Absolute rulers essays

Absolute rulers essays Many empires and nations throughout global history have been under the rule of absolute monarchs who follow the policies of absolutism. Absolutism is a political system in which a ruler has complete power. Many ancient nations, such as Spain, Russia and France, followed the policy of absolutism. Absolute rulers usually show strong armies, high taxes, and the belief in divine right. One of histories most prominent absolute rulers was Peter the Great of Russia. Several rulers of empires and nations have followed the policy or absolute rule. Many of the absolutists believed that they had gotten their right to rule straight from God, also know as the Divine Right. Because of this, the monarchs had complete control over the government. He or she could pass any laws they believed would benefit the nation without consulting any person. The monarch not only had complete rule over the government, but he or she also had utter control over the people and their lives in his or her empire. In fact, if people rebelled against the leader it was virtually inevitable that they would be jailed, tortured, or killed. Peter the Great of Russia is one of the most famous absolute monarchs. He is characterized as a very cruel man; however, he successfully reformed Russia. His goal was to westernize and modernize all of Russia, including the government, society and culture. He imported western technology to help him achieve this goal. Peter improved education by setting up academics and simplified the Russian alphabet. Serfdom spread around Russia; the serfs worked the land that the nobles were given, ensuring that the nobles could serve the state. Serfs were also forced to work on government projects, which improved the waterways, canals and roads. Peter brought all Russian institutions into his control, including the Russian Orthodox Church. He also wanted to end the seclusion of higher class women in their separate quarters. Peter wanted men and wom...

The Meaning of Okuns Law in Economics

The Meaning of Okuns Law in Economics In economics, Okuns Law describes the relationship between production output and employment. In order for manufacturers to produce more goods, they must hire more people. The inverse is also true. Less demand for goods leads to a decrease in production, in turn prompting layoffs. But in normal economic times, employment rises and falls in direct proportion to the rate of production at a set amount. Who was Arthur Okun? Okuns Law is named for the man who first described it, Arthur Okun (Nov. 28, 1928- March 23, 1980). Born in New Jersey, Okun studied economics at Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. While teaching at Yale University, Okun was appointed to President John Kennedys Council of Economic Advisors, a position he would also hold under Lyndon Johnson. An advocate of Keynesian economic policies, Okun was a firm believer in using fiscal policy to control inflation and stimulate employment. His studies of long-term unemployment rates led to the publication in 1962 of what became known as Okuns Law. Okun joined the Brookings Institution in 1969 and continued to research and write about economic theory until his death in 1980. He also is credited with defining a recession as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. Output and Employment In part, economists care about a nations output (or, more specifically, its Gross Domestic Product) because output is related to employment, and one important measure of a nations well-being is whether those people who want to work can actually get jobs. Therefore, its important to understand the relationship between output and the unemployment rate. When an economy is at its normal or long-run level of production (i.e. potential GDP), there is an associated unemployment rate known as the natural rate of unemployment. This unemployment consists of frictional and structural unemployment but doesnt have any cyclical unemployment associated with business cycles. Therefore, it makes sense to think about how unemployment deviates from this natural rate when production goes above or below its normal level. Okun originally stated that the economy experienced a 1 percentage point increase in unemployment for every 3 percentage point decrease GDP from its long-run level. Similarly, a 3 percentage point increase in GDP from its long-run level is associated with a 1 percentage point decrease in unemployment. In order to understand why the relationship between changes in output and changes in unemployment is not one-to-one, its important to keep in mind that changes in output are also associated with changes in the labor force participation rate, changes in the number of hours worked per person, and changes in labor productivity. Okun estimated, for example, that a 3 percentage point increase in GDP from its long-run level corresponded to a 0.5 percentage point increase in the labor force participation rate, a 0.5 percentage point increase in the hours worked per employee, and a 1 percentage point increase in labor productivity (i.e. output per worker per hour), leaving the remaining 1 percentage point to be the change in the unemployment rate. Contemporary Economics Since Okuns time, the relationship between changes in output and changes in unemployment has been estimated to be about 2 to 1 rather than the 3 to 1 that Okun originally proposed. (This ratio is also sensitive to both geography and time period.) In addition, economists have noted that the relationship between changes in output and changes in unemployment is not perfect, and Okuns Law should generally be taken as a rule of thumb as opposed to as an absolute governing principle since it is mainly a result found in the data rather than a conclusion derived from a theoretical prediction. Sources: Encyclopaedia Brittanica staff. Arthur M. Okun: American Economist. Brittanica.com, 8 September 2014. Fuhrmann, Ryan C. Okuns Law: Economic Growth And Unemployment. Investopedia.com, 12 February 2018. Wen, Yi, and Chen, Mingyu. Okun’s Law: A Meaningful Guide for Monetary Policy? Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 8 June 2012.

Regression Analysis Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Regression Analysis - Speech or Presentation Example In essence, it allows for evaluation of the fixed and random effects models in non-linear modeling frameworks and simply assumes parameter and variable non-linearity. Assumption 2: Expected value of error is zero This assumption presumes that the error component will return a zero mean meaning that the observed mean will not be systematically distorted away from the true value by the error (and this contrasts with a systematic bias effect which would distort the observed mean away from its true value) (Good & Hardin, 2009). Assumption 3: Autocorrelation Amongst the assumptions often made in regression analysis is that error terms not dependent on each other or rather non-correlated. This is however not always the case. When this assumption is violated, despite the fact that the regression model is still usable, in prediction value, its usefulness is largely diminished. This study considering the relationship between the variables seeks to assume its presence and hence proof that the model’s usability is largely diminished. The estimated regression parameters, a, b1, b2, . . . ,bk, are left as unbiased estimators of the respective real values, A, B1, B2, . . ,Bk, and hence the model remains appropriate for establishment of point estimates of A, B, and others., and it can be used in prediction of values of Y for X value sets (Good & Hardin, 2009) (Good & Hardin, 2009). Autocorrelation is often a product of errors correlation. It broadens the scope of thinking to look at different observations which result from varying distributions which are non-explanatory. Assumption 4: Heteroskadascity Sphericality assumption often implies that there exists homoskedasticity of errors, and that variance is constant across cases. Violation of this offers heteroskedasticity whereby the predictive model does particularly poor in some set of circumstances. Take for instance in this case where there is a possibility that unemployment or gas prices across countries may be reli able but there is lesser proof to believe in the data relating to the same obtained from other countries. Such a case would give rise to increased random variation, and hence huge mean error variances, in the respective countries. In general, Heteroskedasticity occurs in instances where the homoskedasticity assumption is violated, giving rise to Assumption 5: Multi-collinearity assumption Whenever there exists moderate to high intercorrelation amongst predictor variables, multi-collinearity is believed to arise. Typically, multi-collinearity presents a real research problem when multiple regressions are used. These include its severe limiting of R’s size given that predictors follow a variance as much the same as that of y, creating a difficulty in determination of the worth of a predictor due confounding of the effects as a result of correlation between them, and an increment in regression coefficient variants (Good & Hardin, 2009). In this case’s, a number of variabl es are considered in the model including gas price, excluding food prices, unemployment, and personal expenditure which was removed due to its high correlation to the other variables. However, even with the inclusion of the other variables, it is still believed that the other variables have some slight correlation to each other. For instance, food services are likely to be impacted on by gas prices and the same is true for unemployment rates. Conclusion Understanding relationship

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

History - Essay Example Pappas (1) in his article supported this claim where he mentioned that Americans tend to be calm, sensible and comforting. Such virtues were emulated in them in the midst of disasters. Just like any country, America had many difficulties too but what made them great and were able to stand is their composure and sensible actions. Although, they have diverse religion, Americans had lived up the virtues that are Godly guided since doing so is believed to contribute to the true essence of happiness leading to a better life (Slack, 454). On the other hand, concern for the others is also evident in charity works maintained by Jane Addams in her time and had been adopted by significant figures in the political arena where they find ways to make themselves mutually supporting. The act of giving is also expressed among the ordinary citizens as part of their family or personal life. Charity services were also extended outside the country making America known for its support worldwide. Along th is line, virtue to them likewise connotes power. For this reason, most elected politicians had included in their programs the goal to make the life of people better in times of economic insecurity. Politicians who do not support economic and social flourishing generally lost in elections as they are not popular without such agenda in their program. Not only virtue is concern for self awareness, self development, and duty for others to the Americans, but it also means respect for human rights. Human rights in America have expanded where freedom is acquired and secured for them to live a life suited for the changing times. However, to them rights are useless if they are trampled upon by others, denied by the powerful few, and misused by the individuals. With this, they seek to know themselves better and not just to accept themselves as what they are or what the society think of them. For virtue to be put to use, Americans have to exercise their own judgment from within and not to be d ictated by the rules from the books. They do not believe that the handed rules to live one’s life could make them live a good life but rather consider rights as an intermediary to allow them to live their life well. To sum up, America is a nation who respects the individual and believes in liberty rather than to be dictated (Gary, 527). Added to what was mentioned, virtue is tolerance and appreciation for diverse lifestyle. Thus, they are open to accept individuals from any country to enter their territory as immigrants as long as they meet the qualifications stipulated in their requirement. Unlike other countries, Americans are tolerant to any religion an immigrant may bring in and so with their culture. As such, they are open- minded to give value to varied contributions in these aspects from other people to guide them in their lives and in an effort to reform society. In this aspect, Americans give a high regard to perseverance even in the face of adversities. To ensure th at American citizens and their leaders possessed virtue, they reject dishonest people. This is reflected in the action of the government in terminating the services of government officials and sanctioning those who misuse their power to accept bribe in exchange of approving or tolerating illicit activities. Such action shows their rejection of corruption

Macroeconomic Stabilisation in Regards to Labor Market Essay

Macroeconomic Stabilisation in Regards to Labor Market - Essay Example 139 – 140). Aside from believing that there is a perfect labour market among the firms, employers and employees, classical economists assumed that equilibrium within the labour market is possible because of the presence of monetary wages or wage-price flexibility that could make supply and demand curve adjust with the changes in labour markets in order to remove or eliminate the presence of excessive supply and demand for labour (Rossana, 2011, p. 370; Gupta, 2008, p. 273; Ahiakpor, 2003, p. 160). Given that there is profit maximization or profit seeking behaviour on the part of the local business group; demand for labour is often represented by a downward-sloping curve since these companies are less likely to employ a lot of high-paid employees as compared to low-paid employees (Rossana, 2011, p. 370). On the other hand, the aggregate supply curve for labour is represented by a vertical curve (Rossana, 2011, p. 371). Specifically the classical theory on labour market is often based on the Walras’ and Say’s law which strongly suggests the idea that the labour supply is capable of creating its own demand through the use of price or wage adjustments (Gupta, 2008, p. 273). Likewise, the issue on real wage and employment level is determined by the movements in the supply and demand curve within the labour markets. Contrary to the beliefs of Keynesian economists, classical theorists strongly believe the presence of unemployment rate is a result of unforeseen economic disturbance which can be easily solved as soon as an adjustment between the supply and demand curve occurs. Since the presence of job-seekers who refuse to accept lower wage rate are classified as ‘voluntary’ unemployment, classical economists assume that there is always full employment in...This essay offers a comprehensive analysis of macroeconomic concepts that characterize economic conditions in the labour market. This paper makes use of economic principles and theo ries in discussing why aggregate labor market as a clearing market is difficult to achieve. In the study of macroeconomic theories, the interrelation between the labour markets, the goods market, money market, and the foreign trade market is being taken into consideration in order to determine the interaction between the levels of employment, employees’ participation rate, aggregate income, and gross domestic product. In a market clearing situation, the quantity of labour demanded is expected to be equal to the quantity of labour services supplied by the employers. Aside from believing that there is a perfect labour marketclassical economists assumed that equilibrium within the labour market is possible because of the presence of monetary wages or wage-price flexibility that could make supply and demand curve adjust with the changes in labour markets in order to remove or eliminate the presence of excessive supply and demand for labour. The labour market will remain unclear because of imperfect labour market conditions which is often triggered by the presence of economic factors that continuously affect the movements in the supply and demand curve in labour markets. The study of macroeconomics in labour market strongly suggest that full employment is close to impossible to achieve, because of the presence of macroeconomic factors.

A Review Of Woolworths Limited Commerce Essay

A Review Of Woolworths Limited Commerce Essay Woolworths Limited is one of the major Australian companies with extensive retail interest around Asia-pacific region. Largest food retailer in Australia, Largest retail firm in Australia and New Zealand and largest takeaway liquor retailer, hotel and poker machine operator in Australia. The Woolworths limited family is one of the huge employers in Pacific-Asia. With around 200,000 team members working in support offices, stores and distribution centres across Newzeland and Australia. Woolworths limited also continues to develop in buying and wholesaling offices in India and Asia. Retailing is most people focused business that makes recruiting, retaining intelligent employees and developing significant to their success. Through Woolworths limited policies, educate and development opportunities, reward and recognition programs, career opportunities and initiative to provide a balance and healthy work life, they target to keep doing the right things by their people and they keep on to recognise Woolworths limited as such a great place to work. Woolworths limited is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. A diversity strategy has been certified and developed by the top management group, part of Woolworths ongoing commitment to diversity. In Woolworths limited, where all employees are treated with respect, dignity and courtesy, this is their target to provide a healthy work environment. They acknowledge that diversity adds significance in bringing dissimilar perspectives to work environment and in reflect the communities they serve. It helps business benefits as well. A diversity working community has been created comprising and Human Resource managers from all divisions. The purpose of the community is to, prioritise events to harness diversity within the company, make sure that recognising diversity owned by the business and managing accordingly. The gender at Woolworths, female constitutes 55% of the company workforce and proud of the progress the company made in the area of gender diversity, mainly in the top leadershi p role. 16.7% of leadership roles in company were held by women, for the financial year 2003-04 and 27% had increase in the year 2008-09. In facilitating womens career development and progression, Woolworths Limited focuses to create an environment that is appreciation and supportive of difference. Men and women offer various perspectives those provide undeniable business benefits and they try to remove the barriers that may restrict the women career progression. These include the structured networking opportunities and mentoring. Woolworths board members two are women out of nine, which represent 22% of the board. Peter chandler, a part time employee of Woolworths at Katherine in northern Territory, which is 320 kilometres from south Darwin, is among an expanding group of Indigenous Aussies who are become Woolworths employees. Peter has gained experience in almost all departments of the store, such as perishable, bakery and presently working as a night fill employee. Woolworths is such a great place to work, diverse backgrounds such as people with disability, should have the opportunity to be work with Woolworths, which job they are suited. Woolworths limited has a memo of understanding with disability works Australia (DWA) and when recruiting a disability candidate, Woolworths require the contractor to use service of the Disability work Australia. The contractor is the supported to wage system is used decide the employees wage. Woolworths sources the great majority of people for new vacant roles from their talent pool. In addition develop and promoting their own employees, Woolworths also recruiting talent from the local market. Where candidates are not available locally, they source them globally. This ensures Woolworths access fresh ideas but continue to join deep industry expertise and knowledge. Almost 54,000 people started work with Woolworths in the year 2008-09. Less than half of 1 % of those people was sourced worldwide. Usually, external recruitment focuses on specialist roles, frequently at their corporate support office in Norwest, Sydney, Woolworths always source the candidate through different channels to ensure they locate those nice suited to the role and organization. That includes recruitment agencies, online job boards, employee referral, career expos, industry magazines, word mouth and press advertising. Woolworths has a long-standing dedication to building internal ability. They consider this to be main driver of their capacity to perform, change and grow. Woolworths had retained more employees during the past year and turnover rates have decreased in seven of the Australian territories and states. During that period overall turn of the company decreased by 10% points. Turnover also decreased at top level, the rates falling from 8.6% to 6.5% with respect to 2008 to 2009. In the calendar 2008 year, company delighted to have retained all executive women, who were due to return from parental leave. To help they retain their diverse employee base, they offer a range of non-financial and financial worker benefits. Those are includes access to flexible work arrangements, a range of wellness programs, professional development options and paid maternity leave. To recognise as leader in sustainable retailing in Australian retailing sector is the Woolworths limiteds long-term goal. Such as, integrating sustainability and corporate responsibility into their day-to-day business practices is a high priority. Commitments, priorities, initiatives and targets to direct the industry towards this goal were recognised with the publication of doing right thing: sustainability strategy 2007-2015. In their five year strategic plans, all divisions are incorporated with their sustainability; required to take sustainability criteria and these into calculate in any major investment decisions. All responsibilities lie with board. The board oversees the effectiveness of their health and safety program through its people policy committee. To evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the health and safety standards, vision, policy, strategy, governance and procedures across the group; Woolworths limited health and safety executive committee chaired by company Chief Executive Officer comprises divisional management and meets. Woolworths limited is a tough supporter of competition in retail business. Competition is not only helps to price low for consumers, but it also run the retailer to supply better services and products. The food retail sector in Pacific-Asia is highly competitive, and there are many retailers entre into the market and growth in the number of independent and specialist retailers. This is awareness that the Woolworths limited, the fresh food people, dominates the food retail business. But however according to Morgan supermarket Monitor (2007) and their research shows that 68% of consumers spending on fruit and vegetables takes place outside the Woolworths markets. Building in-house capacity is fundamental to their continued success and growth. To retain their talented people, Woolworths offer numerous professional and personal benefits, includes well being programs and flexible work arrangements. It is a core component of Woolworths limited, human Resources strategy to provide staff with opportunities for development and progression within the organization. Woolworths limited well known for their practices of promoting from within, with many staff spending their working time within the Woolworths family. Cross-cultural experience is highly valued and is characteristic shared by their senior management Group. Woolworths people are given great concern when new opportunities arise; giving them access to specialise and growth strengthen Woolworths limiteds internal skill and knowledge base. HR INNOVATIONS: Human Resources representatives determine whether any behaviour reported to them under this Policy constitutes Unacceptable Conduct and whether the matter requires investigation. Role of Group Human Resources Policy owner Group Human Resources manages the implementation of the Policy, including: requiring all employees to regularly complete online awareness training providing role-based training to EEO Contact Officers (in Australia only at this stage), who are a point of contact for staff regarding this Policy providing training on request to Human Resources representatives regarding their responsibilities

Social Psychology and the Stanford Prison Experiment by Philip Zimbardo

Social psychology is an empirical science that studies how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. This field focuses on how individuals view and affect one another. Social psychology also produces the idea of construals which represent how a person perceives, comprehends or interprets the environment. Construals introduce the idea that people want to make themselves look good to others and they want to be seen as right. It is also said that the social setting in which people interact impacts behavior, which brings up the idea of behaviorism. Behaviorism is the idea that behavior is a function of the person and the environment. The ideas of social psychology mentioned above can be applied to the Stanford Prison Experiment; in which the environment, the participants, and construals brought about behaviors that may not have been how the participants actually would behave in real life. The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted in 1971 by Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University. The purpose of the experiment was a landmark study of the human response to captivity, in particular, to the real world circumstances of prison life. In social psychology, this idea is known as â€Å"mundane realism†. Mundane realism refers to the ability to mirror the real world as much as possible, which is just what this study did. Twenty-four subjects were randomly assigned to play the role of "prisoner" or "guard" and they were made to conform to these roles. Subjects became so entranced in these roles that the guards started to behave as if they really were the guards of a true prison. Zimbardo had told them to think of themselves in this way and it led to the guards mentally abusing the prisoners with their cruel and degrading ro... ...ion people based on the orders of Adolf Hitler and his henchmen. In reference to the two situations, one participant of the study said that â€Å"anybody can be a guard, but not every one becomes sadistic.† This saying can be applied to real life situations, especially that of the New Jersey incident. These occurrences can be analyzed using social psychology because the environment, the situation, and those holding the authority influenced the behavior of others. Due to these influences, prisoners and guards acted on the roles they were given, in the way that society sees them. The description, in itself, is the definition of social psychology. Works Cited Ratnesar, Romesh. July/August 2011. The Menace Within. Stanford Magazine, pp. 1-9. Smothers, Ronald. (1998, February 6). Asylum Seekers Testify on Abuse by Jail Guards. The New York Times, pp. 1A, 9A.

Northern Rock Plc

Northern Rock Plc Contents Page 1Report2 1. 1Audit Committee and Auditors2 1. 2Experience:4 2Comparison5 2. 1Chief Executive and Chairman5 2. 2Audit Committee5 2. 3Risk Management Committee6 2. 4Remuneration & Nominations Committee6 3Chance of another failure6 4Conclusion:8 5References8 Report In this report I am going to highlight the weaknesses in the corporate governance code of Northern Rock that lead to its downfall. Audit Committee and AuditorsAccording to the UK Corporate governance code the board should set up formal and obvious arrangements bearing in mind how to apply the corporate reporting internal control, and risk management rules for keeping the right relationship with the company`s auditors. The board should make up an audit committee of at least three non executive directors in the case of smaller companies at least two NEDs. The chairman can be a member in smaller companies but cannot chair the committee unless he or she was considered independent on appointment as chairman.The board should make sure that at least one the member should have recent and relevant experience in the audit committee. The board’s responsibilities are to lay out all the terms in writing and monitor the financial statement of the company, to review the financial performance and reporting. It should also review internal financial control, risk management system if not in place separately to check the effectiveness and internal function of internal audit.The board should also be review and monitor the external auditors work their appointments and re appointments, their remunerations, and more importantly the non audit services should be checked very closely. In the case of Northern rock the board and the audit committee failed to implement the above mentioned guidelines. In July 2007 the chief executive published on the website that operationally Northern rock’s first half of 2007 was a good one. He mentioned that mortgage lending in particular was strong.I f that was the case then how did Northern Rock end up being nationalised in just over 7 months? Was someone checking and verifying the statements of the chief executive. The external auditor’s complacency was another issue. In their report of 2006 they gave a clean bill of health. This was later investigated by the House of Lords economic affairs committee which found that the auditors had performed their job carelessly. An effective audit committee could have spotted these problems well in advance.The reason for PWC’s complacency might either be because of the presence of Rosemary Radcliffe on the audit committee who was previously a partner of PWC or maybe they were providing other non audit services to the company and did not want to upset the board. As per the corporate governance code the number of audit committee’s members was according to the code but none of the NEDs had any financial experience. Nichola Pease had experience of fund management but not in the banking industry even that experience was not a recent one as required by the code.It seems that at Northern Rock the audit and risk committees were not taken very seriously as Rosemary Radcliffe only attended two out of four audit committee and one out of three risk committee meetings. Experience: Northern Rock appointed a Senior Independent Director with over half the board being non-executive directors- following the combined code 2 and Basel 2 recommendations. However none of the directors were experienced enough in the field of banking not even building society.This in fact does not support the idea of having good corporate governance as it does not ensure failure or success. The above factors raised questions as to why the company’s shareholders did not question the risky business model or was it because of outstanding profits seen as the reward for taking such risk. The remuneration committee can also be held responsible for the failure as both the chief executive and the company took on the gamble for the high risks which in turn questions the values of the shareholder and executive. As mentioned above there were so many factors involved . i. e. he lack of experience, the chairman of the board and nominations committee Dr Ridley had no prior financial experience and even the subject that he has studied is far different to the role he was responsible for. The other four non executive directors Fenwick, Gibson, Pease and Queen also did not have recent relevant experience. Sir Derek Wanless with a good education background but unfortunately with some negative history while working in NatWest where he got paid ? 3M having lead a disastrous acquisition strategy. If the company was aware of the history then why was he appointed as a chairman of the Audit and risk committee?All of the above points indicate that it was really poor corporate governance in place which neither of the committee paid attention or lack their experience in the case of chi ef executive`s appointment cannot be said that much as he was internally promoted it is sometimes good so he knew about the company from scratch to the top but in some case it is better to have an experience person from a different companies so that they can bring new ideas and innovation. The audit committee had to review what they have been there for the monitoring of the internal financial control, the services, remuneration, re appointments of the external auditors.If the corporate governance were strong in the company there would not be any mis representation of the financial reporting neither by the chief executive nor by the external auditors and also they would have known the consequence of the failure before it had happened. Comparison In this question I am going to compare the governance arrangements noted in the case study with the current version of the UK corporate Governance code. Northern rock had applied most of the governance code but there were some weaknesses in s ome of the areas. Chief Executive and ChairmanAs per the UK governance code the chief executive and the chairman should be separate, their re-appointment and remuneration will have to be approved by the board. In Northern Rock the above codes were applied properly. Chief executive and chairman were two different individuals and their appointment and re appointment were also approved by the board. Audit Committee As mentioned above Northern Rock’s audit committee failed to comply with the UK Corporate Governance code on more than one count which led to the auditors not performing their job properly. Audit committee should act as a watch dog in an organisation.Risk Management Committee UK corporate governance says that the board should conduct a review of the risk management committee’s effectiveness at least on a yearly basis. The review should cover almost everything including financial, operational and compliance controls and should be presented to the shareholders. L ooking at the timeline of collapse of Northern Rock it seems that the risk committee was not very effective in identifying risks faced by the organisation and hence failed to perform its duty properly which led to the collapse of UK’s 5th largest lender in within one year.Remuneration & Nominations Committee According to the UK corporate governance code the company should have a remuneration and a nomination committee which should determine the salaries of the board members and should nominate suitable individuals for appointment. The nomination committee should be made up of non executive directors who should be independent members of the committee. The chair or non executive director should chair the committee but he or she should not chair the committee when appointing the successor to the chairmanship.The committee should also evaluate the skills, experience and knowledge of the candidate when making recommendations. It seems that northern rock’s nomination committ ee failed in doing their job properly according to the UK corporate governance code. If they had fulfilled the above requirements in accordance to the UK code then the inexperience of the NEDs would have not been an issue. Chance of another failure Generally, organisations with relatively poor governance don’t succeed as uch as those with high standard corporate governance aided by investors. Northern Rock proved this statement when worries about corporate governance resulted in poor performance. This came about 4 years before it was nationalised when shareholders were concerned in the kind of bonuses which were being paid to executives. This develops another understanding about the theory that governance drives performance rather than performance driving governance. Non-executives improve performance and the balance between executives and non-executives is very vital.Considering both the internal and external factors affecting the failure of northern rock it was mainly cause d due to its internal disability of managing crisis. It was the very flawed legal regulation and the poor corporate governance of Northern Rock that let itself down during the tough mortgage crisis in the US. The business model of the company worked for a number of years but despite the risk involved the non-executive directors cared less of the actual risks to the company’s model.Lesson can be learnt from the Northern Rock fiasco by other businesses regardless of their size or profitability. If any business does not implement the corporate governance codes properly they are guaranteed to have problems sooner or later. Similar failure happened to the fourth largest American bank Lehman brothers due to poor corporate governance as their systems were very weak. The key areas of the failure were Corporate risk management, Board of directors, remuneration committee and nomination committee.The board of directors included nine retired four of them 75 years old one a theatre produc er and another navy admiral with no banking industry experience. In the board of directors the directors were paid well for their work each in the range $325,000 to $397,000 even after getting high return from the company they were not seriously taking care of the company due to having other responsibilities. Their risk management were also a failure because their executive committee the CRO and the CFO meeting were every week but instead they meet only twice in both 2006 and 2007 which was very outrageous.The failure of the remuneration committee was that only $1 billion were paid in cash bonuses in just matter of 8years which is a big failure. Other than that $500 million was paid to the chairman. Out of the ten board member four of them were 75 years old and only one had the recent knowledge of financial sector. If in the future any other bank or business will not make their corporate governance strong I am afraid there will be more cases like in the future. Conclusion: After all I have mentioned above it was a poor corporate governance that led the bank to failure.Northern rock had all sort of weaknesses in their corporate governance code it will be a good lesson for the other banks to learn if they have any sort of weaknesses in their corporate governance they should amend those before it will be too late. References 1. Treanor, J. (2008). Poor governance reduces profits, says ABI. Available: http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2008/feb/27/executivesalaries. insurance. Last accessed 09 Feb 2013. 2. Roman A. Tomasic . (2009). Corporate Rescue, Governance and Risk Taking – Northern Rock and Its International Context.Available: http://papers. ssrn. com/sol3/papers. cfm? abstract_id=1417953. Last accessed 09 Feb 2013. 3. The Financial Reporting council. (2012). The UK Corporate Governance Code. Available: http://www. frc. org. uk/Our-Work/Publications/Corporate-Governance/UK- Corporate-Governance-Code-September-2012. aspx. Last accessed 09 Feb 2013. 4. Agha, M G and Qatinah, A. (). Lehman Brothers and Corporate Governance Failure. Available: http://www. slideshare. net/adnanqatinah1/lehman-brothers-case-study2. Last accessed 09 Feb 2013.

Mysteries Of The World Essays - British Films, Free Essays

Mysteries Of The World Essays - British Films, Free Essays Mysteries of the World Mystery and the study of the unknown has always fascinated people. The search for truth in the "uncomprehensible" has led to many controversies. Some believe in the "supernatural", while others simply do not. Both types of people obviously have their own reasonings for believing or disbelieving in it. There are numerous world famous mysteries that are still controversial and remain "unsolved" to this day. Some of these mysteries include the Loch Ness Monster, the Abominable Snowman, and the Bermuda Triangle. The Loch Ness Monster is a legendary animal that supposedly resides in the depths of Loch Ness, a long narrow lake situated in rural Scotland. Stories concerning the monster date back to the 6th century A.D. The region was in complete isolation until a road was built alongside the lake in 1933. Then large numbers of people travelled through the region for the very first time. Over the years thousands have reported seeing something in the lake. Most reports depict a long neck surging from the water with a small head of a unknown creature. Pictures have even been taken of this "creature", but most scientists however, refuse to believe any creature of this kind lives in the Loch Ness. They claim that most reported cases are simply products of overactive imaginations, and as for the pictures, scientists say they are not lucid enough to distinguish items clearly, and some pictures are dubbed as "fake". A large number of non-scientists believe however, that the Loch Ness is the site of a b reeding colony of large unknown aquatic animals, due to the fact that Loch Ness was once an arm of the sea. Yearly summer investigations have been conducted since 1963 in attempt to unravel the mystery. Investigators have obtained films and sonar readings that indicate that there just might be some unknown animal in the depths of the Loch Ness. Evidence however, is inconclusive, and the controversy continues. Along with the Loch Ness monster, the abominable snowman shares fame as one the great mysteries of the world. The abominable snowman is a legendary creature of the Himalaya mountain region. It is reported to live in forested regions near the snow line. This creature is also known to some by the name Yeti. The abominable snowman is said to walk upright and have the appearance of half-man, half-ape. Many of the descriptions given to this creature are based upon the findings of large, unidentified foot prints in the snow, found in the Himalayas. In order to ascertain the truth behind the abominable snowman legends, countless expeditions have been undertaken, and most turned up empty. Today most experts hold the view that the "abominable snowman" is simply a "fairy tale" and don't take the matter seriously. The foot prints used to support the legends, are thought by scientists, to be prints of a bear or markings left my drifting snow and falling rocks. The legend of the abominable snowma n has been kept alive 'till this day, mostly by the Sherpa, a tribe of people living in the Himalayas. These people have always kept the belief that the abominable snowman is a true fact of life. To them he is seen as a religious figure, to be feared as well as protected. Without any concise evidence however, no one can prove this legendary animal from the mountains exists, so the mystery continues to baffle. Like the Loch Ness monster and the abominable snowman, the Bermuda triangle presents another intriguing wonder to the world. The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's triangle, is a triangular area of the Atlantic Ocean (305,000 km2) where the disappearances of ships, airplanes, and boats has led to the belief that "supernatural" forces inhabit this area of the sea. More than 200 planes, ships, and boats are believed to have disappeared in this triangle without a trace. This includes over 1,000 seamen and airmen. In most of these disappearances, it is the fact that no distress signal was ever received from the disappearing ships and/or planes that heightens the mystery of what happened to them. Although violent storms and downward air currents frequently occur in the area, scientists have not revealed anything extremely peculiar. Boundaries of the Bermuda Triangle

Ed and Oped Indian Express Essay Example

Ed and Oped Indian Express Essay Example Ed and Oped Indian Express Essay Ed and Oped Indian Express Essay Essay Topic: Op Ed EDITORIAL AND OP-ED Lay out The editorial page has 7 columns and covers about 6 stories. It also has an entire column dedicated to ‘letters to the Editor’, wherein 3-4 letters from their readers are published. The editorial-page is entirely black and white, including images, so as to give the page a serious attitude the editor’s column features 3 articles while the other 3 are the voices of experts and/or other journalists and columnists. The OP-ED page also has 7 columns. It covers 4 stories that are mainly written by experts. The stories include both hard and soft news and are placed in the following order on the page: the hard story on top followed by the softer stories below. On the right hand side of the page are weekly columns. On Wednesdays the is the ‘view from the left’ and on Thursdays is ‘the view from the right’. The OP-ED page is again in black and white Content The editorials are perceptive and readable and are mostly based on political or economic issues. Though sports and entertainment too feature, depending on the weightage that the news holds. Content analysis The articles on an average, in general have a very socialist approach. And though they do not have any political ideologies that they favour, they tend to lean towards the right of the centre. In terms of political leanings, The Express does not favour any party but their slight right leaning makes them tend to support the RSS and BJP at times. The express raises bold and relevant points in its editorials that are backed by appropriate and sufficient evidence and are well justified.

The External Environment of Microsoft Inc. (Computer Operating System Research Paper

The External Environment of Microsoft Inc. (Computer Operating System Industry) - Research Paper Example It has been ranked 37th in the Fortune 500 list in 2012 (â€Å"Fortune 500†). Industrial Structure As mentioned earlier Microsoft Corp. operates in the software industry globally. This industry mainly consists of the IT industry, the Software industry and the Internet Software and Services industry. If we look at the global software industry it mainly comprises of application software, software for home entertainment and systems software. The global IT Services industry is not that relevant to Microsoft because it comprises of the data processing and outsourcing market. The internet software and services industry mainly comprises of the organizations which develop and market internet software and provide internet services related to interactive services and online databases. There has been a growth of around 7% in the global systems software market in the year 2010. It is expected that the market value of this industrial sector would increase by around 31% in 2015 since the ye ar 2010. Operating systems software can be regarded as the largest segment related to the global systems software industry and accounts for a significant portion of the industry's total market value in the world. If we look at the geographical segmentation of the industry it can be found that the Asia-Pacific region accounts for the maximum share of the market value in the world. Microsoft Corporation is considered to be the leading player in this industry and accounts for the maximum share of the market value. Overall the market for systems software is fragmented which results in intensifying rivalry amongst the competitors. Dominant Economic Traits Some of the dominant economic features of the systems software industry are discussed below: a. Market Size and Growth Rate: There has been a continuous growth in the global systems software market in the recent years and it is expected to grow at a same pace in the forthcoming years as well. The total revenue generated by the global sy stems software market was around $198 billion in the year 2010 which represented a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 5.4% in between the years 2006 and 2010. The most lucrative segment of the market in 2010 was the Operations Systems software market which accounted for almost 37.5% of the total revenue generated in the market. b. Scope of Competitive Rivalry: Most of the companies in the software systems industry operate their business activities in different areas of the world. The majority of the market value for this industrial sector is concentrated in the Operating Systems software market. Of all the areas in the world, Asia-Pacific region accounts for most of the revenues generated in the global systems software market. Microsoft Corp. is the leading player in this industrial sector and since the market is fragmented it results in enhancing the rivalry amongst the competitors. c. Number of Rivals: Overall the systems software market is fragmented in nature. However, only a small number of large multinational companies like Microsoft, IBM,

Nestle Profit Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Nestle Profit Making - Essay Example His stance regarding that there is no social responsibility inherent for corporations directly coincides with the idea that was presented by Milton Friedman in that private expenditures on social or environmental objectives represents dollars stolen from the pockets of shareholders and employees. (Redman, 2006 p 96) This theory is a principle approach by Milton Friedman and in many ways, it is a beneficial approach monetarily, at least initially. What is important to understand is that the sole purpose of many privately created companies is to generate profit. Because they are private they have no responsibility except to their employees and owners. However, publicly traded companies are increasingly being seen as having a greater social responsibility given their large number of â€Å"owners† via stock or shareholders. According to some corporate social responsibility is really just a brilliant marketing strategy, it serves purely to enhance the corporation’s image and increase market shares. (Pardy, 2009 p 9) This leads to the easy assumption that many corporate organizations actually embrace or more traditional model and that they simply market or outwardly represent a more beneficent model of corporate social responsibility. These organizations may not view efficiency as a type of CSR, simply because efficiency is a necessary operating approach for profit-making versus becoming efficient to reduce carbon emissions. However, even a small amount of community or social awareness and minor changes in approach can affect the long-term sustainability in such a way that it benefits everyone including the shareholders and the employees. There are the other CSR fields that are not directly climate or earth related and can affect the consumer base directly as well. If there is no desire to promote the health and well-being of the consumer base then there is the potential for a loss of market due to a sharp potential decline in the consumer base.