are and what you do? Are these gatekeepers important enough to alter your path? We dont like to think of ourselves as substandard. But sometimes its as simple as we dont have the right connection. Sometimes the person in front of us made the cut and filled the slot. Sometimes who and what we are isnt the who and what someone else needs for the job. Was I ready to change something major as a result of that particular rejection? Sometimes a rejection is a sign we arent our best, but not this time. My husband tried to tell me how they didnt merit me, which was sweet. Who doesnt love a good cheerleader? But instead I took my coffee cup back to the computer and kept on working. I could think its their loss or theyre stupid or they dont deserve me, but that makes me a type of person I dont want to be. I was a square peg for their not-so-square hole. Better to spend my energy seeking square holes.

Sustainability in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sustainability in business - Essay Example Finally, the project presents some of the criticisms that the companies had to face and the steps taken by them to counter the charges. Every business strives to attain sustainability in today’s world. Sustainability is an idea that every business tries to portray. A sustainable organisation is one, which tries to maximise profit for its shareholders while protecting its environment and improves the lives of those it interacts with. The business operates with the view to meet the interests of society and environment. A sustainable business always stands the chance to achieve greater success in future and remain successful for decades and generations. This project talks about three such corporations which thrive on sustainability. They are the three Italian companies, namely Fiat, Pirelli and Luxottica. Each company has its own way of maintaining sustainability. Each has been discussed in brief in this project. The project also discusses the way each company has paved its way to recovery and success. Fiat is an Italian automobile manufacturer company that also deals with financial services, media, engine manufacturer and metallurgy. The company was founded in 1899 by a group of investors in Italy. With time the company diversified its operation in different parts of the world. In 2009, Fiat was considered as the sixth largest car manufacturer in the world and the largest in Italy (Ramsey & Forden, 2009). Fiat is a multinational in true sense. The company has invested in many locations outside Italy. It has announced to invest 10 billion reais in Brazil by 2015; for developing facilities for cars, auto parts and agricultural machineries (Reuters, 2010). The company came into existence in 1899 and soon it was a great hit in the automobile industry. The company faced its first crisis after World War-I. At that time the company acquired a low cost mass production technology and introduced several new models. Fiat established many

Critical appraisal of a nursing research study article Essay

Critical appraisal of a nursing research study article - Essay Example ties are being carried, it is important that there be an effective system by which these researches can be appraised to determine their validity and reliability. Wood (2010) explain that reliable research studies provide quality information that can be used in making changes that can cause better and effective systems and human environment. One of the ways of making such a process is conducting a critical appraisal process; critical appraisal can be defined as the process involving careful and systematic examination of research for judging its trustworthiness, relevance and value for their particular contexts. According to White (2008) critical appraisal is very important especially for health professionals, considering the fact that they handle critical matters of human life. Many of the research studies that are carried out on human and animal health are often treated with great esteem considering the changing health problems and challenges in the human environment (Pignone 2005, p. 67). According to Armstrong (2012) an effective healthcare process can only be managed by an application of effective and reliable strategies derived from research studies, which underpins the need for their critical appraisal. This paper examines a critical appraisal for a research that was conducted on the participation of patients in the NHS Bowel Cancer screening programs. The critical appraisal of this research process will undertake the qualitative approach, examining the methodology that was used and its effectiveness (Wake 2013, p. 31). In this case, it will be possible to assess the effectiveness of the research process. According to McCabe (2009) qualitative research processes are known to use approaches that deliver quality information from resource persons, most of whom are carefully selected for the research process. The process of critical appraisal aims at assisting people to develop necessary skills that can help to make sense of various scientific evidences. This

Global Warming is real Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Warming is real - Research Paper Example The resulting rise in sea level is causing tsunamis to occur and has also endangered the survival of many animal species on earth. The question that has, in recent years, attracted the attention of scientists all over the world is, if the global warming is on a rise, and if so, to what extent are humans responsible for that? As fossil fuels burn, the carbon they contain gets converted into a greenhouse gas, known as carbon dioxide (CO2). Such greenhouse gases as methane (CH4) and CO2 entrap the sun’s energy into the atmosphere. There has recently been a tremendous emphasis on reduction of the fossil fuels use as they are thought to be the most fundamental cause of increase in global warming. In this paper, the question noted above has been answered with support of scientific studies to show that global warming is a real issue. According to the meteorites’ radioactive dating, it has been 4.6 billion years since the solar system of which earth forms a part has been found. Examination of the minerals preserved in earth and the scientific study of rocks has shown that earth has contained liquid water for 4.3 billion years (Watson and Harrison). Since then, climate of earth has largely remained stable, with occasional freezing in certain areas that have always remained as such. It is the massive increase in the energy drawn from sun that has caused a tremendous increase in the earth’s temperature. According to an estimate, there has been a 30 per cent increase in the energy output on earth from sun since the start of the solar system (Gough). Part of the energy drawn from the sun is reflected and some is retained. Some portion of the energy that gets absorbed in earth radiates back and escapes into the space. It is the energy absorbed minus energy radiated that decides the temperature of earth. Composition of the earth’s atmosphere also plays a decisive role in the increase of temperature. 99 per cent of the gases that atmosphere contains like oxygen and nitrogen are transparent towards the energy drawn from sun. Other gases like CO2 and water vapors tend to reduce the process of radiation of the energy from earth to the space. Therefore, increase in the level of these gases obviously increases the temperature of earth and contributes to the global warming. Of the two gases, it is the CO2 that concerns scientists the most because the water vapors in atmosphere remain constant in amount as compared to the CO2. Now, if the CO2 level in the atmosphere is increasing, global warming is then indeed, a real issue! The biggest source of CO2 is the fossil fuels. In addition to that, decomposition of materials and burning of wood also causes a considerable increase in the content of CO2 in the atmosphere. The rapid industrialization that has occurred in the recent centuries has caused a manifold increase in the CO2 level in the atmosphere. The reason why the resulting increase in the earth’s temperature is an issue is that this directly affects the ecosystem prevailing on earth. If the CO2 level continues to increase at the present rate, earth will soon become inhabitable for almost all species including humans, and life on earth will extinguish. The following text examines what recent studies have said about the CO2 levels in the atmosphere. (Deem) has shown the rate of annual increase in the C

Negalance in Childcare Regulation Research Paper - 1

Negalance in Childcare Regulation - Research Paper Example The paper tells that the basic responsibilities of a childcare company include assistance in the construction of a classroom environment which is helpful to learning and suitable to the physical, social, and emotional development of children with an emphasis on language development and emergent literacy skills. Children are most sensitive and most intuitive ingredient of our society so major precautions should be taken in their teaching and training, so the companies should perform duties as planned under the leadership of the Early Childhood Specialists. Likewise, child care companies also assist in the screening and preparation of children to let them fully participate in program services. To ensure the best security, they have to implement the curriculum that is planned by the Early Childhood Specialist which has to be based on scientifically based reading research. Interaction with the children in a way which conveys respect and nurturing is also necessary. It will be the child c are provider’s responsibility to play with children; this will often mean getting down on the floor to interact with them. They will provide activities and opportunities that encourage inquisitiveness, exploration, and problem-solving appropriate to the development levels of the children. This is an essential part of the training and overall development phase. To guarantee the best development of the adored children, they assist in the selection of books, equipment and other instructional materials suitable for the early childhood program. As all know that health is wealth, they emphasize significantly on the personal hygiene of each child in their care. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a unit which has been set up within the Labor Department. This unit was established with a goal to provide safe and healthy working environment to the working class in the nation.

Article Summary Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary - Article Example The need for new applications has contributed to the advancement of communication and networking technologies (OBrien & Marakas, 2008). These changes have impacted businesses because they have to put in a lot of resources to manage the complexities brought about by these technological advancements. These trends have been causing problems for organizations. When it comes to using technology efficiently, the burden on managers is greater today than it was in the past. This is because technological advancements have brought about a lot of complexities in communication and networking systems. Previously, the internet was largely used as a platform for communication and entertainment. This trend has changed, and, for businesses, the internet today is mainly used as a business process automation and commercial platform (OBrien & Marakas, 2008). A good example is that managers today are more concerned about having an online presence than physical presence. Managers have to grapple with how to manage networks effectively so that they can efficiently support their business processes. The network management dilemma remains a challenge for managers. Another example is dealing with how fast networks need to operate to satisfy their business demands since there are larger volumes of data to

Gucci Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gucci - Essay Example This essay analyzes one of the leading luxury product brands. And the name of it is Gucci. The brand is associated with symbol, name, design etc of a firm that helps a company to distinguish itself from others. The brand name or image is used by the companies for marketing and advertising its products. The positive image of the brand is an important asset of the firm. It helps the company in creating good impression in the mind of targeted customers. A brand is often represented by logo (Batey, 2012). It is protected by secure trademark. A company makes people aware of its products and services by marketing its products through various channels. In the competitive market of fashion industry, Gucci always maintains its strong brand image. This brand is so popular that in spite of its high price, the company has several customers in different parts of the world (Blackburn, 2012). The concerns of the company about its customers and its high quality of products contribute in developing p ositive brand image of Gucci. Gucci is highly conscious about its resonance. The company tries to satisfy its customers and increase their engagement with the brand by providing them complementary gifts with every purchase. The firm provides the facility of same day deliver in New York. The response of the customers to the brand is highlighted in this step. The company got to know the buying behaviour of the customers by understanding their judgement and feelings towards products. Gucci aims to deliver best goods of high quality. The brand position of Gucci is highlighted in this essay.

Article Summary Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary - Article Example The need for new applications has contributed to the advancement of communication and networking technologies (OBrien & Marakas, 2008). These changes have impacted businesses because they have to put in a lot of resources to manage the complexities brought about by these technological advancements. These trends have been causing problems for organizations. When it comes to using technology efficiently, the burden on managers is greater today than it was in the past. This is because technological advancements have brought about a lot of complexities in communication and networking systems. Previously, the internet was largely used as a platform for communication and entertainment. This trend has changed, and, for businesses, the internet today is mainly used as a business process automation and commercial platform (OBrien & Marakas, 2008). A good example is that managers today are more concerned about having an online presence than physical presence. Managers have to grapple with how to manage networks effectively so that they can efficiently support their business processes. The network management dilemma remains a challenge for managers. Another example is dealing with how fast networks need to operate to satisfy their business demands since there are larger volumes of data to

How has your understanding of ethnocentrism shaped your understanding Essay

How has your understanding of ethnocentrism shaped your understanding of the field of Sociology - Essay Example The concept of ethnocentrism arises from the deepest thoughts and understanding of people belonging to one culture about the culture of other people. The distinct ideas, living standards, traditions, moral values and norms of other cultures seem unacceptable and inferior to them. The basic reason of this irrational judgment about other’s culture lies in the fact that people tend to measure and observe cultures from their preset standards of their own. They tend to measure and evaluate every customer and practice of other cultures from their own perspectives about the issues as they learned from their own culture. Hence, observing other’s from the viewpoint of one’s own cultural perspective may define the concept of ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism does not let a person view things and the world around them form other’s point of view. It, hence, acts as a hurdle in the way of understanding others. In today’s globalized environment, ethnocentrism may pose a threat to the peace and collaborative struggles of people working, living or studying together. Ethnocentric approach provides a one-sided view of everything and hence, the judgments made using this approach are narrow-minded and have limited scope.

Qualities of a Successful leader

Qualities of a Successful leader Introduction Management is concerned with human beings whose behaviour is highly unpredictable. An individual or a group of people who accept responsibility to run an organisation and direct its activities are called management. The importance of management in business is universally accepted. It acts as a driving force in business. Modern business is highly competitive and needs efficient and capable management. According to Peter Drucker (2007), management is a multi-purpose organ that manages business and manages managers and manages workers and work. Manager A manager is a person tasked with overseeing employees to ensure that they carry out their assigned duties. (www.wisegeek.com) Qualities of a Successful leader Leadership Qualities Personal Traits Managerial Traits Self-confidence, initiative innovative, emotional maturity, intelligence, decisiveness, vision foresight, acceptance of responsibility. Knowledge of human skill, administrative ability, technical knowledge, ability to deal with people, ability to judge and decide quickly. (Appleby.R, 1969) Leadership Leadership is followership. Leadership is not a quality which is in born. Its a quality which can be developed from within. Leadership is a strategy used, by which a manager influences the employees to achieve the tasks and objectives and keep the organization together and focused to strive hard towards its goals. Leadership is often a dynamic activity concerned with changing attitude. They are more inspirational and involve more emotional input than management. (www.skagitwatershed.org). According to Koontz ODonnell, â€Å"leadership is the ability of a manager to induce subordinate to work with confidence and zeal. (Kale.N, 2006) Discussion: Styles of leadership and motivation, which can be used by a Manager. There are 4 basic styles of leadership. Autocratic Bureaucratic Laissez-faire Democratic But the styles which are mainly and widely used in most of the organisations are as follows: Autocratic style: This is a method which takes place in most of the organisations. In this style the manager keeps control over everything. They give orders and draw lines. There is a strong supervision on the employees. Employees do not get an opportunity to discuss or give their suggestions or inputs. They have to follow the instructions given. In this method the motivation is either encouraged by rewards or punishments. This style has been criticized from past many years. The most important drawback of this style is that it has always been a higher staff turnover and staff not turning up to work with an excuse of illness. (Gaynor. G, 2004). This leadership style falls under theory x by Douglas Mc gregor. For example: This is sometimes being observed in the hotel industry. Where the manager sets up the rules, orders and staff has to follow them without any discussions or opinions. Characteristics Managers mostly depend on threats and punishments to get the work done from their subordinates. Most important factor that there is no trust on the employees. Employees do not play any role in the management decision and discussions. Situation 1: The new staff has just joined the front office department in a 4 star hotel. She has worked before in many hotels with different types of systems. The systems used in this hotel are new for her. She is completely new and untrained so she needs to be trained on the systems. As she is new to the company, the service standards are purely different then what she has seen in the past, so she needs to be under detailed supervision, for that she needs to follow instructions orders. The hotel is really busy place and they are also understaffed. If she makes a mistake, there is no time to sort out the issue on the spot. The management has just changed before she joined the hotel so everything before was poorly managed. So she has to follow up the orders there is no time for discussions or suggestions. She has to deliver the best performance under the instructions of the manager. This clearly shows that in the situation mentioned above, the manager needs to use an Autocratic style of leaders hip. Democratic style: Democratic leadership is also called as participative leadership. This is a strategy where the subordinates or staffs can actually participate in the discussions and decisions. Everything is done systematically in this leadership style. The manager will meet the employees, inform them about the issues emerging that might affect their work or the organisation and then shares the information in order to make decisions and to decide who will sort out the problems and with what responsibilities. (Surridge.M 2004). This leadership style falls under theory y by Douglas Mc gregor. For example: Many giant corporate companies who are into retailing and car industry would follow this style. Where there is a trust between higher management and the subordinates in regards to suggestions and decision making and planning. Characteristics The manager will develop a strategy, a plan to support the employees to review and improve their performance. The manager will actually work hand-in-hand with employees to achieve the goals and objectives. Manager encourages the staffs to grow up in their work performance and inspire them towards the promotion. Situation 2: BMW is a giant car manufacturing company. It has a good reputation in building its luxury cars. They have strived hard to gain their customer satisfaction. Within one of their plant in UK, the business is going well. They are proper staffed. Also the production manager of that plant is keen on discussing/meeting every week with the employees of all the departments and would like to get suggestions and opinions from all the subordinates regarding any current issues, problems and solving them. The manager discusses the performance of each every employee to give them a review of their work to support them to bring themselves to success. He creates an environment of building a team and participation where everyone gets involved equally in every situation faced by the company. This shows that the manager does trust his employees do achieve their objectives. In this situation the manager would use a Democratic style of leadership. Motivation Motivation is an art of getting things done willingly from others. The term motivation is derived from Latin word ‘movere which means to move. Motivating means encouraging people to take more initiative and interest in the work assigned. Motivation is the inner psychological forces in an individual which induce him or her to act or not in a particular way. The creation of the desire and willingness to perform the job efficiently is what is generally known as motivation. (Ahmed. M, 2006) â€Å"Motivation means, a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish the desired goal†. (W.G.Scot) Who needs Motivation Individuals who are just performing their routine work without any new ideas or bringing initiatives in their work. Those people who just do their work and count minutes to end their shifts. These kind of people need motivation and inspiration. Types of Motivation Intrinsic motivation: People who are naturally motivated by having a desire to participate to participate and face new experiences. These people do not rely on rewards or benefits for their performance. They develop their motivation by self-developing their qualities for any kind of challenging work. (www.giftedkids.about.com) Extrinsic motivation: These people need motivation from outside, externally. This includes encouraging the employees artificially, like: offering bonus, compensations, benefits and pay rise. Instead of being eager to grasp the tough situations. These individuals get motivated by only manually assigning them the challenging projects. (www.giftedkids.about.com) MOTIVATION INTRENSIC EXTRINSIC Theories of Motivation The eminent psychologist Douglas McGregor has called the theory of motivation as Theory x and Theory y. the traditional approach to management is as explained as theory x and professional approach is explained as theory y. the theory is explained into two sets of employees based on the perception of human nature. (Kale. N, 2006) Theory x is static, rigid, conservative and pessimistic. Theory y is optimistic, dynamic, flexible and progressive. More importance is given to external control imposed by the superior on the subordinate in theory x. according to the theory y people are basically positive in their approach. As pointed by D. McGregor that managers need not follow only one theory for motivating subordinates. They can use both the theories depending on the situation. Theory y is more democratic and is also suitable to present trends in the business world. Whereas Abraham Maslows theory of motivation has identified five sets of human needs arranged in a hierarchy of their importance and priority. Security/ safety needs Social needs Esteem needs Self-actualization needs Hence both the theories are linked with each other and have limitations and as we see McGregors theory is somewhere based on the assumptions made by Maslows hierarchy of needs. The lower tier showed as theory x and the higher tier is showed as theory y. Maslows theory has certain criticisms like; Its based on human needs only It fails to refer the other motivating factors like expectations and experience. Peak experiences Self-actualization Psychological needs Safety needs Basic needs Maslows hierarchy theory of needs (Prabhu. V, 2005) Thus Maslows theory is an empirical theory. Its more philosophical then scientific. Whereas McGregor has discarded the assumptions of classical school of thought. He has rightly given his preference for theory y that facilitates building and development of an organization. References www.jstor.org/pss/254978 (scott motivation) (Edition 2 the essential drucker by Butterworth- Heinemann)

Euthanasia: The Human Interruption of Natures Course :: Free Euthanasia Essay

Step into the shoes of 60 year old Mrs. Harris for just a moment. She was diagnosed with a severe case of diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis in both of her knees. Due to her high blood pressure, Mrs. Harris was at an intense risk of having a stroke. In addition to her health problems, she weighed in at approximately two hundred pounds, which limited her mobility. As her health began to deteriorate, so did her quality of life. Mrs. Harris did not want to hold onto life by a small thread of hope. She once pleaded to her son, " If I should start to go, don't try and save me. And don't put me in a convalescent home. That's a place of the living dead," (qtd. in Humphry, "Let" 64). As time passed, Mrs. Harris "suffered a massive stroke†¦ and was left completely paralyzed on her right side and could neither speak nor eat." One week later, the doctor announced that Mrs. Harris would never be able to speak or walk again. As though this wasn't bad enough, she suffered from her second stroke that same night. Somehow, doctors were able to stabilize her but she was pretty much a vegetable at this point (65). Now the true question was raised of whether or not to hang on to the little bit of life she had left. Between all of the loops from her dramatic health roller coaster, her son's health began to downfall as well. After many attempts to comfort her during her downward spiral, it was time to give up. He gave into the anger, frustration and sadness by shooting her in the head and ending her life (75). Thus, the controversy lies here. Was this act of euthanasia wrong or justified? How do most people wish for their death to occur? With pain, agony, suffering, and the thought of their loved ones witnessing such misery? Of course not! Most people want to die quickly and peacefully such as in the case of Mrs. Harris. It is believed that euthanasia should be legalized to some degree. This argument inquires that if you should ever have a loved one that is suffering and death is certain, you should have the choice to ease their pain if that is their desire. It is quite understandable the no one wishes to die painfully or continue in a state of constant discomfort.

The First World War (WWI) :: World War 1 I One

Beginning of the war   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World war I began in the Balkans, which was the same place many small war took place. The assassination of the Archduke Archduke Francis Ferdinand was the heir of the throne of Austria-Hungary; he hoped that his sympathy for the Slavs would ease the tension between Austria-Hungary and the Balkans. He and his wife had arranged to tour Bosnia. As the couple rode through Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, an Asian by the name of Gavrillo Principe jumped on their car and fired two shots. Francis and Sophie, did almost instantly, Gavirle Principe, was linked to a Serbian terrorist group called the Block hand. The Assignation gave Austria-Hungary a good reason to crush Serbia, a lay time emerge in the Balkans. But first they gained Germanys promise to support them in any action they took against Serbia. Then they sent Serbia a list of Humiliating demands on July 23. Serbia accepted most of the demands and offered to have the rest settled by an international conference. Austria-Hungary rejected the offer and declared war on Serbia on July 28 1914. It was expected to be a quick victory. The western front   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Germany had a war plan witch had been prepared by Alfred von Schliffer in 1905. Schliffen was the chief of the German General staff; witch was a group of officials who provided advice on military operations. The plan assumed Germany would have to fight both France and Russia a quick defeat of France while Russia was slowly mobilizing. After they defeated France they would have to deal with Russia. If war came Germany would have to strike first. After the plan was put in motion, the system of military alliances almost assured a general European war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plan said that there was suppose to be 2 wing of the German army to come in and crush the French arm in a pinchers move. The left wing would be smaller to defeat Germany along side of France. The larger right wing was supposed to invade French in through Belgium, encircle and capture the capitol of France and then move east. This plan relied on a big right wing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Belgin army was fighting tough and holding up the Germans but only for a short time. By Aug. 16, 1914 the right wing of the German army could begin its pincher move. They drove back the French and a small British force in southern Belgium.

Plato †democracy Essay

Aristotle was a pupil of the famous philosopher Plato. During his lifetime (384-322 BC) he learned and taught Socratic philosophy which was taught to him. He was taught this philosophy by Plato, who is responsible for all of Socrates written works since Socrates himself did not write down his teachings. During his teen years he was enrolled in Plato’s â€Å"Academy† where he then taught for about 20 years after his graduation. After this he started his own school called the â€Å"Lyceum†. Here he  taught of philosophy and politics. His political teaching broke down regimes into six categories. These categories are then broken down into three groups of pairs. Each of these pairs has one â€Å"good† form and one â€Å"bad† form. The first tier consists of Monarchy and Tyranny. Each of these is â€Å"the rule of the one†, but according to Aristotle, a Monarchy was better than Tyranny because a Monarch puts the needs of his people before his own. The second tier is Oligarchy and Aristocracy. Both of these are  Ã¢â‚¬Å"the rule of the few† but Oligarchy was considered a better form because the Oligarchy was not necessarily influenced by money and class whereas Aristocracy was. The third tier was Polity and Democracy. Both of these were â€Å"the rule of the many† but Democracy was considered better for the same reasons that Oligarchy was better than Aristocracy. With his teachings of philosophy, and his image of an ideal regime which could possibly be attainable (unlike his predecessor Plato’ â€Å"ideal city†). he was a very influential character in the future of society. Due to his father being a court physician for King Amyntas of Macedonia, Aristotle was a childhood friend of the later King Phillip. His friendship with King Phillip was the main reason he was asked to teach Phillip’s son Alexander (later known as Alexander the Great). Aristotle played a pivotal role in the development of Alexander the Great and it is quite possible that he would have not had such a conquest as he did had it not been for Aristotle’s.

Gek1522 Essay

Ever since the advent of industrialization, there has been an increase in the emission of several greenhouse gases (GHG) mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide emissions account for 80% of global warming of GHG emission, as compared with 57% in the 1980s (Lashof & Ahuja, 1990). Panwar, Kaushik & Kothari (2011) also states that excessive fossil fuel consumption will have adverse impacts on the environment, and increase threat of global climate change. Fortunately, more and more countries are starting to be aware of climate change, which comes as a result of the increase of emission of GHG.Therefore, various proposals to reduce emission of GHG have been drawn up to suggest possible solutions to reduce the impact of climate change. While all of these proposals are useful to reduce emission of GHG, some will be more practical and effective due to other problems, which may arise. One of these proposals includes developing more non-polluting renewable energy sources (RES ). This is a practical way to reduce the impact of climate change as it directly reduces GHG emissions. Currently, RES supply 14% of the total world energy demand (Panwar et. l. , 2011). RES includes biomass, hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind and marine energies. By harnessing energy from RES, dependence on conventional energy sources that produce GHG will be reduced. For example, solar energy is the most abundant RES and is available as both direct and indirect form. Solar energy can be used directly in solar thermal applications, or indirectly in photovoltaic systems to generate electricity. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission mitigation potential from 1. kWp solar pump is about 2085kg from diesel-operated pumps (Panwar et. al. , 2011). Therefore, by using RES, we can directly reduce the GHG emissions by moving away from energy sources that produce GHG. This is also the most practical solution as RES are readily available and abundant all around us. What needs to be done is to build t he infrastructure required to harness RES so we can become less reliant on GHG-producing energy sources and thus reduce GHG emissions. Another such proposal involves reforestation to â€Å"soak up† more CO2.Reforestation is the next most effective solution as it also deals with removing CO2 emissions directly from the atmosphere. Trees have the ability to absorb CO2 and convert it to stable carbon â€Å"sinks† in the form of biomass stored in trunks, branches and organic matter in the soils (Moulton & Andrasko, 1990). This carbon â€Å"sequestration† is important as it removes CO2 in the atmosphere and locks it in wood that can be used for furniture and other construction applications. In addition, reforestation offers an opportunity for emission control investments (Niskanen, 1997).However, it may not be as practical as developing more non-polluting RES as reforestation requires a large area of land and not many countries will be willing to give up land space, which could potentially bring economic benefit. Also, reforestation efforts are expensive. According to Moulton and Andrasko (1990), a budget of $65 million is proposed in the USA for the President’s proposed tree-planting initiative. This huge amount coupled with limited economic benefits the country will gain from reforestation may deter governments from supporting the proposal.Thus, while reforestation provides a sink for CO2, it may not be a practical solution due to economic and land concerns. Governments must be able to prioritise the long-term environmental benefits involved to make better decisions. The next proposal involves reducing energy use by conservation. By reducing energy use by conservation, the global energy demand will be reduced, and thus less non-renewable energy sources will be burnt at power plants, reducing GHG emissions. This is another possible solution to reduce GHG emissions.For example, this can come by using solid-state lighting instead of incan descent bulbs. Government agencies have introduced policies to conserve energy usage through more efficient use of energy (Sen, Khazanov & Kishimoto, 2011). Incandescent light bulbs typically convert 5% of energy into visible light. Solid-state light-emitting semiconductors promise to offer conversion efficiencies of 50% or more (Sen et. al. , 2011). However, the success of this solution is dependent on the collective mindset of the community on a global scale.This will require time and education to encourage reduced energy use through conservation. In addition, with an increasing number of countries becoming more affluent, the global energy demand will increase. Therefore, reduction of energy use by conservation is limited to the affluence of the country, and research can then be used to develop more efficient technology to reduce energy use. This is harder to achieve, as it is more difficult to develop a culture to conserve energy, than to convince governments on reforestation.The next proposal involves adding more nuclear power plants to replace current conventional coal-burning power plants. Nuclear energy provides carbon free production of electrical energy, and produces much more energy than conventional energy sources (Grandin, Jagers & Kullander, 2010). One uranium fuel pellet contains the same amount of energy as 1,780 pounds of coal or 149 gallons of oil (Palliser, 2012). Thus, much more energy can be generated from a small amount of nuclear source. Nuclear waste is small in physical size compared to waste produced by other forms of energy (Palliser, 2012).While this provides a clean source of energy and reduces the emission of GHG, it may not be the most practical idea due to the concerns of radioactivity. Nuclear waste has to be stored in steel-lined, concrete vaults filled with water or in aboveground steel or steel-reinforced concrete containers with steel inner canisters (EPA, 2010). In addition, uranium is a nonrenewable resource that cannot be replenished on a human timescale. Fossil fuel emissions are also associated with uranium mining and enrichment process and the transport of uranium fuel to the nuclear power plant (EPA, 2010).Therefore while nuclear power plants produce zero GHG, the processes involved may still produce GHG. The radioactive risks involving the waste and storage could become another environmental problem. Hence, while adding more nuclear power plants will definitely reduce GHG emissions, it is not very practical as it will create numerous environmental problems as mentioned above. The last proposal involves removing carbon in fossil fuels before combustion and â€Å"sequestering† that carbon in underground reservoirs. This involves hydrogen production from fossil fuels that include steam reforming and water gas shift (Steinberg, 1999).In order to suppress CO2 emission from the steam reforming process, CO2 must be sequestered underground. This removes CO2 emission into the atmosphere, thereby reducing GHG emissions making it an effective solution to reduce GHG emissions. However, such a process involves higher cost and lower efficiency (Hetland, 2008) making this solution is the least practical as up to 40% of the energy is lost through â€Å"sequestering† in underground (Steinberg, 1999). Therefore the efficiency of such a solution is compromised, as it is not as efficient as conventional coal burning.In addition, by â€Å"sequestering† carbon in underground reservoirs, these reservoirs are susceptible to leaks and this gas might be released again. Also, fossil fuels are considered non-renewable energy sources and therefore such a solution is only effective so long as there are such resources. Therefore, this is the least practical and least efficient solution available. In conclusion, even though there are many solutions to reduce GHG emissions, critical analysis of each proposal is required to determine which solution is the most practical and the most e fficient, according to the local constraints and economic cost-benefit analysis.Ultimately, the onus is on governments to recognise the impact of each possible proposal, and to decide which path to take in terms of reducing GHG emissions to reduce the impact of climate change. References Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2010. Nuclear energy, Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 29/03/2013 from http://www. epa. gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/affect/nuclear. html Grandin, K. , Jagers, P. , Kullander, S. (2010). Nuclear energy. A Journal of the Human Environment, 39, 26-30. Hetland, J. (2008).Assessment of pre-combustion decarbonisation schemes for polygeneration from fossil fuels. Clean Technology Environmental Policy, 11, 37-48. Lashof, D. A. , Ahuja, D. R. (1990). Relative contributions of greenhouse gas emissions to global warming. Nature, 344, 529-531. Moulton, R. J. , Andrasko, K. (1990). Reforestation. EPA Journal, 16 (2), 14-16. Niskanen, A. (1997). Value of external environmental impacts of reforestation in Thailand. Ecological Economics, 26 (1998), 287-297. Palliser, J. (2012). Nuclear Energy. Science Scope January 2012, 14-18.Panwar, N. L. , Kaushik, S. C. , Kothari, S. (2011) Role of renewable energy sources in environmental protection: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 15, 1513-1524. Sen, S. , Khazanov, G. , Kishimoto, Y. (2011) Environment, renewable energy and reduced carbon emissions. Radiation Effects and Defects in Solids: Incorporating Plasma Science and Plasma Technology, 166 (10,) 834-842. Steinberg, M. (1999). Fossil Fuel decarbonisation technology for mitigating global warming. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 24 (8), 771-777.

Mutual Funds

INVESTIGATING MUTUAL FUNDS IN GHANA: IT’S RISK, RETURN AND PERFORMANCE ABSTRACT Over the years, investors have been attracted to mutual funds. This study seeks to do an-depth analysis of the Ghanaian mutual fund industry between the years 2006 and 2010. An exhaustive literature review on mutual funds and portfolio diversification will be conducted. An assessment of the performance of mutual funds will be done using the Sharpe and Sortino ratios as well as the Jensen Alpha. Comparisons will be made with analogous indices to determine the attractiveness of the industry. The investment strategy of fund managers will also be analysed and recommendations made. This paper will provide investors with a broad overview of the Ghanaian mutual fund industry, its inherent risks and returns. INTRODUCTION The potential conflict between mutual fund companies and the people who invest in them is a classic example of an agency problem. Consumers would like the fund in which they invest to use its judgment to maximize risk-adjusted expected returns (Chevalier and Ellison, 1997). Measuring the performance, risk and returns of mutual funds thus becomes imperative as rational investors need such information to make investment decisions. According to an article published by All Africa on the 8th of November, 2010, figures released by Ghana’s statistical service indicated that the country’s economy stood at GH? 44 billion, 60% more than estimated earlier. Per this figure, the country was deemed to have attained middle income status. Ghana recorded at the time, the largest Per Capita Income in West Africa and ranked 21st in the continent. The Ghanaian economy’s steady growth has attracted both domestic and international investors. Among the many investment opportunities in the country available to investors is the attractive mutual fund industry which provides numerous benefits to its investors. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the number of mutual fund companies increased from 7 in the year 2008 to 9 in 2009. The total Net Asset Value of funds under management by mutual funds companies was GH? 95,817,222. 27 in 2009 while total fund mobilization stood at GH? 40,433,682. 0. A summary of the performance of the mutual fund industry in 2009 is shown in tables 1 and 2 in the appendix. This information provides several points of interest as to how the Ghanaian mutual fund industry has performed over the years and more importantly how it compares to other analogous mutual funds in the continent and elsewhere. This has informed the choice of enquiry and the need for research in the proposed area. M easuring the performance, risk and returns of mutual funds in the Ghanaian financial market has implications for a host of stakeholders. AIMS AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The general objective of this research is to assess the risks and returns associated with investing in mutual funds in Ghana. The study also aims to draw a comparison between the performance of the Ghanaian mutual funds industry and similar financial markets. To achieve the general objectives, the following specific objectives have been formulated to guide in data collection and analysis. 1. To identify what makes mutual funds attractive to investors in Ghana 2. To identify the types of mutual funds available to Ghanaian investors 3. To measure the performance of mutual funds between 2006 and 2010 4. To compare Ghanaian mutual funds performance with similar market indices 5. To make recommendations to improve the management of mutual funds LITERATURE REVIEW According to Haslem, 2009, investing in Mutual funds has with many advantages. A primary advantage is the professional management of investors’ money. Investors purchase funds because they do not have the time or the expertise to manage their own portfolio. Secondly, by owning shares in a mutual fund instead of owning individual stocks or bonds, an investor’s risk is spread out. The idea behind diversification is to invest in a large number of assets so that a loss in any particular investment is minimized by gains in others. Again, if you buy only one security at a time, the transaction fees will be relatively large. Mutual funds are able to take advantage of their buying and selling size and thereby reduce transaction costs for investors. Finally, mutual funds boost liquidity as an investor can also sell his shares at any time. International mutual funds are key contributors to the globalization of financial markets and one of the main sources of capital flows to emerging economies. Despite their importance in emerging markets, little is known about their investment allocation and strategies (Kaminsky et al. , 2001). Fund managers however have numerous strategies for stock selection, identifying underappreciated or cheap securities, seeking growth potential and following past price trends (Chan et al. , 2002). According to them, most mutual funds adopt investment styles that cluster around a broad market benchmark. Few funds take extreme positions away from the index, but those who do are more likely to favor growth stocks and past winners. Licensing requirements for operating a mutual fund in Ghana A Mutual Fund Company must be incorporated under the Companies Code 1963 (Act 197) as a public limited liability company with the sole aim of holding and managing portfolio of securities and other financial assets. An application is then made by the company to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a license to operate the fund. Company regulation, Management agreement, Custodial agreement and a Prospectus are required by the commission for review before a license is issued (SEC, 2011). These stringent requirements help ensure a robust industry with compliant firms. Measuring mutual funds performance Considerable progress has been made in three closely related areas – the theory of portfolio selection, the theory of the pricing of capital assets under conditions of risk and the behavior of stock-market prices. Results obtained in all three areas are relevant for evaluating mutual fund performance (Sharpe, 1966). A number of measures have been used over the years for measuring the performance of mutual funds. The Sharpe ratio, Sortino ratio and Jensen Alpha are among the few distinguished ones. METHODS OF ANALYSING DATA Data to be analysed will be gathered from company websites. There are a few methodologies that I intend to use for the purposes of analyzing data collected. These will measure the performance of Ghanaian mutual funds, asses its risk, volatility and return. * Sharpe Ratio This is a ratio developed by William F. Sharpe, a Nobel laureate, for the measuring of risk-adjusted performance in 1966. It measures the amount of excess return per unit of volatility provided by a fund. It is calculated by divided the excess return of a fund by its volatility. Algebraically, we have: Sharpe Ratiop All numbers are expressed usually expressed on an annual basis, so the Sharpe ratio itself is expressed on an annual basis. The interpretation of the Sharpe ratio is straightforward: the higher the ratio the better. A high ratio means that the fund delivered a high return for its level of volatility. In contrast, a ratio of 1. 0 indicates a return on investment that is proportional to the risk taken in achieving that return. A Sharpe ratio of less than 1. 0 shows a return on investment lower than the risk taken (Lhabitant, 2006). This ratio is appropriate for measuring the performance of mutual funds in Ghana for the purposes of the study. Sortino Ratio This ratio was developed by Frank Sortino. It is an extension of the idea behind the Sharpe ratio that calls for attention to an investor’s return target or minimal accepted return (MAR). The ratio uses target semi deviation in the denominator instead of the standard deviation. This is particularly useful when the return target is of importance to the investor (Christopherson et al. , 2009). * Jensen Alpha The average return on a portfolio over and above that predicted by the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), given the portfolio's beta and the average market return. Developed by Michael C. Jensen, this measure of a portfolio's alpha value is the most widely used measure of the risk to return trade-off. It is also known as the abnormal return or the risk adjusted excess return (Russell, 2011). The skewness and kurtosis of the distribution of the data will also be analysed and discussed whiles comparing risk and return. RESEARCH STRATEGY, TIME SCALES AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS This research will involve the gathering and analysis of quantitative data available to the public. Literature on existing research in mutual funds assessment will be discussed. Other electronic sources of information such as online journals, articles, eBooks and databases will be accessed. Business reports and articles published in Ghanaian newspapers and journals such as the Securities and Exchange Commission Reports will also be consulted. The risk and return of a sample of mutual funds in Ghana will be calculated and discussed. A comparison will then be made with a benchmark performance in a market that has macroeconomic conditions similar to Ghana. This is justified as it enables logical submissions to be made from the comparisons. The use of financial markets indices will be employed. Conclusions will be drawn and recommendations made on how fund managers can heighten the performance of mutual funds in Ghana. Any lapses in the Ghanaian mutual funds industry will be pointed out. There will be no questionnaires involved or the gathering of primary data for the purposes of this study. Microsoft Excel and SPSS are the software packages that will be used to analyse data. No costs will be incurred for their usage as they are already in my possession. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY Secondary data has the limitation of not being effective in predicting the future. Time constraints may also be faced as a number of mutual funds will have to be analysed individually and compared with other indices. The later limitation will however be overcome by effective time management and committing to the developed Gantt chart. RESEARCH ETHICS In the conduct of this research, the highest ethical standards will be observed. The issue of confidentiality of information will not arise as all data to be analysed in the research is already available to the public. The sources of information will be duly referenced and acknowledged. My independence from the organisations under study will ensure accountability and objectivity of the research. Recognized and accepted methods of analyzing data will also be used to avoid fabrication and falsification. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study will fill the gap of knowledge about the performance of Ghanaian mutual funds. Fund managers as well as investors will benefit from the study and its recommendations. The study is significant as Ghanaian investors are increasingly being attracted to the mutual funds industry and its ability to effectively diversify their risk. GANTT CHART Week 1 25/09 | Week 2 2/10| Week 3 9/10| Week 4 16/10| Week 5 23/10| Week 6 30/10| Week 7 6/11| Week 8 13/11| Week 9 20/11| TOPIC AGREED| | | | | | | | | | AIMS & OBJECTIVES| | | | | | | | | | OPENING SECTIONS| | | | | | | | | | DRAFT OUTLINE| | | | | | | | | | LITERATURE REVIEW| | | | | | | | | | METHOD/ APPROACH| | | | | | | | | | ANALYSIS/ RESULTS| | | | | | | | | | DISCUSSIONS/ CONCLUSIONS| | | | | | | | | | REFERENCE/ ACKNOWLEDGEMENT| | | | | | | | | | BINDING| | | | | | | | | | SUBMISSION TO FACULTY| | | | | | | | | | REFERENCES 1. All Africa. Ghana: Nation Attains Middle Income Status. Online]. Retrieved from: http://allafrica. com/stories/201011081261. html (accessed 30 August, 2011) 2. Chan, L. K. C. , Chen, H-L. and Lakonishok, J. , On Mutual Fund Investment Styles. The Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 15, No. 5 (Winter, 2002), pp. 1407-1437. 3. Chevalier, J. and Ellison, G. , Risk Taking by Mutual Funds as a Response to Incentives. The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 105, No. 6. (Dec. , 1997) pp. 1167 – 1200. 4. Christopherson, J. A. , Carino D. R. and Ferson, W. E. , Portfolio Performance Measurement and Benchmarking. McGraw-Hill (2009), USA. 5. Haslem, J. A. Mutual Funds: Portfolio Structures, Analysis, Management, and Stewardship. John Wiley and Sons (2009), New Jersey. 6. Kaminsky, G. L. , Lyons, R. K. and Schmukler, S. L. , Mutual Fund Investment in Emerging Markets: An Overview. The World Bank Economic Review, Vol. 15, No. 2 (2001), pp. 315-340 7. Lhabitant, F-S. , Handbook of Hedge Funds. John Wiley and Sons(2006), London 8. Russell. Jensen Alpha. [Online]. Retrieved from: http://www. russell. com/us/glossary/analytics/jensen_alpha. htm (accessed 20 July, 2011) 9. Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana. What are Mutual Funds? Online]. Retrieved from: http://ww. secghana. org/investor/display_mutualfunds. php (accessed 20 July, 2011) 10. Securities and Exchange Commission (2009) Annual Report, Accra Ghana. 11. Sharpe, W. F. , Mutual Fund Performance. The Journal of Business, Vol. 39, No. 1, Part 2: Supplement on Security Prices. (Jan. , 1996). Pp. 119- 138 APPENDIX TABLE 1. 0 NET ASSET VALUE OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN GHANA (2009) Source: Securities and Exchange Commission Report (2009) TABLE 2. 0 FUNDS MOBILISED BY GHANAIAN MUTUAL FUNDS (2008 AND 2009) Source: Securities and Exchange Commission Report (2009)