Humanistic View Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Humanistic View - Essay Example He also put forward that a person could not reach to a next higher need in the hierarchy until her or his current needs were significantly or completely satisfied. Many enterprises have been influenced by these theories and changes brought about in the structure of the organization have yielded excellent results (Maslow, 1943). According to Abraham Maslow, 'needs' can be classified in a hierarchal format where the needs are ranked according to their importance. The basic needs have to be fulfilled before a higher need takes priority. The first level is the basic existence needs which include the physiological needs such as food, water, shelter and clothing. These are the most common needs that most people have except for those who live below the poverty line. Once an individual gets these, the person requires social security needs. These include the security in terms of a person feeling secure from robbery, theft as well as the feeling of insecurity in terms of having a job or having a house. As a person moves upwards to the next level, lower level needs are no longer prioritized. However if lower set of needs is no longer being met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs. Next, come the need for love and belonging with friends, families, co lleagues, communities and the society. When they are satisfied, a person requires esteem needs with self-respect. When these four levels are met, a person reaches the self-actualisation level where a person needs to realize one's own potential. Self-perfection is required to fulfil this need which may never come. (Srensen, 2006) Example When the needs of a social care user are matched against Maslow's need theory, the two lowest levels of need seem to be supported by the social care providers. Food, shelter, security and clothing are provided by the social care company satisfying the basic two levels of Maslow's hierarchy. It is at this second level where most users of the social care find themselves after being through with the social care. However, love and belonging is not at all the manifesto of social care providers hence a person is stuck at this level as a lower need has to be largely satisfied before the next can come into play. Esteem and self-actualisation needs may never be reached by the users of social care service and is impossible until they stop depending on the service and stand on their own feet. Where the social care providers are providing the basic two needs, they should also focus on creating such a strong base for their users that the users can progress from there on their own and not fall bac k to attain a lower need. (Srensen, 2006) Conclusion So from the point of Abraham Maslow about the humanistic view, it can be said that humans are ungrateful creatures who always want more no matter what. As one need gets fulfilled, another need comes up and this cycle continues onwards until a person attains self-actualization and this is the nature of all humans. Works Cited 1. H. Maslow (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation.

The motivation theories used by management

The motivation theories used by management This chapter provides a brief outline of motivation, types of motivation, major motivation theories and leadership theories on increasing employee motivation. Lastly this chapter identifies the impact of employee motivation on the productivity of the company. 2.2 Motivation The level of performance of employees relies not only on their actual skills but also on the level of motivation each person exhibits (Burney et al., 2007). Motivation is an inner drive or an external inducement to behave in some particular way, typically a way that will lead to rewards (Dessler,1978). Over-achieving, talented employees are the driving force of all firms so it is essential that organizations strive to motivate and hold on to the best employees (Harrington, 2003). The success of any business depends largely on the motivation of the employees.  Every person has their own set of motivations and personal incentives to work hard or not as the case may be. Some are motivated by recognition while others are motivated by cash incentives. Motivation can be internal or external. Deadlines are an example of external motivation. The fear of losing a contract or of not finishing a job you started is an example of internal motivation. Both internal and external motivation can be equally powerful. Financial Motivation is money, incentives, bonus, commission, fame and recognition which are External and Monetary benefits or Non-Financial Motivators like pride, sense of achievement, responsibility, belief, challenge and interesting job, Respect which are Internal. Perhaps the most significant impact of increased employee motivation is that of increased productivity. This is a central aim when adopting an incentive program. If you can increase employee motivation, productivity will follow and with that the inevitable increased bottom line. Table 1 Four most powerful types of motivation Type of Motivation Description Intrinsic motivation Satisfaction in the work itself (pleasure, stimulation, learning etc) Extrinsic motivation Rewards for doing the work (money, promotion, perks etc) Personal motivation Individual values (a love of knowledge, power, security, self-expression etc) Interpersonal motivation The influence of other people (competition, collaboration, commitments etc) Human beings are multifaceted creatures, and we are typically motivated by a mixture of all four elements. This diagram can help make sense of this complexity The types of motivation combine to produce four key areas to focus on when trying to motivate people. For example, prior to taking a work, employee will most likely to have a minimum anticipation in terms of pay and opportunities for career progress (personal rewards). You will also want to be certain that it offers you an opportunity to use your skills, learn and stretch yourself in pursuit of a meaningful challenge (personal satisfaction). Probability are you will also want to be given due recognition for your involvement (public recognition). And given how long you are going to spend in the group of your co-workers, you will probably want them to be interesting and enjoyable company (social interaction). Combining different forms of motivation will have the biggest impact on performance. Taking a more balanced approach to motivation will also help you develop better relationships with everyone on your team. How to Motivate People During a Recession Deci and Ryan (2000) conducted and replicated an experiment that showed the negative impact of monetary rewards on intrinsic motivation and performance. A group of college students were asked to work on an interesting puzzle. Some were paid and some were not paid for the work. The students that were not being paid worked longer on the puzzle and found it more interesting than the students being paid. When the study was brought into a workplace setting, employees felt that their behavior was being controlled in a dehumanizing and alienating manner by the rewards. It was discovered that rewards would seriously decrease an employees motivation to ever perform the task being rewarded, or one similar to it, any time in the future. Another observation of the study was that employees would expect a reward every time the task was to be completed if the reward was offered at one time. Employees would require the reward in order to perform the job and would probably expect the reward to increase in amount. If the rewards were not increased or if they were taken away they actually served as negative reinforcement. 2.2 Major Theories of Motivation Motivation is not only in a single direction i.e. downwards. In the present scenario, where the workforce is more informed, more aware, more educated and goal oriented, the role of motivation has left the boundaries of the hierarchy of management. The Fig below shows the major theories of motivation that can be applied in the working environment as well on the employees to see the impact of motivation on the organization as a whole. Fig shows Major theories of Motivation 2.2.1 Need Approaches Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Fig Shows Maslows Hierarchy of Needs If motivation is driven by the existence of unsatisfied needs, then it is worthwhile for a manager to understand which needs are the more important for individual employees. http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/maslow/ By applying Maslows theory of motivation, modern leaders and managers find way of employee motivation for the purpose of employee and workforce management. The basis of Maslows theory of motivation is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs need to be satisfied before higher needs can be addressed. As per the teachings of Abraham Maslow, there are general needs (physiological, safety, love, and esteem) which have to be fulfilled before a person is able to act unselfishly. These needs were dubbed deficiency needs. While a person is motivated to fulfill these basal desires, they continue to move toward growth, and eventually self-actualization. http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp As a result, for adequate workplace  motivation, it is important that  leadership understands which needs are active for individual employee motivation. In this regard, Abraham Maslows model indicates that basic, low-level needs such as physiological requirements and safety must be satisfied before higher-level needs such as self-fulfillment are pursued. As depicted in this hierarchical diagram, sometimes called Maslows Needs Pyramid or Maslows Needs Triangle, when a need is satisfied it no longer motivates and the next higher need takes its place. http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp Table 2 shows Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Needs Example Biological and Physiological needs Air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc Safety needs Protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc. Belongingness and Love needs Work group, family, affection, relationships, etc. Esteem needs Self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc Self-Actualization needs Realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. Source: http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm Alderfers ERG Theory Fig: Clayton Alderfers ERG Theory Needs Source:http://www.envisionsoftware.com/es_img/Alderfer_ERG_Theory.gif If the ERG theory holds, then unlike with Maslows theory, managers must recognize that an employee has multiple needs to satisfy simultaneously. Furthermore, if growth opportunities are not provided to employees, they may regress to relatedness needs. If the manager is able to recognize this situation, then steps can be taken to concentrate on relatedness needs until the subordinate is able to pursue growth again. http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/erg/ Herzbergs Two Factor Theory Fig: Hygiene and Motivation Factors Source:http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/figures/1472-6920-9-49-1.jpg The psychologist Fredrick Herzberg asked the questions from employees in the year 1950s and 60s for understanding employee satisfaction. He set out to determine the effect of attitude on motivation, by asking people to describe the circumstances where they felt really good, and really bad, about their jobs. What he found was that people who felt good about their jobs gave very different responses from the people who felt bad. Herzbergs findings revealed that certain characteristics of a job are consistently related to job satisfaction, while different factors are associated with job dissatisfaction shown in Fig? The conclusion he drew is that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are not opposites. The opposite of Satisfaction is No Satisfaction. The opposite of Dissatisfaction is No Dissatisfaction To apply Herzbergs theory, managers need to adopt a two stage process to motivate people. Firstly, managers need eliminate the dissatisfactions the employees are experiencing and, secondly, managers need to help them find satisfaction. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_74.htm McClellands Learned Needs Theory One of McClellands most well known theories is that human motivation is dominated by three needs. McClellands theory, sometimes referred to as the three need theory or as the learned needs theory, categorizes the needs as follows; The need for achievement The need for power The need for affiliation The importance of each of these needs will vary from one person to another. If the manager can determine the importance of each of these needs to an individual, it will help the managers to decide how to influence that individual. McClelland asserted that a persons needs are influenced by their cultural background and life experiences. He also asserted that the majority of these needs can be classified as the needs for affiliation, achievement or power. A persons motivation and effectiveness can be increased through an environment, which provides them with their ideal mix of each of the three needs. http://www.learnmanagement2.com/DavidMcClelland.htm 2.2.2 Cognitive Approach Expectancy Theory The expectancy theory says that individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated if they have certain expectation. Individuals choose behaviors based on the outcomes they expect and the values they ascribe to those expected outcomes (Borders 2004). Vrooms Expectancy theory is based upon the following three variables which he calls Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality valances (Bartol, Tein, Matthews, Riston Scott-Ladd 2006). Valence refers to the value an individual personally places on the reward or upon the expected outcome of a situation. The Valence is high if the reward available is of interest to us. When you have a higher valence you tend to have higher motivation (Bartol, Tein, Matthews, Riston Scott-Ladd 2006). Expectancy is the belief that your efforts will result in attainment of the desired performance. This belief is generally based on an individuals past experience, self confidence. Expectancy would be zero if an individual felt it were impossible to achieve a given performance level (Bartol, Tein, Matthews, Riston Scott-Ladd 2006). Instrumentality is the belief that the success of the situation is linked to the expected outcome of the situation, e.g. its gone really well, so Id expect praise. It is also the belief that if one meets the performance expectations, he or she will receive a greater reward. This reward may come in the form of a pay increase, promotion, recognition or sense of accomplishment. (Bartol, Tein, Matthews, Riston Scott-Ladd 2006) Equity Theory/ Social Comparison Theory Source: http://www.businessballs.com/adamsequitytheory.htm According to Equity theory the employees perceive what they get from a job situation (outcomes) in relation to what they put into it (inputs) and then compare their inputs-outcomes ratio with the inputs-outcomes ratios of relevant others (Shown in Fig). If an employee perceives her ratio to be equal to those of relevant others, a state of equity exists. In other words, she perceives that her situation is fair-that justice prevails. However, if the ratio is unequal, inequity exists and she views herself as under rewarded or over rewarded. Source: http://www.businessballs.com/adamsequitytheory.htm Goal Setting Theory of Motivation Goal-setting theory focuses on identifying the types of goals that are most effective in producing high levels of motivation and performance and explaining why goals have these effects. Goal-setting theory is found within the field of organizational behavior; however, it can be applied to any general area where goals may be achieved. http://www.ehow.com/about_5382265_goalsetting-theory-motivation.html Source: http://faculty.washington.edu/janegf/goalsetting.html In order to direct ourselves we set ourselves goals that are: Clear (not vague) and understandable, so we know what to do and what not to do. Challenging, so we will be stimulated and not be bored. Achievable, so we are unlikely to fail. If other people set us goals without our involvement, then we are much less likely to be motivated to work hard at it than if we feel we have set or directed the goal ourselves.http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/goals.htm 2.2.3 REINFORCEMENT THEORY Reinforcement theory of motivation overlooks the internal state of individual, i.e., the inner feelings and drives of individuals are ignored by Skinner. This theory focuses totally on what happens to an individual when he takes some action. External environment of the organization must be designed effectively and positively so as to motivate the employee. This theory is a strong tool for analyzing controlling mechanism for individuals behaviour. http://www.managementstudyguide.com/reinforcement-theory-motivation.htm Table 3: Reinforcement schedule Apply Withhold Reward positive reinforcement (raise above baseline) negative reinforcement (raise up to baseline) Stressor punishment (bring down below baseline) extinction (stay at baseline) Source: http://motivationcentre.blogspot.com/2006/03/reinforcement-theory.html Table 4 Types of Reinforcement Types of Reinforcement Description Positive reinforcement This implies giving a positive response when an individual shows positive and required behavior. Ex. You make a sale, you get a commission. You do a good job; you get a bonus a promotion. Negative reinforcement This implies rewarding an employee by removing negative / undesirable consequences. Both positive and negative reinforcement can be used for increasing desirable / required behaviour. Extinction It implies absence of reinforcements. In other words, extinction implies lowering the probability of undesired behaviour by removing reward for that kind of behaviour. For instance if an employee no longer receives praise and admiration for his good work, he may feel that his behaviour is generating no fruitful consequence. Extinction may unintentionally lower desirable behaviour Punishment It implies removing positive consequences so as to lower the probability of repeating undesirable behaviour in future. In other words, punishment means applying undesirable consequence for showing undesirable behaviour. For instance Suspending an employee for breaking the organizational rules. Source: http://www.managementstudyguide.com/reinforcement-theory-motivation.htm 2.3 Leadership Style Influencing Motivation Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people (Kurt Lewin,1939). Leadership Style influences the level of motivation of employees. Different Leaders have different style for managing the employees working under them. Fig explains the style of leadership influencing the motivation of employees. Fig: Leadership Style Vs motivation Source: http://www.motivation-tools.com/workplace/leadership_styles.htm

Obesity and Self-Esteem Essay -- essays research papers fc

Today obesity is talked about as a major physical health problem. It can cause diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, immobilization, and many other problems. However many articles fail to mention what is one of the most important and most destructive problems. This is the effect of obesity on one’s mental health and wellbeing. Being excessively overweight usually instills in it’s victims a sense of self worthlessness and gives them a very negative self-image. This can lead to an array of problems that affect the person in a way that is much more direct and difficult to deal with than physical problems. While the problem is known to affect men, it strikes women much more often. The models and celebrities in the media that set the standard for what women should look like are thinner than 90-95 percent of the American female population (Seid p.6). This is an unrealistic portrayal of what the human body should look like when compared to most women’s genetic makeup. Women’s self-image, their social and economic success, and even their survival can still be determined largely by their beauty (Seid p.5). Men on the other hand seem to have it a little easier when it comes to looks. Their self-image is largely determined by what they accomplish in life and not by whether or not they meet the social standard for looks. Modern clothing and fashion require women to show off their bodies more in tight clothes and by showing more skin than in the past. According to Roberta Seid ...

Impact of Terrorism on Financial Markets of Pakistan Essay

Since the emergence of 9/11 event in U.S.A., the world has witnessed significant increase in terrorist activities. Pakistan unfortunately has been the most vulnerable to the paradigm shift of terrorism. Its vulnerability is mainly subjected to its geographical location. Nonstop terrorist activities toppled over the country’s political, social and economic structure. Now the life of a normal citizen is at risk. State of infrastructure has become deplorable owing to the series of terrorist activities. Resultantly economic activity reduced manifold. Being a frontline state on â€Å"war on terror† the loss of Pakistan’s economy was a natural consequence. Pakistan’s economy was affected almost at all economic fronts which comprises of external, industrial, agricultural, business and services sector, etc. The continued rise in the terrorist activities also affected the confidence of foreign investors which caused the stoppage of FDI, besides withdrawal of the po rtfolio investment. The impact of terrorism was also felt in all the areas of the economy with varying degree and intensity. The most prominent areas included tourism, hotelling, manufacturing, cottage industry, transportation, trade, etc. These industries have reinforcing effect on each other. Factors such as heavy influx of Afghan immigrants, particularly Taliban; porous Pak-Afghan border; political instability; external conspiracies, demographic weaknesses and its geographical attractiveness have accentuated the process of Terrorism in Pakistan. All these factors combined with global â€Å"war on terror† have deteriorated Pakistan’s economic situation as a whole. Financial markets, which are the nucleus of any economic system, are also supposed to be affected due to terrorist activities. In the aftermath of the terror attacks of 11 September 2001 in New York and 11 March 2004 investors’ confidence deteriorated beyond national boundaries because of contagion effects (Johnston and Nedelescu, 2006). Under the current wave of terrorism in Pakistan, particularly the stock market, forex m arket and money markets are affected the most. These markets are highly important as most of the policy impacts are transmitted through these markets. Therefore, any disruption in the smooth working of these markets may affect the achievement of overall economic target set by the government. Especially the stock market, which is considered to be the barometer of economic health of a country, appeared to have been affected by the rise in extremism or terrorism in recent times. The negative impact of the market to hype in such activities is reflected by the selling of bonds of the target firm’s, but the magnitude and consistency of the negativity stirred in the market and of the spill over effects is questionable (Karolyi, 2006). Similarly, the forex market which is also obviously affected by the uncertainty prevailing in the economic environment bears adverse effects of the related events. As regard the banking sector of Pakistan, it is also found to be inflicted due to the aftermath of the terrorist activities. The size and distribution of the effect of these activities would depend on the myriad of factors such as nature of terrorist attack, target of the attack, the multiplier effect, policy response and the resilience of the financial market (Bruck and Wickstrom, 2004). Besides Lal Masjid operation, the hall mark of the terrorist activities over the sample period is loss of internationally known Pakistani Political personality i.e. Benazir Bhutto. After the assassination of the said Pakistan’s banking sector faced substantial losses due to damage to the infrastructure and robberies of the bank. Downfall of any of the financial market associated with a terrorist activity reduces the incentive to spend as opposed to save, a process that can spread through the economy and the rest of the world through normal business cycle and trade channels (Johnston and Nedelescu, 2006). Keeping in view the significance of financial market for Pakistan’s economy, the quantification of the impact of terrorists’ activities on financial market becomes an interesting area of research work. Especially, this requires empirical quantification of the impact of various kinds of terrorist activities that either occurred in key business centers or happened in the far flung areas. II. Literature Review We find very limited literature on the subject issue. Although a few studies are found to be discussing the overall consequences of terrorism on world economies, we do not find much evidence about the quantification of the impact of terrorist activities on financial markets using such high frequency data and with special reference to Pakistan. For the benefit of readers, the review of some of the relevant studies has been made which is given as under: After the eruption of terrorism in Spain in the 1970’s, Abadie and Gardeazabal (2001) discovered the fact that there was ten percent deterioration in the per capita GDP of the Basque region as opposed to a synthetic control region. They also found out that this difference widened due to the rise in the terrorist activities. Chen and Siems (2004) assessed the degree to which the U.S. Stock market reacted to fourteen extremist acts in the past ninety years by using the event study methodology. They also tried to assess the impact o f the September 11 attacks and the raid on Kuwait by Iraq on the stock markets of different nations of the world. They found certain proof of flexibility in the fact that the encounter with such extremists’ lead to a decrease in the market reaction. Moreover, they came to know that the impact of the September 11 incidence and the Iraqi raid were more unfavorable and harmful on the stock markets of nations around the world as opposed to the U.S. stock markets. The study by Johnston, et al. (2005) attempted to explore the impact of terrorism on financial markets. They found that how financial markets react to different shocks stemming from terrorist attacks. By making use of the data on financial markets such as the government securities market, the repo market, the insurance industry and the capital market of U.S, the study analyzed the reaction of the financial markets to the September 11 ‘2001 terrorist attacks in the New York, and March 11, 2004 attacks in Madrid. They concluded that given the accurate timely response of the authorities and rogue disaster management, the financial markets of U.S and Spain respectively were attributed with diversity and resilience to absorb the shocks of terrorist attacks. Both the central banks laden with the sense of responsibility of the â€Å"lender of the last resort† also came to rescue their respective financial systems in the aftermath of these acts of terrorism. In addition, the globalization trends also incepted the cross border cooperation among the central banks which mitigated the diffusion of contagion effects through the chain process of business cycle. Barth, and et al (2006) used panel data on terrorism and employed some of the control variables which proved the negative, depressing and unfavorable influence of terrorism on economic progress. In broad-spectrum, these extremists’ occurrences and events have a substantial destructive impact on the economy of a country and thus rende r a depreciation and deterioration of the economy. Their outcome also sheds some light on the fact that the aim of such attacks also makes a difference. Extremists’ attacks directed at places and properties other than that of public have an unconstructive link commonly with development and capital structure and generation. Gulley and Jahangir (2006) used the statistical data available for the stock, bond and foreign exchange rate and stock market from 1968 to July 2005, for a group of countries i.e Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the US. Data on terrorist attacks has been collected from The National Memorial Institute for Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) for exactly the same time period characterizing the date, time, location, type and target of the attack. Since the data is high frequency data, they have employed â€Å"Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscadastisity (GARCH) Model† to study the impact of terror attacks on the return (level) and volatility of the financial markets of the sample area, while their theoretical model is based on asset pricing model. Their results are well collaborated with the perceived expectations and the theory. They found negative returns with increasing terrorist activities for the stock market, while for the bond market lower yields were observed. Terrorist attacks had not been found associated with additional volatility in stock market in the given set of countries under observation. Liquidity of the foreign exchange market is significantly higher than other markets. Abadie and Gardeazabal (2007) attempt to measure the impact of terrorism on the foreign direct investment in an open economy. They made use of the data set on net stock of FDI obtained from the UNCTAD (United Nation Conference on Trade and Development) for 98 countries and GTI (Global Terrorism Index) for measuring data on terror activities which have the 100 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 18, Number 1 (2010) advantage over other measures by being popular among the international investors’ who use it to evaluate specific country’s risk. During their regression analysis, keeping the other types of risks constant, it was concluded that small changes in terror activities have the potential to bring big change in the allocation of the productive resources across the countries, keeping the international economy sufficiently open. They have statistically proved that wit the increasing standard deviation of the terror attacks, the net FDI shrinks by 5 percent of GDP. Melnick and Eldor (2007) used discounted-cash-flow valuation model in order to calculate the media exposure created due to such terrorist acts and also for the assessment of costs in term of the foregone alternatives of the liberated and unbound media exposure provoked by such extremists’ acts and their impact on the single stock market fun ctioning in Israel, â€Å"Tel Aviv Stock Exchange†, to measure the influence on the economy. They reached to the conclusion that there a statistic importance and significance of the opportunity cost variable and that it provides a role as an adequate indicator including the whole content required to portray the impact of militant acts on the stock market. The outcome clearly shows the converse relationship between the degree of media exposure and the deterioration in the value of stocks. However, it was also found that not any of the elements arising out of terrorism are statistically substantial and significant after the insertion of the opportunity cost variable in the equation. Berrebi and Klor (2008) took the sample of 125 Israeli defense and security companies that are traded in American markets and a number of American companies as controls for Israeli companies. The data on terror attacks, collected from Israeli foreign ministry, was based on daily terror attacks and noncombatant fatalities arising from them. They made use of the event study methods in order to measure and assess the positive impact of terrorism on the return of the stocks of the sample companies relative to those of control group. It was empirically found that Israeli defense related companies experienced comparatively lowered (negative) abnormal returns than those of American controls during the first part of the period under analysis i.e. before Palestinian uprising (January 1st, 1998 – September 28th, 2000). They had also been successful in proving that average cumulative difference in abnormal returns (CDRAR) of the defense related companies exhibit downward slope before the Palestinian uprising where as the trends reverses abruptly during the second part of period under analysis (second Palestinian uprising). During the second uprising, the defense realted companies gained around 70 percentage points while the non defense companies lost over 60 percentage points. Out of the myriad of research problems pertaining to this area of interest, quantification of the terrorist activities and measuring its impact on the fluctuation of various economic variables is imperative owing to the possibility of plausible relationships between two variables which may result in biased empirical results (Berrebi and Klor, 2008). In this paper, this problem has been tried to sought out by using Durban Watson statistics in order to check the variables for autocorrelation issue. This study is different in several aspects from the existing studies which were conducted on the subject matter. Some of the distinguishing features are given as under: †¢ It uses daily data on all the financial markets and the terrorist activities. Earlier studies present on this topic have examined the financial markets on a much lower frequency data. †¢ This study is first of its kind with reference to Pakistan. No research has been done in Pakistan before on the same lines. †¢ Different aspects of terrorism have been incorporated in this study in terms of the kind of terrorist activity, its intensity, the location of incidence and the target. †¢ The study examines the effect of each kind of terrorist activity on stock, forex and money markets separately. III. Research Methodology Data Description The study uses time series data for this piece of research work. It uses high frequency data, which is a daily data, over a period of two and a half years (i.e. from 31st December 2005 to 30th June 2008). The 101 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 18, Number 1 (2010) data has been collected from different resources. Secondary data has been used for three financial markets separately, i.e. banking market which represents the money market while stock market (KARACHI STOCK EXCHANGE) and the FOREX market represent the capital market. The data on the KSE Index has been taken from the KSE website. The data on the foreign exchange (i.e. rupee dollar parity) has been acquired from the Monetary Policy Department of the State Bank of Pakistan. The data on KIBOR (Karachi Inter Bank Offer Rate) has also been obtained from Domestic Markets & Monetary Management Department (DMMD), State Bank of Pakistan. The most cumbersome process of the primary data collection has been the collection of terrorists’ activities on daily basis. Daily information on these activities has been collected from various news papers including â€Å"The Daily Dawn†. Since various kinds of terrorists’ activities were found in the news papers, an attempt was made to choose the most relevant activities which has some impact on the working of financial market. While finding out the impact of terrorists’ activities on the financial markets of Pakistan we categorize the terrorists’ activities into four distinct dummy variables. The terrorists’ activities have been grouped together in four different categories naming D1, D2, D3 & D4. Each activity has been assigned a particular group according to its intensity. A brief discussion of dummy variables used in the study is given as under; †¢ D1 is equal to 1 for the kind of terrorists activities which have targeted the key p ersonnel (political or otherwise) of the country and 0 for not happening of such event. †¢ D2 is equal to 1 for the happenings of the terrorists’ activities in the cities that are financially active or are the economic centers of the country and 0 for not happening of such events. †¢ D3 is equal to 1 for occurrence of major activities but in the non financial cities, †¢ Whereas D4 equals 1 for minor terrorists’ events taking place in small cities and 0 for not happening of such events. †¢ DST is equal to 1 in case of any structural change that has taken place during the period under study, otherwise it is equal to 0. Though most of the activities placed in D4 are not minor in terms of cost of human lives and infrastructure of the cities, but may be because of the peaking magnitude of the terrorism in the country for the past two and a half years or so, we as a nation, has become so much resilient to such attacks that loss of lives of normal citizens or human beings or blowing up of country’s resources does not mean much loss to u s, neither in moral sense nor in financial terms. Analytical Techniques For the estimation of results, E-views, which is time series econometric software, has been extensively used. For the purpose of analysis, the model used is â€Å"MULTIPLE REGRESSION MODEL†. This model not only tells us the extent of the impact of terrorists’ activities on the individual financial markets but it also tells us the direction of the relationship between the regressors and the regressands. In this study the regressand are KSEI, FOREX rate and KIBOR while the four categories of terrorist activities are regressors. The study asseses the impact of terrorist activities on these three market. The functional form of the model would be as follows; (1) FM = f (Di) Where; FM indicates any type of the above mentioned financial market. Di indicates dummy variable capturing the impact of any type of the terrorist activity which affects the financial markets in Pakistan. To assess the impact, the functional form of the equation no. 1 is converted i nto mathematical equation, which is as follows; FM = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di (2) Where; FM = any financial market operating in Pakistan e.g. ÃŽ ± = intercept ÃŽ ² = parameter to be estimated or coefficient. Di = dummy variables ranging from D1 to D4. WhileD1, D2, D3 and D4 are already explained. For KIBOR analysis, the study uses an additional dummy variable namely DST. It denotes any structural changes occurring in the economy which has imminent impact on the inter bank market. Since the dependent variable (financial markets) is also affected by many other variables which are called stochastic or error terms, so we need to convert the equation no. (2) into an econometric equation, which is represented as follows; FM = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di + ei (3) Where ei is an error term. Since the dynamics of each kind of financial markets are a bit different. We need to estimate the results separately using a different equation for estimation purpose. These are given below; i. Stock Market Since KSE is the most active or most efficient of all the financial markets in Pakistan, we analyze the impact of four dummy variables on KSE 100 index first. In order to particularly analyze the growth of KSE Index we convert the daily values of KSE 100 Index into their log values. As the stock market show significant volatility over the last few years, we take natural log of the equation no. (2) for smoothening of the KSE Index. KSEI = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di + ei (4) Taking natural log on the left hand side we get; Ln(KSEI) = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di + ei (5) This is the final equation which can now be used for estimation of the impact analysis of terrorist activities on KSE. The equation reads as the natural log of Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index is a function of the Di viz D1, D2, D3 and D4 representing various forms and intensity levels of terrorist activities. After regressing all the dummy variables (D1 to D4) separately on the LnKSEI, we see adverse effect of D1, D2 and D4 on the LnKSEI. It is important to note that the individual effect of D1 and D2 seemed suppressed. So in order to enhance the collective effect of D1 and D2 we combine both the variables and name it as D1†². So that the terrorists’ activities targeting key personnel and major financial areas are singularly termed as â€Å"major events† (grouped in D1†²) while D3 and D4 remain the same. By applying OLS regression technique, we estimate the following equation;(6) Ln(KSEI) = a + ÃŽ ²D1†² + ÃŽ ³D4 + ei Where; Ln(KSEI) = natural log Karachi Stock Exchange Index. D1†² = terrorists’ activities targeting key personnel and major financial cities. D4 = minor activities in small cities. ÃŽ ±, ÃŽ ², ÃŽ ³ = parameters to be estimated. ei = stochastic/ error/residual term. ii. FOREX Market Foreign exchange market of a nation is the arena where country’s currency is traded for other currencies. The daily buying and selling of a currency determines the daily average rate of a currency. The trading takes place in domestic and international market simultaneously and hence the equilibrium point of the demand and supply of a currency determines the daily average FOREX rate. The rate can be determined in terms of any foreign currency. The exchange of currency typically takes place via brokers, but overall many institutions like commercial banks, investment banks, brokerage houses, clearance houses, foreign exchange markets on the whole and individuals are involved in the process. FOREX market is the biggest financial market of the world but with reference to Pakistan it stands second. Since foreign exchange rate can be expressed i n two ways, i.e;  i. Direct quotation ii. Indirect quotation. In this study we have used the direct quotation of the Pak rupee (PKR). We take the exchange rate of PKR in terms of U.S Dollar and express the exchange rate as I/PKR (direct quotation). Taking its natural log reduces the volatility of the exchange rate. In our analysis we are required to determine the impact of terrorists’ activities on the Exchange Rate stability or to critically see how much of the underlined activities depreciate the domestic currency in terms of the foreign currency (U.S. Dollar). We have derived the following equation: Ln (ER) = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di + ei (7) Where; ER = exchange rate. While for analysis purpose we use the following equation. (8) Ln (ER) = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²1(D1) + ÃŽ ²2(D2) + ÃŽ ³(D4) + ei where; Ln (ER) = natural log of exchange rate D1 = terrorists’ activities targeting the key personalities D2 = terrorists’ activities taking place in the major financial cities D4 = minor terror events in small cities. ÃŽ ±, ÃŽ ², ÃŽ ³ = parameters to be estimated ei = residual/ error term. It is clear from equation (8) that ER is influenced by the terrorist activities grouped in D1, and D2. For the empirical findings, we regress the g iven econometric equation by applying OLS technique. iii. KIBOR Karachi Inter Bank Offer Rate (KIBOR) is the average of daily offer rates of commercial banks. It is the average daily rate on which a bank offers short term loans to other commercial banks. In other words, KIBOR is a yardstick to measure the capability of banking industry of a country to accommodate short term loans and funds. The underlined activities may also affect KIBOR rates. Interbank rate is the relative indicator of performance and efficiency of banking industry since it indicates the borrowing ability of the commercial banks. Econometric equation for KIBOR is given as; KIBOR = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di + ei (9) To find out the empirical results of impact of terrorism on banking industry (KIBOR) weestimate the following econometric equation by OLS technique. KIBOR = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²D1 + ÃŽ ³DST + ei (10) Where; KIBOR = Karachi Inter Bank Offer Rate D1 = major terrorists’ activities targeting key personalities. DST = dummy variable for structural changes. ÃŽ ±, ÃŽ ², ÃŽ ³ = parameters to be estimated ei = stochastic/error/residual term. IV. Empirical Findings As already explained, we separately estimate the impact of terrorists’ activities on three types of financial markets mainly due to having different dynamics and sensitivity of events. The final impact analysis is given as under; i. KSEI Using equation no. (6) we obtain the impact of underlining activities on KSE market. 104 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 18, Number 1 (2010) It is apparent from the results that the value of R2 is 0.98 or 98% which means that our model is best fitted. It implies that 98% of variations in the dependant variable (LnKSEI) are explained by the independent variable. Durbin Watson Statistics is equal to 1.96, which is closer to 2, shows that the regression model is not ploughed with the problem of autocorrelation. Standard error of the model is also reasonably small (0.016336) which is responsible for increasing the calculated value of t-statistics, thus we reject null hypothesis (i.e. Ho: ÃŽ ² & ÃŽ ³ = 0). F-statistics is 14379.05, which is comparatively very high indicating the overall significance/fitness of the model. C or ÃŽ ± is actually the intercept which is the weighted average of all the ignored variables that might affect the KSE index. Its value is 9.441305 which are significant at 1 % level of significance (highly significant). This indicates that KSEI is affected by variety of events not included in this analysis due to time constraint factor. Most probably the factors like capital taxes on earnings of stocks, capital inflows, and future strategies of companies registered at stock market, external shocks might be included in the test. Similarly, the terrorist activities also adversely affect KSE. Particularly, the value of D1 dummy variable (ÃŽ ² = -0.005021 at 2% level of significance) indicates that 1 percent increase in relevant terrorists’ activities might negatively affect KSE 100 Index by 0.5 percent. It means that the terrorists’ activities occurring in major financial hubs and those targeting key personalities of the country negatively and significantly impacts the performance of the KSE. To put it the other way round, KSE 100 Index might decline when any such terrorist activity occurs in the region. In the same way, the dummy variable D4 has also affected the KSE 100 Index negatively . It indicates that minor terrorist attacks occurring in small cities do not impact the KSE 100 Index significantly, although the impact in negative. Here, the estimated negative value of ÃŽ ³ (-0.000137) means to support the argument that small terrorist activities have negative impact on KSE. More appropriately, the said terrorist activities grouped in D4 combined with other residual factors also affect the functioning of the KSEI negatively. The impact of such activities on KSE performance may become significant because of the important paradigm shift in policy measures. Policies of the government or other concerned institutions are greatly affected by the magnitude of terrorism in a region. Greater the magnitude of the terrorist activities, greater would be the uncertainty in economic environment, and consequently greater would be the rate of change of policy measures. Since Karachi provides the centre of financial activities to the country and Karachi Stock Exchange is the biggest stock market of the country, so the vulnerability of the city to the terrorism is most likely to create volatility of the liquidity in the economy. Greater the occurrence of terrorist activities in the city, greater would be the likelihood of adverse effect on the financial markets, particularly KSE. Consequently the result would be the higher outflow of capital, lower investments, lesser exports and depletion of foreign reserves. ii. FOREX Rate Using the equation no.(8) the results of the impact of terrorist activities on FOREX market has been estimated by OLS technique. According to the results obtained, the value of the R2 is 0.99 or 99%, which implies that 99% of the variations in dependant variable (ER) are explained by the variations in explanatory variables. The value of R2 is pretty high indicating that the model is a best fit. Durbin Watson statistics is equal to 2 showing that there is no issue of autocorrelation in the regression model. The F- statistics value is also very high and significant showing the overall significance of the model. Standard error of the regression is very low, making t- statistics pretty high. The intercept term, C or ÃŽ ± is -4.078457 which is quite significant indicating that the ignored variables caused depreciation of Pak rupee against U.S. Dollar. As regards the impact of dummy variable D1, it is negative but insignificant. So we are able to interpret that the terrorist activities named as D1 do adversely affect the exchange rate of PKR but the impact is not at all significant. Similarly, the coefficient of D2 is also very small which indicates that the response of the FOREX market to underlying activities is almost negligible. It determines that D2 activities have a negative and insignificant impact on the determination of FOREX rate. The impact of D4 activities on FOREX is interpreted in the same way as that of D1 and D2. European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 18, Number 1 (2010) From all of the above coefficient values we can infer a negative relationship between the terrorism and the FOREX rate. The negative sign indicates that any such happening is responsible for the depreciation of the domestic currency in terms of the foreign currency (U.S. Dollar in the present case). Though this impact is not significantly visible with reference to Pakistan but there might be several possible explanations for this suppressed relationship. From Pakistan’s standpoint the impact might be insignificant because of high resilience of the financial markets here. From the daily data of the terrorist activities it is evident that these events have been taking place at a very high frequency over the sample period. The magnitude of these activities ranges from mild offensive happenings to very high terror attempts that scare off the whole humanity. In this scenario, it is likely to expect the convergence of financial markets. The impact has to be adverse because such happenings produces uncertainty in the economic environment, increases the risks and liquidity shortage, reduces exports, depreciates currency, lowers the domestic and foreign investments and thus definitely there is a flight of capital from economy. But in case of Pakistan, high frequency of such events might be responsible for the cold blooded attitude of nation as a whole and these events may seem a routine happening to the people involved in currency trading or in any other financial market. It is because of this reason that the variation in depreciation of PKR is very less as compared to the perceived expectations. So we can safely say, terrorism does not signify its impact on foreign exchange market of Pakistan, unless the ev ent is highly adverse or of global attention like that of assassination of the former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto. iii. KIBOR By using OLS technique on equation no.(10) we get the following results on impact of terrorist activities on the money market or interbank market (KIBOR). The results showed us that the value of R2 is 0.98 or 98% which means that it is a best fitted model. 98% of the variations in the dependant variable, KIBOR, are determined by the variations in the explanatory (independent) variable. The estimated value of Durbin Watson Statistics is 1.95 which is used to indicate that the results are not ploughed with the menace of autocorrelation problem. This reflects the accuracy of results, as it can be used in the policy formulation process concerning the KIBOR. Standard Errors are very small which means higher values of t-statistics. Values of F-statistics are again very high i.e. 15109.34 showing the overall significance of the model. The value of intercept, C or ÃŽ ± is 8.474 is high, which is significant at 1% level of significance. It is indicative of the fact that other factors are more likely to be responsible for the increase in the bank rate. The value of the coefficient of D1 i.e ÃŽ ²1 is 0.001382. The terrorist activities grouped in D1 do affect the KIBOR positively but insignificantly. Positive sign indicates that greater the occurrence of the activities, higher will be the interbank rate. The coefficient of D2 is also positive (highly significant at 1 % level of significance). It indicates that factors other than terrorist activities play a key role in bringing about changes in the KIBOR rate. The impact of terrorist activities on KIBOR is widespread as compared to that of stock market (KSE). It is because of the fact that we find a bank branch network throughout the country, while KSE is confined to one city only. So the likelihood of the affect of terrorism increases on banking industry. The increased impact can be seen in the shape of the KIBOR rate. V. Conclusions and Recommendations This study was primarily aimed at estimating the impact of various kinds of terrorist activities on the three financial markets viz Karachi stock market, Foreign exchange market and the money market. The findings of the OLS regression model enable us to conclude; †¢ The economy of Pakistan has been adversely affected by the ongoing terrorist activities. †¢ The terrorists’ activities in Pakistan have adversely and significantly affected the performance of KSE. Further, the KSE has been relatively more affected by the terrorist events compared to  the other markets. This might be due to it’s vary nature as KSEI is relatively more sensitive to events rather than economic fundamentals. The terrorist activities have insignificant but adverse effect on FOREX market. One reason behind the insignificant impact of terrorist activities on FOREX rates might be the inter bank data used in the analysis. As the SBP continue to interfere in the FOREX market, therefore, any volatility arising due to such events might be subdued due to SBP proactive intervention. The impact on KIBOR rate although negative but estimated to be insignificant is a very positive development as KIBOR rate is considered as an indicator of short term loans extended by banks. In case of significant adverse impact of terrorist activities on KIBOR, it may affect investment plans of the country, which might have been negative implication for Pakistan’s economy. Most of the findings of this study are consistence with the theoretical expectations. The result estimates for the KSE 100 Index and KIBOR rate are per expectations. The econometric results for the second regression are although correctly directed but not consistent with the theory to extent as expected. The rising magnitude of terrorism in a country definitely adversely affects the economy in general and financial markets in particular. Last but not the least, targets of the terrorist activities play an important role in determining the impact on financial markets. There might be many shortcomings in the study which mainly accounts to the time constraints. light of the present study some policy recommendations could be made, following are some of †¢ In the light of the study, its empirica l findings and conclusions the government and the state ought to work on the institutional development on account of terrorism. Anti terrorism policy framework of international concern shall be formulated, enhanced and made available to the general public under this institution. Masses be given advanced warnings before occurring of any such event and rehabilitation be an important immediate step after the event has happened. Besides the well being of the general masses, effective contingency planning to mitigate the financial risk faced by the financial firms and the over all economy has to form a major constituent of the anti terrorism policy making institution. Since the adverse impact of terrorism on the financial markets has been econometrically proved in this study, economic policy should form an eminent part of the anti terrorism policy making. Effective measures shall be devised to counter the wave of disruption created in any of the above mentioned financial markets. With the continuous attacks of terror on the economy, as in Pakistan, the major domestic and international investor’s draw their money out of the financial markets. There is a flight of capital out of the economy which is a major set back to the domestic currency. To mitigate the risk of depreciation of the currency, policies regarding increasing the money supply and lowering the interest rates in order to perk up investor’s confidence and to keep the foreign reserves build up shall be enacted. Policy has to be formed to strengthen the financial structure of the economy and increase its resilience to absorb the shocks to the maximum limit. Opportunities to the domestic manufacturers’ shall be accentuated to increase exports and thus demand of domestic currency. This is an important measure to avoid the depreciation of currency and also it will make the trade deficit unlikely to occur. This is an important policy implication for the money market. Investment in research and development and innovative security measures is also need of the day. European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 18, Number 1 (2010) Lastly, policies should be made and extended on the global level to increase the cooperation and coordination among the major stake holders in the global financial markets. Policies regarding benign relationships among the central banks of international importance shall also be encouraged so as to extend financial help during the crucial financial crunch after any enormous act of terrorism. Based on the results findings, the study mainly recommends that the concerned policy makers must take into account the impact of terrorist activities while formulating policies for the three kinds of financial markets. However, the impact of terrorist activities varies on each market in terms of its intensity, place of occurrence etc. †¢ References [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Abadie, A. and Gardeazabal, J. (2001). The Economic Costs of Conflict; A Case-Control Study for the Basque Country. Research Working Paper No. 01/048. Harvard University. Faculty Research Working Paper Series. Retrieved from: http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=293120 Abadie, A. and Gardeazabal, J. (2007). Terrorism and the World Economy. Available at: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/aabadie/twe.pdf Barth, J.R., Li, T., McCarthy, D. (2006). Economic Impacts of Global Terrorism: From Munich to Bali. Capital studies, Milken Institute. Berrebi, C. and Klor, E. F. (2008). The impact of terrorism on defense industry. Working paper No. 597. RAND labor and population working paper series. Retrieved from: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=729006 Bruck, T. and Wickstrom, B. A. (2004). The economic consequences of terror: A Brief Survey. HiCN Working paper 03. Paper presented at Household in Conflict Network, University of Sussex, April 2004. Chen, A. H. and Siems T. F. (2004). Effects of terrorism on global capital markets. European journal of political economy. Vol. 20, pp: 349-346. Chesney, M., Reshetar, G. and Karaman, M. (2010). The Impact of Terrorism on Financial Markets: An Empirical Study. Retrieved from: http://www.google.com.pk/search?hl=en&q=The+Impact+of+Terrorism+on+Financial+Market s:+An+Empirical+Study&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi Gujrati, D. N. (2004). Basic Econometrics. United States Military Academy, West Point, Mc Graw Hill Publications. Gulley, O. D. and Sultan, J. (2006). Risk Premium Volatility, and Terrorism: New Evidence. Milken Institute. Gupta, S., Clements, B., Bhattacharya, R., and Chakravarti, S. (2002). Fiscal Consequences of Armend Forces and Terrorism in Low and Middle-Income Countries. IMF Working Paper No: 02/142. International Monetary Fund ,Fiscal Affair Department. Glaeser, E. L. and Shapiro, J. M. (2001). Cities And Warfare: The Impact Of Terrorism On Urban Form. NBER Working Paper No: 8696. National Bureau of Economic Research. Jalalzai, M. K. (2002). The Holy Terror -Islam, Violence and

A Pattern in The Least Successful Startup

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Assignment Listening SKILLS Video Project - Essay Example I ventured to analyze myself in the video critically through four key listening skills of Non-verbal Communication, Verbal Communication, Questioning for Understanding, and Paraphrasing. The very first quality of an effective listener is to create a comfortable environment for the speaker. In this context, I employed non-verbal elements such as body posture, body language, and facial expressions in many ways. In the journal ("Developing Effective Communication Skills", the author states how important it is for the speaker and listener to be in the same posture, that is, sitting or standing (2009). I use this strategy by ensuring both of us were sitting and facing each other and my eyes were at the same level with him. I also made sure there was the right amount of space between us with no tangible barriers like furniture, and my hands were not crossed or clasped behind my neck . All these conveyed to Jimmy a sense of comfort and ease rather than a feeling of hostility or guarded behavior from my side. However, it would have been more ideal to have a warmer environment. I constantly made eye contact and at 1:57, I leaned forward to represent understanding and interes t through my body posture. In order to avoid blank expressions, at points 00:58 and 1:09, I smiled at Jimmy or changed my facial or physical expressions as he did. This is as known as the mirroring technique where I match his physical gestures. Dr. Walker says â€Å"Mirroring someone’s expressions and gestures indicates that you are in step with them† (2009). Another effective skill I used is to nod and emit vocal sounds such as ‘mmm’ and ‘ahan’ during the first minute to demonstrate I was listening and to help him on overcome his hesitation. I took care to not move around too much so as not to distract Jimmy. I kept in mind to smile and laugh at the right time such as at 1:25

How this class has affected me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

How this class has affected me - Essay Example Moreover I was caused to accurately define my personal and professional roles in future practice. In this essay, I give a reflection of the course in light of the manner in which it has affected me. My reflection is based on a review and reference to the information within the readings of the course. In addition, I provide the justifications for the change of my professional roles and future plans based on the knowledge that I acquired during the course. Furthermore, I will give a detailed discussion on how the cause caused me to specifically decide to work with Child Protective Services. Anne Fadiman’s â€Å"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down† presents a narration of the struggles that a refugee family from Hmong culture in Laos. The book specifically describes how two different cultures collide. The scenario that is presented by the writer is within California’s health care system. In the book, the writer reveals the interaction between a Hmong child with her Doctors in America and demonstrates the social cultural problems and struggles in the provision of health care. Lia Lee is a favorite child and youngest of the Hmong family. The doctors find out that Lia is having a severe form of epilepsy. The author describes how cultural differences between the family and the American doctors acts to obstruct Lia’s treatment. ... This means that healthcare providers require understanding the culture of their patients and ensuring that it does not obstruct their moral and ethical roles of patient centered care. Barbara Myerhoff's â€Å"Number of Our Days† presents the work of a renowned anthropologist. Myerhoff was given a grant to investigate or study the process of human aging. As a result Myerhoff chose to base her study on elderly Jewish community from Venice in California. It is notable that the author and anthropologist decided that he would study and report on the indigenous community rather than on an exotic society. When reading Myerhoff’s story, I was changed by the ways in which she presents the lives and rituals of these Jewish and unique old people. More significant is the cultural value which enabled the old people to face and go through numerous problems and challenges of living. Among the problems that the author demonstrates that these old people had to face include poverty, lone liness, neglect, physical danger, poor and inadequate housing and poor health. Myerhoff’s story inspired me to play a role in helping people to overcome the problems that they face in their social environments and during care. The author depicts the agonies of aging in a manner which makes a reader to sympathize and have a desire to do something in alleviating human suffering. Through this book I appreciated the human spirit as indomitable. Moreover I was appreciative of the importance of cultural rituals in living and overcoming problems as presented by the author in wise yet funny approach. The above brief description of the two most influential readings on my life is a background to the illustration of how the anthropology cause affected me. At this point I need to

Security Program Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Security Program - Case Study Example The organization under analysis is the New York public library. In this organization, security issues are taken into account as the library gather and keep personal data of users and their personal information. The New York public library consists of several branches and departments; it has regional branches and has more than 43,975,362 items. The library computerized its lending services in order to improve customer service and improve its routine work. The security program is aimed to protect users from unauthorized access to their information and protect library from attacks. Beyond that, however, all staff-especially those who deal with personal data regularly-need to be aware of what they are allowed to do, what they are not allowed to do, what security procedures they are expected to follow, and whom to ask if they are in any doubt. There must be policies spelling out what is expected, opportunities for staff to know what those policies are and what procedures are required to implement them, and regular checks on whether the policies and procedures are being followed (Data Security and Protection 2008). The security program was implemented 5 years ago. It is supposed that the biggest risk to security is almost always staff. The damage they do can be deliberate-stealing information about people, such as business contacts they want to use for their own purposes, for example, or trashing the database out of frustration on being demoted. More often it is un-thinking or inadvertent-giving information over the telephone to someone who shouldn't have it, leaving confidential files on their kitchen table for a neighbour to see when they are working at home, or chatting in the canteen about a user's borrowing habits where other people can overhear. Even with external threats, the accepted wisdom is that anyone trying to gain access is more likely to succeed by tricking staff into giving away vital information than by hacking straight into computer (Data Security and Protection 2008). The first line of defense is therefore to ensure that staff are aware of the possibilities and operate withi n a culture where information, and especially personal data, is handled carefully and responsibly. To support them, employees should take measures that make it as easy as possible for them to do the right thing. At the same time employees should not be over-anxious. Security measures must be appropriate to the threat, not 100% perfect every time. (Even government security agencies have been known to lose vital information held on laptop computers.) The kind of things the responsible person at the departmental level should be looking at include (Baschab et al 2007; The New York Public Library 2008). In the New York public library, one area that often gives rise to concern is e-mail. Although the dangers can be exaggerated, it is important to be aware that e-mail is inherently insecure. E-mails themselves may constitute personal data if the addressee is identifiable. More importantly, if e-mail is used for sending personal data to other people, some thought should be given as to whether it should be encrypted. A special attention is given to the information department of a charity. A new computer system is introduced for holding details of telephone enquiries, which

Annotated Bibliography for Staff and Skills Essay

Annotated Bibliography for Staff and Skills - Essay Example The reasonable prices of the cars produced by the company can be attributed to the outcome of its unique technology and processes which has attracted the people of all strata of society inclusive of low, middle and high income groups. Staffs recruited by the company are mainly from the background of information and technology, particularly competent in manufacturing technology. Additionally the company also focuses on the mass of a highly competent sales and marketing team with strong visionary and assertive approach and conversant with the best practices in business (Tata Motors-a, 2012). Organizational structure, strategy, system and style Like most global organizations, Tata Motors reflects a matrix organizational structure which forms a strong integration between the domestic and overseas operations. The matrix structure integrated the businesses and functions across geographies which makes it more efficient. It not only facilitates knowledge sharing and transfers across the orga nization. For instance the present strategy of the company is to apply the learning of the global companies such as Land Rover and Jaguar to its Indian operations which is possible and greatly facilitated through its matrix structure. Also it can use its knowledge existing in the Indian operations to compete in other emerging markets. The cultural style of the organization is to develop global leadership and managers who can apply their global learning in their individual overseas or domestic operations. The company represents a system which allows information enhancing, sharing and exchanging across its different business units. This is particular crucial in the present dynamic environment in which it works and its vulnerabilities on the company (Tata Motors Ltd, 2008, p.1-4). Role of leader in the organization One of the main drivers of success of Tata Motors is its strong leadership and management body. The strong tradition of entrepreneurship and leadership provides strong busin ess direction and guidance which reaches beyond the borders of India and enters into new markets. The company helps its employees to realize their true potential through the application of effective HR practices. This is done through effective employee empowerment program providing the workforce with dynamic career paths in congruence with the long term strategies and objectives of the firm. Supervisors and managers are allowed to take their own decisions related to work activities in areas of their expertise. This not only raises their responsibility and accountability towards work but also provides them with the freedom to excel in their skills and domain of expertise. Regular in-house training and external training forms key components of their employee development programs. The leaders also work on developing team building and group activities in the organization. Rewards and compensations are designed on the performance of teams in the organization. In this regard, virtual team s are also encouraged which comprises of members belonging to different countries. Team empowerment also forms a key strategy through which knowledge and information can be shared and exchanged between members of the organization. Decision making is tried to be decentralized in order to minimize

Article # 3 (due 9-28) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Article # 3 (due 9-28) - Essay Example the onset of accounting leases rule, the financial management department has been able to prepare the balance sheet and maintain financial records without including the lease assets. The financial lease is efficient for health care providers who are still developing and cannot afford sophisticated equipment. The leasing process requires that an outside party undertakes in the process. With the current rule, the health care providers can finance the project without involving a third party. The financial lease has a positive impact on the organization since the health care provider according to James and Aaron (2012) can grow technologically by leasing medical equipments and machinery which are costly. The lease is also advantageous since it helps health care providers to gain geographically efficient developers, and through the program, finance and get ownership of medical facilities. The leasing program assists the health care providers reduces the pressure in the operation of the organization. On a negative perspective, the lease program may negatively impact on the leasing process in regard to geographical print and the financial activities (James and Aaron, 2012). This is because the health care executives scrutinize and over- analyzes the operations of the

Field Work Experience Within HR Department Essay

Field Work Experience Within HR Department - Essay Example This essay intends to provide a vivid description of the field work experience obtained in a LNG company (Liquefied Natural Gas) named Liquefied Natural Gas Limited. The researcher of the essay illuminates the different managerial practices in the organization detailing out the individual as well as corporate strategies undertaken by the organization to earn its competitive domain globally. Moreover, the field work also helps in identifying the major areas of discrepancies, which if rectified can help the company gain corporate excellence. The LNG is an Australian company having its headquarters in Perth in Western Australia. The company operates in three sectors namely oil and gas project development, investing in existing oil and gas discoveries and technology development and licensing. Liquefied Natural Gas Limited has a corporate strategy to become the leader in the mid-scale LNG sector. The company also plans to supply fast-track energy related solutions to the gas suppliers and energy users who do not have proper gas supply. The company has been managing its resources quiet well through proper decision making. The managerial approaches have largely been observed to be positive. However, the researcher concluds that human resource management related activities in the company should be monitored much more efficiently. Through the regular training and monitoring of the employees, the company will be able to upgrade the employee knowledge base as well as develop its competitive advantage.

Article # 3 (due 9-28) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Article # 3 (due 9-28) - Essay Example the onset of accounting leases rule, the financial management department has been able to prepare the balance sheet and maintain financial records without including the lease assets. The financial lease is efficient for health care providers who are still developing and cannot afford sophisticated equipment. The leasing process requires that an outside party undertakes in the process. With the current rule, the health care providers can finance the project without involving a third party. The financial lease has a positive impact on the organization since the health care provider according to James and Aaron (2012) can grow technologically by leasing medical equipments and machinery which are costly. The lease is also advantageous since it helps health care providers to gain geographically efficient developers, and through the program, finance and get ownership of medical facilities. The leasing program assists the health care providers reduces the pressure in the operation of the organization. On a negative perspective, the lease program may negatively impact on the leasing process in regard to geographical print and the financial activities (James and Aaron, 2012). This is because the health care executives scrutinize and over- analyzes the operations of the

Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Operations Management - Essay Example This effective facility management helps to integrate people, process, place and technology in the business process. The organization tries to avoid possible workplace conflicts through significant facility management process, such as organizational diversity, effective space allocation process in global market and maintaining god health and safety standards. On the other hand, the organization provides products according to the market demand. They established several innovation centers in order to enhance capacity management process. Effective performance turning and analysis process enhances the capacity management process of McDonalds. The organization implements capacity management process through appropriate resource calculation process based on the specific market demand. McDonalds follows facility layout process. This facility layout process helps the organizations to achieve potential competitive advantages. It is seventh major innovation strategy of McDonalds. The organization redesigned all the 30,000 outlets around the globe. This strategy helped the organization to reduce the business operation cost. McDonalds is accommodating more customers through this process comparing to past processes. Generally, the organization is providing services to near about 50 million people on daily basis through this process. Based on the review of the recommendation plans of all the group members, it can be stated that, the organization is facing major challenges regarding their operation process. They had issues like inadequate quality of food that reduced the sales of products. However, the organization overcame the issues through the introduction of several healthy food items. Health and safety issues in workplace, capacity management issues and several facility management issues are affecting the business performance of the organization. The organization needs to maintain health and safety workplace

Analysis of Competition in the Technology Market

Analysis of Competition in the Technology Market EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Dells competitive advantage is their direct customer sales and customer support; this has made the company one of the leading suppliers of computer systems. Dell has a better understanding of its customers computer needs through continuous online and telephone interaction. This constant interaction drives individual and enterprise productivity. Future growth rates for the computer industry are expected to be less than previous years however, Dell can still be profitable. One of the main problems that Dell faces is the struggling United States economy which Dell has no control over. This is compounded by a saturated PC market with lower profit margins from industry price wars. Dell must focus on being a market taker, instead of trying to be a market maker. Dell needs to capitalize on their ability to enter and dominate new markets, as it did in the low-end server and workstation markets. The company must pursue an international expansion of their middle and high-end server products. T hrough the acquisition of a company like EMC Corporation Dell can pursue the external data storage market. Dell has already captured a large share of the United States market and must increase its server, storage, and service segment overseas to gain more international market share, particularly in China and Latin America. The only viable strategy in order to achieve Michael Dells goal to double Dell Computers current revenue to $60 billion by 2007 is to work on methods to improve sales in the stated new areas. A combination of service, storage and server product growth across newly established international markets is vital to achieve Dells ambitious goal. The United States economy is in a recession, but there are numerous opportunities for growth outside its borders. INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT In the early 2000s, the electronic computer industry was struggling amidst a weak economic climate that presented challenges in business and consumer markets alike. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, after a sharp increase from $56.9 billion in 1998 to $64.7 billion in 1999, electronic computer shipment values fell in 2000 to $62.9 billion. As the economy took a turn for the worse, shipment values plunged to $55.8 billion in 2001. This affected virtually every product segment within the industry, including servers and workstations. Along with values, actual unit shipments also declined, falling from 27.2 million in 2000 to 22.7 million in 2001 (XXX). In the early 2000s there were numerous factors that slowed the purchase of new computers. On September 11, 2001 the terrorist attacks crippled consumer confidence. There was also a rise in the unemployment rates and the possibility of war with Iraq. All these factors made customers content with keeping their existing computers. These s ame conditions caused a slowdown of technology spending in the corporate world too. The wave of year 2000 related new equipment purchases that took place at the end of the 1990s, as well as the availability of quality used equipment from bankrupt Internet companies in the early 2000s, also had a negative impact on the corporate market for new electronic computers. Global competition among computer makers has favored, low-cost producers, and many of these are United States firms. The four largest United States computer makers, Dell, Compaq, Hewlett- Packard, and IBM controlled approximately 40 percent of world computer shipments. In late 2000, Dell proved itself as a potent competitor by taking the title of world market leader away from Compaq. In 2002 Hewlett-Packard had acquired Compaq, in an effort to challenge Dells position. In 2005 the industry reported 2,278 companies manufacturing electronic computers, employing 90,762 people who generated some $196,557.41 million in revenue. Average sales totaled $116.4 million per company. Electronic computers represented 59.7 percent of the market, while digital personal computers garnered 23.5 percent of the market (Electronic Computers, 2007). LEADING COMPANIES DELL Dell designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells and supports information technology systems and services. The company sells its products directly to large corporate, government, healthcare, and education customers as well as small to medium businesses and individual consumers. Dell offers its products in six categories: desktop computer systems, mobility products, software and peripherals, servers and networking products and storage products. The desktop computer systems offer three product lines: Optiplex, Dimension and XPS. The company also offers Precision work stations (Galenet, 2008). The Optiplex product line is primarily for business, government, and institutional customers and the Dimension product line is for small businesses and home users. The XPS product line is for the gaming and entertainment needs of the customers. For the users that run sophisticated applications like three-dimensional computer-aided design, digital content creation, geographic information systems, computer animation, software development and financial analysis the company offers the Precision workstation. The mobility products division provides MP3 players, handhelds (Dell Axim) and three lines of notebooks (Dell XPS, Latitude and Inspiron). The XPS product line for  notebooks targets customers in the gaming or entertainment segment. The Latitude product line focuses on business, government, and institutional customers, while the Inspiron product line is targeted at small businesses. Dell is a leading player in the United States and worldwide for notebook computer shipments (Company Spotlight, 2008). The software and peripheral products of Dell includes printers and displays, software, notebook accessorie s, networking and wireless products, digital cameras, power adapters, scanners and other products. The company offers variety of third party software products such as operating systems, business and office applications, anti-virus and related security software and entertainment software. The companys power edge line of server focuses on enterprise customers and small organizations. Dell is the market leader in the United States in shipments of x86 servers. Computers and servers on small to medium networks can be connected using Dells PowerConnect switches. Dell doesnt just provide products, they also offer infrastructure consulting services, deployment services, asset recovery and recycling services, training services, enterprise support services, client support services and managed lifecycle services. Through Dell Financial Services (DFS) the company can provide United States businesses financing alternatives and asset management services. HEWLETT-PACKARD Hewlett-Packard (HP) offers a complete product portfolio spanning across personal computing, imaging and printing related products and services, and technology solutions. The company operates through seven business segments: enterprise storage and servers, HP services, software, the personal systems group, the imaging and printing group, HP Financial services and corporate investments. The enterprise storage and servers, HP services and software segment are aggregated under the technology solutions group. Hewlett-Packard is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and the company operates in over 170 countries around the world. The United States is the largest geographical market, 33.4 percent of the total revenue during 2007 (Smith, 2008). Enterprise storage and servers provide storage and server products to both small and medium sized businesses. Industry standard servers include entry-level and mid-range ProLiant servers, which operate primarily on the Windows, Linux and Novell operating systems, and Intel Corporation (Intel) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors. The companys product lines span across pedestal-tower servers, density optimized rack servers and HPs BladeSystem family of blade servers. The technology solutions group includes enterprise storage and servers, HP services and HP software. Technology solutions group provide servers, storage, software and information technology services for enterprise and mid-market business customers to manage their current IT environments. Business critical systems include Itanium-based Integrity servers running on the HPUX, Windows, Linux and OpenVMS operating systems including the high-end Superdome servers  and fault-tolerant Integrity NonStop servers. Business critical systems also include the Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC)-based servers with the HP 9000 line running on the HP-UX operating system, HP AlphaServers running on both Tru64 UNIX and Open Virtual Memory System, and MIPs-based NonStop servers. The company has planned to phase out its Alpha server product line in recent times (PCs Industry Profile, 2008). Hewlett-Packards services include technology services, consulting and integration, and outsourcing services. It serves industries such as communications, media and entertainment, manufacturing and distribution, financial services and the public sector, and government and education services. The technology services ranges from standalone product support to high availability services for multi-vendor environments and business continuity and recovery services. The consulting and integration segment provided consulting and integration services to implement technology and industry-specific solutions for customers. Outsourcing services provides IT management and outsourcing to support infrastructure, applications, business processes, end user workplace, print environment, and business continuity and recovery requirements. HP Software provides management software solutions including support, that allow enterprise customers to manage their IT infrastructure, operations, applications, IT services and business processes under the brand, HP OpenView. It also delivers comprehensive, carrier-grade software platforms for developing and deploying next generation voice, data and converged services to network and service providers under the HP OpenCall brand. Hewlett Packard acquired Mercury Interactive Corporation, Bristol Technologies, SPI Dynamics and Opsware in fiscal 2007, which added transaction monitoring, applications security testing and data center automation capabilities to its portfolio. Personal systems group (PSG) is one of the leading providers of personal computers (PCs) in the world based both on volume and annual revenue. Its product line includes commercial PCs, consumer PCs, workstations, handheld computing devices, digital entertainment systems, calculators and other related accessories, and software and services. Workstations are individual computing products designed for users demanding enhanced performance such as computer animation, engineering design and other programs requiring high-resolution graphics. HP provides workstations that run on UNIX, Windows and Linux-based operating systems. Hewlett-Packard is the leading imaging and printing systems provider in the world. The segments portfolio of offerings includes consumer and commercial printer hardware, printing supplies, printing media and scanning devices. The HP Financial services provide financial service to small and medium size businesses. It also offers leasing, financing, utility programs and asset recovery services, financial asset management services for large global and enterprise customers. This group provides innovative and customized services to counter technology obsolescence. ACER Acer functions in the manufacture and sale of IT products, and provision of computer software and maintenance services. The company operates in Taiwan, Europe, Asia, and North America. The company operates through a single business segment and sells Acer branded desktop personal computers (PCs), notebook PCs, and other related information technology (IT) products and services. Acers IT product range includes computer system (desktops, notebooks, handhelds, and tablets), servers and storage products, monitors (cathode ray tube and liquid crystal display), peripherals, projectors, internet appliances and personal multimedia, and digital still cameras (DSC). Acer provides a commercial and consumer series desktop. The commercial series desktops include Veriton and AcerPower brands and the consumer series include the Aspire brand. The company provides four series of notebooks: Aspire series, TravelMate series, Tablet PC series, and Ferrari series. The Tablet series is Acers latest high-mobility solution, which easily converts between notebook and slate modes. Acers servers and storage products are sold under the brand name Altos and Acer. Acers services are based on the MegaMicro business model, which is defined by the company as a mega infrastructure that supports micro services. The services offered include e-Enabling Services Business, enabling Information Platform Services, and Enterprise e-Caring Services. The companys e-Enabling offerings combine Acers IT products and services, and are delivered through the companys infrastructure. (Acer.com, 2008) APPLE Apple is one of the major providers of personal computers, portable digital music players, and mobile communication devices. Apple designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers and related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The company also designs, develops, and markets a line of portable digital music players along with related accessories and services including the online distribution of third-party music, audio books, music videos, short films, and television shows. The company sells its products worldwide through online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers and resellers. Acer is managed on a basis of geographic segments. The company operates through four operating segments: the Americas, Europe, Japan, and retail. The Americas segment includes both North and South America. The Europe segment includes European countries as well as the Middle East and Africa. Each reportable geographic operating segment provides the same kind of hardware and software products and services. The retail segment currently operates Apple-owned retail stores in the United States, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The company has 174 retail stores in the United States and 23 stores in Canada, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Apples Desktops product line includes iMac, eMac, Mac mini, Power Mac, Mac Pro, and Xserve. Portables include MacBook, iBook, MacBook Pro, and PowerBook. iPod products include iTunes Store and iPod services, and the companys own and third party iPod accessories. Other music related products and services include hardware accessories of the company and third parties, wireless connectivity and networking solutions. Software services comprise Apple  branded operating system and application software, third party software, AppleCare, and Internet services. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT The threat of new entrants into PC market is moderate, a compromise between high brand recognition in the market and strong market growth. The new web enabled mobile phones and games consoles fill the needs of some buyers as well as PCs making the threat of substitutes moderate. Rivalry within the market is moderate, as large competitors are faced with relatively high exit barriers, but still enjoying strong growth that leaves plenty of expansion room for all players. There is product differentiation within the market in terms of technical specification, styling, and support services offered, leading to decrease buyer power. However, there is little differentiation in the underlying architecture, with even Apple recently moving to the use of Intels x86 processors. This pushes the market towards commodification and strengthens buyer power. Buyer power can also be increased if more technology savvy people build their own computer. This requires special knowledge and is only a valid alt ernative to a small portion of the customer base. Buyer power overall remains moderate. Supplier power is low because PC manufactures do not incur a significant cost when switching suppliers. However, Intel has strong supplier power due to its brand recognition of its products and use in the vast majority of PCs on the markets. Microsoft also has strong supplier power as a result of their dominance in the operating systems market. The overall supplier power is strong. The threat of substitutes within the PC market is moderate, with much of the functionality of modern PCs being unavailable through alternative means. However, one of the largest threats to the consumer PC market lies within the sphere of gaming, especially with respect to the next generation games consoles, whose increased specifications are attracting gamers away from the PC format. Mobile phones and similar hand-held devices with email and web browser capability can also replace much of the communication role of PCs. The major PC manufacturers are relatively large companies. Some are strongly focused on the PC market (e.g. Lenovo), others have broadly diversified businesses (e.g. Sony), and so that on average the importance of the PC market to its players is moderate. COMPANY SWOT DELL Strengths Despite losing market share to Hewlett-Packard Company in the recent past, Dell continues to remain a strong player in the computer hardware segment. In the computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing industry in the United States, Dell was in the second place behind the Hewlett-Packard Company. In the computer and computer peripheral equipment and software wholesalers industry in the United States, Dell was in the first place with a market share of 6.5 percent. Dell is also one of the leading players in the global servers segment. The company has a strong market position in the storage segment owing to its partnership with EMC. The companys Asia Pacific-Japan segment has reported strong performance in recent three years. The revenue of this segment increased from $5,465 million in fiscal 2005 to $7,358 million in fiscal 2007, an increase of 34.6 percent over 2005. All product categories in this region experienced revenue growth during fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2006. The company has a wide product portfolio, comprising desktops, notebooks, servers, storage products, networking, printers, ink and toner, televisions, software and accessories. Dell has formed partnerships to strengthen its presence in areas where it is weak. A wide portfolio of products has helped the company provide bundled offerings to customers. Weaknesses Dell has weak internal controls. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started an investigation into the accounting and financial reporting matters at Dell, in August 2005. In 2006 The company announced that its Audit Committees investigation had identified a number of accounting errors, evidence of misconduct, and deficiencies in the financial control environment. The company has had to recall several products in the recent past owing to quality issues. In August 2006, the company announced the recall of 4.1 million notebook batteries owing to fire risk. These Dell branded batteries were based on cells of Sony. The company also recalled several other products in previous years owing to quality problems, including AC Adapters and printers. Opportunities Dell has acquired new companies in 2007 and also plans to go in for acquisitions in the future. In July 2007, Dell entered into an agreement to acquire privately-held SilverBack Technologies, a service delivery platform provider for remote monitoring and management of information technology infrastructure such as servers, storage, networks, desktops and notebooks. In the following month, Dell entered into an agreement to acquire ZING Systems, a private consumer technology and services company that focuses on always-connected audio and entertainment devices. This acquisition enables Dell to use ZINGs capabilities to continue improving the entertainment experiences it provides its customers. In November 2007, the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire EqualLogic, (Dell.com, 2008) a provider of high-performance iSCSI storage area network (SAN) solutions optimized for virtualization. The  global Personal Computer (PC) market generated total revenues of $163.8 billion in 2006, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3 percent for the period spanning from 2002 to 2006. Desktop sales proved the most lucrative for the global PC market in 2006, generating total revenues of $123.1 billion, equivalent to 66.9 percent of the markets overall  value. In comparison, sales of Laptops generated revenues of $60.9 billion in 2006, accounting for 33.1 percent of the markets aggregate revenues. The company is entering into new retail agreements to enable consumers to have greater access to Dell products. In September 2007, the company partnered with Gome, Chinas largest consumer electronics retailer to reach millions of in-store computer buyers and to sell the companys latest products through it. In October 2007, Staples and Dell signed an agreement which allows customers to have the option to buy at 1,400 Staples stores for a wide collection of Dell notebook and desktop computers, monitors, printers, ink and toner (Dell.com, 2007). Threats The electronics manufacturing industry is struggling to compete with the black market, parallel import, and smuggled goods. Some countries like China represented an overwhelming 81 percent of the total value of seized goods in 2006. With an increase in the number of counterfeit products being manufactured in China, the company faces serious threats in most of its market segments. These products, although of poorer quality in most cases, are considerably cheaper and may affect the revenue of the company in the long run. Dells failure to comply with new environmental legislation could result in significant penalties and liabilities. Restriction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS) Directive, effective as of July 2006, imposes restrictions on the use of six hazardous materials. Although the company uses a number of third party manufacturers, it will continue to bear responsibility for compliance with the ROHS directive. The European Union has also enacted the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive which makes producers of electrical goods, including computers and printers, financially responsible for specified collection, recycling, treatment, and disposal of past and  future covered products. The United States and Eurozone are two important markets for Dell. The recent turmoil in financial markets, the very weak housing market indicators and consumer sentiments, the growth projection for the United States and the United Kingdome has slowed. Economic slowdown in the United States and Eurozone could lead to less IT spending, which in turn would adversely affect demand for the companys products. HEWLETT-PACKARD Strengths Hewlett-Packard has a strong market position in most of its product segments. The company has a leading market position in the global PC market in terms of shipments. Hewlett-Packard seized market leadership from Dell in the global PC market in 2006 and managed to sustain it in 2007 with 19 percent market share. The company is the second largest entity in the servers market behind International Business Machines (IBM), with its server range extending from low-end systems to high-end systems. In particular, the company is the market leader in x86 Blade and UNIX based servers. Hewlett-Packard has a leading market position in printers. Hewlett-Packard has reported strong financials in recent years. The company has reduced its long-term debt over the last few years from $6,494 million in 2003 to $4,997 million in 2007. Hewlett-Packards long-term debt ratio stood at 0.1 for the fiscal year ended October 2007. The strong financial position provides the company the flexibility of expanding its geographical coverage and product portfolio through organic and inorganic initiatives. Hewlett-Packard also has high brand equity. The company is one of the leading brands in the technology sector along with Microsoft, IBM and Intel. Hewlett-Packard markets several products such as personal computers, inkjet printers and digital cameras to consumers. A strong brand image plays a critical role in consumer markets. Weaknesses Hewlett-Packard has weak internal controls. The company is being investigated by a number of agencies for employing questionable methods to identify the board member, who was leaking  confidential information to the media (Los Angeles Times, 2006). The company is accused of using private agencies, which used illegal methods such as imitation to obtain the phone records of its board members and select journalists. Hewlett-Packard lacks in-house management consulting division. Instead the company has formed partnerships with the likes of Accenture and Capgemini to provide management consulting services to its customers. Increasing number of IT services companies are establishing management consulting divisions in order to provide a more comprehensive and integrated range of services. The research and development expenditure of Hewlett-Packard has remained flat in recent years. The company invested $3,643 million in research and development in each year of 2006 and 2007 compared with $3,492 million in 2005. Research and development as a percentage of revenues declined over the last three years from 4 percent in 2005 and 3.9 percent in 2006 to 3.5 percent in 2007 (HP.com, 2007). Opportunities Hewlett-Packard has undertaken an ambitious revamp of its IT operations, which it hopes will not only improve its effectiveness but also serve as a showcase for its technological capabilities. Hewlett-Packard has taken up five classes of IT initiatives: portfolio management, IT workforce effectiveness, world-class IT, enterprise data warehouse and global data centers. The portfolio management initiatives of the company include reducing active projects from 1,200 to 500 and reducing the number of applications. For improving IT workforce, the company is reducing its IT core sites from 100 to 29 among other initiatives. The company is focused on extending its leadership in imaging and printing. HP acquired Snapfish, online photo service, to dominate the sharing and printing of digital images over the internet. Hewlett-Packard is expanding Snapfish in Europe and Asia. Threats Hewlett-Packard faces intense competition in all its business segments in terms of price, quality,  brand, technology, reputation, distribution, range of products etc. The company faces stiff competition in the PC market. The company has become the market leader in the PC segment in the third and fourth quarter of 2006, sending Dell to the number two position. Acers acquisition of Gateways has made it the third largest PCs supplier in the world. In some regions, the company faces competition from local companies and from generically-branded or white box manufacturers. In the printer supplies segment, Hewlett-Packard competes with re-manufacturers including private label brand stores such as Office Max, supply stores such as Cartridge world, internet vendors and original equipment manufacturers such as Lexmark. The European markets and the United States economy are forecast to decline in coming years. The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom is also forecast to grow in 2008. Risi ng interest rates and increasing unemployment would negatively affect the consumer spending in the United Kingdom. ACER Strengths Acer has robust market position in the global PC and notebook markets. In 2008, the company was ranked as the third largest player in the global PC market with a market share of 12.8 percent. Acer was ranked the second largest in the global notebook market with a share of 19.6 percent. The company was ranked the third largest player in the United States PC market and notebook market. In September 2008, the company completed acquisition E-Ten Information Systems (Acer-group.com, 2008). The acquisition helped the company to strengthen its position in handheld devices, including smartphones and GPS devices. Acer also purchased Packard Bell in 2008. In 2007 the company purchased one of the largest PC companies in the United States, Gateway. The successful mergers of Gateway and Packard Bell helped the company to strengthen its presence in the United States and enabled deeper penetration into the European and Asian markets. These acquisitions helped the company in generating increasing re venues from non-Taiwan markets. Weaknesses Acer is significantly dependent on Europe for its revenues. In FY2008 and FY2007, the company generated around 51 percent of its total revenues from Europe. Europe is experiencing a slowdown in the recent periods. The United Kingdom economy is forecast to be weak in the coming years. The companys high dependence on Europe makes its operations vulnerable to fluctuations in Europe economy. Opportunities The smartphone market is expected to grow in the coming years. It is anticipated that the smartphone market will grow by 15 percent every year for the next three to five years. The value of the global smartphone market is also expected to be more than $95 billion, representing 47 percent of the total handset market value in 2013. Acer is well-positioned in this segment. The growing smartphone market will provides the company an opportunity to increase its revenues in the coming years. Despite the slowdown in the overall PC market, the netbooks/mini-notebooks sales are forecast to grow in near term. The netbook market experienced a robust growth in 2008 and is forecast to grow about 68.5 percent in shipments. Acer offers netbooks under its four brands: Acer, Gateway, Packard Bell and eMachines. Acer has upgraded its products in the recent times. In September 2008, Acer along with its partners introduced Acer-Hitachi SMS 100, a storage product designed for the needs of small and medium sized businesses. The product offers enterprise class features and does not require specific storage experience to be installed and can be connected to any server through an ethernet network. Acer also launched the Aspire M7200 desktop PC targeting multimedia home-users looking for a powerful multi-tasking system, with plenty of expansion and customization capabilities Threats Acer competes with several large branded as well as smaller branded and generic companies. The company faces severe competition from branded competitors such as Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. The note book segment has also attracted competition from nontraditional players. Intense competition in the PC segment may erode the companys margins and reduce its market share. Acer has been part of several patent law suits in the recent periods. In 2007, HP  filed a suit against Acer alleging that Acer and its United States subsidiary have knowingly infringed on five HP patents related to PCs. This has raised HPs recent patent claims against Acer to 10. However in 2008, Acer settled all ongoing patent litigations with HP. Acer operates in various countries worldwide, and is exposed to risk from changes in foreign currency rates. The company derived about 95.3 percent of sales from customers outside Taiwan in FY2008. The consolidated companies record transactions in their respective func tional currencies, which generally are the local currency of the primary economic environment in which these entities operate. APPLE Strengths Apple enjoys a high level of brand awareness and brand recognition for its products throughout the markets in which it operates. Apple leverages its brand image to differentiate its product offering and drive sales. The companys strong brand enables it t