The Issues in RACQ Insurance

Executive summary Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) Insurance Company suffers a serious issue in realising successful operation. The senior management team of the company is at the forefront when dealing with disruptions and challenges that hinder effective operation.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Issues in RACQ Insurance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More RACQ is well capable of managing its risks, since risk management is its chief agenda. The company has been adversely affected by changes in the social, monetary, and environmental backgrounds that have taken place around the globe in the recent years. Several of the changes took on a higher level of intricacy after the economic crisis of 2008 and international monetary decline. This paper discusses the aspects that led to this issue, which consist of placing the clients of RACQ at the core of its operations, the requirement for the company to adm inister capital and risk coupled with combining sustainability aspects in its chief processes and functions. The knowledge of customer needs coupled with positioning these needs at the heart of all operations is a fundamental business value for the success of any insurance company in the world. With the standing of RACQ worsened by the 2008 monetary crisis, the company should consider rebuilding customer confidence. In a report, Dr. George Hopkins, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, is quoted admitting that RACQ must take note of the requirements of its clients particularly now that several of them suffer insecurity due to the financial crisis. The development of competitive products is a continuous challenge for RACQ. However, the inventiveness of the company to discover new techniques of managing risks and pricing them strategically so that both customers and the company benefit has been at the heart of this company for years.Advertising Looking for report on busines s economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In RACQ, the senior management identifies the meaning of working effectively and competently carrying out operations in an orderly way with lowest dissipation to generate the proposed outcomes. Optimised functioning is a requirement for enhanced business operations, more competent handling of allegations, decreased costs, advanced competitiveness, greater profitability, and higher shareholder value. In distressed economic markets, upholding capital stores and achieving reputable proceeds on investments of proprietary and clients is a difficulty task and frequently an insurmountable challenge for RACQ. This paper also focuses on Strategic Human Resource Development (SHRD) plan that Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited should employ to curb this issue. A number of recommendations, implementation, and evaluation for the senior management of RACQ are given at the end of this paper. F or instance, RACQ must join hands with the government to boost the confidence and loyalty of customers in the company and as well develop fiscal literacy. With the creation of superior and beneficial judgments concerning the effective operations of RACQ, this move will be a confirmation that the company engages its clients excellently and has carried out the essential recommendation steps. Several of the judgments that senior management and HRD experts of RACQ formulate when carrying out HRD evaluations might carry ethical issues. Ethical issues entailed in this evaluation of HRD are confidentiality and application of deception.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Issues in RACQ Insurance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Introduction Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) Insurance Company experiences a key issue in effective operation. The risk carriers, risk managers, and key investors of the company are at the forefront when dealing with disruptions and challenges that hinder effective operations. The task of RACQ is to bring some certainty, manageability, and steadiness in what is conventionally a messy world. The monetary, social, and environmental transformations that have occurred around the globe in the earlier decade have been arduous for the company. Numerous of those transformations took on a higher level of intricacy after the 2008 economic crisis and international monetary decline (Bekiaris, 2006, pp. 98-101). In a bid to address this issue, this paper discusses the aspects that caused the problem initially. This paper also focuses on Strategic Human Resource Development (SHRD) plan that Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited should employ to counter this issue. The SHRD involves concentrating on the tasks that analytics of RACQ must carry out in assisting the company overcome the issue of its operation. This paper targets the senior management team of RACQ to assist it acquire better awareness into the issues at hand and how to address the same (Ryder, 2006, pp. 66-69). Positioning Customers at the Centre The knowledge of customer needs and positioning them at the heart of all operations underscores fundamental business values for the success of any insurance company in the world. This matches the contemporary equivalents of what earlier cohorts of senior managers understood as â€Å"the client is king† in addition to â€Å"the client is at all times right†.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, merely because consumer-centricity has been identified for a long time as a vital element in defining success of businesses does not imply that companies are excellent at it (Pokrajac, 2011, pp. 6-9). For instance, RACQ should do more to position its clients at the heart of its operations and must work hard to remain in line with this principle. The endeavour is worth undertaking since the rewards thereafter merit the efforts employed. By positioning clients at the centre, RACQ will improve the loyalty and confidence of its customers (Peterson, Roberts, 2011, pp. 29-76). This undertaking will sequentially give rise to increased sales returns, higher revenues, and eventually improved shareholder value. In the year 2009, a report from the Insurance Industry Working Group (IIWG) stressed on the importance of insurers involving their clients in a move to position customers at the centre of companies’ operations. With the status of RACQ worsened by the global economic cr isis of 2008, the company should rebuild customer trust (Introducing Anziif Committees, 2010, pp. 46-47). Dr. George Hopkins, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, stated that RACQ must take note of the needs of its clients particularly now when numerous of them suffer uncertainty due to the 2008 financial crisis. Developing Competitive Products The development of competitive products is a continuous challenge for RACQ (O’Brien, 2004, pp. 48-50). Nevertheless, the inventiveness of the company to discover new techniques of managing risks and pricing them strategically so that both customers and the company benefit has been in place for quite some time now. Development of competitive products is a perpetual practice. RACQ cannot be contented coupled with depending on the products at hand; on the contrary, they have to innovate endlessly, not simply to be in motion with market transformations, but also be ahead in the market if achievable. Insurance companies that are effe ctive in assisting policyholders become weather-resistant and weather-responsive and eventually become weather-profitable (Kalamaras, Rando, Pitchford, 2006, pp. 439-441). RACQ faces a challenge in assisting individuals and groups to transform and become weather-resistant by giving them insurance against weather-changes-associated incidents like floods and storms, coupled with assisting the government become weather-responsive by offering insurance to renewable energy schemes and attempts to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases. On the other hand, RACQ puts immense significance on providing customers with an extensive and new variety of products for security savings and venture. RACQ continually studies the market with the intention of establishing new products and developing its product contributions. In so doing, the company stays competitive and offers its clients product resolutions that can befit their various financial objectives and insurance requirements (Delpachitra, 200 8, pp. 137-147). RACQ is as well committing much time to building up comprehensible products like car loans, car hire, and car insurance just to mention but a few. This move follows earlier complaints from its customers that the diction used in a number of its policies was extremely intricate. Regardless of the encouraging impressions that RACQ present in its reports, a recently conducted survey illustrates that several participants, of whom three-quarters represented their customers, believe that RACQ has poor standing as regards development of competitive products. A participant stated that there were presently very few new products in broad insurance and reinsurance schemes. In addition, a different participant affirmed that RACQ was cumbersome, sluggish, and not particularly inventive. In general, participants considered that if not addressed, the issue facing RACQ and other companies would hold back development for competitive products and make the insurance industry more expos ed to rivalry mainly from banks (Turner, Guilding, 2011, pp. 89-94). Enhancing Functional Efficiency Senior management in RACQ recognises the significance of working effectively and competently executing operations in a systematic way with lowest wastage of resources to generate the proposed outcomes. Optimised function is a requirement for enhanced business operations, competent handling of allegations, decreased costs, advanced competitiveness, greater profitability, and higher shareholder value. Earlier in the year 2011, RACQ made an impressive judgment to revolutionise its business operations and set off on a series of transformational projects. This move created quantifiable enhancements across every region, but the task is far from complete. The functional capacities must be founded on four strategic foundation stones, viz. functional change, profitable development, people administration, and consumer-centricity. Functional change signifies the designed and methodical progres sion of implementing, centring on clients, efficiency, and competence (Armstrong Paolucci, 2010, pp. 521-538). These might be the true basics on which to construct, but RACQ does not feign it is a straightforward undertaking. Keeping Strong Capital arrangements and Good Profits In distressed economic markets, upholding capital stores and achieving reputable proceeds on investments of proprietary and clients has been a hard and frequently unrealisable challenge for RACQ. RACQ has undertaken three strides from the economic catastrophe and financial decline. Foremost, its capital sources have suffered exhaustive drawbacks like lesser returns and lesser-kept profits, liquidity claims, scarcity investors, little rates on interest, and a decrease in the rate of securities, possessions, and other benefit classes. Being at a position of less capital intimidates solvency spots of RACQ and its capacity to satisfy the claims of its customers, renders its to the threat of regulatory nonconform ity with capital sufficiency rules, and makes it more difficult to write new dealings. Secondly, its investment selections have lost worth (Swanson, Hume, Hutcheon, Scott, 2012, pp. 18-22). Thirdly, the venture of the clients of RACQ depreciated and assets have as well depreciated giving rise to disgruntled customers. Strengthening Risk Management The instability in the economic markets extended the handling of risk by the policies and progressions of insurance companies (Bianchi, Ebner, Korherr, Ubl, 2011, pp. 88-106). They held up well compared with those of banks, but their review and strengthening occur in all key areas where appropriate. Every approach of handling of risk should be extensive (Connelly, Paolucci, Butler, Collins, 2010, pp. 3-14); that is, every approach has to be devised at the centre, incorporated across the company, and executed by the leaders of every business line. Recommendations Activity Objectives Target participants RACQ must join hands with the government to set up a more client-focused advance, not just to boost the confidence and loyalty of customers in the company, but also develop fiscal literacy. To place customers at the centre of operations Government Senior management Customers Work together with the government to permit the private sector to handle a number of risks primarily covered by the public sector, which include pensions, medical care, and unemployment assistance. In so doing, the private sector (RACQ included) will lessen the load on taxpayers and public sector (Atkins Reid, 2012, pp. 24-27). To offer a beneficial source of fresh business to the company Government Private sector Senior management Customers Assist individuals and groups in transforming to ‘weather-resistant’ by giving them insurance covers against weather-change-associated incidents like floods, storms, and famines and assist the government and organisations become ‘weather-responsive’ by offering insurance to renewable energy schemes and attempts to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases. To discover competitive products of managing risks and price them strategically so that both customers and the company benefit Senior management Government Customers Devise ways to measure risks, operational performance, as well as other investment-specific assessments and report to senior management for required action to be carried out (Hogg, 2012, pp. 30-32). To strengthen risk management Senior management Risk experts Develop quantitative software that can offer integrated and all-inclusive administration of data. The senior management should implement strong extrapolative analytics, customer-friendly self-service accounting, and a transparent setting to allow the risk experts manage the whole practice (Keneley McDonald, 2007, pp. 278-299). To attain excellent risk management Senior management Risk experts Customers Implementation Activity Target date Participants Required resources Dura tion For the customer-centric approach to bear benefits in terms of enhanced loyalty, returns, and profitability, business analytics in RACQ must play a key task in this regard by assisting the insurance company collect more precise information regarding its customers. Nov 2012 Business analytics Customers Improved customer intelligence to assist in intensifying client insights, designing consumer interactions, and constantly advancing concerning operating performance 5 months Comprehend past undertakings to gain awareness into what clients will need in the in future and assist RACQ gain awareness into the attitudes, conduct, productivity, and risk of customers (Wilkins, 2010, pp. 336-348). Jan 2013 Business analytics Customers Information from customers Performance prototypes of the excellent and nastiest customers 1 year Make use of an underwriter to the company’s data with the aim of assessing the anticipated losses and expenditures. This will help RACQ in computing the premiums required to cover up costs and avoid adverse choices. Jan 2013 Auditors Business analysts Data from records of RACQ 1 year Recognition of key conducts, the geographic position of the customer, frequency, and monetary assessment (RFM) counts for customers, coupled with tracking the efficiency of any particular marketing operation, and suggesting how to change advertising expending and promotion content (Carmona, 2012, pp. 12-16). Jan 2013 Business analysts Internet Website 6 months Evaluation RACQ should use a computer-based approach with the help of its employees. During a talk with clients, or from filed documents by customers, the information and feedback should be keyed into the system. Eventually, the information and feedback from customers will be merged with the data from other distribution conduits to construct a single customer outlook. After the senior management team creates smarter and beneficial judgments about marketing, this will be a confirmation tha t the management understands clients and has carried out the necessary recommendation steps. Another way of evaluation is the use of SAS, whose success will be marked by an inclusive enterprise data management atmosphere, integrating every kind of data to permit analyses with the interpretation of both structured as well as unstructured data like text messages, visual information, and electronic mails. The final evaluation is the assessment of business solutions by business analysts. A move in the right direction is indicated by attainment of higher profits, improved client relationships, better risk management, and a successful human capital policy. Several judgments that senior management and HRD experts of RACQ formulate when carrying out HRD evaluations carry ethical issues. One ethical issue entailed in evaluation of HRD is confidentiality. In asking employees questions concerning their performance or performance of others, the outcomes of these investigations might thwart or c ause unpleasant treatment by their colleagues if uncovered. For instance, if evaluation of senior management engages in inquiring employees of the performance of their managers, managers might become angry with employees who report negatively about them. Where achievable, confidentiality should be maintained by use of codes instead of names. Another ethical issue is the application of deception. For instance, some analysts might feel that a study would give better outcomes if human resources do not recognise they are carrying out an evaluation analysis, or if provided with fake or deceptive information. This exercise is unethical. Employees would possibly become irritated with the senior management and thus destroy confidence, which is hard to reinstate. Options to deception must be taken into account. The value of Human Resource Development (HRD) can be articulated in accordance with costs and benefits by measuring Return on Investment (ROI) through incorporation of interdisciplina ry endeavors with HRD actualities and distinctiveness. The ROI assessment for HRD is not merely an accounting subject. The gain of HRD intervention could embrace a value different from monetary, for instance, improvement of customer relations that cannot be expressed in terms of dollar value (Wang, 2000, pp. 23-30). Monetary returns for HRD intervention can be computed in dollar values and include profits for the company. Conclusion From this research paper, it is clear that RACQ Insurance Company experiences a weighty issue in effective operation. The senior management team of the company is in the forefront when dealing with disruptions and the challenges that hinder effective operations (Klumpes, 2002, pp. 237-256). Aspects that lead to this issue include failure to take note of positioning the clients at the core of operations, the need for the company to manage capital and risk, and integration of sustainability aspects in its key processes and functions. RACQ must join hands w ith the government to better its operations, not just to boost the confidence and loyalty of customers in the company, but also to develop fiscal literacy. The senior management of RACQ has a critical role to play in dealing with its effectiveness issue. The evaluation of the key issues in RACQ helps to determine how well the company deals with the setbacks of its success. References Armstrong, J., Paolucci, F. (2010). Risk Equalisation in Ireland and Australia: A Simulation Analysis to Compare Outcomes. Geneva Papers on Risk Insurance – Issues Practice, 35(40), 521-538. Atkins, G., Reid, J. (2012). The Magic Pudding – UK Motor Insurance. Journal of the Australian New Zealand Institute of Insurance Finance, 35(1), 24-27. Bekiaris, M. (2006). Crash your cover costs. Money, (14446219)80, 98-101. Bianchi, T., Ebner, G., Korherr, R., Ubl, E. (2011). The Austrian Insurance Industry in CESEE: Risks and Opportunities from a Financial Stability Point of View. Web. Carmo na, J. (2012). Players brace for the Storm Surge. Caribbean Business, 40(30), 12-16. Connelly, L., Paolucci, F., Butler, J., Collins, P. (2010). Risk equalisation and voluntary health insurance markets: The case of Australia. Health Policy, 98(1), 3-14. Delpachitra, S. (2008). Activity-based costing and process benchmarking: An application to general insurance. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 15(2), 137-147. Hogg, J. (2012). Tactical fleet manoeuvring. Charter, 83(5), 30-32. Introducing Anziif Committees. (2010). 7th Annual Australia and New Zealand Industry Awards 2010. Journal of the Australian New Zealand Institute of Insurance Finance, 33(2), 46-47. Kalamaras, M., Rando, A., Pitchford, D. (2006). Driving plastered: who does it, is it safe and what to tell patients. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 76(6), 439-441. Keneley, M., McDonald, T. (2007). The Nature and Development of the General Insurance Industry in Australia. Australian Economic History Review, 47(3), 278-299. Klu mpes, P. (2002). Incentives Facing Life Insurance Firms to Report Actuarial Earnings: Evidence from Australia and the UK. Journal of Accounting, Auditing Finance. Summer, 17(3), 237-256. O’Brien, A. (2004). Collision course. Money, (14446219)7, 48-50. Peterson, P., Roberts, F. (2011). Financial Guarantee Insurance and Failures in Risk Management. Journal of Insurance Regulation, 30(1), 29-76. Pokrajac, M. (2011). Choice insurance review irresponsible. Money Management, 25(42), 6-9. Ryder, T. (2006). How safe is your house? Money (14446219), 76, 66-69. Swanson, S., Hume, A., Hutcheon, W., Scott, R. (2012). Direct Insurance: Would You Like Fries With That? Journal of the Australian New Zealand Institute of Insurance Finance, 35(1), 18-22. Turner, M., Guilding, C. (2011). An investigation of the motivation of hotel owners and operators to engage in earnings management. Qualitative Research in Accounting Management, 8(4), 89-94. Wang, G. (2000). Training economics: An alte rnative approach to measuring ROI for HRD programs. Dallas, American Society for Training and Development. Wilkins, M. (2010). The Need for a Multi-Level Approach to Climate Change—An Australian Insurance Perspective. Geneva Papers on Risk Insurance – Issues Practice, 35(2), 336-348. This report on The Issues in RACQ Insurance was written and submitted by user Bast10n to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Research Paper-Family Life 1930s Essays

Research Paper-Family Life 1930s Essays Research Paper-Family Life 1930s Paper Research Paper-Family Life 1930s Paper Family Life in the 1930’s As the roaring twenties captivated the lives of American families with its great profits, big business, and optimism, the thirties altered the nation’s economic dreams, values, fashion, and everyday life. After ending an abundant decade in the twenties, the 1930’s brought forth pain, poverty, and hardships. Because of the stock market crash in the late 1920’s, it strongly affected families in the 1930’s in many ways. Everyday life was profoundly affected by the hard times. Marriages were delayed; birth rates dropped, contraceptive sales soared, and divorce rates were down (Reeves 115). Families at this time knew that money was not readily available, so getting married or having more children was not something the average family was looking forward to. Not to mention that getting a divorce would result to being stigmatized as single, and not being able to live on their own without the support or income of their spouse. Parents rarely went anywhere without their children; if they did, the older children took care of the younger ones. Each child had specific chores and responsibilities such as helping with washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning, or dressing and bathing the younger children (Press 27). By 1933 things had gotten so bad that thousands of desperate unemployed men and women in American cities were reduced to selling apples on street corners (Press 11). The income from selling apples definitely could not have been enough to pay bills and support families, therefore many people began losing their homes. The hard times of the Great Depression began to be too much for some to deal with so suicides became so routine that they often went unreported (Congdon 8). Most families in the 1930’s were experiencing the worst economic depression of their history, but luckily there were things to do that helped them cope with the hard times they were facing. Family Life during the Great Depression of the 1930’s was not at all austerity and gloom. A remarkable number of inexpensive diversions besides radio provided Americans with a temporary escape from personal problems (Press 87). Going to the movies, listening to the radio, and playing games as a family was some of the inexpensive things families did to keep their minds off the struggle they ere facing economically. Movies were a common source of escape for people plagued by the Depression. Some 85 million Americans went to the nation’s 17,000 movie theaters each week. Admission prices were as low as a nickel (Reeves 116). Families listened to baseball games and wrestling matches on the radio, and played games in the evening together (Press27). American families probably spent m ore time together at this period of time due to the fact that a very large amount of people were broke and couldn’t afford to spend the extra money. At this point in time women opted for a more feminine and practical image than in the days of the flapper. Skirt length fell well below the knee, busts and waists reappeared, and hair styles became softer and more graceful (Reeves 118). Women often smoked cigarettes, drank, and gambled with men in public. Women, for the first time, wore slacks, revealed bathing suits, and participated in sports such as softball, roller skating, and bicycling (Reeves 115-116). These trends showed that women were ready for a change, not only in fashion, but in everyday life in the 1930’s. In the first one hundred days of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency one out of every three wage and salary earners- 12. 5 million men and women- were out of a job. Many American children had not had milk in months; in New York it was estimated that at least a fifth of the children in public schools were suffering from serious malnutrition (Simon 14). Although Roosevelt’s presidency was off to a bad start, it did not stop him from quickly trying to develop programs to help the people in America financially. F. D. R’s decisive legislation would be a New Deal for America’s forgotten working men and women. It was sparked by the three R’s: Relief, Recovery, and Reform. Government relief agencies were set up to make sure the unemployed could feed their children and save their homes from fore closure. Recovery programs created government works projects to provide people with jobs, and reform legislatives reorganized banks, the stock market, and guaranteed workers right to unionize (Press 6). Roosevelt’s ideas to put an end to the Great Depression of the 1930’s strongly made a positive impact on millions of families at this time. Furthermore, the real story of family life in the 1930’s is how individual families endured and survived, whether battling the despair of hunger and unemployment, or the fear of unending drought and forced migration (Press 6). It is the story of people fighting for the right to earn a decent wage in safe working conditions.

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Discussion - Essay Example Examples will be provided of the Structural, Human Resource, and Political Frames from the video and transcript of the speech. This will exclude the Symbolic Frame as that information has already been provided per the instructions. As Bolman and Deal (2008) mention from his own unique and personal perspective, David King’s diagnosis makes sense. The reframing process, however, is different for every manager and leader as no two individuals look at a company from the same experiences, career path, education, beliefs, values, and interests. His recommendations made sense for the situation for him and the circumstances he was in at that point in time. He referenced his previous experience many times, but also referenced all four frames equally in his recommendation. It seemed as though, initially, he was relying much too heavily on the human resource frame to justify his actions, but as he later explained his thoughts more fully it became clear that he was considering all four frames. The opportunity he may have missed was explaining to the staff the issues related to structure he had observed, so that when dealing with the human resource tensions and conflicts rather than focusing on blaming one another or the details of what one person said to one another. He could have given them a little bit of analysis to divert the attention away from the people issues (Bolman and Deal, 2008). One of the benefits of understanding the Structural Frame, as an example, is that you know the concerns are not primarily the fault of the people. It seemed he spent the majority of his time delving into issues with the staff, which could lead some people to believe that administration was the primary problem. Appearances can mean a lot particularly when there is a change in leadership. His decisions were effective in the short run in that he calmed the situation down that was brewing between Carver and Dula, but in the

Social Person Perspective Matrix Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Social Person Perspective Matrix - Assignment Example The government and unions supplied the workers with much needed safety & security per Maslow’s hierarchy; worker needs the organizational leaders appeared to be ignoring. This perspective includes psychological concepts such as self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-actualization, and effective interpersonal communication and relationships. Managing with the whole person concept in mind is critical for the manager’s role today to maximize available limited resources. The social person needs to be a primary focus for the manager as that is what determines the needs and motivations of the worker (Reza, 2009). Noe et al. (2003) state that the Social Person Perspective came at a time in history when there had previously been solely a focus on production and increasing efficiency and productivity, at the sake and discomfort of the people. The evolution of management received a well-needed infusion of human understanding which eased management – worker conflicts, ended misunderstandings, and continued to increase organizational production while improving employee morale. Within the motivational theories that were brought about as a result of the focus on the social person, the important thing to remember is to treat the staff you work with as team members, not staff that work for you. The manager is not above everyone else, but working with them to get the work completed timely and accurately. Do not resort to the autocratic method of management. The workplace is a collection of adults who value and respect their time and effort and expect the same in return. They will then return the same value and respect to their team members, which includes the manager (Noe et al., 2003). Warmoth, A. (1998, August). Humanistic psychology and humanistic social science. Reprinted from Humanity and Society (the journal of the Association for Humanist Sociology, 22(3) Retrieved March 20, 2011 from

Inaugural Address by John F. Kennedy Speech or Presentation

Inaugural Address by John F. Kennedy - Speech or Presentation Example Written by Kennedy himself, along with his speechwriter Ted Sorenson, the speech is considered to be one of the best given by Kennedy as well as one of the best given by any United States President. The primary audience of the speech was, indeed, the United States public, however, the speech also addressed the citizens and governments of the world at large, touching on universal themes of peace and justice. The speech opens with a very effective hook, by talking about the victory of his party, Kennedy draws the audience in by proclaiming the event to be a beginning of change as well as the start of renewing the rich traditions of United States. The memorable speech opening clearly established the basis for the main body of the speech. The speech was focused – clearly and effectively touching on themes of a need for a new beginning in the face of the then present stale relations between the two Cold War opponents (the United States and the Soviet Union). Recalling images of the glorious past of the United States, and the ideals on which it was found, the speech employed metaphors, especially religious ones, as well as symbolism, and that too having religious undertones. Kennedy talked about the metaphorical torch that had been passed to his generation when he spoke of his presidency. It was, altogether, very easy to follow the speech as it flowed, and was organized, quite logically, with Kennedy ensuring that the conclusion of his speech was concise, memorable and a call to action. The now famous words â€Å"Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country† (Kennedy) were part of his inaugural address. Kennedy relied on words alone to deliver his message. No visual aids were used in the speech, the only mental imagery was evoked in a bid to get the public excited and hopeful about the future in general, and the Kennedy administration in particular. Kennedy sounded a bit nervous, although his enthusiasm shows th rough in the choice of his words as well as his hopeful tone for the change he sought to bring about with regard to the United States itself and its relationship with the outside world. Kennedy accomplished this by maximizing the role of the audience in the change to come by using inclusive language as well as by addressing the audience directly (i.e. using you and we focused language). The audience cheered during the speech and clapped, however, other than that there was no audience interaction. The tone of the speech was somber and serious, there was no levity or humor worked into the speech. Moreover, Kennedy stayed on the podium during the whole speech and did not move around or use the stage to augment his words. Overall, Kennedy seemed very confident, although a little bit nervous. His posture showed his poise and assurance, though he did not use gestures to supplement or stress his words. Though Kennedy was reading the speech as he had not memorized it, yet he tried to keep a s much eye contact as possible with the audience. Since he did not have any distracting mannerisms, his lack of constant eye contact did not take away from the speech.  

Financial Statements Analysis In Making Investment Decisions Finance Essay

Financial Statements Analysis In Making Investment Decisions Finance Essay During the financial crisis in 2008, the world witnessed the bankruptcies of leading firms such as Lehman Brothers or Washington Mutual. These collapses caused the losses of many shareholders and stock investors and raised the importance of financial analysis in investment. This project looks at the necessity of financial statement analysis in investment decision making with an emphasis on how to use it to reveal potential risks. Introduction One of the most important long-term decisions for any business is investment with the aim of making gains in the future. Investment decisions are concerned with the use of funds including buying, holding or selling and each decision could be vital to a firm. A careless decision may result in a long-term loss or even worse, bankruptcy. Therefore, an in-depth understanding and analysis is necessary for a high quality investment decision process. This is also even more critical to investors who invest in stock of company or shareholders. Financial statement analysis is critical in making effective stock investment decisions. By study the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement and statement of owners equity separately and combined, an analyst might have a good sense of a companys overall financial picture; therefore, the investment decisions are likely to be reasonable and profitable. I. Understanding of financial statements analysis In order to understand the analysis of financial statements, it is necessary to define financial statements. According to Fabozzi (2003), financial statements are summaries of the operating, financing and investment activities of a business. These reports provide information to both investors and creditors in making credit, investment, and other business decisions. In other words, financial statements might be used as a tool to predict a companys future earnings. There are four basic financial statements including: the balance sheet, the income statement, the statement of cash flows and the statement of shareholders equity. Firstly, the balance sheet is a summary of the assets, liabilities and equity of a business at a particular time. Assets include the resources of an enterprise that are used to generate profits. Therefore, if a company owns assets, the company can expect them to produce cash inflows in the future. Take for example, cars of a taxi company will be used in order to serve customers and gain income to the company. Liabilities are obligations of the business, or in other words, the commitments to creditors in the form of future cash outflows. Another factor is Equity, which reflects ownership. This means equity represents the part of a firms value that is not owed to creditors and therefore is left over for the owners. Thus, equity is the difference between assets and liabilities. Another part of financial statements is income statement, which is a summary of the revenues and expenses of a business over a period of time. Therefore, it shows both the results of the firms operating and financing decisions during that time, and people can also call this as the profit and loss statement. Thirdly, statement of cash flows is a summary over a period of time of a firms cash flows. This statement lists separately its operating cash flows, investing cash flows, and financing cash flows. The last main part of financial statements is the statement of shareholders equity. This provides additional information about equity including the amounts and changes in equity accounts; thus, it is considered as a link between the balance sheet and the income statement. Apart from the four main parts, the financial statements include notes in order to give additional information to readers. The first notes summaries the companys accounting policies such as methods of inventory accounting, methods of depreciation and foreign currency translation. Depending on each company, then there may be additional notes providing, for example, information on mergers or acquisitions. Financial statement analysis is a process that examines past and current financial date for the purpose of evaluating performance and estimating future risks and potential. II. What influences the making of Investment decision? In order to understand how financial report analysis affects investment decisions, it is important to understand the main contributing factors of making an investment decision. According to Cahill (2003), the investment decision making bases on assessing the sectors prospects, assessing the companys prospects and evaluating the value of company. A sectors prospects, which are dependent upon the supply/ demand, pricing and cost trends within the industry, provide information to analyze a companys prospects in more details. Meanwhile, the analysis of the prospects for the company is based on four drivers including management and strategy, performance and returns, financial positions and outlook for earnings. The combination of these factors determines the value put on a companys share. After analyzing the numbers and the four factors, it is important to evaluate those numbers with some approaches such as price/earning. As it can be seen clearly, financial statements are essential source of information in analyzing companys prospects and in evaluating companys value. Therefore, it is safe to assume that financial statements analysis is important in the making of investment decision. III. The influences of financial statements analysis on investment decision 1. Financial ratio analysis and its effect Financial ratio is one of the most important tools of financial analysis. In financial ratio analysis, the relevant information that will be processed is primarily from the financial statement data. A ratio is a mathematical relation between two quantities, in this case is from financial statements. Generally, by using financial ratios, investors can evaluate five aspects of operating performance and financial conditions including return on investment, liquidity, profitability, activity and financial leverage. With return on investment ratios, analysts compare measures of benefits, such as net income or earning before interest and taxes, with measures of investment in order to evaluate how well the firm uses its sources in its operations. Thus, analysts could consider increasing their investment into the firm if its ratio of net income to total assets is larger than other firms in the same sector. Moreover, not only compare current figures, investors might compare a firms current ratio with its ratio in the past so that they could have a view of how well the firm operate in the recent period of time. On the other hand, investors can assess the companys liquidity, which is the ability to meet the short-term obligations using current assets, by several ways including current ratio, quick ratio or net working capital to sales ratio. Take for example, a ratio of current assets to current liabilities will provide information about the comparison between assets that can be readily turn in to cas h and obligations that are due in the near future. In other words, by calculating this ratio, people might know the ability of a company to satisfy obligation due in the near future; therefore, they could have an valuable information about the safety of investing in that company. As it can be seen clearly, the higher a firms liquidity is, the more secure the investment is. Moreover, professional investors even extend their analysis skill by adding profitability ratios, which help them gauge how well a firm is managing its expenses. With detailed information in financial statements, investor can select and use different profitability ratio in each case. For example, suppose an analyst wants to evaluate how well production facilities are managed, it is reasonable to focus on the comparison between gross profit, which is a measure of income that is direct result of production management, and sales. This ratio shows the portion of each dollar of sales that remains after deducting production expenses; hence, the analyst might evaluate the firms ability to manage expenses. In general, it would be unwise to invest in a company that cannot control its expenditures appropriately (Akintoye, 2009). Apart from above ratios, activity ratios can be used to evaluate the benefits produced by specific assets; thus, they would be useful in specific circumstances. For instance, a ratio of cost of goods sold to inventory provide information about how quickly a firm has used inventory to generate the goods and services that are sold. Another kind of ratios is financial leverage ratio, which is used to assess how much financial risk the firm has taken on. These ratios are essential to evaluate the safety of investment decision to that company. Although financial ratio analysis help analysts in evaluating a firms operations, risk and potential returns so that they can decide to invest in the firms securities or not, this analysis cannot tell the whole story and must be used with care due to some limitations such as interpretation of the ratios or accounting data. 2. Earning analysis In order to give out a right investment decision, investors have to forecast the market value of firms securities, or in other words, forecast a companys cash flows in the future. However, this is difficult and as an alternative, investors examine the historical and current relation between stock price and some fundamental factors. In many cases, the factor is used to estimate the value of securities is earnings. Earnings are varying in different circumstances; therefore, it is common to use different approaches depend on real case. For example, if an investor is evaluating the performance of a companys operations, the focus is likely on the operating earnings of the company the earnings before interest and taxes. Generally, earning analysis is usually referred to the amount of earning per share of stock. In this case, the EPS (earnings per share), which shows how much on each share is earned by the firm in a given accounting period, is widely used. A firm with high EPS seems to be a profitable firm and is worth to invest in; thus, EPS can play a significant role in investment decision making. However, earnings can be adjusted by the firm itself and in fact, there are pressures that force the firm to adjust its earnings such as meeting analyst forecast or meeting shareholders expectation. In particular, earnings can be manipulated using a number of devices including the selection of inventory method and the selection of depreciation method. The pressure to report constantly increasing earnings may also result in wrong earning report. For example, Leslie Fay showed increasing earnings in 1990 and 1991, even though its business was not that excellent (Fabozzi, 2003). Therefore, similar to using financial ratios analysis, earning analysis should be done with most careful attitudes. 3. Cash Flow analysis According to Fabozzi (2003), cash flow play an important role in valuation and help analyst calculate the current value of a company base on the present value of its expected future cash flow. Moreover, understanding cash flow allows an investor to assess the ability of a firm to maintain current dividends and its current capital expenditure policy without relying on external financing. Currently, a firm reports its cash flows on the statement of cash flows using either the direct method, which is reporting all cash inflows and outflows, or the indirect method, which is adjustment the net income with depreciation and other noncash expenses. By looking at the relations among cash flow from operations, cash flow from investing activities and cash flow from financing activities, an analyst could have a overview of the firms activities. For example, a young fast growing company is likely to have a negative cash flows from operation and a positive cash flows from financing activities because the company rely on external financing. Examination of the sources of cash flows, especially over time, gives analysts a general idea of the companys operations. For instance, PG, which is a mature firm, has a consistent cash flow. Moreover, cash flow information may help the analyst identify companies that may encounter financial difficulties. A clear example of this case is W.T. Gr ant company during 1966-1974 with no definite clues of bankruptcy that were showed on profitability ratio, turnover ratio and liquidity ratios. However, a study of cash flows from operations clearly revealed that company operations were causing an increasing drain on cash (Fabozzi, 2003). For above reasons, cash flow analysis is an essential part of making investment decision. Conclusion Financial analysis is the basis for investment and financing decisions and the basic data for this analysis is the financial statement data. This data can be used to analyze the relationships between different elements of a firm in order to provide an overview as well as an in-depth view of companys operation and financial condition. Moreover, by looking at the calculated financial ratios, in the connection with economic data, investor can make judgments about past and future financial performance and conditions. Besides, earnings analysis and cash flow analysis may provide even more detailed information about the firm, and also help investor to see potential risk. Therefore, it is safe to assume that financial statement analysis play an irreplaceable role in making investment decisions.

Essay --

I am mad. Wait, mad might not be the correct word. Perhaps I should have said angry, but does that truly evoke the complete image of my present emotional state? I think not. Exasperated, agitated, and resentful come to mind, but again, individually, they all fall short of expressing the complex set of emotions experienced when I feel I have been cheated or stolen from. What makes this even more emotionally demoralizing is the fact that those responsible for doing the cheating and stealing do not even recognize that is what they are doing. So who am I referring to, how are they cheating, and what have they stolen? They are the uninformed voters and they are cheating the system by having the same amount of control in election outcome as those who have taken the time to become involved and knowledgeable about the issues. But what are they stealing? In short my vote. Simply put, due to lack of interest, understanding, and participation in the electoral process, uninformed voters wh o should be awarding their support from a foundation of insight, preparation and knowledge are instead casting votes even they do not agree with. Ok, so what if a few people get confused and make a wrong vote, just how bad can it be? ‟According to political scientists Richard Lau and David Redlawsk in their book How Voters Decide, the authors find that, in the best case scenario of a choice of two candidates, approximately 70 percent of voters choose correctly†(Belt 643). Now take a minute to really think about the implications of that statement. In a best case scenario, 30 percent of the voter’s choice was for someone or something he or she did not even agree with but was too uninformed to know it. One might ask how could there possibly be this d... ...that regardless of which side of an issue one may support, award that support from a foundation of insight, preparation and knowledge. Somin in his book Democracy and Political Ignorance, and Their Ignorance is willful! states, ‟few will take the time and effort to assimilate more than a small amount of political information.† For this reason he states elsewhere in his book, we should be grateful that voter turnout is as low as it is, because increased turnout is often likely to increase the electoral effects of political ignorance by encouraging the unmotivated to vote (More Media 1). Realizing that all the time and effort I spend to discern the issues and candidates’ positions can be made futile by one uninformed voter, maybe our best hope is, come Election Day, the uniformed voter is so uninformed they will not be able to find the polling location.

A World at Arms: A World War II Book Review Essay

Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This book authored by a great historian Gerhard L. Weinberg is exceptionally written with impressive research. It integrated all the aspects of war – diplomatic, political, economic, and even cultural. In addition, the book has given an overview of how the different theatres of World War II are interconnnected. This paper explores on the author as an expert of this time period, on the book as an account of history, and its impact to the world.   A World at Arms: A World War II Book Review An Overview   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The truth about wars is that many facts would always be concealed and altered. There are numerous instances where events that transpired were never recorded, and many evidences were deliberately destroyed. Therefore weaving the entire tragedy is a very difficult task, and people could only carefully integrate the pieces together, whether they fit or not. World War II is exceptionally difficult for many historians for it is composed of many different theatres, for indeed the world was ultimately at war. The author of â€Å"A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II† Gerhard L. Weinberg has done the next to impossible, to write a single volume that ecompasses all the aspects of war, without sacrificing its value as a piece of literature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gerhard L. Weinberg is an expert historian who has enough authority to write about this period of the greatest war in the history of mankind. He has previously written a duely recognized two-volume account of the diplomatic affairs of Adolf Hitler. He is also credited for discovering and editing the second published book of Hitler. Not only is he well versed on this global conflict, he is also largely exposed on extensive archives including those of the Americans, the British, and the Germans which were of great addition to his books. These primary sources characterized his book with much freshness and color in comparison to other works with the same relevance (Weinberg, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This book contains accounts that include all of the six continents. It largely discussed the details of the war, its causes, and its effect on the world. Moreover, its timeline extends from 1939 until the end of war, and even including chapters that reflected the wretched aftermath of this conflict. This is a narrative that dissected the war into the different roles of diplomacy, espionage, land, and sea battles on the total outcome of the Second World War It is a relevant source of the weaponry used, military tactics, naval seacrafts, and even different aircrafts used in various offensives. This book is not confined within the overall military and diplomatic chaos that occurred during those times, for this piece of literature has also explored on the gravity of the situations in the Eastern Front and of the Jewish holocaust (Weinberg, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The book tackled interesting insights that are both amusing and surprising. Such information includes the reduction of American and British troops after the First World War, maintaining only a size comparable to that specified for the Germans by the Treaty of Versailles. Another thought provoking fact is that the British and the French failed to attempt to enter the war. It is basically an interwoven story of different stories. Stories are sometimes characterized by delaying the inevitable,   strategic mistakes, and too much reliance towards neutrality that they ignored, consciously or not, that Hitler really wanted a World War that would give him his Thousand Year Reich (Weinberg, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The book has also given emphasis on the different geographical and logistic significance that affected decisions in warfare. Examples include the impact of the Allied invasion during the landing in Normandy, as the place was a crucial port for the Germans. Southern ports were also seized by Allied troops, and this greatly benefitted their European campaign once they settled their military, naval, and air forces in France. The book also presented Hitler’s â€Å"fixation on blood and loot in the East† (Weinberg, 1994). Moreover, the author elaborated on the different preprations done by the Allied, and how they incorporated necessary deceptions for the enemy. Because of these ploys, Germany opted to invade Russia, as Hitler perceived it as an easier target compared to England (Weinberg, 1994). Purpose or audience for the book   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The primary focus that the author wishes to present to his audience is that this Second World War is brought upon the world by the Germans. They initiated and started this largest conflict in man’s history, which extended across oceans and continents. It is fundamentally an account of how the Germans caused the war’s outbreak in September of 1939 and how the Germans were defeated on the year 1945. This book is especially interesting to those in search of a book with accurate and specific details of World War II (Weinberg, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even those who do not possess inclination towards historical subjects would enjoy this book presented in a manner apart form the regular academic and scholarly approach. It does not have the dessicated and dragging encyclopedic tone as it was written with much moral passion. This book is of great importance to every historical account of the World War II written after it. Authors couldn ot ever afford to not include this masterpiece in their reference list, as it contains most of the commonly known, the controversial, and even the great secret stories of the war (Weinberg, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The book is an account that has successfully interwoven the different narratives of both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of war. They were integrated instead of being dealt with separately. This book discussed what others rarely encompass, the histories of America and Britain, the military fronts of Russia and China, and the Italian and Balkan countries. This book does not only cater to those who did not encounter the war, as it is also useful to those who and existed and were very familiar of the events before, during, and after World War II (Weinberg, 1994). Physical and Textual description   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition to the texts, the book also includes an additional 180 pages containing the endnotes, a detailed bibliographic essay, and 23 relevant maps. However, it is quite noticeable that this book lacks graphic illustrations and photographic documentation of the different events of the war. It is very much wanting of a comprehensive presentation of the different key battles that dictated the course of war. The book only contains two pictures major pictures and four historical icons of the war, and they are each located at the book’s cover and spine (Weinberg, 1994). Your reaction and evaluation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a personal assessment, I find the book to be a very interesting and well written documentary of the Second World War I believe that it is a ver powerful piece of narrative that attests to all the impact that this war has brought upon mankind. In the most possible concise way of writing the entire war in a single book, I believe that the author has done a tremendous job in conveying to the reader the importance of every aspect that comprises a war, without being too detailed and boring. Using his simple prose composition in laying out to the reader the causes, the events, and the consequences of the war, Weinberg has successfully integrated the two theaters of war. It is however unfortunate that his concentration is evidently towards the Atlantic Theater, but due to the purpose of writing a single volume, I believe that he has utilized the pages well. Every word in the book is of great importance, and he did not include miniscule details that would only make the text wordy and less interesting to the reader (Weinberg, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author also demonstrated great knowledge on the subject matter, as he not only related specific details from the war, but also conducted in depth analyses on the different policies imposed to the people existing those times. He also thoroughly presented to the reader the different mistakes and failures of the German military and government, and related the consequences of the blunders the Germans suffered to the Allied victory (Weinberg, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     I can very well agree to the notion that the author wishes to convey. He insisted that the Second World War is a very novel entity, for no other war has reached such vast geographic extent or political and military scale. The book is a very clear narrative, which resembles a compilation of different symposia and lectures. The author used a very comprehensive language that would not intimidate nor discriminate any vocabulary and speech level. It has enough clarity and has successfully deployed its thoughts and arguments without sacrificing the integration of the necessary points to allow a reader understand the entire course of history (Weinberg, 1994). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is tremendous pain and suffering in the face of destruction brought about by war. Many civilians and soldiers alike are left in social and economic displacement, as the war has robbed them of the promising future they once had prior its outbreak. Those who have not witnessed the ravaging of war do not know its nature. But because of books such as this World War II account, readers are given a glimpse of the events that transpired and the difficulty that everyone encountered. War is a serious business and a complicated operation. And because of Weinberg’s attempt to provide the reader the truth he deserves, we are now equipped with a masterpiece that would tell our generation and the generations to come the truth of what really happened. References Weinberg, G. L. (1994). A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II. New York:

Culture Clash Essay Essays

Culture Clash Essay Essays Culture Clash Essay Paper Culture Clash Essay Paper Everywhere that you will go in the world you will come across people that do not have access to adequate health care. The people that live in these situations are no better than you or I. They are being victimized for where they live and that is something that is just not acceptable. We must come up of a way to make sure everyone has access to good health care. In rural areas all over the world there is the least amount of health care. There are major health organizations in the main cities but in the lesser-developed areas people can’t get the treatment that their bodies require. These people are living with a lower quality of life and they can’t even help it. Africa is one place in the world where the people in rural areas have little to no health care. The people that live in those places have to travel great distances in order to get the treatment that they need and many people can’t make the journey. If health care were offered in these areas the people would be a lot better off. The answer to these problems is actually quite simple. Currently in South Africa there is a program called the Phelophepa Health Care Train that has treated more than 234,000 patients since it’s inception in 1994. Transnet’s Health Care Train consists of more than 15,000 kilometers of railway tracks which boxcars travel on to all the rural areas in South Africa. The main goal for this operation is that when the boxcar reaches a community they screen and give out health education for free to all individuals that wish to be there. They also give out meals to the people who cannot afford food for themselves. If a person were in need of more serious medical assistance they would just hop aboard and get a ride on the train for free to the nearest hospital that could treat them. To date more than 4,000 people have volunteered to work on the train. The Health Care Train operates every week for 37 weeks a year and they are funded from local and international donors and funders! . If the plan presented above were to take affect in all of Africa then I’m sure that it would help to do a world of difference for the people living in rural areas. These people would finally be getting the health care that they need and deserve. The quality of life in Africa would also go up and the people would be educated about health matters so the people will be less likely to get sick in the future. The rest of the world would benefit from this plan as well. People living in rural areas would have the health care available to them that they deserve. The quality of life would go up and the people would be further educated in health matters. With the people’s increased knowledge in these matters they could prevent themselves from getting sick in the future. The Phelophepa Health Care Train is a good idea and if enacted all over the world would probably solve most health care problems. This plan has been tried and tested in South Africa for more than three years now and it has shown that a plan like this has been able to work wonders for people living in rural areas. This plan should be enacted at once all over the world because the quality of life would go up and we all know how important health is.

The 10 Most Dangerous Jobs in 2016 [Infographic]

The 10 Most Dangerous Jobs in 2016 [Infographic] It’s no secret that some of the hardest jobs in the world are not given enough praise, recognition, or appreciation. But did you know that some of these jobs are also among the most dangerous? Here are the top 10 most dangerous jobs in 2016:

Is Webers concept of instrumental (or formal) rationality useful today Essay

Is Webers concept of instrumental (or formal) rationality useful today - Essay Example Weber alleged that most civilizations throughout history were ruled by tradition and that the most important trend in contemporary sociology is a growing rationalization of every part of our daily lives. The growth of scientific study, the improvement of entrepreneurship, and the introduction of civil service into government over the past two centuries or so are all major cases of this trend. Instrumental rationality is regularly viewed as a definite form of rationality centering on the most effective or cost-effective resources to attain a definite end, but not in itself redirecting on the significance of that end. It can also be explained as a way of thinking about the world which in some senses stops us thinking about non-instrumental values so that more and more things are unimportant except in terms of some end goal. Therefore, to the point that rationality is involved with critically assessing activities, instrumental rationality has an inclination to emphasis not on the  "whys of an activity, rather, the how’s (Bennis, 1967, p. 22). Moreover, it can be compared to forms of rationality, either by improving human comprehension on a much common level or with promoting the human condition. It encompasses the rational scheming of means to ends grounded on commonly practical laws rules, and regulations. It is established on such large-scale constructions as the capitalist economy, current law and bureaucracy. The selection of means to ends is defined by these larger constructions and their laws and rules. Weber’s concept of formal rationalization seems to be quite useful in many areas in todays’ world as the world has adapted to it (Bendix, 1956, p. 279). Formal rationalization has influenced in shaping the current capitalization in the society. Opposition has risen against in relation to the theory of formal rationality and its inferences for capitalist society. Its principles of proficiency in the dominions of economic and

Viking Ceramo ST Comparison Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Viking Ceramo ST Comparison - Lab Report Example Additionally, the brakes are not recommended for heavy duty towing but have the added advantage due to the extended wear. Atkins, Anthony G., and M. P. Escudier. A dictionary of mechanical engineering. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print. The book acted as mechanical dictionary that provided access to the brake rotor, discs, and various inputs that can be used in their production. Beer, David F., and David A. McMurrey. A guide to writing as an engineer. Fourth ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. Print. The book provided writing knowledge such as formats and citations of the report. Haj-Assaad, Sami. "Why You Should, Or Shouldnt, Upgrade to Carbon Ceramic Brakes." The article is from AutoGuide.com and provides both customers and engineers with in-depth knowledge on the ceramic brakes. The features of the brake pads were analyzed, and lab tests were carried out to prove the provided information. Additionally, an examination of consumer ratings provided verification on the mechanical characteristics of the brake pads. Tests revealed that the metallic brake pads had a short lifespan due to the excess strength it provided when the vehicle braked. The strength factor made it recommended for high duty machinery. Other non-mechanical factors such as noise and dust prevention rated the ceramic brake pads at the top with a longer life due to the less energy produced during stopping. Observable and other customer related features have been presented in the diagrams below. Based on the provided information, the team came up with a conclusion that the metallic pads had a better performance than the ceramic ones. The metallic pads are more aggressive and can last a long time without replacement. They also ensure the management of the rotor due to contractions leaving it to cool and preventing wearing. The metallic pads are best suitable for heavy machinery that requires fast responding