Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The process of preparing and delivering our team’s presentation

Abstract In any organizational or institutional setting, teamwork is usually instrumental in meeting departmental or organizational objectives. Even with the benefits that are associated with groups or teamwork, there are several challenges that may hinder attainment of the set objectives. This paper presents the process that was involved in the preparation and delivery of our group presentation. It discusses the stages of development that the group went through, highlighting the exercises that were undertaken at each stage. With reference to group motivation theory, it addresses the approaches that were used during the group exercise to motivate members to contribute towards the exercise. It has also presented the competencies that group members developed in the course of the group exercise. Introduction This paper provides an overview of the processes involved in the preparation and delivery of our team presentation. It relates the group work process to theories and literature on organizational behavioural theory that can be used to explain dynamics in group and teamwork. The main concepts to be covered in this paper include group and team development, motivation and learning at work. Group development is defined as the stages that groups undergo, from creation of the group to accomplishment of the assigned task (Bonebright, 2010). Motivation, which is a vital determinant of productivity, refers to the approaches used to trigger a desire in an individual to be more dedicated to the accomplishment of their tasks (Sachau, 2007). Learning at work, or team learning, is the attainment of skills by individuals in the course of the group task (Zellmer-Bruhn & Gibson, 2006).Group and Team DevelopmentThis are the stages through which undergo from assembling team members to attainment of the set objective. There are different models that can be used to describe the process or group development. One of the widely used models is Bruce Tuckman’s four-stage model formulated in 1965, which divides the development process into four stages. These are forming, storming, norming and performing (Egolf & Chester, 2013). Whereas some teams undergo all these stages in group development, some end at the norming stage, which was also the case with our team. This section relates the development of our group with reference to Tuckman’s four-stage model. According to Bonebright (2010), the forming stage involves creating an understanding of one’s team members. It is also characterized by the desire of individual team members to be accepted as part of the larger group (Hill & Parsons, 2014). In our team, this stage of group development involved activities that could enable us to work together and be more productive. Team members spent time interacting and knowing abou t each other so as to eliminate the tension that could prevent them from effectively working together. This stage also involved the appointment of the group leader, setting of ground rules and agreeing upon the meeting schedules. Conflicts were minimal at this stage, which can be attributed to the fact that challenges associated with teamwork had not yet arisen. The second stage in group development is storming. This is the stage where different ideas or opinions are presented by group members for consideration (Garfield & Dennis, 2012). It is highly likely for group members to present conflicting opinions, which also triggers rivalry and tension within the group. Whereas conflicts might be considered as being adverse towards attainment of the team’s objectives, constructive conflicts provide a chance for group members to select the appropriate options to pursue in addressing the task at hand (Fleishman et al., 2008; De Wit et al., 2012). This is the most critical stage in gr oup development, and issues have to be resolved before moving to the next stage (Egolf & Chester, 2013). Referring to the process of delivering our team’s presentation, some of the conflicts that arose included the theories to incorporate in the presentation or the sources to be used. For instance, I questioned why the group leader insisted on using books as our main sources, yet peer reviewed journals that were readily available in the college library database could also be used to compliment books. Other group members also questioned why they could not use any source they come across on the internet. However, these conflicts were minor and short lived. The third stage is of group developing is referred to as norming (Egolf & Chester, 2013). After the conflicts have been resolved in the storming stage, the effectiveness of the team begins to increase, trust among team members grows and the individual differences are appreciated (Garfield & Dennis, 2012). This was the final s tage of development for our group. For the functionality of the team, some group members stopped persisting with their ideas for the sake of avoiding conflict. There was also an increased cohesion among members, and as opposed to conflicting opinions that characterized the storming stage, team members showed support for each other, and provided constructive feedback for each others’ contribution to the team. The fourth stage of group development is referred to as productivity. According to Egolf and Chester (2013), not all groups progress to this stage. Our group did not get to this stage based on the fact that the task that was to be accomplished was short-term. In summary, the developments that took place in our group, as well as the issues that characterized them, closely relate to Tuckman’s four stage model (forming, storming norming and performance). The fact that the group exercise was short-term meant that the group development did not progress to the performanc e stage, but the objective of the team was met. Group Motivation Motivation in teamwork incorporates all the efforts that are made by team members to increase the cohesion and levels of productivity of the entire team (Wright et al., 2012). With reference to Hertzberg’s dual factor theory of motivation, there is a set of factors that increases the productivity of individuals in accomplishing their tasks. There is also another separate set of factors that cause dissatisfaction and thus, limit individual productivity (Sachau, 2007). This section addresses the approaches that were used to motivate group members. In group work, one of the motivation approaches is through ensuring effective communication among all people within the group (Dunin-Keplicz & Verbrugge, 2011). In group work, responsibilities are divided into smaller tasks and assigned to members depending on their competence. Given that all these sub-tasks contribute towards the attainment of the overall team objective, it is necessary for all team members to communicate about the pr ogress of their respective tasks. This will avoid situations where some members unknowingly derail, or fail to complete their tasks within the agreed upon time limits (Lencioni, 2012). During the preparation and delivery of our group presentation, we ensured that communication between us was effective. This was done by requesting all group members to provide their phone numbers and email addresses. We also followed each other on social media platforms. This ensured that if there was a breakdown in one communication channel, there was always another viable objective. When handling group tasks, it is vital to schedule regular meetings in consideration of the responsibilities of all group members. This ensures that every group member is available during the meeting (Dunin-Keplicz & Verbrugge, 2011). Regular meetings also allow for close consultations between group members in case some group members hit a snag in completing the tasks that they have been assigned (Lencioni, 2012). Most o f the members in our team were dedicated and never skipped meetings. Whereas there were team members who easily handled the tasks that they had been allocated, there are some who found it quite challenging to accomplish their tasks. We understood the fact that there are some people who are quicker than others in accomplishing their assigned tasks than others is common. Thus, instead of reprimanding them, we took to the initiative to ensure that group members who had a challenge in completing their tasks were assisted to complete them. Motivation in teamwork also entails making everybody feel like they valuable members (Hill & Parsons, 2014). For instance, if a decision is to be made about a project, the opinions of all group members have to be considered. This encourages constructive debates, which are vital for rational decision making. The group members’ motivation to deliver may be adversely affected if major decisions are only made by a section of the team, which may also lead to groupthink. Groupthink is a common phenomenon in teamwork where the fear of conflicts, or desire for group conformity and harmony, causes other group members to agree with decisions made by others. This is regardless of whether they are suitable or not (De Wit et al., 2012). During our group work, all members were allowed to actively engage in discussions and every opinion presented was listened to. Even though it was not possible to implement incorporate all members’ opinions in decision making, reasons why some opinions were considered over others was also clearly explained to all group members. Our team was culturally diverse, and included people from both genders. Therefore, tasks were distributed in consideration of this diversity. Different approaches were used to motivate group members. However, even with the efforts that were made to optimize the productivity of every group member, there were some individuals who failed to attend group meetings without good r easons. Regardless of these drawbacks, the rest of the team worked diligently to the completion of the project. Learning at Work Learning at work refers to the skills and competencies that members of a team learn as they collectively accomplish a task (Zellmer-Bruhn & Gibson, 2006). Typically, the abilities of each individual in the team will vary, with each being more competent in some areas, less competent in others In this regard team members learn from each other through sharing knowledge so as to compliment one another’s skills (Dunin-Keplicz & Verbrugge, 2011). This section discusses the process of team learning within the group during the exercise. Team members have to ensure that they have created strong relationships and trust amongst themselves to facilitate team learning. Failure to create a team environment that allows members to learn from one another may undermine the attainment of the overall team objective (Lencioni, 2012). Learning at work or team leaning can be made possible through observations, dialogue and reflection (Hill & Parsons, 2014). Team members should be willing to enable t hose who are not as competent as they are in certain aspects that are vital to the accomplishment of the team’s objective to improve. Likewise, team members who lack some competencies ought to take the initiative to learn through observation or asking for assistance (Zellmer-Bruhn & Gibson, 2006). One of the models that can be used to understand team leaning is the action-learning cycle (Coghlan & Rigg, 2012). Action learning is a continuous learning process, where individuals from their own experiences and actions, as well as those of other members of their team. Through their own experience, people learn to avoid repeating mistakes they did and continue to improve their competencies in certain disciplines. The action-learning cycle was designed to enable individuals to draw lessons from their experiences by making analytical reflections of their actions (Pedler & ?Abbott, 2013). This means that lessons from past experiences can guide present actions, while lessons learnt fr om the current experience can be used to guide future actions. In the course of the preparation and delivery of our group presentation, team members learnt from each other in different ways. Based on the relationship that had been developed between team members, dialogue was one of the most used approaches for team learning. Group members were willing to share information with others to improve each other’s levels of competence. For instance, one two of our team members were competent in using different data analysis approaches so as to come up with relevant conclusions on the research topic. In addition to this, while most of us were comfortable with the basic function of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, one of the team members and I, were more competent with the more advanced options. Therefore, we spent some time during meetings learning from and teaching each other. Learning took different approaches, which included reflections and observations. Even though some of t he competencies that were learnt were not improved to the extent that perfection was attained, most of the group members had improved their skills in one aspect or other. I improved my confidence and public speaking skills through the mock presentations that were held by the group in preparation for the final presentation to a larger audience.. All team members also learnt several concepts that could enable them to be more productive members of teams in future. In summary, the group exercise was instrumental in developing some competencies that every group member lacked. As mentioned, different approaches were used in learning or teaching each other about different concepts that were challenging for different group members. Conclusion The capability of an individual to be a productive member of a team is one of the vital competencies that are required for success in any aspect of life. In the preparation and delivery of our group presentation, several characteristics of groups, which relate to organizational behavioural theory, were identified. This paper has presented an overview of the factors that characterized the team working process. One of these is the process through which the ram developed through the formation, storming and norming stages. Based on the fact that the group assignment was short-term, we did not get into the performance stage. The motivation factors that contributed towards the achievement of the overall team goal have also been presented in this paper. Ways in which different group members leant from each other to improve their competencies in several areas have also been addressed in this paper. Whereas the group task was successfully accomplished, some of the few drawbacks that affected the research have also been presented. References Bonebright, D.A., 2010. 40 years of storming: a historical review of Tuckman’s model of small group development. Human Resource Development International, 13(1), pp.111-20. Coghlan, D. & Rigg, C., 2012. Action learning as praxis in learning and changing. Research in Organizational Change and Development, 20, pp.59-89. De Wit, F.R.C., Greer, L.L. & Jehn, K.A., 2012. The Paradox of Intragroup Conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97, pp.360-90. Dunin-Keplicz, B. & Verbrugge, R?., 2011. Teamwork in Multi-Agent Systems: A Formal Approach. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Egolf, D. & Chester, S., 2013. Forming Storming Norming Performing. Bloomington: IUniverse. Fleishman, R., O’Leary, R?. & Gerard, ?C., 2008. Recent Developments in Conflict Resolution and Collaboration. London: Emerald Group Publishing. Garfield, M.J. & Dennis, A.R., 2012. Toward an Integrated Model of Group Development: Disruption of Routines by Technology-Induced Change. Journal of Management Information Systems, 29(3), pp.43-86. Hill, F. & Parsons, L?., 2014. Teamwork in the Management of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. New Jersey: Routledge. Lencioni, P., 2012. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: Intact Teams Participant Workbook. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Miner, J.B., 2005. Organizational Behavior: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Pedler, M. & ?Abbott, C., 2013. Facilitating Action Learning: A Practitioner’S Guide. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill International. Sachau, D.A., 2007. Resurrecting the motivation-hygiene theory: Herzberg and the positive psychology movement. Human Resource Development Review, 6(4), pp.377-93. Wright, B.E., Moynihan, D.P. & Pandey, S.K., 2012. Pulling the Levers: Transformational Leadership, Public Service, Motivation, and Mission Valence. Public Administration Review, 72(2), p.206–215. Zellmer-Bruhn, M. & Gibson, C., 2006. Multinational organization context: Implications for team learning and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49(3), pp.501-18.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

“How to Poison the Earth” Analysis Essay

â€Å"How to poison the earth† Saukko essay In How to Poison the Earth, the author Saukko uses sarcasm, satire, and ironic text in order to capture the readers attention and make them understand her purpose in the essay, which is to show people the future of out planet. From the very start, her thesis is very straight forward and grabs your attention right away. â€Å"Poisoning the earth can be difficult because the earth is always trying to cleanse and renew itself. A sense of sarcasm is noticed in the authors tone as she is stating that even though we have al these toxic chemicals like uranium-238 which is takes million of years to dipsose, and nuclear power plants that create hundreds of plutonium each ear. It is still not enough for the earth to be polluted is ironic. Next she transitions into a step-by-step guide on different ways to put these substances around the earth environment. By means of injection into the soil, where it then travels to the water, and then into t he air.Which will come back tot the ground in the form of rain thus creating a endless cycle of chemical revolving polluting the earth. She adds data and statics in order to demonstrate the massive amount of toxic substances that is occurring in reality. It is not exaggerated as the info is collected from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) She then links the ocean with her thesis by stating that it is the hardest to contaminate due to it ability to â€Å"neutralize some† of the substances as well as its large capacity.Which allows it to be the best long term storage as she says â€Å"we must use the ocean as a dumping place for as many toxins as possible. † Using ironic text to grab the readers attention with her true purpose. All in all, Linnea saukko use of satire, sarcasm, and ironic text in order to convey her message to the audience works. As a in direct way or vague in hope that the reader will catch on to her purpose and make the reader understand that th e earth is being polluted in a larger scale that what we perceive.

Long-term performance of IPOs: Evidence from Singapore Market

Introduction Stock markets are a key part of the capitalistic economic system as they bring together those in need of capital and those with surplus capital to invest. Initial public offerings of companies whose share capital had previously been privately held provides just such an opportunity. The IPO process entails due diligence and pricing by underwriters, after which they underwrite the issue and sell it to investors in the primary market. Following the IPO, the company’s shares trade in the secondary market until the company is shut down or is merged with another company or is acquired. In addition to IPOs, companies which are already public can also participate in capital raising by undertaking secondary stock offerings which investors can use as investment vehicles to increase returns on their portfolios. Traditional finance theory recommends individual investors to adopt a buy-and-hold strategy for investments in the stock market, since they are unable to time the market, and since the efficient market hypothesis suggests that all available information is immediately incorporated in stock prices. A question this raises is whether long-term buy-and-hold a profitable investment strategy in the initial public offerings (IPOs) asset class for individual investorsAccording to the bulk of literature on this subject, the answer is no. However, there are variations in the results depending upon how the comparison index is selected and what market is being studied. Investors may also be able to select a winning portfolio of buy-and-hold IPO investments if they are successfully able to predict what factors lead to strong or weak price performance in the IPO universe. This study attempts to collect previous research on the subject and apply the learning to the Singapore market. One objective wo uld be to identify ex-post which factors led to IPO success. Indirectly, it may help investors reduce risk and earn strong returns while devising ex-ante investment strategies as well. Organization First this study will review the existing literature on the subject and summarize its conclusions. Then it will use the statistical methods used by prominent studies such as Loughran and Ritter (1995) to calculate whether IPOs have underperformed the market in Singapore. The study will also collect what other papers have identified as sources of high performance within the universe of IPOs and see whether these results hold in IPOs in Singapore as well. Some of these factors include high percentage of institutional ownership, venture backing, industry and age of the company at IPO. Problem Statement Equity investors are constantly looking to maximize their risk-adjusted returns by investing in various asset classes in financial markets. The results from the literature lead to the conclusion that a strategy of buy-and-hold investments in IPOs underperforms the market on average. What would be interesting and useful would be to see whether a subset of IPOs can be identified where this result does not hold and where a different version of the strategy can be shown to produce a higher return for investors than the index or benchmark portfolio. Research Objectives The objective of the research is to study performance of Singapore listed IPOs using factors which have been identified in academic literature as having effect on IPO performance, including: percentage of institutional ownership venture backing reputation of the underwriter industry age of the company at IPO legal and institutional environment The ultimate objective is to see whether factors can be identified that lead to recommendation of alternative investment strategies which perform better than buy-and-hold of IPOs for a multiple year holding period. Proposal Structure IPOs listed on the Singapore stock exchange during the five year period of 2000 – 2004 would initially be identified. Subsequently, 3-year, 5-year and 10-year buy-and-hold returns of these portfolios would be calculated and compared to returns over the same period by a stock exchange index such as the Strait Times Index (STI). Another method for comparing results to market could be the selection and composition of a matching portfolio which would be used to compare underperformance or overperformance over the holding period. To create a matching portfolio, a similar sized public company that did not issue equity for five years prior to the IPO date would have to be selected for each IPO company. The return on the matching portfolio would be compared to the return on the IPO portfolio as per Loughran and Ritter (1995). It will be assumed that investors would purchase shares in the secondary market and none of them would be lucky enough to be allocated shares by the underwriter at the offering price. Literature Review Underperformance of IPOs relative to market indices has been studied extensively in academic literature. One series of articles examines the degree of underperformance of IPOs relative to market indices and asks what factors could cause such underperformance. Factors typically examined include size of the IPO, the company’s industry, whether the company is venture backed or not, the degree of institutional holdings, age of the company at IPO, quality of the underwriter and the institutional and legal environment of the company. Another string of literature looks at empirical evidence of underperformance in different markets, including the US, several European countries including Germany (Stehle, Ehrhardt & Przyborowsky, 2000), Switzerland and Greece and several developing Asian markets such as Malaysia, Taiwan and China. Most of these studies take time series data of IPOs during a given period of time. Then they look at nominal buy-and-hold returns over 3 or 5 years, typically without assuming any portfolio rebalancing, though as shown by Brav and Gompers (1997), the results hold even if portfolio rebalancing is introduced. The returns of individual IPOs are compared with results of an industry index such as S&P 500, Nasdaq or NYSE, or with an industry benchmark portfolio (value weighted or equally weighted). The typical pattern of IPO returns that emerges is the following: After a period of strong performance following an IPO, the stock starts to underperform the market index. This period of poor performance lasts for several years. The length of the period of initial strong performance lasts up to several months, depending on whether or not the stock market is in a bullish state. Ritter (1991) examines both underpricing of IPOs and their underperformance. Underpricing is a phenomenon in which investment banks taking a company public, and wanting to manage their own risk, keep offer price low in order to build a strong deal book and to keep market participants incentivized for participation in the offering. This is reflected in the fact that on average there is a 16.4% gain from the offering price to the closing price on the first day. In addition, the author believes the IPOs appear to be overpriced when 3-year IPO returns are compared to 3-year returns for comparable firms matched by size and industry. In a sample of 1526 common stock IPOs between 1975 and 1984, IPOs produced a return of 34.47% and seasoned offerings produced a return of 61.86%, 3-years after going public. Upon careful examination of the sample, the author concludes that the cause of the underperformance are those small IPOs that benefit in the short-run due to optimistic market conditions, but which are not able to establish themselves in the long-run. Loughran and Ritter (1995) find that all issues, both IPO and secondary, offered during 1970 to 1990 produced poor long-term returns for investors. Using a strategy of 5-year buy and hold investing would have produced a result of only 5% per annum for IPOs and 7% per annum for secondary offerings. The authors highlight an important observation for potential underperformance by secondary offerings (SEOs) – most public companies opt for secondary offerings following high return periods in the market; thus their subsequent underperformance may simply be linked to eventual reversion of returns to their long-term averages. In order to judge the performance of secondary offerings, for each issuing firm the study choose a non-issuing matching firm that is similar in size and has not issued equity in the previous 5 years. The authors calculate wealth relatives for each year as the ratio of end-of-period wealth from holding a portfolio of matching firms with the same starting market capitalization. The ratio is below 1 in most years indicating that investors would have been better off investing in buy-and-hold strategy in non-issuing firms. The authors conclude that it is not advisable for investors to invest in shares of companies issuing stock. Instead investors would be able to generate the same return with 44% less capital if they simply invested in similar size non-issuing companies for the same holding period. The results in Loughran and Ritter (1995) do not control for industry since it is often difficult to find matching companies in the industry which also share similar size. According to a study by Spiess and Afflect-Greaves (1995) nearly one-third of the long-run underperformance of secondary offerings comes from industry effect. Another potential explanation for why this happens is offered by Lerner (1994) – firms which are not yet ready to grow cashflows consistently sometimes take advantage of the IPO window during bull markets and other periods of market exuberance, only to then suffer from poor market performance when cashflows do not keep pace with market expectations (Clark, 2002; Ljungqvist, Nanda & Singh, 2006). If long-term IPO returns are infact so dismal, why do investors keep buying IPOs during all market cyclesAn insight into the solution is provided by Field (1995). The author analyzes the impact of the extent of institutional shareholding on long-term IPO performance and concludes that IPO having large holdings by institutions earn significantly higher long-term returns than those with low institutional holdings. Institutional holdings also differ substantially between industries. In fact, the latter category often fails to achieve even the risk-free rate of return available to bondholders. The author concludes that there are groups of IPOs which do not experience poor long-term performance, though they may be identifiable ex-ante. Other authors also identify factors that can lead groups of IPOs to have relatively strong performance. For example, Michaely and Shaw (1994) identify reputation of underwriter as one of the factors that is directly related to IPO return. Brav and Gompers (1997) find that venture backed IPOs outperformed non-venture backed IPOs significantly. The 5-year buy-and-hold return for venture backed IPOs was 44.6% while the equivalent figure for non-venture backed IPOs was 22.5%. These results were calculated based on equally weighting of components in an index, whereas if the index is value weighted then these differences are significantly reduced. The authors believe that their results might have inspired by the fact that venture backed companies tend to be those which are in growth industries and are at an early stage of their development cycle. Such companies are likely to have many good investment opportunities. The authors also find that underperformance resides primarily in small, non -venture backed IPOs. Qualitatively similar results are also provided by Bessler and Seim (2011) who study European venture backed IPOs. Turning to the second string of literature which deals with tests of IPO underperformance in different geographies, it appears that this phenomenon holds in both developed and less developed markets. While, the original hypothesis was formulated for the U.S. market, it holds to various degrees in most markets. Thomadakis, Nounis and Gounopoulous (2012) study performance of 254 IPOs during the 1994 – 2002 period. They find that the period of initial overperformance in Greece lasts longer than it does in western markets. While IPOs outperform the market in the first two years, by the third year underperformance sets in. The authors attribute this to longer ‘hot’ periods in the Greek market than in more developed western markets. In a study on the same subject in Taiwan, Wen and Cao (2013) find that IPOs perform as well as matching reference portfolios in the first year of trading and then start to underperform that portfolio. Drobetz, Kammerman and Walchli (2005) examine the same in the Swiss market. They find that while underperformance holds, it is much weaker than is suggested by equivalent tests from the US market. Chan, Wei and Wang (2001) find practically no underperformance of class A and B shares, though there is significantly higher underpricing of Class A shares compared to other markets. In another study on the Chinese stock market, Chi and Padgett (2002) find strong performance of Chinese Privatization IPOs, which the authors attribute to government ownership, offering size and belonging to the high tech industry. Reference List Ahmad?Zaluki, N. A., Campbell, K., & Goodacre, A. 2007. The long run share price performance of Malaysian initial public offerings (IPOs). Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 34(1?2), 78-110. Bessler, W., & Seim, M. 2011. European Venture-backed IPOs: An Empirical Analysis. Brav, A., & Gompers, P. A. 1997. Myth or RealityThe Long?Run Underperformance of Initial Public Offerings: Evidence from Venture and Nonventure Capital?Backed Companies. The Journal of Finance, 52(5), 1791-1821. Chan, K., Wang, J., & Wei, K. C. 2004. Underpricing and long-term performance of IPOs in China. Journal of Corporate Finance, 10(3), 409-430. Chi, J., & Padgett, C. 2005. The performance and long-run characteristics of the Chinese IPO Market. Pacific Economic Review, 10(4), 451-469. Clark, D. T. 2002. A Study of the Relationship Between Firm Age?at?IPO and Aftermarket Stock Performance. Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments,11(4), 385-400. Drobetz, W., Kammermann, M., & Walchli, U. 2005. Long-Term Performance of Initial Public Offerings: The Evidence for Switzerland. Schmalenbach Business Review, 57, 253-275. Espenlaub, S., Gregory, A., & Tonks, I. 2000. Re?assessing the long?term underperformance of UK Initial Public Offerings. European Financial Management, 6(3), 319-342. Field, L. C. 1995. Is institutional investment in initial public offerings related to long-run performance of these firmsFinance. Lerner, J. 1994. Venture capitalists and the decision to go public. Journal of Financial Economics 35, 293 – 316. Ljungqvist, A., Nanda, V., & Singh, R. 2006. Hot Markets, Investor Sentiment, and IPO Pricing*. The Journal of Business, 79(4), 1667-1702. Loughran, T., & Ritter, J. R. 1995. The new issues puzzle. The Journal of Finance, 50(1), 23-51. Michaely, R., & Shaw, W. H. 1994. The pricing of initial public offerings: Tests of adverse-selection and signaling theories. Review of Financial studies, 7(2), 279-319. Ritter, J. R. 1991. The long?run performance of initial public offerings. The journal of finance, 46(1), 3-27. Ritter, J. R. 2003. Differences between European and American IPO markets. European Financial Management, 9(4), 421-434. Schultz, P. 2003. Pseudo market timing and the long?run underperformance of IPOs. the Journal of Finance, 58(2), 483-518. Spiess, D. K., & Affleck-Graves, J. 1995. Underperformance in long-run stock returns following seasoned equity offerings. Journal of Financial Economics, 38(3), 243-267. Stehle, R., Ehrhardt, O., & Przyborowsky, R. 2000. Long?run stock performance of German initial public offerings and seasoned equity issues.European Financial Management, 6(2), 173-196. Teoh, S. H., Welch, I., & Wong, T. J. 1998. Earnings management and the long?run market performance of initial public offerings. The Journal of Finance, 53(6), 1935-1974. Thomadakis, S., Nounis, C., & Gounopoulos, D. 2012. Long?term Performance of Greek IPOs. European Financial Management, 18(1), 117-141. Wen, Y. F., & Cao, M. H. 2013. Short-run and long-run performance of IPOs: evidence from Taiwan stock market. Finance and Accounting, 1(2), 32-40.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Peter Berger's heretical imperative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Peter Berger's heretical imperative - Essay Example According to Berger, pluralism is â€Å"a situation in which there is competition in the institutional ordering of comprehensive meanings of everyday life† (Oldmeadow, 2010, p.33). Because of uncertainty, there are unsteady, inconsistent and erratic plausibility structures, particularly those of religion. Berger argues that religion becomes a matter of choice, which he best refers to as a â€Å"heretical imperative† (heresy). According to Peter Berger, there are three contemporary responses to the crisis that modernity thrusts religion into, which include deduction, reduction as well as induction. Berger denounces deduction, which entails the reaffirmation of influence of a sacred ritual against secular authority (Esposito, Fasching & Lewis, 2011). He also rejects reductionism, which reinterprets a sacred ritual on the basis of secular authority. In rejecting the two responses, Berger supports the third approach, which is induction. His belief is that the crisis facing religion is a product of the sterile antithesis of neo-orthodoxy and secularism (Woodhead Heelas & Martin, 2001). He believes that by shunning both deductive and reductive approaches and adopting inductive approach, the crisis can be triumphed. In The Sacred Canopy: elements of a sociological theory of religion, Berger explore the relationship between human religion and world-building. The society is presented as dialectic because it is considered as a human invention. Society is produced by man. Also, man is also portrayed as a product of the society. Society precedes human life and also succeeds it. That is, society existed before human birth and will persist after his death. Man cannot exist without society and without man, society cannot exist. This exhibits the dialectic nature of the society. Berger argues that pluralism undermines stable belief (Berger, 1979). Pluralism is the cause of secularisation. According to Berger, the basic dialectic process

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Why South Europe would disagree or agree with Turkey joining the EU Essay

Why South Europe would disagree or agree with Turkey joining the EU - Essay Example Italian consolidation is considered relatively slow and it is not yet clear when the state became firmly democratic (McLaren 10). Spain’s consolidation is much clearer and its transition process began after the Franco’s death in 1975. Within a span of three years it had ratified a democratic constitution and held a democratic election (McLaren 11). All the three countries have large populations and land mass and this raises the potential difficulty in the governance and consolidation unlike the smaller Southern European nations such as Greece and Portugal. Both Spain and Turkey have faced threats of regional separatism as they are forced to tighten their security against the separatist movements. Their own armed forces are potential risks towards the stability of these countries. Although this is the case, Italy and Spain have been capable of consolidating their democracies while Turkey has failed (McLaren 16). The following factors explain the differences in these three countries; the level of stateness problems during the early transition periods and how the regimes handled those problems, economic crisis and economic development during the time of transition, methods used to design the new rules for the regime, military professionalism, and the external factors influence on the consolidation of democracy (McLaren 16). I will disagree with Turkey joining the European Union because of a number of factors. Looking at the background of Turkey and other members of the sub region, it is very clear that Turkey has failed in its democracy and the others have thrived well despite all of them starting at the same point. The per capita GDP of Turkey indicates that the country is faced with poverty and this may raise fears among the members of the European Union in terms of the increased immigration and workers from Turkey taking over their jobs (Emerson and

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Language and Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Language and Identity - Essay Example Though all three writers express initial disgust for having to give up part of their heritage, Rodriguez makes it clear throughout his essay that there should be no shame in embracing one’s native tongue, nor should it be thought of as a sin to accept another. Richard Rodriguez’s â€Å"Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood† follows the writer’s journey from his discovery of the English language when he was a young boy, to being encouraged to learn it while attending Catholic school, and then to completely appreciating its uniqueness from his native Spanish. When he first heard English, Rodriguez remembers being intrigued by the sounds of the words, noting how different and less impersonal the seemed compared to Spanish. These profound differences prompted Rodriguez to regard English as a public and sociable language and Spanish as more intimate and familial based. As a result, Rodriguez felt that his inability to speak English separated him from those who could, and until he was forced to learn English, he was at ease with this distinction. Learning English had been tedious for Rodriguez, who claimed that the Spanish kept his family together and that a new language, one from the outside world, might cause a rift to form between them. As such, Rodriguez was reluctant to accept English as his choice language. He went through school in silence, not keen to open his mouth and speak the words of outsiders. He watched on in interest as his parents used minimal, disjointed English in the public, but pure Spanish within the home. The presence of the familiar Spanish kept Rodriguez from learning English until nuns from his school encouraged his parents to speak English at all times around their children. His parents obliged, and it was not long before Rodriguez fully grasped the English language and began speaking aloud in class. Rodriguez’s perspective of his native Spanish varied throughout his life, and the changes before and after he learned English were the most prominent. Spanish was a language that Rodriguez valued, especially since, according to him, the language kept his family close. He believed that Spanish was not only a secret code that English-speakers could not understand but felt that it was a cornerstone to him belonging to his family, a feeling that was reinforced primarily because his family spoke and shared with one another in Spanish. Everyone outside of the home spoke English, which meant that everyone understood each other; Rodriguez and his family, though, were in their own special circle of Spanish-speakers. Spanish was part of his heritage and a vital component to Rodriguez’s very being. When Rodriguez learned English, he did not necessarily lose his appreciation of Spanish and all that it offered his family but learned to accept the advantages that came with also knowing English. Harder than Rodriguez actually learning to speak English, though, was him speaking a language that di d not involve his parents. As previously mentioned, Spanish was a huge part of Rodriguez’s identity among his family members. When his parents began speaking English for the sake of their children, Rodriguez noticed that the intimacy between his family members had evaporated. They were still a close and loving family, but English caused them to have fewer words to say. When Rodriguez fully accepted English as his primary language, his parents were approving of the change, but other family members were not as open to him embracing a culture other than their own. Aunts and uncles, and even Spanish-speaking strangers on the street and in grocery stores would tease Rodriguez for abandoning his heritage (Rodriguez 321).     Ã‚  

Friday, July 26, 2019

Design of an Induction Programme for New Employees on the Magnificant Essay

Design of an Induction Programme for New Employees on the Magnificant miniaturesLline - Essay Example In these situation CRU Proposed to select thirty employees for the special miniature product line. So to solve this human resource management related problems and to place Right people at Right place CRU appointed an HR consultant. As an HR consultant responsible for designing employee recruitment and selection systems is the prime responsibility. After all, attracting and hiring the right kind and level of talent are critical elements of business effectiveness. Stocking a company with top talent has been described as the single most important job of management (Hand, 2002). Now before recruitment starts, HR consultant has to assess the labor supply and demand, when planning starts. In the process of Human resource planning, any wrong estimation can lead to significant financial costs. So first of all labor supply and demand has to be properly estimated. In the present case, where CRU need more workers that will be available. So CRU has to take the approach includes, training and retraining of existing workers, grooming current employees to take over vacant positions (succession planning), promoting from within, recruiting new employees from outside of the firm, subcontracting part of the work to other firms, h iring part-timers or temporary workers and paying overtime to existing employees, which approach or approaches are appropriate will depend on their relative costs and how long the labour shortage is expected to last. For instance, if demand exceeds supply by only a small amount and this situation is deemed temporary, paying overtime may be less expensive than hiring new workers, which entails extra costs for training and legally mandated benefits (such as social security payments and workers compensation insurance) (Gomez-Mejia, Luis R., Balkim, Dravid B. & Cardy, Robert L., 2004). Now if we see the CRU, we find  that labor demand is more than supply. CRU has 500 employees and they need to recruit only 30 persons.  

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Is simulation an effective educational tool in teaching procedural Dissertation

Is simulation an effective educational tool in teaching procedural skills to pediatric residents - Dissertation Example The use of simulation technologies for medical training has been studied by the SAEM (Society for Academic Emergency Medicine), the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and the CEMRD (Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors) among others. The use of simulators relegates the need for learning through observing and doing. It is considered to be a safer alternative to the traditional methods for providing medical training. Through simulation experience, medical trainees can acquire procedural experience in addition to medical knowledge. There are also other newer methods in use in medical education such as computer or web-based training and using virtual reality systems. The simulation can involve exercises with the full body, provide immersive environments or scenarios, or involve specific tasks or procedures. â€Å"High-fidelity simulators are full-body automated mannequins designed to provide realistic tactile, auditory, and visual stimuli† (Vozenilek et al., 2004). Hence, si mulations can also involve the use of models such as mannequins or other anatomic structures instead of being entirely computer-based. The quality of the mannequins is improving, as technology develops so as to provide an increasingly realistic experience. In immersive simulation, there is greater provision for developing organization, communication and multitasking abilities alongside. The benefits and long-term effectiveness of simulation training Numerous studies have shown the benefits of simulation training. For example, Rosenthal et al. 2006) showed how scenario-based simulation training (SST) can be effective for medical interns to develop airway management skills. A study by Overly et al. (2007) demonstrated the usefulness of HFS as an assessment tool specifically for developing the ability of pediatric residents to manage acute airways. The study was observational based involving 16 residents and 2 scenarios. The success rate was 56%. Thus, many areas were identified for im proving skills but HFS had the potential for assessing ability as well as for teaching the necessary skills for managing acute pediatric airways. According to the Center for Medical Simulation (CMS, 2009), providing simulation practice leads to â€Å"improved real-world communication, collaboration, teamwork, and crisis management†. Residents also appreciate the value of simulators but prefer training in the form of small-group sessions (Shanks et al., 2010). The advantages of simulation training prove to be especially beneficial in cases where the required care involves high risk or invasive procedures, when training for difficult environments and preparing for disaster scenarios. For example, Hayden et al. (2002) suggested simulations are ideal â€Å"for low frequency but critical procedures†. These procedures would usually be applied in life-threatening situations such as cardiopulmonary arrest for example. Training for rare events tends to be uneven across a large number of medical residents and many residents never get the opportunity to witness or manage such an event, let alone one in which a child is involved (Becker, 2007). Hence, simulation training provides this much need opportunity so that when a real situation is faced, there is better preparation. Instilling confidence in trainees is of particularly importance where the risk to patients is high. In Becker’s (2007) study, assessment was made of how prepared radiology residents were for recognizing and managing children’

Assignment 2 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assignment 2 - Case Study Example The existing Infection Control Process was not using any information technology. The analysis of the current process reflected that the process was inefficient because of the fact that no information technology tool or method by the Infection Control Practitioners was being used after receiving the infection reports. The Infection Control Process was taking longer time because of different tasks which were being done manually. The reports and the patient charts were reviewed manually as the reports about infections were printed. Analysis of the Infection Control Process revealed that around 30 percent of the time of the Infection Control Practitioners was taken by the process of screening important reports and documents. Another issue with the existing Infection Control process was about the involvement of the Infection Control Practitioners in the overall notification activities. The main role in controlling the infections is of the Infection Control Practitioners, but they were not directly involved in the Infection Control process. ... During the process of improvement a whole new work flow was developed to support the Infection Control process (Christian and Fischer, 564). The notification part of the Infection Control process was not changed in the new proposal. In the proposal of new model of Infection Control process it was suggested that the link between the process of notification and the follow up process should be made more open and explicit. As a result the processes of notification and follow up were integrated together, so that the follow up process is started instantly after the process of notification about infectious diseases. This allowed to reduce the overall time consumed by the Infection Control process. Apart from this it was suggested to use the information technology and systems in order to eliminate the excessive manual work. The whole process of follow up was streamlined so that there should be proper automation because of the utilization of workflow. For this automation WFMS was integrated w ith the process. The Infection Control practitioners were able to directly access Soarain along with other IT support. This all contributed in minimizing the requirement of manual activities’. The use of information system in the process allowed larger margin of improvement because of more automation of work which in turn resulted in reduction of time consumed in the overall Infection Control process. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER IMPORVEMENT AND BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: The new Infection Control process resulted in improving the quality and performance of the process considerably, but there is still more room for improvement. There are several factors which if modified will result in providing more efficient result. Apart from

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

DE Beers Diamond Dilemma Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

DE Beers Diamond Dilemma - Case Study Example Political factors These factors emerge from the various policies, which are imposed by the government. De Beers as an incorporation had to deal with different political upheaval since it operated in different countries and had to sell its products to different countries as well (Gillespie, 2009). The political upheaval in Soviet Union in the year 1991 causes a lot of profit loss to De Beers Incorporation (Danielle, 2005). Before this upheaval, the Soviet Union and De Beer Incorporation had trading agreements and that dates back to the year 1950s. In this same year, deposits of Diamond were found in Siberia and from the trading agreement; Soviet Union had agreed to sell all their diamonds to this Incorporation. The integration of the Soviet system resulted into the collapse of the trading agreements that De Beer had with them and therefore, the enforcement of the various contracts were not possible. The political upheaval in Angola in the year 1990 also weakened the operations of De B eer Incorporation. The rebels were able to take control of major diamonds mines from the then President Dos Santos and this forced De Beer to purchase blood diamonds. Apart from Angola, other African countries, which were trading partners for De Beer, also suffered a lot of political upheaval. Countries like Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia were equally affected by the political upheaval and that led to reduced trading by De Beer. Trading in blood diamond later caused the company many revenues following their exposure in the year 1998. Economic factors Changes in the economy greatly affected the operations and organization of many business corporations (Gillespie, 2009). Due to hard economic times in diamond trade in the year 1999, De Beer was able to experience some shifts in its value chain (Danielle, 2005). A lot of integration in terms of forward and backward movement was experienced. Many investments in mines by the retail outlets were being experienced a t that time and at the same time many mines were equally becoming retailers. This integration proved it tough for De Beer since the company returns were greatly reduced. In the same year, jeweler Tiffany and Company that has been sourcing most of diamonds from De Beer announced its withdrawal and it bought some mining concerns from Canada at a cost worth $ 104 million. These economic factors affected De Beer Company and the Company opted to safeguard its market dominance. The safeguarding practiced proved to be very expensive for this company since it was forced to buy diamonds from inflated prices. Some of the diamonds, which were purchased at inflated prices, were later sold at very low prices. The emergence of Australian Argyle Company into the diamond trade further weakened the market bases for De Beer since this company was able to produce low quality diamonds, which were later sold cheaply. The inflation in prices of diamonds from other countries where De Beer was sourcing the m also made this company in the year 1990 to lose a lot of its market share (Danielle, 2005). The share price for this company was also able to reduce from 17 to 12 $ between the year, 1989 and the year 1998 and the fall in price presented a percentage drop of close to 30. Social factors These factors generally affect the demands of the various products produced by an organization. These factors circumrotate on the labor and the workforce within an organization (Gillespie, 2009). The processing of diamond in De Beer Company had several processing industries, which were helpful in the cutting and polishing of the processed diamonds. The Indians dominated the workforce in the organization and close to 1 million workers in the processing

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Structural Frame(Jumeriah hotels ) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Structural Frame(Jumeriah hotels ) - Assignment Example All these committees are headed by a chairperson and they involve a chain of employees with defined functions. The investment and allocation committee is further divided into three committees including the asset management committee, the operations committee, and the development committee, all headed by a chairperson. The executive committee is also divided into three groups including the risk management working group, the medical services working group, and the fraud and ethics working group. Authority has been delegated to the executive committee by the board of director. The management committees operate under the executive committee that has delegated authority to them. The working groups also directly report to the executive committee. This approach to management has been effective for Jumeirah Hotels given that it groups individuals with specialized abilities and skills under a single department to uphold efficiency. Each of the functional units in the organization focuses on a particular aspect of the services in an attempt to ensure quality customer service (Daft, 2010, p. 104). The top management, in which case is the board of directors and the executive committee headed by a chairperson, coordinates all the functions of the different committees into a single cohesive effort towards meeting organizational goals (Jumeirah Group, 2014). This approach could be risky to the organization as the hospitality industry fluctuates rapidly, especially in the contemporary society. In addition, the organizational structure is efficient in environments wher e the business environment is not inclined towards updating or changing business operations. This organizational structure could be attributed to the success of the organization as it specific functions to different committees within the organization, all of which are aimed at achieving organizational objectives.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Employment Law and HRM Strategy Essay Example for Free

Employment Law and HRM Strategy Essay Employment laws play a critical role in human resources management strategies and in an organization operation. Employee laws are design to protect the employees by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) â€Å" federal enforcement agency enacted to ensure that employers follow and abide by rules set forth in the Civil Rights Acts of 1964†(Web Finance, 2012). However, the act insisted of â€Å"people should be given the same opportunities and equal changes to obtain employment regardless of their color, race, gender, national origin, or religion† (Stewart Brown, 2012, pg. 0). After researching the employment laws of Georgia by visiting ga. gov and after inserting â€Å"employment laws,† the research will give a descriptively analysis of a description of a scenario that will correspond with the employment law provide. Next the analysis will describes a recommended plan to manage the HRM situation within the confines of the law. Third, the approach will be justified by the scenario to HR management. Fourth, the analysis will describe a competitive advantage may be gain by ensuring HRM practices meet the necessary employment laws. Final, a speculation will be made with an assumption of the situation was not handled in accordance with the appropriate employment laws. ? Description of the scenario that corresponds with employment law: The scenario that was beneficial compliance with the Georgia Employment Law is â€Å"disciplinary action training for supervisors of diverse employers. † The current state that analysis was research of the state of Georgia and the informative information that was providing from www. ga. gov.  Georgia’s employment laws and the HRM strategies are in compliance with the state’s regulations. However, Georgia is considering as an at-will provision. Meaning which the employers have the right to â€Å"freely discipline or discharge employees provided that the adverse employment action is not motivated by any discriminatory intent or administered in a discriminatory manner†(Morris Manning Martin, 2012). When an employer is actively training for supervisors o f diverse employers the same Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) guidelines are applied throughout the training. Employers have to determine when terminating or have to discipline an employee to comply within the state’s laws by not violating the federally protection classes that is consist of age, race, national origin, religion, sex, or other status. If these actions are violating the individual(s) have the right to suit the organization. However, just last month the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) requested that all employers review their anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies. Reason being, the† Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued some serious concerns to the employers in an afforded to reiterate its commitment to justice from vulnerable individuals† (Flahardy, 2012). The reason for the request for the Title VI and the ADA applicants was concerns from a previous case that was review in the courts. The 6th Circuit rules that counseling recommendation violated the ADA† (Byrne, 2012). The action suit was proceed after an employee by the named of Emily Kroll’s suited White Lake Ambulance, for counseling constitutes a â€Å"medical examination,† under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Emily Kroll was employed with the emergency medical technician at the White Lake Ambulance Authority (WLAA), in which Whitehall, Mich. , in 2003 (Byrne, 2012). However, her supervisors initially considered her to be good employee until, a personal affair occurred when her marriage with a coworker failed. Krolly’s supervisor concerns grown after; Krolly and a colleague proceed into an argument and Krolly fail to administer oxygen to a patient. Krolly’s supervisors asked her would she attended counseling sessions whereas, Krolly’s supervisors claimed that they did not specific an exact theory. Emily Krolly refused the counseling and proceeds to resign from her position. Thereafter, Krolly proceeded to file suite with White Lake Ambulance (WLAA), claiming that â€Å"her supervisors† request that she obtained counseling violated under the act â€Å"Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (Byrne, 2012). Description of a recommendation plan that concerns HRM situation: Human Resources Management (HRM) is a critical part of an operational organization. Human Resources Management (HRM) is an organizational fundamental that deals with issues related to people such as: hiring, termination, performance organization development, training, benefits, and ompensations. However, when proceeding to make recommendations; although process has to be plan out that will incorporate certain situations and thoughts for future objectives and goals that need to be obtained within the confining of the law. However, in the case analysis, the first recommendation should have been Krolly’s supervisor should have directed her to the Human Resource Division when Krolly’s supervisor became aware of Krolly’s workplace behavior begin be problematic following an affair of a coworker. After this incident, another recommendation would be extra training courses such as: extra training courses related to the current incident, employers, and employees relationship, patients awareness. Included within the extra training courses, the Human Resources Division have to comply with the State or Federal laws and compliance with Title VII, of 1964 civil right Act. Also included in the training, the Human Resources Division should review employee’s handbook with the entire staff. Justification of the HR management’s scenario: The approach of justifying the Human Resource Division’s scenario, request for the entire staff to proceed to an important meeting. Within the meeting, the Human Resource Manager will take the approach of outlining the key elements of the importance for the meeting. The HR manager will review the current laws of Title VII, of 1964 and how it coheres with the organization’s policies and procedures. The HR manager will address to the managers and employees that the organizations have to stay within comply of the rules and regulations of the organization. The HR manager will have to address related important information that would pertain from the previous incident. The HR manager also has to address to each individual, if questions or concerns developed throughout the training; the manager will suggest to the employees, to address any concerns or questions that may develop throughout the training. Final, the HR manager will be addressed to the staff, at the end of the training session; an agreement document will have to be sign, stated that all individual understood the reason for the extra training course. Description of a competitive advantage of ensuring HRM practices: A competitive advantage of ensuring HRM practices that meet the necessary employment laws would depend on how efficiently the HRM division within the organization? The competitive advantage of ensuring HRM practices is whoever, is in charge of the HRM division is well train in order; for the right qualified person(s) to relate accurate information to the employees. An experience HRM manager(s) will have an inspiring attitude to encourage other people. Speculation will be made with the assumption of the situation according to the law: The speculation according to the scenario and complying with the law; if the writer were Emily Krolly’s supervisor or manager whereas, she would have made the decision to have a sit down with Emily and discussion the reasons she did not attended to the patients care? In comply with the law; the writer would acknowledge the guidelines of the laws and the expectations of the organization in taking care of patient’s well-being. The other incident that occur, the writer would direct Emily to the HR managers and let he or she handle the situation. In conclusion, the analysis address the scenario of Emily Kroll’s suite was complying with the Georgia’s law and with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requirements. The analysis describes recommendations that manage the HRM situation. Final, the analysis identifies a competitive advantage aspect of ensuring HRM practices meet the necessary employment laws.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Terrorist Threats Faced In The Uk Criminology Essay

Terrorist Threats Faced In The Uk Criminology Essay For Steven Greers article on anti-terrorism law, there were many distinctions he picked out when taking into account the background, and other facts on the terrorism organisation. He contrasts between the threat before 9/11 and after 9/11 using Northern Ireland and Al-Qaeda as his examples. He states how Northern Ireland were subjected to the diplock process, characterised by non-jury courts, extended police and army powers to stop and question, stop and search, search and seize, and arrest and detain for up to seven days without charge. He emphasizes and distinguishes how most of the people arrested under this diplock process, three quarter of them were released. And convictions mainly based on largely based on confessions extracted in police interrogation or obtained as a result of evidence provided by supergrasses. Mr Greer distinguishes the shoot to kill policy, whereby it was introduced before 9/11. There is evidence that elements in the British security agencies colluded in mur der with Loyalist paramilitaries due to this policy. Another distinguish is the seven day policy, Mr Greer points out how before 9/11, the united kingdom had seven-day detention provision did not violate the Convention because there were grounds for maintaining that the conflict in Northern Ireland amounted to a public emergency threatening the life of the nation. In 1998 human rights act was introduced whereby it empowers UK courts to consider whether anti-terrorist detention provisions are compatible with the Convention and, if necessary, to force a government rethink as dramatically occurred in the Belmarsh case in 2004. For post 9/11, Mr Greer using the two prime examples, to outline how each of them operates differently and how much of a risk they are to the UK. He states how some people perceive terrorism as too broad the long war where it is more of a struggle against terrorism with terrorism in the UK context meaning something narrower than the definition, namely violent threats to a liberal democratic state and society .He distinguishes many factors which when putting into account make the pre 9/11 terrorism seem minor implications. First, he distinguishes post 9/11 how the IRA embraced a modern, secular, nationalist ideology, whereas AQT terrorists invoke Islamism, a political ideology which relies heavily on Islam, a pre-modern religion. Consequences of this, Muslims in the United Kingdom and elsewhere would repudiate as inauthentic and illegitimate. The second difference is that the IRAs violence had limited territorial objective to enhance the political power of the nationalist minority in the north of Ireland. It was never intended to destroy a civilization or a way of life. Indeed the way of life. Post 9/11 threats to the UK Greer points out how terrorist organisations such as AQT their goals were much more ambitious and were clearly linked to a conflict over control of territory in the Middle East and not Britain. Greer also points out British jihadists are motivated by a sense of injustice stemming from disadvantage and discrimination suffered by British Muslims. In contrast with pre 9/11 and post 9/11 the old-fashioned nationalism of the IRA is quite different to Islamist terrorism objective to destroy the West as a decadent and ungodly anti-civilization. Another distinction that Steven Greer uses is the terrorisms fire power. He shows how pre 9/11 the IRA never used suicide bombs, which in contrast to post 9/11 is the favoured method of AQT terrorism. The IRA always had in mind to minimise civilian casualties whereas post 9/11 AQT terrorism seeks to maximise civ ilian casualties. Steven Greer also outlines how pre 9/11 the IRA remained a centrally-controlled and hierarchical paramilitary organisation. Whilst AQT organisations, very loosely structured with no central command other than the inspiration provided by charismatic and highly independent leaders. In the sense outlined, the IRA was a terrorist organisation and Al Qaeda type (AQT) associations are terrorist organisations. But there the similarities end. There are nearly a dozen much more significant differences between post 9/11 and pre 9/11 threats facing the UK. Mr Greers distinctions are very clear to where each terrorist organisation differs for instance when it comes down to casualties, pre 9/11 the IRA would try to minimise the casualties and be effective but post 9/11 the more casualties the better for AQT. It may be that the law has not been so harsh on anti-terrorism that the boundaries on casualties have increased. During the years the fire power and technology has become m ore advanced such as bombs, effectively to deter people or stop them security measures and more harsh laws have been placed. This could explain the 28 day period they can derogate them for, in order to have enough time to gather evidence. Relatively the key objective of antiterrorist laws must now be to contribute significantly to the prevention of attacks and to prosecute those responsible before they occur, since the risk has tripled from pre 9/11. To be effective as possible when risks such as this are at large, gathering accurate intelligence and responding to it appropriately is crucial relating back to pre-9/11 police confessions amount to arrests is not enough. However misuse of these powers could lead to inaccurate evidence such as the insensitive use of stop and question and stop and search powers can provoke anger which, in turn, can cause more damage to intelligence-gathering than the information produced. The use of arrest and detention powers for intelligence-gathering purposes is also incompatible with the European Convention. So by law Human rights should overrule the arrest and derogation powers. What did the Law Lords rule in relation to the provisions under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime Security Act, 2001 concerning indefinite detention, without charge, of foreign nationals? Where are we now in terms of extraordinary powers of detention in cases of suspected terrorism? The Anti-Terrorism, Crime Security Act gave the Home Secretary power to verify a foreign national as a suspected international terrorist (s. 21). The House of Lords Judicial Committee on December 2004 concluded with their judgement on the compatibility of the Part 4 powers with the (ECHR). The Human Rights 1998 (Designated Derogation) Order 2001 was crushed and section 23 of the ATCSA was affirmed to be incompatible with Articles 5 (right to liberty) and 14 (freedom from discrimination) of the ECHR. The House of Lords considered Part 4 powers were discriminatory. Their reasoning was it only applied to foreign nationals and also acknowledged that they were not proportionate to threats the UK faced was facing on terrorism. From this action, the Government replaced the Part 4 powers with a new system of Control Orders. Control Orders would be subjected to all suspected terrorist, whether him or her being a UK national or not. Also whatever the aim of his/her terrorist activity is. In cases of extraordinary powers on suspected terrorism, control orders allows the authorities to impose conditions from prohibitions on accessing items or any service, restrictions on being with particular individuals, or restrictions on movement or curfews. The Home Secretary has the power to make a control order based on any intelligence provided. On suspected terrorism, Control Orders could be varied and controls changed if the individual poses a larger threat. These types of powers may be up to certain strict periods, as Control Orders will be time limited and can be set up to 12 months at a time allowing them to be renewable thereafter. The powers are set strict enough to when breach of a condition, it would be a criminal offence most likely of imprisonment. In the light of what you have read, do you consider that a period of up to 28 days detention without charge of those suspected of terrorism is reconcilable with Article 5, ECHR and with the ECtHRs jurisprudence on extended detention periods in such cases? In light of what I have read, 28 days is too much to keep a person in pre-trial detention on charges of suspected terrorism. The 2006 Terrorism act , I doubt would have considered beforehand putting a person away for 28 days what would the damage be to the mental health, personal and family relationships and employment of the person detained for periods as long as this. Putting people under long detention periods by the police may amount to a confess at the end, but might it is also well known that detention rules such as these can produce false confessions which, in their turn, can lead to miscarriages of justice. Steven Greer outlined this prime principle with his example of the evidence gathered on Northern Ireland indicated that most confessions in such processes are, in fact, made in the first 48 hours. But that was pre 9/11 however now the risks are much bigger several days would seem the best option. In contrast with Article5 (2), a person shall be informed promptly of the rea sons for the arrest and any charge against them and that they shall be brought promptly before a judge (Art.5 (3)). The 28-day pre-charge detention period would, therefore, appear to constitute a violation of human rights. In a more logic instances, factors should be considered and outlined on whether this person should be detained for longer, for example if the person is a potential threat to community and has previous charges of providence false statements or evidence. In any trial before on suspected terrorism it should be what characteristics does the current terrorist threat have, which would be able to extended power of pre-charge detention? The Government originally advocated a 90-day period on the grounds that much more time is required, is too extreme. This in most instances should violate the rights of an individual person. 28 days is still to be considered under the Convention test let alone 90 days or 42. In comparison other western democracy i.e. the USA, it is quite astonishing that the United Kingdoms 28-day has the longest pre-charge detention period. Under U.S. Federal law, the maximum period of pre-charge detention is 48 hours. This limit comes from the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution. Overall, detaining people for 28 days without charge inevitably leads to injustice, and undermines our ability to fight terrorism. It also affects the British tradition of liberty and justice. Libertys Director, Shami Chakrabarti, has consistently argued against extended periods of detention in suspected terrorism cases and is critical of reliance on the states Article 15 power to derogate (enabling it to suspend the protection of the ECHR): It simply seems to me that a state of public emergency of indefinite length is as dangerous as the unending war on terror which allows the murderer to call himself a soldier. A limitless state of emergency is a contradiction in terms. It is no longer a temporary departure from the proper and normal order of society for as short a period as possible in order to re-establish means of existence, government and law. It is instead a new state of being. A state of constitutional poverty without the ethical framework that we most need in times of greatest difficulty. (last page of her article, Terrorism and the Rule of Law). Is she right? Libertys Director, Shami Chakrabarti, has regularly argued against extended periods of detention (imprisonment) in suspected terrorism cases and is critical of (confidence) reliance on the states Article 15 power to derogate (take away) (enabling it to suspend the protection of the ECHR): It simply seems to me that a state of public emergency of indefinite (unfixed) length is as dangerous as the (endless) unending war on terror which allows the murderer to call himself a soldier. A limitless (unlimited) state of emergency is a contradiction (conflict) in terms. It is no longer a temporary departure (retreat) from the proper and normal order of society for as short a period as possible in order to re-establish (re-build) means of existence, government and law. It is instead a new state of being. A state of constitutional poverty (shortage) without the ethical (moral) framework (structure/background) that we most need in times of greatest difficulty. (last page of her article, Terroris m and the Rule of Law). Is she right? Prior to shami chakrabati principle on how an unlimited period of public emergency is the same as an endless war on terror. Being able to derogate our rights on detention and on other rights, retreats us from the proper normal society we are living in today. Laws such as these will never be able to allow us return to normal but instead lead us into a state of a constituinoal poverty without the moral structure. Governments at a time like this would instead of focusing on how to prevent any terrorisim from happeneing, split our society up based on our views rather than our actions. As lod hoff man stated the real to the life of the nation comes not from terrorisim, but from laws such as these. An example can be the new-anti terror control orders surely the are likely to breach Article 6. Not surprising as to some quite significant interference with liberty without charge or trial. Another prime example being the government trying to extend the pre trial detention to ninety days. Sur ely under Article 5, demands prompts information on reasons of your arrest and any charges against you. And this is only for terror supects. Picture how ninety days in prison and being released without charge, not only would he be disgusted with the britsh laws but other people would stay clear of the police when it comes to co-operating with some useful inside information on the latest terrorist activity. Even so what with chakarbati giving some in sight on the rule of law , in todays news there are various news articles on how britian has been torturing our own british suspects in camps such as guantamano bay and Pakistan. The British have paid whatever costs to use all means possible to access any information relating to terrorists activity.

Implementation Of 5s In Non Manufacturing Area Commerce Essay

Implementation Of 5s In Non Manufacturing Area Commerce Essay Lean manufacturing is a philosophy that increases the productivity and improves the quality with less resource (Womack and Jones, 1996). Lean manufacturing is the systematic elimination of waste from all aspects of an organizations operations and this included production costs, product quality, and product delivery and worker involvement. Any use or loss of resources that does not lead directly to creating the product or service in an organization is viewed as waste. Now days, many companies are implementing such lean production systems. Companies primarily choose to engage in lean manufacturing for three reasons which are to reduce production resource requirements and costs, improve customer responsiveness and to improve product quality. These 3 elements are very important to boost company profits and competitiveness. The lean manufacturing concept is first introduced in Toyota Corporation which is Toyota Production System. Toyota started the lean manufacturing by following the basic principles that set out by Henry Ford with the moving assembly line. Ford realizes that the importance things in the operation are material flow continuous, process standardization, and waste elimination. The basic principle that set out by Henry Ford did bring the success to Ford Corporation. At the same time, Toyota was experience a difficult time and these basic principles give inspiration to Toyota to develop a system that flexibly responded to customer demand and was efficient at the same time. Now a day, Lean Manufacturing has been implementing in the manufacturing companies throughout the world and was becoming an important topic for manufacturing companies especially in the developed countries. The Japan, which consider as the developed country in Asia did show the success with the implementation of lean manufacturing concept and even the western countries also try to find the ways to compete against with the company in Japan. According to the Industry Week Magazine in a survey at 2004, as a result of the implementing lean manufacturing, U.S. companies had a median savings which is 7% of Cost of Goods Sold. This savings also consider as a higher levels of waste before the company implementing the lean manufacturing concept. Lean manufacturing is a concept which use the less input to achieve the same output and the input can be time, space, human effort, machinery, materials, or costs. In 1995, the U.S. equipment manufacturing company which named Lantech completed the implementation of lean and reported that there had many improvements compare batch-based system in 1991. According to Lantech, the element like manufacturing space per machine, production cycle time and product delivery lead time are reduced after the implementing of the lean manufacturing concept. During the 1990, the Wiremold Company successfully implementing the concept of lean manufacturing. Wiremold Company found out that there have many improvements after the implementing of lean manufacturing concept which the product development time-to-market, receipt and fulfilment of order time, amount of plant space needed, time for raw material to shipping dock and number of suppliers are have been reduced. Besides that, the inventory turns and sales per employee did show the increasing advantage. Some companies in Vietnam also actively conducted training and implemented lean manufacturing concept to eliminate the inefficiency process. This brings the improvement to their production and service lead times. For example, Toyota Ben Thanh, a service center of Toyota in Vietnam, has implemented lean concept to significantly reduce the process time for the automobile maintenance service and as a result, the total number of cars processed are increase. Toyota Ben Thanh achieved significant reductions in the process lead time by successfully eliminating unnecessary waiting time, inefficiencies of physical motions and process flow. According to the oxford dictionary, technique is a particular way of doing something. Lean manufacturing techniques are based on the application of five principles to guide the action of management toward success. The five principles are included value, the value stream, flow, pull and perfection. The perfection is bringing the meaning of the ability to advocate doing things right at the first time through the application of continuous improvement efforts. The element of continuous improvement can break down into 3 basic principles which are Challenge, Kaizen, and Genchi Genbutsu. Background information Kaizen is a Japanese word with literally mean improvement. In the context of Lean manufacturing, kaizen is understood to signify small, incremental, and frequent improvements to a process. Lean philosophy states that the large improvement which just require small amounts of investment and risk. The kaizen main mindset is making process improvements without adding people and space to the process. The more important one is implement the change without spending the money. In the early 1950s, Kaizen was first introduced in Japan which is the Toyota manufacturing plant. In Japan, kaizen is a way of life in the workplace which from the office of the CEO until to the shop apprentice. Kaizen has lead most of the company from a defeated wartime nation to one of the strongest industrialized countries in the world. The main principal of kaizen is making the small, immediate improvements in the process and standardizes the workplace. Actually, all of these small improvement will add up to better the working conditions which a (Imai, 1997) higher degree of safety, more efficiency and ultimately, greater profits. In the western, the improvements are done by introducing the latest technology, or incorporate the newest management technique and the result is outspending of money and time. But Kaizen is different which just requires a small investment of money, but a large investment in effort, cooperation and training. If fully implementation in organization, the results are often amazing. Kaizen is a process which must become a daily part of every workers routine and this is the key for the successful implementation of Kaizen Concept. In Kaizen, management has two functions which are Maintenance and improvement. The important part of kaizen is setting and keeping them. The role of maintain is to maintain the technological and operating standards that have been put into place. The other role of management is improvement which constantly looking for ways to raise the current operating standards. This is an ongoing effort and must be a daily part of the managers job. Process is the holy grail of kaizen and the main focus of Kaizen is on the process because Kaizen emphasize that improving the process will improve the result. The major concept of kaizen is visual management. The opportunities for improvement may present themselves on a daily basis, but if you are not able to see them, they will be missed. One of primary methods used in kaizen is to create an environment where tools, supplies and processes that out of place can be seen right away. There are two systems that are used to achieve this target is 5S and 5M. The heart and soul of visual management is 5S. It is systematic approach to workplace organization and cleaning that will transform a disorganized workplace into an efficient running machine. The 5Ss are Sort (Seiri), Set in Order (Seiton), Shine (Seiso), Standardize (Seiketsu) and Sustain (Shitsuke) 5S method started introduced in Malaysia at the middle age of 1980s and was actively conducted training and implementing in the private sector especially in multinational company. In 2004, 5S method was introduced to all public and private sectors in in Malaysia. In this 6 years, there have many certificates were issued to various factory industries and service as an encouragement. 5S is a method or tool which aims to manage workplace organisation and standardisation. 5S improves the safety, work efficiency, productivity and establishes a sense of ownership. The successes of lean manufacturing concept in the manufacturing area brought the attention of non-manufacturing area using the lean manufacturing concept to manage their company. Although 5 S is a system aimed at good housekeeping and floor cleanliness. But this concept can be used in broader area where you have any kind of waste and even, these concepts also can be use in non-manufacturing process. 1.2 Problem of Study Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) is a university which has the highest number of postgraduate enrolment in engineering and technology, which is one of the important components in contributing towards the development of an innovation-led economy. There have many department and unit in UTM which provide quality services to help expedite the process and system administration. Each department plays a role in the system administration of UTM and the 5S concept has been introduced to make sure the efficiency in the system administration. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia was the first public university (IPTA) which successfully applies and attains the 5S Concept Certificate at 2009. The certificate handing ceremony was held in UTM Skudai and was officiated by the Director of National Productivity Corporation (NPC) Southern Region, Mohd. Razali Hussin. In his speech, Mohd Razali, the Director of National Productivity Corporation (NPC) Southern Region congratulated UTM staff for their commitment in making this concept a success in UTM. The Director of NPC also said that all the staff in utm are the pioneers to this program and will be the best example and reference for other IPTA. Besides that, in his speech, he did mention that the effort must be consistent from time to time and in the effort to increase the skill and improve the office management system, the commitment and participation of all the UTMs staff are essential. According to the 5S concept program leader, Puan Norazlina Md. Said, this program was introduced to all public and private sectors at the year of 2004 in Malaysia. With the help of NPC, UTM has started realizing the 5s concept and managed to pass a certain requirement and finally successful attaining the certificate. This is an honor for University Teknologi Malaysia. To successfully implementation the 5S concept, each staff of the UTM plays an important role. The successful of UTM will bring a lot of attention which first public university (IPTA) to successfully apply and attain the 5S Concept Certificate. a) What is the key of the successful implementation 5S concept? b) How far the implementation of the 5S concept? c) What is problem that will be face in the implementation of 5S concept? 1.3 Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to found out that how far that the implementation that have been done and investigate the key of the successful implementation 5S concept. Besides that, this research can also can give recommendation which ensure a constantly successful of 5s implementation. 1.4 Objective of the Research The purpose of the research is to investigate the implementing 5s at non-manufacturing area which a research will be doing in the Treasurers office UTM. The objectives of this research are: 1.2.1 To investigate that how far that the implementation of 5S concept. 1.2.2 To investigate the factor of the successful implementation of 5s concept. 1.2.3 To suggest the recommendation to ensure a constantly successful 5s implementation. 1.5 Scope This study is focusing on the Implementing 5s at non-manufacturing area which in Bursary office at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The respondents, which involve the staff of the Bursary Office and the data collected via questionnaires, were distributed to the respondent. 1.6 Significance of the Study The findings of this study are very important to: UTM The finding in this study can help UTM know the perception of the staff about the implementation of 5S concept. Besides that, can give awareness to UTM about the important of the implementation of 5s concept. Bursary Office Through this finding, can let the staff in the office know that the problem in the implementation of the 5S concept. Besides that, can give a recommendation to Bursary Office and ensure the constantly successful of the implementation of 5S concept. Undergraduate The finding in this study can give knowledge to undergraduate student about the 5S concept. This is because nowadays, there have many company already implement the 5s concept so the undergraduate will not feel unfamiliar when they hear the 5s concept. 1.7 limitations There are some limitations in this research. a) The sample of the study is only limited to the staff of the bursary office and cannot represent all the non-manufacturing area in Malaysia. Therefore, the results of the analysis could be questioned. b) Due to time constraints and cost, the survey will only distributed to respondents via questionnaire. To get an accurate analysis and data, will need an amount of cost and a lot of time. Consider to this problem, the survey will only distribute to respondents via questionnaire. c) The level of reliability and accuracy of this study may be affected by the deceit of respondents. This is because respondents normally tend to answer questions in the way that are beneficial to them.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Looks and Love Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Looks and Love Before I left home for college, my group of friends and I sat down for one last serious heart-to-heart. Sometime during our conversation, the question of college choice arose. Emotions escalated as we realized how far apart we would be in a short time. "Why did you choose to go to MIT?" they asked, "Why couldn't you just stay home at a state university?" Wanting to lighten the mood, I replied, laughing, "That's an easy one...the guys, of course!" And after the initial uproar of laughter died down and the comments about geeks and scrawny computer nerds subsided, I said, "I'm serious." I was. Where else would I find an intelligent and genuine guy who would be mature enough for me? When I arrived in Massachusetts and classes finally started, so did my "man mission." Most of the men I met blew the boys back home out of the water, and one lucky day, I peered past my twirling pink pen and found Him. The more I learned about Him, the more enamored I became. Yet I, a usually outgoing and assertive young woman, felt uncomfortable approaching this wonderful person in that more-than-a-friend kind of way. The worst part about the situation was that I knew exactly where my uneasiness was coming from. Unlike the guys at home, where seventy percent of the young male population had black hair and dark brown eyes, this guy was blonde and fair-skinned, a stark contrast not only to the male population back home, but to me. I am not a racist person, but the petty idea that this guy did not share like features with me, hindered me from appreciating what we did share and made me more aware of the differences between us. So where then, did this silly idea of single race relationships come from? Why did He an... ...zines remind me that this relationship would not be the most socially accepted or ordinary thing to do. But it is ordinary. I know I've fallen for this guy because of his humor and quirkiness, his intelligence, his kindness, and his character, things that I should be looking for. So now, I sit here in my baggy calf-length skater shorts and bright orange hooded sweatshirt and stare across the seats, focusing on his neatly ironed khakis and dark blue dress shirt, and think that our hypothetical relationship would die quickly. I'm still that closed-lipped girl from the beginning of the story when it comes to my feelings because I don't want to be rejected, and for some reason I feel like we might not be right for each other, even though I know we are. And it depresses me that somehow, our ad-driven society is probably convincing him of that same exact thing.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Grace and The Death Essay -- Literature, James Joyce

The characters of James Joyce’s Dubliners live in a world where they are psychologically stagnant despite the impact of social experiences in their lives. Each character’s development depends on their interactions with others as well as their individual decisions. From childhood to adulthood, the protagonists have encounters with family, friends, or colleagues that result in either negative or positive effects on their growth and awareness of their current state of unhappiness. The addition of relationships, or camaraderie, does not come into full effect until the latter half of the book, where the themes are expressed in darker tones and the writing style become more ambiguous. Joyce lightens the mood of the Dubliners with the portrayal of camaraderie in his final two stories, â€Å"Grace† and â€Å"The Dead† which give a realness and complexity to the problems of Dublin life. In most cases, camaraderie does not adhere well with the characters of the Dubliners because of their innate sense of independence or their distrust of the community. But by distancing themselves from family and friends, they are allowing themselves to suffer alone. Their inability to commit to relationships and to feel genuine compassion for others prevents them from experiencing the full benefit of camaraderie. The contribution of the masculine and family camaraderie renders an ironic, whimsical effect in â€Å"Grace† whereas â€Å"The Dead† ends with a bittersweet consequence for its protagonist. Joyce introduces the motif of the alcoholism throughout the Dubliners, not only as an emphasis on an Irish stereotype but to contribute a cause for an adult Dubliner’s corruption. He satirizes the Irish pub as a sort of assembly hall for this masculine camaraderie, though it ... ...s† that Joyce refers to. The endings of â€Å"Grace† and â€Å"The Dead† resonate intensely with the feelings of the soul by looking past the egotism and prejudice. The indefinite conclusion allows readers to focus on the capability of the protagonist to bring to completion his reformation. Bibliography Book Sources †¢ Joyce, James, Edna O'Brien, and Malachy McCourt. Dubliners. New York: Signet Classics, 2007. Internet Sources †¢ Ames, William. "Interpretation of Grace from Dubliners, by James Joyce." On Grace. The Poet's Forum. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. . †¢ "Penguin.com (usa)." Dubliners. Penguin Group USA. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. . †¢ Williams, Bob. "Dubliners." - by James Joyce. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. .

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Misconceptions About Mrs. Hammond in Rebecca Rushs Novel Kelroy :: Rebecca Rush Kelroy Essays

Misconceptions About Mrs. Hammond in Rebecca Rush's Novel Kelroy Most people that read Kelroy incorrectly view Mrs. Hammond. She is labeled an evil person who is out for her own gain. Most people doubt that she even cares about her daughters Lucy and Emily. Mrs. Hammond is said to be vicious and sneaky, and will do whatever is necessary to accomplish her agenda. They believe Mrs. Hammond is so greedy she will sacrifice her own daughters' happiness so she can live out the rest of her life comfortably. These are all misconceptions of Mrs. Hammond. Mrs. Hammond is not the loathsome enemy in this novel. The enemy in this novel is society itself for allowing Mrs. Hammond's actions in this story toward her daughters and Kelroy to be largely viewed as acceptable behavior. Mrs. Hammond is not a saint. Some of her actions were abhorrent. "She (Mrs. Hammond) was a woman of fascinating manners, strong prejudices, boundless ambition." (Page 3) Mrs. Hammond had good manners. According to her society, she was a proper lady. She also had strong prejudices and boundless ambitions, and these are her qualities that create this evil persona placed on Mrs. Hammond. Mrs. Hammond has a strong temper. On page 102, Mrs. Hammond has a dialogue with the grocer. The grocer is trying to collect money for the food that Mrs. Hammond has received from his grocery. "I don't believe it," cried Mrs. Hammond, "for it is an impossibility that my family could have consumed articles to this amount." (Page 102) Mrs. Hammond speaks harshly toward this grocer for doing his job. "Charles, who knew that the slightest liberty taken by a person not altogether agreeable to her, was sometimes enough to irritate Mrs. Hammond." (Page 141) The people around Mrs. Hammond reco gnized her temper. A great number of people have tempers. Tempers do not make them bad people. Mrs. Hammond's boundless ambition comes into play with Kelroy and Emily. Mrs. Hammond wants the absolute best for Emily, and she truly believes that her plan for Emily to marry a man in the upper class is best for Emily's life. Mrs. Hammond's ambition forced her to try to stop Emily and Kelroy's relationship.