Oedipas Search Of Tristero In Crying Of Lot 49 By Thomas Pynchon Essay

Oedipa's Search Of Tristero In Crying Of Lot 49 By Thomas Pynchon Thomas Pynchon is an American novelist known for his experimental writing techniques. His works involve extremely complicated plots and themes, and mix black humor with imagination and fantasy to describe human isolation and alienation in a chaotic society. Among his books, The Crying of Lot 49, is the most commonly read, in either literature courses or simply for pleasure. As the reading progresses, the definite and symbolic meaning of the Tristero, and an understanding of the historical and political background of America in the 60?fs is needed to better understand. When I first started reading The Crying of Lot 49, there appeared to be some complicated riddles. When put it in perspective with the history of the times, a clearer image and more detailed context of the text came to me. Many historical events in the era are indirectly and metaphorically incorporated in the text. Looking at a book of history, then it can be seen that Americans opposed the centralization of administrative power, and rejected the threats of being surrounded and controlled by it. The Tristero represents their feelings, volitions and wishes. It?fs a symbol of free will. In order to find out what the Tristero is, it?fs very helpful to understand what the American counter-culture was about. As for American history, the 1960s was an exciting, revolutionary and turbulent time of great social, political, cultural and technological change in America. The movement away from the conservatism of the 1950s was continuous and eventually resulted in those aforementioned changes. The following are some events influencing this book in each of the four changes in this decade. This period from a social standpoint witnessed the expansion of the welfare state, the emergence of numerous movements for social change, and experienced civil rights, and gay and women?fs liberation. In terms of political changes in this era, there were some major events which occurred influencing the world; the Americanization of the war in Vietnam, the civil rights movement, and the assassinations of not only two great African American leaders, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., but also John F. Kennedy. Taking up the Vietnam War as one example, the government kept secrets about what was really going on there, and lied to its citizens; therefore, the citizens felt uneasy about it and suspicious of it. Adumbrating these political changes of the 1960s John F. Kennedy won the presidential election. ?g We stand today on the verge on a new frontier- the frontier of the 1960?fs, a frontier of unknown opportunities and peril- a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats.?h In 1964 President Johnson who campaigned on a platform of continued social program and a limited involvement in Vietnam won by a landslide. In 1968 Richard Nixon entered the Republican convention, and stated ?g When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down for four years in a war in Vietnam with no end in sight, when the richest nation with the great tradition of the rule of law is plagued by unprecedented racial violence, when the President of the United States cannot travel abroad, or to any major city at home, then its time for new leadership for the United States.?h The Democrats went through a tough primary campaign, and couldn?ft stop a Nixon victory. When looking at cultural changes, some remarkable happenings are the growth of the counterculture, unforgettable fashion, new musical styles, flower power, great TV and film, and sexual freedom. Thomas Pynchon incorporates some of the social trends in The Crying of Lot 49. Lastly in technological changes in 60s, needless to say, the most memorable event is the first manned landing on the moon Also this period was the age of youth, as millions of children from the post-war baby boom became teenagers and young adults. These young people wanted change. The changes would come and would in turn affect education, values, lifestyles, laws and entertainment. Thomas Pynchon uses the private mail delivery system, W.A.S.T.E. system, in the story, to compare with the mail delivery system that is a government monopoly. The poster of Uncle Sam on a wall of the post office symbolizes the watchdog of the government. (Pynchon 10) He

Karl Poper vs Thomas Kuhn essays

Karl Poper vs Thomas Kuhn essays Science can be defined as knowledge and theory on the nature and operation the universe and all things in it, in which facts are organized into a systematic and meaningful pattern developed as a result of experiments, observations, tests and many other methods it uses. The relationship between philosophy and science is that science is the way that how the humans organize their knowledge. At that point these two intersects. Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn are two philosophers that are discussed in this essay. The main question of that discussion is whether there is scientific progress or not. Karl Poppers answer is yes, while Thomas Kuhns is no (for overall). This two opposing sides will be examined in detail in the essay. Scientific realists versus anti-realists, theory of Karl Popper, theory of Thomas Kuhn and a counter claim that comes against Thomas Kuhn is discussed respectively in the paper. In order to explain, judge about the given quotation better, and understand Karl Poppers and Thomas Kuhns views and comparing those two; the definitions of scientific realism and anti-realism should be clarified. Scientific realism is a view that reflects the truth and helps humans living on the earth to explain or understand what is going on around them in the world. Realism gives a better understanding of the world, because it makes the people become aware of things more clearly. Take the E = m * c2 equation as an example. It tells the speed of light and its relations with m and c. It provides knowledge about the real world, and people use that theory. Such scientific equations and theories give something real about the world, and tell the real facts, and what the world really is. Furthermore, according to realism, science displays a process of discovery which means scientists deal with the things that already exist and one can discover those existing things that have not been rea...

Corporate Governance in Financial Services Essay

Corporate Governance in Financial Services - Essay Example The board of directors stands at the top of the organizational hierarchy. The role and responsibility played by the board act in the best interest of all stakeholders. This means that the board is the highest body that represents the interests of all the stakeholders in an organization. In the banking sector, the board of directors plays more or less the same role and responsibility. Specifically, the board supervises, monitors, and controls corporate officers, and also handles major decisions that relate to organizational operations. In the light of corporate governance, board effectiveness is critical both in the short run and long run. The subject of board effectiveness in corporate governance is provided for by the Combined Code on Corporate governance. Bank failure and the subsequent financial crisis in the UK can be explained through boards’ failure to be effective and efficient. Monitoring of executives in the banking sector was poor in the period preceding banking crisis in the UK. Many boards in the sector failed to discharge their duties and responsibilities accordingly. The implication was that banks were caught unaware of the underlying risks of poor board management. The board of directors sets strategic aims, provides entrepreneurial leadership, ensure understanding and realization of organizational obligations to stakeholders, and reviews/manages organizational performance (Adams, 2003, p.723). These aspects of the board’s role were poorly discharged and managed, resulting in failed corporate governance practices. UK banks were adversely affected by this failure due to the fact that they failed to realize the underlying risks of poorly managed and governed corporates.

Alcoholic anonymous meeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alcoholic anonymous meeting - Essay Example Bob Smith in Akron, in the year 1935. The program developed, involves Twelve Step spiritual and character development process which aids in the stabilization as well as growth of the alcohol addict. According to Ohio, "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety". Individuals belonging to such a self-help group can benefit themselves by learning and adopting diverse skills to build confidence and make amendments in behaviour which enable them to perform well in their social environment. Such an approach not only tapers their alcohol dependence but also enables them to motivate other new members of the group to overcome such awful inclination (AA Better Known as Alcoholic Anonymous; Wormer et al, 2007). Alcoholics Anonymous group offers independence concerning to group membership. One can attend the meeting weekly or as per his/her wish. The group does not possess any red-tape attitude, on the other hand acquaintance and friendships developed in the group do not have any bindings. This is one of the major reasons why such groups are emerging as the most preferred groups to overcome their addiction quandary (Wormer et al, 2007). The group members interact with each other, confess in front of the group that they seek a solution to the problem of alcohol addiction. The group members utilize their previous experiences to tackle the situation by asking all the details of the addiction trouble, the cause of distress, issues that paved the way for alcohol addiction. Members express their gratitude and formulate a plan to overcome their problem and support other individuals or the group members in tackling the situation (Wormer et al, 2007). Spiritualism is the sole motive that incites self renewal attitude in the person. The environment provided to the new comer is congenial and motivating. Group members discuss their personal stories of revival in details and then the session is open for

To what extent may several common mental disorders, as identified by Essay

To what extent may several common mental disorders, as identified by the 2007 ABS National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing - Essay Example This is because, it is clear that the thoughtless attitude that leaders of organisations adopt towards mental health has continuously compounded the effects of mental disorders, with stigma, dismissal from work, aloofness and ignorance being some of the commonest manifestations of this same attitude. Contrariwise, the need to tamper the quest for performance target with human dignity, corporate social responsibility and fairness compels a relook into organisational culture, as it relates to employees who may suffer from mental disorders, as shall be seen forthwith. Introduction According to the report that the 2007 ABS National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing released, there is a great extent to which several common mental disorders impact a person's performance at work. It follows logically that any mental disorder affects the brain and its function, with the brain being the central nervous system [CNS]. This means that it is important for the rest of the body to function well , if the CNS or a compartment of the CNS is not properly functioning. The same is also underscored by the fact that work, however manual it may seem, is seriously a mental affair. As a product of the Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], the 2007 ABS National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing report summarised and pointed out that the three chief mental disorder groups are: affective disorders [such as depression]; anxiety disorder [such as social phobia] and substance ab/use disorders [such as the harmful use of alcohol, marijuana and other forms of stimulants]. This report also divulged on the level of mental impairment, the accompanying physical conditions, the health services that are to be used to treat mental health complications, accompanying demographic and socio-economic characteristics and relating demographic conditions. These categories of mental illnesses and the prevailing conditions of mental health illnesses provide an insight into the manner in which common men tal disorders impact a person's performance at work. Substance abuse, affective and anxiety mental disorders are known to have the potency to undermine interpersonal relationships, yet interpersonal relationships are vital for the realisation of an organisation's performance target. Particularly, complications emanating from the use of marijuana as a form of substance abuse may manifest through withdrawal symptoms, violent or aggressive behaviour, or behavioural excesses. These manifestations frustrate interpersonal communication and thereby undermining intra-organisational relations. Anxiety mental disorders such as extreme shyness and affective disorders such as depression equally frustrate interpersonal communication at work, by hampering the flow of ideas, the channeling of operational command and personal confidence which is important. The place of interpersonal relations and intra-organisational communication is important in the attainment of both long-term and short-term perf ormance target since supervision, the induction of new employees and aspects of talent management such as training and workshop programmes are heavily reliant upon interpersonal relations within an organisation. Conversely, in the event that some of mental disorders persisting at the workplace, the organisation

Corporate Governance Impact On Capital Investment

Corporate Governance Impact On Capital Investment Introduction Overview Through various studies over the years, different scholars and financial analysts have been able to establish a relationship of cash flow on firms investment spending. It was significantly proven by (Modigliani Miller, 1958) that a firms financial status is irrelevant for real investment decisions in a world of perfect and complete capital markets, after controlling for the cost of capital. In case of managerial discretion, based on (Jensen, 1986) free cash flow theory, firms increase investment (including projects with negative present value) based on the availability of cash flows with incentive of increasing firms value beyond level of optimal investment. Moreover, an agency costs also appreciate the borrower net worth by charging a premium on the external financing. The discussion above explains that the firms investment decisions are dependent on the availability of internal funds, as cost advantage over external fund is evident. While choosing an appropriate capital structure, there are certain trade-offs which affects the decision. These trade-offs include tax advantage through acquiring debt against the bankruptcy cost which advocates the use of equity. Keeping this in view, various different models have been supported to explain this corporate capital structure behavior. Pecking Order Theory, initially mitigated by (Donaldson, 1961) describes the financing practice as prioritizing the means of financing, which is necessary for the management to counter against asymmetric information. Either they should generate the funds internally or acquire funds externally through debt rather than equity. Implications to the pecking order theory involves the positive impact of leveraging on the market price, which means, financing through debt sends a positive signal into the market about the firms future prospects. Furthermore, intermediaries also undermine the role of management as the financial intermediaries such as investment banks function as the insider to the firm. Consequently, keeping an eye on the firms operations and influencing the firms capital financing decision. However, Pecking order theory of (Myers, 1984) argues that the firms operating in imperfect or incomplete capital markets where the cost of external capital exceeds that of internal funds, the financial structure may be appropriate to the investment decisions of companies facing uncertain prospects. Gauging the level of corporate investment in any firm is based on the corporate governance; market position of a firms asset against its book value can be termed as Tobins q ratio. Identified by (Chung Pruitt, 1994), Tobins q as proportion of firms market value to replacement cost of its assets. Tobins q can be considered an effective tool for determining financial performance as the data can be collected readily from a balance sheet. When calculating Tobins q ratio, the replacement cost can be determined approximately by the book value of firms plant and equipment. Approximate q can be replaced with the actual Tobins q to make the calculations unproblematic and data can be readily available without any discrepancies. Problem Statement To study the impact of corporate governance on the capital investment decision through cash flow and Tobins q interaction in relation with Capital Investment HypothesEs H0: Firms cash flow having a significant impact on its capital investment will be linked with high Q values. (FCF Theory) HA: Firms being liquidity constrained due to least payout will have significant investment-cash flow sensitivity, and will be linked with high Q values in the market. (PO Theory) Outline of the study The report contains the contemplation of research data that will study the phenomenon of cash flows and investment discussed earlier in this paragraph. The study categorizes firms according to characteristics (such as dividend payout, size) which will help measure the level of constraints faced by firms. The study will help readers to understand the complexities of Pecking order theory and Free Cash Flows concept with regard to asymmetric information available and corporate governance which influences decision of the firms. To measure the effect that cash flow-financed (internally sourced) capital spending and Q has on firms investment, Ordinary Least Square Regression model will be used to estimate the function. To compute the influence on the Investment, instruments used are: (1) Cash Flow, (2) Approximate q, and (3) an interaction of both variables are created. Through studying the parameter estimates of interaction variable, positive influence on investment will support the Pecking Order hypothesis and negative influence will govern the Free Cash Flow hypothesis. The equation hypothesized in the next part is linear. Definitions Pecking Order Theory: (Myers, 1984): A firm is said to follow a pecking order if it prefers internal to external financing and debt to equity if external financing is used. Free Cash Flow Theory According to (Jensen, 1986), free cash flow theory, high cash flow and low debt create agency costs associated with conflicts between manager and share holder over the payout of this free cash, which is the cash left after the firm has invested in all available positive net present value projects. Capital Structure A careful and systematic analysis of how claims against a corporations assets can or should be determined, assessed, and accounted for. (Riahi-Belkaoui, 1999) Capital Investment Decision Capital Investment decisions are those decisions that involve current outlay in return for a stream of benefit in future years. (Drury, 2006) Tobins q Tobins q is a measure of investors expectations concerning a firms future profit potential. It is defined as the ratio of the market value of a firm to the replacement cost of its assets. (Strecker, 2009) Literature Review Vogt (Vogt, 1994) explained the capital spending behavior of companies with respect to change in dividend cash paid, cash flows, sales, and market value of assets. The regression equation models the variables to proportion of fixed assets, and distributes the firms data in segments of Dividend Payout Groups and Asset Groups. Primarily, Dividend Cash has a strong negative impact on capital spending; it explains that in order to finance additional fixed investment firm needs to sock cash by reducing their dividend. Cash flow, Sales, and Q Ratio having a positive coefficient demonstrates that with an increase in future cash flows, the firm will improve its capital spending. A relationship has been developed between the firms investment decision and the firms financial status by Cleary (Cleary, 1999), financial status has been studied with respect to the liquidity constraints. The data is classified into groups through a discriminant analysis on basis of dividend payout policy. Groups taken into study have made possible to identify firms which are more financially constrained more likely to be investment-cash flow sensitive, furthermore, availability of internal sources of funds have a greater impact on firms with high credit worthiness, and vice versa. It has been proposed that the various ownership structures make managerial decision based on the interaction between investment and the firms liquidity constraints. The study conducted by Dedoussis Papadaki (Dedoussis Papadaki, 2010) mentioned that the management can be held separate from its ownership, even on basis of the nationality of the company. On the other hand, it also explained that the relative shareholding of CEO and the controlling shareholders can also be the basis of separation. The sample used in the study was separated and grouped on basis of dividend payout, asset size of the firm, age of the firm, source of control, and kind of ownership. On the given sampling criterion; greater asset size firms, older firms, lower Q (high investment opportunity), and high dividend payout firms showed higher cash flow sensitivity towards investment. Findings support that the Low Q, small, and new firms under the generalized model are facing asymmetric information problems. Indeed these firms are expected a priori to face financing problems that affect the cost of their external financing. On the other hand, low Q, old and low dividend firms are more likely to face managerial discretion problems that result to over-investment. The impact of Tobins Q is mainly used to determine the investment opportunity of the firm. In this article, marginal Tobins Q has been taken to evaluate the firms investment and Research Development expenditures. The asymmetric information (AI) hypothesis proposed that firms provided with a profitable investment-project may be not able to source it through internal cash flows and for the reason that the cost of external funds is too high due to the capital markets ignorance of the firms investment opportunities. On the other hand, agency or managerial discretion (MD) hypothesis constructs the investment-cash flow relationship on the assumption that managers are well qualified in context with proficiency they obtain from managing a huge and fast paced firm and thus exceeding the wealth shareholders beyond their expectations. (Gugler, Mueller, Yurtoglu, 2004) Taking in viewpoint the impact of capital structure on the capital investment decision, firms investment demands is the more susceptible towards cost-of-capital or tax-based capital incentive. Whereas, capital structure seems irrelevant as against internal sources of funds can be effectively substituted with sources of funds generated externally. The size of the investment project can be a deterministic factor towards it. Fazzari, Hubbard, Peterson, Blinder, Poterba (Fazzari, Hubbard, Peterson, Blinder, Poterba, 1988) explicates that cash flow/investment relationship is more sensitive when taken in reference with firms dividend behavior. Comparison based on firms having more or less liquidity constraints can be further improved when compared on a division based on the scale of the firms, i.e. young or small firms versus large ones. This way the researchers can address the problem of firms lacking the asymmetric information. Under the impression where capital investments decisions mainly pertains to the capital structure or choosing the appropriate source of investment, Schaller (Schaller, 1993) conducted three different empirical tests to determine that information asymmetries have a huge influence on the firms investment behavior. Differences among the informational base of investors and creditors was also considered a capital market imperfection. Ownership status and age of the firms has an impact on the cost of equity financing, mature firms pay comparatively less price for it than young firms. Same aspect goes for the firms with concentrated with comparison to dispersed ownership. Borrowing is considered a more rational source for investment-projects. Pledgeable assets generate greater borrowing capacity, which afterwards makes firms invest more in pledgeable assets. As suggested by Almeida Campello (Almeida Campello, 2007), such a phenomenon can be termed as a credit multiplier. In case of financially constrained firms, a multiplier relates to the sensitivity of firms investment-cash flow relationship that is reflected as the increase in the tangible assets of the firm. Therefore, it is proposed that with fewer tangible assets firms are more likely to be financially constrained. The sensitivity of investment-cash flow relationship is evidently influenced by the tangibility of a firm, as latter discussed. Managers while making capital investment decision considers externally-sourced funds costlier, therefore, overconfident managers over assessing the profitability of an investment-project invests more when having abundant internal funds to utilize. However, deciding not to source externally in case where they are short of internal funds to generate. There has been an evidence of significant relationship between the managerial discretion and investment-cash flow sensitivity. Equity concentrated firms are more likely to be influenced by overconfident managers, unless compensation tools can be used to reduce the effects of managerial overconfidence. (Malmendier Tate, 2005) Goyal Yamada (Goyal Yamada, 2004) have explained the impact of asset pricing in the stock market against investment-cash flow sensitivity. Overvalued stock prices triggers an increased in investment spending and are cut back when stock are being undervalued, consequently, inflated prices collateral assets attract higher level of external financing. Inflationary pressures primarily determined by the economic monetary policy impacts on the variation of cost on external financing, though it reflects highly on cost of external financing, marginally impacts less on the investment-cash flow sensitivity. It has been observable that less financially constrained firms have significantly higher investment-cash flow sensitivity. Characterizations of firms based on financial constraint can sometimes create confusion. Firms having unusually high cash holdings can either be characterized as unconstrained based on the opportunities it has to invest or constrained based on the assumption that it needs to have a precautionary savings to invest in future investment projects. Therefore, financial constraints cannot be used as an influential determinant for investment-cash flow sensitivity. (Kaplan Zingales, 1997) Hu Schiantrlli (Hu Schiantarelli, 1998) put into picture the effect of general economic factors and various firms characteristics on the value of the firms net worth. Mainly financial status is the most important determinant for the level of asymmetric information problem that managers face. A strong balance sheet position can reflect good sign of firms performance which enhances the market value of the firms asset to its stake holders, mainly investors and creditors. Q models assumption also assists in determining the sensitivity of the investment-cash flow relationship, where the indicators determine the investment opportunity and the sources of funds to choose from. Understanding the market influence in proxy of q can also give a clear picture to the movements in the firms investment over a period. Net worth of firms helps manager determine if the sourcing of funds externally is a viable option in contrast to the investment opportunity which underlies. (Hubbard, 1998) Research conducted on the investment-cash flow sensitivity addresses many aspects of the firms financial strength. Further study by Calomiris Hubbard (Calomiris Hubbard, 1995) shows that when firms tax taken under investigation also reflected a significant influence on the volume of spending on investment-projects. They explored the impact of surtax margin, as a tax experiment, on the cost of internal and external funds. Surtax when levied on undistributed profits, obligate the firms to incur certain cost on the internal funds. This effects the managers decision to invest and is also reflected on the investment-cash flow sensitivity against the surtax margin. As a result to evade burden of higher cost on internal funds, firms with high surtax-margin exhibits elevated sensitivity in investment-cash flow relationship. Quan (Quan, 2002) discusses the Pecking Order theory with reference to the Modigliana-Miller proposition that works under the assumption of perfect market. Here it is stated that value of the firm is irrelevant and based on a few limitations the choice of financing can be determined via gauging the strength of the firm. These factors pertain to the imperfect market and influence the managers to make their capital investment decision. Once the assumptions are released the financing structure shows a clear picture. The association between Free Cash Flow theory and Agency theory has always been under the limelight when there is a question of retaining the undistributed profits. FCF Theory taken under consideration gives out an option to the management to hold on to excess cash sacrificing the shareholders opportunity cost. These excess funds can be generated to better internal operational efficiency or at managers discrepancy to source its investment-projects. (Wang, 2010) Research Methods The chapter explains the model used in the given research study. The study focuses on analyzing the influence of Cash Flows and Tobins q on Corporate Investment. The equation represented by a dependent variable as a ratio of capital spending to the beginning net fixed asset (I/K) predicted by independent variables: (1) ratio of cash flow to the beginning gross fixed asset (CF/K), and (2) beginning Tobins q (Q). Method of Data Collection Main source of collecting the required data is from secondary sources. It includes the Balance Sheet Analysis of Joint Stock Company listed in Karachi Stock Exchange provided by State Bank of Pakistan consisting of data of our relevant variables. The data was taken in annual terms to conduct this research. Sampling Technique The Convenience sampling or grab or opportunity sampling would be use in this research. Sample population selected because it is readily available and convenient. Sample Size The sample period taken under study covers 8-years period beginning at the start of 2000 and ending at the close of 2008. The data was taken from a sample of 70 (non-banking and non-financial) companies which are listed on Karachi Stock Exchange and included in KSE-100 index. Research Model Statistical technique Ordinary Least Square Regression technique is used to study the impact of variables included in the study. It helps studies the relationship between a dependent variable and several independent variable. It also assumes the relationship to be linear or straight line, where the values of predictors lies directly proportional to Criterion variable. SPSS Software is used to develop the regression model and evaluate the influence of predictors on dependent variable. Results Findings and interpretation of results Aggregate Sample: Table : Represents the model summary of regression estimates for the full sample of 69 firms The predictors, i.e. main effects of Cash Flow and Tobins q and an interaction variable of both combined, included in the model explains 78.5% of Investment (Table 1) shown mentioned as R Square. Least variation in Adjusted R Square suggests that the variable to observation ratio in the given model is sufficient. Casewise diagnostic was also conducted to eliminate the outliers in the data to improve the results. Table : Studies the F-statistics to test whether the model predicts the dependent variable significantly The F-statistics (Table 2) is significant and it determines the regression model with the given predictors can significantly predict the outcomes at a 0.05 significance level. Table : The parameter estimation for full sample of 69 firms with respect to dependent variable, t-statistics is used to test the null hypothesis ÃŽÂ ²1 = ÃŽÂ ²2 = ÃŽÂ ²3 = 0 The coefficient values of all predators included in the test are significant at a 0.05 significant level (Table 3), which shows that they have a strong influence on the investment of the firm. The standard coefficient shows that Cash Flows have a much greater impact on Investment than market value on the firm, which is exemplified through Tobins q. Dividend Payout groups: Table : Presents the sample statistics for 69 KSE listed (non-banking and non-financial) companies which are included in the KSE-100 index. The three rows distribute the statistics into High, Medium, and Low payout policies. Average dividend-to-income ratios of greater than 0.35, between 0.35 and 0.10, and less than 0.10 define High, Low, and Medium dividend-payout firms, respectively. While studying the dividend-payout groups (Table 4), the descriptive helps to identify characteristics to confirm whether the data being studied has the authenticity and the behavior pattern which commonly related to the groups assigned. The values of Investment, Cash Flow, and Tobins q associated with the groups are in complete correspondence with the hypothetical occurrence. Firms having a higher (lower) dividend payout have greater (lower) market value, and lower(higher) level of cash flows and investments. Table : Represents the model summary of regression estimates of 69 firms split by High, Medium, and Low dividend-payout policies. The model helps explains 81.9%, 66.7%, and 80% data in High, Medium, and Low dividend-payout firms (Table 5), shown in R Square. Least variation in Adjusted R Square suggests that the number of observations is sufficient with respect to variables in each group separately. Table : Studies the F-statistics to test the null hypothesis of ÃŽÂ ²1, H = ÃŽÂ ²1, M = ÃŽÂ ²1, L The F-statistics (Table 6) in each dividend payout group is significant and it determines that each regression model with the given predictors can significantly predict the outcomes at a 0.05 significance level. Table : Shows the parameter estimation for each payout groups with respect to dependent variable, t-statistics is used to test the null hypothesis ÃŽÂ ²1 = ÃŽÂ ²2 = ÃŽÂ ²3 = 0 The coefficient values of predators in High and Low dividend payout groups are all significant at a 0.05 significant level (Table 7), which shows that they have a strong influence on the investment of the firm. Except for Medium dividend payout group, which has insignificant coefficient values of Tobins q, showing no impact on the investment. The standard coefficient shows that Cash Flows have a much greater impact on Investment than market value on the firm, which is exemplified through Tobins q. Hypothesis Assessment Summary Hypothesis Independent Variables B t Sig. Comments Firms cash flow having a significant impact on its capital investment will be linked with high Q values. (FCF Theory) Cash Flow ÃÆ'— Q H0: ÃŽÂ ²3 ÃŽÂ ²3,H = .135 5.295 .000 Rejected ÃŽÂ ² 3,M = .072 .991 .324 ÃŽÂ ² 3,L = .140 5.482 .000 Firms being liquidity constrained due to least payout will have significant investment-cash flow sensitivity, and will be linked with high Q values in the market. (PO Theory) Cash Flow ÃÆ'— Q HA: ÃŽÂ ²3 >0 ÃŽÂ ² 3,H = .135 5.295 .000 Accepted ÃŽÂ ² 3,M = .072 .991 .324 ÃŽÂ ² 3,L = .140 5.482 .000 Dependent Variable: Investment (I/K) Table : Summarizes the results and explains that the hypothesis accepted is directly in correspondence with the aggregate hypothesis. As illustrated (Table 8) capital spending of low payout firms is positively and strongly influenced by the interaction term, consistent with the PO hypothesis, the parameter estimate for the high payout firms are also positive but marginally significant. Conclusion, Discussions, Implications And Future Research Conclusion The results illustrated above demonstrates that the positive relationship between the degree of the Investment-Cash flow relationship and Q represented latter in the aggregate data (Table 3) is concentrated in low or no dividend paying firms. This finding is in further support with the PO hypothesis. Discussions The objective was to study and test the causes of universal relationship between Cash Flow and Investment Spending. Hence, two hypotheses were included in the research to study the source of this relationship: the free cash flow hypothesis (FCF) hypothesis, which works on the assumption that managers prefer investing its free cash flow excessively into investment projects that are not profitable, and the pecking order hypothesis (PO) purports that managers are prone to investment comparatively less than the opportunity provided due asymmetric information-induced liquidity constraint. As advocated in favor of Pecking Order Theory by (Fazzari, Hubbard, Peterson, Blinder, Poterba, 1988) and many others, for groups which consists of small firms with low-dividend payout to fund capital spending, exhibits heavy reliance on cash flow and cash changes. The relationship can be more significantly studied when the impact of larger q value is associated with this group. Evaluating the impact of corporate governance on investment-cash flow relation requires a critical judgment as to how do the firms cash flow and the existing market value influence the investment decision. Financially constraint firms may have a larger impact on liquidity associated matters and managers might take discretion in choosing the right sources to tap. Agency cost may be involved in making such a decision where managers may consider paying dividend as a higher opportunity cost as it reduces the firms free cash flow to exploit new profitable investment projects. Implications and Recommendations In the current market situation where external pressures existing can also be taken into proxy. When managers making a capital investment decision they need to take in view other non-financial aspects that also influences the decisions to a certain extent. Furthermore, financial intermediaries having a certain level of involvement and sharing information sensitive to the market can also be a major factor that might be giving a varying result against Investment. Investing in profitable-investment projects can bring in greater resources to the firm in future and it entails a huge decision burden upon the shoulders of the managers. Shareholders expecting to earn a greater return through investing in them can also be undermined when manager decided to have a low payout policy. Funds generated internally is a possibility where there is a healthy cash flow, but it is also preferable if this free cash is invested into marketable security for allocating the resources into a profitable venture for a time being to make it a positive impression. Future Research In future studies there may be more aspects of cash flow-investment relationship which can be studied for assessing the degree impact it has on this relationship, i.e. sales, debt performance, capital structure, firm size, etc. The research study may also be improved if the observation of firms are increased that will in turn reflect a more clear picture about the relationship in the current scenario. References Almeida, H., Campello, M. (2007). Financial Constraints, Asset Tangibility, and Corporate Investment. The Review of Financial Studies , 20 (5), 1429-1460. Calomiris, C. W., Hubbard, R. G. (1995). Internal Finance and Investment: Evidence from the Undistributed Profits Tax of 1936-37. The Journal of Business , 68 (4), 443-482. Chung, K. H., Pruitt, S. W. (1994). A Simple Approximation of Tobins Q. Financial Management , 23 (3). Cleary, S. (1999). The Relationship between Firm Investment and Financial Status. The Journal of Finance , 54 (2), 673-692. Dedoussis, E., Papadaki, A. (2010). Investment spending and corporate governanc: Evidance from the ASE listed firms. Managerial Finance , 36 (3), 201-224. Donaldson, G. (1961). Corporate Debt Capacity: A Study of Corporate Debt Policy and the Determination of Corporate Debt Capacity. Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University . Drury, C. (2006). Cost and management accounting: an introduction (6 ed.). Cengage Learning EMEA. Fazzari, S. M., Hubbard, R. G., Peterson, B. C., Blinder, A. S., Poterba, J. M. (1988). Financing Constraints and Corporate Investment. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity , 1988 (1), 141-206. Goyal, V. K., Yamada, T. (2004). Asset Price Shocks, Financial Constraints, and Investment: Evidence from Japan. The Journal of Business , 77 (1), 175-199. Gugler, K., Mueller, D. C., Yurtoglu, B. B. (2004). Marginal q, Tobins q, Cash Flow, and Investment. Southern Economic Journal , 70 (3), 512-531. Hu, X., Schiantarelli, F. (1998). Investment and Capital Market Imperfections: A Switching Regression Approach Using U.S. Firm Panel Data. The Review of Economics and Statistics , 80 (3), 466-479. Hubbard, R. G. (1998). Capital-Market Imperfections and Investment. Journal of Economic Literature , 36 (1), 193-225. Jensen, M. C. (1986). Agency costs of free cash flow, corporate finance, and takeovers. American Economic Review , 76, 323-9. Kaplan, S. N., Zingales, L. (1997). Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints? The Quarterly Journal of Economics , 112 (1), 169-215. Malmendier, U., Tate, G. (2005). CEO Overconfidence and Corporate Investment. The Journal of Finance , 60 (6), 2661-2700. Modigliani, F., Miller, M. H. (1958). The cost of capital, corporation finance, and the theory of investment. American Economic Review , 48 (3), 261-97. Myers, S. C. (1984). The capital structure puzzle. The Journal of Finance . Quan, V. D. (2002). A rational justification of the pecking order hypothesis to the choice of sources of financing. Management Research News , 25 (12), 74-90. Riahi-Belkaoui, A. (1999). Capital structure: determination, evaluation, and accounting. Quorum. Schaller, H. (1993). Asymmetric Information, Liquidity Constraints, and Canadian Investment. The Canadian Journal of Economics , 26 (3), 552-574. Strecker, N. (2009). Innovation Strategy and Firm Performance: An Empirical Study of Publicly Listed Firms. Gabler Verlag. Vogt, S. C. (1994). The Cash Flow/Investment Relationship: Evidence from U.S. Manufacturing Firms. Financial Management , 23 (2), 3-20. Wang, G. Y. (2010). The Impacts of Free Cash Flows and Agency Costs on Firm Performance. Journal of Service Science and Management , 3 (4), 408-418.

The time machine :: essays research papers fc

The story begins in the house of the Time Traveler. He says to a group of people it is possible to travel through time. The group of people doesn't believe him, so he shows them a working model of the Machine. He makes it disappear into the future. Next week the same group of people return. They can't find the Time Traveler. After a while he comes, and says he has been traveling through time. He tells his story. At first the time moves a bit faster than normal. He can see someone entering the laboratory very quick. Then the time starts moving more quickly. The laboratory disappeared. When he stopped the machine, he was in a sort of garden in a new world. 802701 Description of the New World. The human race was split in to parts, the Eloi and the Morlocks. Eloi saw him, and they found him interesting. He is taken to a building and can eat. When they loose interest he discovers his Time Machine is gone. He thinks it is put in a white Sphinx. Then he rescues a little female Eloi, Weena. She appreciates it and follows him everywhere. He discovers how the world works. He tries to find his Time Machine. At a time he is in the forest with Weena. They are surrounded by Morlocks, and it's getting late. He has built a campfire. He escapes because the forest is burning, but he lost Weena. He goes to the white Sphinx and starts destroying it. He can enter it and he sees the time machine. When he approaches it he discovers it is a trick to get hem there. Quickly he jumps in the time machine and disappears. He stops 30 million years later. The earth has completely changed and all intelligent creatures have disappeared. Then he returns to our time. The Time Traveler tells to the group of people they may believe it if they want it. He isn't sure of it himself anymore. The next day someone from the group returns. The time Traveler tells him to wait. When he wants to tell to the Time Traveler he has to go, the Time Traveler and his Machine have gone.

Effective Performance Appraisal Essay

In spite of this fact, however, there are some elements which are common to all effective performance appraisal systems, regardless of the actual method(s) used in the system. These elements will be discussed shortly. However, before examining these common links, a brief overview of performance appraisal as it is currently practised in American organisations is in order. Current Trends in Performance Appraisal As previously noted, controversy over the â€Å"best† performance appraisal system continues. The dilemma was highlighted in the 19 May 1980 issue of Business Week where the editors concluded that managers want a system â€Å"that will pinpoint specific marginal behaviour that should be reinforced or discontinued, serve as a personnel development tool, provide a realistic assess ­ ment of an employee’s potential for advancement, and — a particularly hot issue in the 1980s — stand up in court as a valid defence in discrimination suits. † Has the search for a â€Å"best† system affected what companies actually do in performance appraisal? A study conducted by Taylor and Zawacki[2] in 1981 set out to answer this question y sending a mail questionnaire to 200 firms located throughout the United States — these companies were selected at random from the Fortune 1000. Eighty-four (42 per cent) were returned and used in the study. The size of respondent firms ranged from less than 1,000 employees (nine), 1,000-5,000 employees (63), and more than 5,000 employees (12). Non-respondent firms did not vary significantly in terms of size. This study, which duplicated a previous one conducted in 1976, asked what kind of performance appraisal system was used for management and blue-collar employees. It also asked for the interval between ratings, productivity and employee reaction to the appraisal system, anticipated changes and respondent satisfaction to the present system. While it is not possible to go into all the detailed findings of this study, some of the most pertinent information is summarised below. ? While in 1976 43 per cent of the respondent firms had used a traditional performance appraisal system (e. g. , forced distribution) and 57 per cent had used a collaborative system (e. g. , MBO), in 1981 these figures had changed to 53 per cent and 47 per cent respectively. In other words, the proportion of companies using a traditional approach to performance appraisal had increased while the proportion of those using a collaborative approach had decreased. Several respondents provided written comments stating that they had changed to quantitative (i. e. traditional) systems in recent years in reaction to legal challenges to their previous collaborative system. In 1981, 39 of the 41 organisations using a traditional system used a graphic rating scale. Of the collaborative forms, 23 firms used MBO and 11 used a BARS system. The percentage of firms not satisfied with their current appraisal system increased from only nine per cent in 1976 to 47 per cent in 1981. In addition, those with collaborative systems were more likely to be satisfied, while the majority of firms with traditional systems expressed dissatisfaction. As far as the effect of the type of system used on employee attitudes went, 37 per cent of the ? IMDS January/February 1988 13 ? companies using a traditional approach felt that it had improved employee attitudes while 63 per cent felt it had not. Of those companies using a collaborative approach, 77 per cent felt it had improved employee attitudes and 23 per cent felt it had not. ? Of the 22 firms indicating that they anticipated changing their performance appraisal system in the near future, 12 were moving from a collaborative system to a traditional system. This is especially interesting in light of the fact that, in the 1976 study, the majority of firms indicating that they were considering a change said that the move would be from a traditional to a collaborative approach. While the 1981 study did not delve into the reasons behind this shift in attitude, Taylor and Zawacki conjectured that it was due to governmental and legal pressures for precise (i. e. , quantitative) measures which overwhelmed a desire to help people develop and grow towards becoming more effective employees. Of the firms surveyed, 49 per cent felt that their performance appraisal system had improved employee performance (roughly the same proportion found in 1976). However, the number of firms that did not believe employee performance had improved as a result of the appraisal process had gone from four per cent in 1976 to 19 per cent in 1981 — and none of these firms anticipated changing their system! (5) The appraiser should be given feedback regarding his/her effectiveness in the performance appraisal process. (6) The performance appraisal system, regardless of the methodology employed, must comply with legal requirements (notably, Equal Employment Opportunities guidelines). Since the factors listed above are consistently highlighted in the literature as essential elements of an effective performance appraisal system, each of them warrants individual attention. Performance Goals Must Be Clearly and Specifically Defined Special emphasis should be placed on this phase of performance appraisal, since the lack of specifically defined performance goals will undoubtedly undermine the effectiveness of the entire performance appraisal process. The key performance areas need to be identified, assigned priorities and stated in quantifiable terms whenever possible. The mutual goal-setting process between a manager and subordinate associated with Management by Objectives is a particularly beneficial way to foster acceptance and internal motivation on the part of the employee[3]. As is often the case, if multiple goals are established, they should be ranked so that the employee has a clear understanding of which areas may warrant more attention and resources than others. Furthermore, every attempt should be made to describe performance goals in terms of their time, quality, quantity, and monetary dimensions. This will reduce the opportunity for misinterpretation about what is to be accomplished and what limitations there are. The quantification of goals will also make it easier for the manager and the employee to measure the employee’s progress towards achieving the objectives. The need for quantifying objectives is succinctly summed up by George Ordione: â€Å"If you can’t count it, measure it, or describe it, you probably don’t know what you want and can often forget it as a goal. There is still too much, ‘do your best’, or ‘I’ll let you know when it’s right’, going around in today’s organisations. If you can’t define the desired type and level of performance in detail, then you have no right to expect your subordinate to achieve it. â€Å"[4] ? To summarise, it would appear that while most firms wish to use a collaborative form of performance appraisal, they feel thwarted by outside forces (notably Equal Employment Opportunities requirements) in their attempts to implement such a system within their organisations. The dilemma, then, is finding a workable solution which will meet both constraints. The remainder of this article will take a look at these two seemingly conflicting areas (effectiveness vs. efensiveness) and how they can be integrated into a meaningful performance appraisal system. Elements of an Effective Performance Appraisal System While various authors use different names and modified descriptions for them, the following factors seem to be universally accepted by most authorities on the subjects as requisites for an effective performance appraisal system : (1) Performance goals must be specifically and clearly defined. (2) Attention must be paid to identifying, in specific and measurable terms, what constitutes the varying levels of performance. 3) To be effective, performance appraisal programmes should tie personal rewards to organisational performance. (4) The supervisor and employee should jointly identify ways to improve the employee’s performance, and then establish a development plan to help the employee achieve his/her goals. The Varying Levels of Performance While setting performance goals is a crucial first step in the process, managers also need to concentrate more attention on identifying what constitutes the varying levels of performance. If the organisation uses the typical â€Å"poor, fair, good, very good and excellent† scale of performance, the manager has a responsibility to identify at the beginning what levels of performance will produce a â€Å"very good† or â€Å"excellent† rating. However, setting specific goals for organisational performance is not enough — managers also need to relate performance to the individual’s rewards. Agreeing on what is to be accomplished and what varying levels of performance represent in terms of evaluation and rewards is crucial for the performance appraisal process to be effective[5]. Since the first two steps of this process (i. e. , defining performance goals and setting performance standards) IMDS January/February 1988 14 are closely connected, an example of how these steps might be achieved is warranted. A prerequisite for setting performance goals is to establish job tasks. To measure performance realistically, objectively and productively, we must base our reviews on job content rather that job constructs. Constructs are broad, often self-evident terms which describe a general task, activity or requirement. Richards refers to them as â€Å"garbage words† in terms of their usefulness as performance standards). An example might be â€Å"communication skills†. While few would argue the need for skills in communication for many employees, the problem is how to define the term in light of the requirements of the specific job in question. Will the employee be required to: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Write memos? Write letters? Conduct interviews? Deliver public speeches? Present proposals to clients? Describe features and benefits of a product? Resolve face-to-face conflicts? Handle customer complaints? Write job descriptions? Describe and define job standards? Manage meetings? Present ideas to top management? Initiative: Resourceful in taking necessary or appropriate action on own responsibility. Unsatisfactory Poor A routine Often waits unnecessarily worker; usually for direction. waits to be told what to do, requiring constant direction. Satisfactory Good Excellent Seeks and gets added tasks for self; highly selfreliant. Assumes responsibility. Does regular Resourceful; work without alert to waiting for opportunities directions. or Follows improvement directions with of work. little follow-up Volunteers suggestions. Table I. drinks per bottle, etc. In turn, these indicators should be broken down into measurable standards, as shown in Table II. As shown, when identifying what constitutes the varying levels of performance, we need to decide what we can expect in terms of outstanding performance, what is satisfactory and what is the minimum level of perfo rmance we can tolerate. One could argue that these are subjective determinations, and this is of course true. What is important, however, is that once these determinations have been made, performance can be measured objectively against the standard. It is important to keep in mind that standards should be set based on what we require or need in the performance of a job and not on our assessment of a specific individual’s ability to do the job. Unless we specify the behaviour we want in the context of job content requirements, it will be near impossible objectively to measure someone’s performance under the generic construct of â€Å"communication†. We must determine the sort of communicating the job requires of the employee. Some organisations attempt to aid supervisors by providing rating scales which are anchored to descriptions of performance (i. e. , the BARS approach), such as the one shown in Table I. While this type of scale is certainly a vast improvement over those that offer no anchors (rating descriptions) at all, we could still argue over the ratings. The standards are subjective and unmeasurable, both undesirable traits in any performance appraisal system. To overcome these problems, the job should be broken down into responsibilities, with a series of performance indicators provided for each responsibility. In turn, these indicators should be accompanied by objective and measurable performance standards. An example will help illustrate the process. A bartender’s job can be broken down into several responsibilities, including mixing drinks, cost control, inventory control, house keeping, safety, law enforcement, supervision, customer relations, etc. In turn, each of these responsibility areas can be broken down into several performance indicators. For example, performance indicators of the job responsibility â€Å"mixing drinks† might include complaints, returns, brands used, appearance, speed, number of Personal Rewards and Organisational Performance To be truly effective, performance appraisal programmes should tie personal rewards to organisational performance. Too many reward systems are based on time on the job, are divided evenly among employees, or offer too little incentive to increase motivation significantly. As noted by Harper[3], performance appraisal systems need to be designed with the three â€Å"E’s† of motivation in mind. The first † E † refers to the exchange theory, which states that people tend to contribute to the organisation’s objectives as long as they believe they will be rewarded. The second † E † refers to the equity theory, which states that motivation is tied to the relative, rather than the absolute, size of the reward. For example, if person A does 25 per cent better than person B, but gets only five per cent more in a â€Å"merit† increase, then person A is likely to feel that management has actually punished him or her for doing noticeably better than person B. The third † E † is the expectancy theory of motivation, which asserts that motivation is a combination of the person’s perceived probability (expectancy) of receiving a reward and the worth of the reward. Even when the reward is great, motivation may in fact be quite low if the employee does not believe that he or she has a reasonable chance of achieving the necessary level of performance to get the reward. Conversely, if the employee believes that the probability of receiving the reward is high, there will be little motivation if he or she does not need or value the reward. IMDS January/February 1988 15 Job: Bartender Job responsibilities Mix drinks, etc. Indicators Complaints Returns Measurements used (recipe) Brands used Appearance Time No. of drinks per bottle, etc. feedback to managers about the quality of their performance appraisal ratings would seem to have several advantages: ? ? It is relatively inexpensive and easy to develop and implement. The feedback is based on ratings made by each manager as part of the formal performance appraisal process. This enables the feedback to be tailored to the individual. The feedback can provide managers with a basis upon which to compare their ratings with those made by other managers. This normative type of feedback is rarely available to managers; as a result, there is very little information upon which they can evaluate how lenient or strict they are. A feedback system should help to ensure comparability of ratings among managers, which in turn may increase employee satisfaction with the appraisal process. That is, employees are more likely to perceive that their performance has been evaluated equitably since managers are using the same standards when evaluating performance. ? Job: Bartender Standards Job responsibilities Mix drinks Indicators Minimum Complaints 4/week Satisfactory 2/week Outstanding 0 ? Table II. In summary, then, for a performance appraisal programme to be successful in this area, it must: (1) Tie rewards to performance (2) Offer a high enough level of reward (3) Have the level of reward reflect the relative differences in the various levels of performance (4) Tailor the rewards to the needs and desires of individual employees. Development Plans Ideally, the performance appraisal programme should be comprised of two separate sessions between the manager and the employee. In the first session the manager and employee review the level of performance from the previous period — what went well, what did not, and why. This session also identifies the employee’s strengths as well as the areas that need to be improved. The manager then encourages the employee to prepare a development plan to be discussed at the second meeting. The development plan is intended to identify areas that should be improved upon during the coming period. The subordinate should be encouraged to: (1) Concentrate on those areas that will affect results (2) Select three or four particular areas for improvement rather than an unrealistic and unmanageable number (3) Set improvement goals that are specific and measurable[6]. Whatever the end result happens to be, the employee needs to be the principal author (although the manager should offer help and suggestions) since people tend to be more motivated to accept and implement a plan of their own making. IMDS January/February 1988 16 Indications of the usefulness of such a feedback system were documented in a study by Davis and Mount[7] in which managers were provided feedback vis a vis the ratings they gave to employees. In response to a questionnaire distributed one week after they had received feedback regarding the quality of their performance ratings, 79 per cent of the managers indicated they were either satisfied (seven per cent) or very satisfied (72 per cent) with the feedback; 93 per cent said they considered it when making subsequent performance evaluations; 70 per cent said it influenced their ratings either appreciably (47 per cent) or substantially (23 per cent), and 79 per cent said the feedback had utility for making managers’ ratings more comparable. The test results from this study indicated that the feedback also significantly reduced the presence of leniency error (the tendency to skew the rating distribution towards the higher rating categories) in the managers’ ratings. This is significant from an organisational perspective because of the multiple uses of performance ratings in organisations. Often, performance ratings are the criterion on which selection tests are validated and often provide the basis on which merit pay increases are determined. According to Davis and Mount, improving the psychometric quality of the ratings may enable the tests to be validated more effectively and provide a more equitable method for distributing pay increases — an important consideration, as previously discussed. Conforming to Guidelines Obviously, in addition to the other factors which have already been discussed, another practical consideration which must be taken into account is that any performance appraisal system, regardless of the methods employed, must comply with all Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines. While a complete discussion of this important area is beyond the scope Feedback Regarding Effectiveness It is surprising how infrequently organisations provide their managers with information about their performance appraisal ratings. However, providing of this article, the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, put together by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and several other agencies in 1978, deserve special mention. These procedures were meant to clarify the exact requirements which appraisal and other selection systems must meet, and include the following points: (1) To continue using an appraisal system that has adversely affected one or more protected groups, the company must demonstrate that the system is â€Å"valid†, that it is job related, and that it accurately measures significant aspects of job performance. (2) The company must establish that there is no other available method of achieving the same necessary business purpose that would be less discriminatory in its effects, and none can be developed. According to the courts, the plaintiff (employee), rather than the defendant (company) must show the availability of the alternatives. The EEOC has told employers what they cannot do, but it has not provided them with definitive guidelines for solving the performance appraisal puzzle. However, some help in this regard was provided in the Autumn, 1980 issue of EEO Today[8]. (1) Base your appraisal on a comprehensive job analysis. EEOC guidelines dictate that you measure job performance against specific, clearly defined standards of performance. The performance you appraise, says the EEOC, â€Å"must represent major critical work behaviours as revealed by a careful job analysis. † Without a clear, written statement of job responsibilities, you increase your risk of EEO liability. (7) Submit the appraisal to several reviewers, especially if it is negative. To prevent conscious or unconscious bias from creeping into the appraisal process, develop a multilevel review system. Have your superior review and sign the appraisal. This system of checks and balances will reduce the risk of losing a court action. Final Comment As can be seen from the foregoing discussion, an effective performance appraisal system involves much more than a mere annual or biennial evaluation of an employee’s past performance. Nonetheless, astute managers are becoming increasingly aware of the value of their human resources, viewing them as an investment rather than merely an expense or overhead to be minimised. Accordingly, many organisations are taking the time and effort necessary to develop an effective performance appraisal system in order to help their people achieve their personal goals, which in turn allows the organisation to meet its own objectives[9]. Unfortunately, many managers still object that they just do not have the time to make performance review and development an ongoing process. However, if management is defined as â€Å"the ability to get things done through people†, and if we accept the fact that an effective performance evaluation process helps in getting the most important and productive things accomplished, then what else should managers spend their time doing? References 1. Fletcher, C. , â€Å"What’s New in Performance Appraisal? â€Å", Personnel Management, February 1984, pp. 20-2. 2. Taylor, R. L. and Zawacki, R. A. â€Å"Trends in Performance Appraisal: Guidelines for Managers†, Personnel Administrator, March 1984, pp. 71-80. (2) Know the details of your company’s 3. Harper, S. C. , â€Å"A Development Approach to Performance nondiscriminatory policies. You and every other Appraisal†, Business Horizons, September-October 1983, pp. manager in the company should aim for the 68-74. uniform application of all appraisal guidelines. 4. Mellenhoff, â€Å"How to Measure Work by Professionals†, Management Review, November 1977, pp. 39-43. (3) Avoid subjective criteria. According to the Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody decision, subjective 5. Richards, R. C. , â€Å"How to Design an Objective PerformanceEvaluation System†, Training, March 1984, pp. 38-43. supervisory appraisals of job performance are 6. Kellogg, M. S. , What to do About Performance Appraisal, inherently suspect if they produce adverse impact American Management Association, New York, 1975. against a protected group. To stand up to the 7. Davis, B. L. and Mount, M. K. , â€Å"Design and Use of a scrutiny of the courts, these judgements must Performance Appraisal Feedback System†, Personnel be considered fair and job-related. Administrator, March 1984, pp. 1-7. 8. Block, J. R. , Performance Appraisal on the Job: Making it (4) Document! Keep records. That is the only way Work, Prentice-Hall, Inc. , Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1981. you can support whatever subjective judge ­ 9. Butler, R. J. and Yorks, L. , â€Å"A New Appraisal System as ments creep into the appraisal process. (They Organizational Change: GEà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Task Force Approach†, are inevitable. ) Personnel, January-February 1984, pp. 31-42. (5) Aim for a group of appraisers who have common demographic characteristics with the group being appraised. This criterion was established in Rowe v. General Motors. When only white males appraise blacks, Hispanics, women and other protected groups, the courts question the fairness of the. system. Once a system is challenged and shown to have adverse impact, the company must prove its validity. (6) Never directly or indirectly imply that race, colour, religion, sex, age, national origin, handicap, or veteran status was a factor in your appraisal decision. Making any disciminatory statement, orally or in writing, will make your organisation subject to court action. Additional Reading Kaye, B. L. and Krantz, S. , â€Å"Preparing Employees: The Missing Link in Performance Appraisal Training†, Personnel, May-June 1982, pp. 23-9. â€Å"Performance Appraisal: Curre. † Practices and Techniques†, Personnel, May-June 1984, pp. 5799. Heneman, R. L. and Wexley, K. W. , â€Å"The Effects of Time Delay in Rating and Amount of Information Observed on Performance Rating Accuracy†, Academy of Management Journal, December 1983, pp. 677-86. â€Å"The Trouble with Performance Appraisal†, Training, April 1984, pp. 91-2. Gehrman, D B. , â€Å"Beyond Today’s Compensation and Performance Appraisal Systems†, Personnel Administrator, March 1984, pp. 21-33. IMDS January/February 1988 17

Five Tips for Creating a Phenomenal Newsletter

Five Tips for Creating a Phenomenal Newsletter to read and share but also urges them to act in a manner that generates sales. This goes beyond the basic, and frankly overused, taglines such as â€Å"I have a gift for you,† or â€Å"Buy my book for a free gift.† This type of marketing push is vague and lacks the creativity you possess as a writer, so here are five stress-free ways to give your newsletter that coveted edge. 1 Use the subject line to offer a specific value. Since newsletters 2 Lead with your most important information. Pre-sales, book signings, product launches- put whatever is most important to you at the top. Think like a newspaper writer. Lead with the headline. Everything above the fold of the newspaper (or in this case the vertical scroll of your device’s screen) equals the information the audience is most likely to see and digest. 3 Design graphics that tell the tale at a glance. People are busy and don’t always have time to read thoroughly. Use graphics to convey your message quickly. Ensure the content is shareable and eye-catching. Consider creating infographics that outline the flow of your series or the love quadrangles in your book. Reuse them on your website and social media to reinforce your brand. 4 Give the audience a call to action. open the email, give them something to do. This is where you can say, â€Å"buy my book† or â€Å"go to my website.† Or maybe, the call to action isn’t about your product. Maybe you just want to do something fun with your audience like have them join you for a Facebook live or encourage them to live tweet the latest episode of The Bachelor. Give every newsletter a call to action to keep your audience engaged and to build their trust in your brand. 5 Integrate your e-newsletter with your social media. can arrive at your Instagram with a single click. Take advantage of this if you’re not already doing so. Then each time you get a new follower on social media, send them a link to your website with a thank you note and an opportunity to get something free if they share your content with others. something of value in exchange for their email . . . and their loyalty. Experiment with what works, but always strive to find new ways to make your newsletter more effective.

Terra Amata - Neanderthal Life on the French Riviera

Terra Amata - Neanderthal Life on the French Riviera Terra Amata is an open-air (i.e., not in a cave) Lower Paleolithic period archaeological site, located within the city limits of the modern French Riviera community of Nice, on the western slopes of Mount Boron of southeastern France. Currently at an altitude of 30 meters (about 100 feet) above modern sea-level, while it was occupied Terra Amata was located on the Mediterranean coast, near a river delta in a swampy environment. Key Takeaways: Terra Amata Archaeological Site Name: Terra AmataOccupation Dates: 427,000–364,000Culture: Neanderthals: Acheulean, Middle Paleolithic (Middle Pleistocene)Location: Within the city limits of Nice, FranceInterpreted Purpose: Red deer, wild boar, and elephant bones and tools used to butcher animals obtained by huntingEnvironment at Occupation: Beach, swampy areaExcavated: Henri de Lumley, 1960s Stone Tools Excavator Henry de Lumley identified several distinct Acheulean occupations at Terra Amata, where our hominin ancestor the Neanderthals lived on the beach, during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11, somewhere between 427,000 and 364,000 years ago. Stone tools found at the site include a variety of objects made out of beach pebbles, including choppers, chopping-tools, handaxes, and cleavers. There are a few tools made on sharp flakes (debitage), most of which are scraping tools of one sort or another (scrapers, denticulates, notched pieces). A few bifaces formed on pebbles were found in the collections and reported in 2015: French archaeologist Patricia Viallet believes the bifacial form was an accidental result from percussion on semi-hard materials, rather than the deliberate shaping of a bifacial tool. The Levallois core technology, a stone technology used by Neanderthals later in time, is not in evidence at Terra Amata. Animal Bones: What was for Dinner? Over 12,000 animal bones and bone fragments were collected from Terra Amata, about 20% of which have been identified to species. Examples of eight large-bodied mammals were butchered by the people living on the beach: Elephas antiquus (straight-tusked elephant), Cervus elaphus (red deer) and Sus scrofa (pig) were the most abundant, and Bos primigenius (auroch), Ursus arctos (brown bear), Hemitragus bonali (goat) and Stephanorhinus hemitoechus (rhinoceros) were present in lesser amounts. These animals are characteristic to MIS 11-8, a temperate period of the Middle Pleistocene, although geologically the site has been determined to fall into MIS-11. Microscopic study of the bones and their cutmarks (known as taphonomy) shows that the residents of Terra Amata were hunting red deer and transporting the entire carcasses to the site and then butchering them there. Deer long bones from Terra Amata were broken for marrow extraction, evidence of which includes depressions from being banged (called percussion cones) and bone flakes. The bones also exhibit a significant number of cut marks and striations: clear evidence that the animals were being butchered. Aurochs and young elephants were also hunted, but only the meatier portions of those carcasses were brought back from where they were killed or found to the beach- archaeologists call this behavior schlepping, from the Yiddish word. Only claws and cranial fragments of pig bones were brought back to camp, which may mean the Neanderthals scavenged the pieces rather than hunted the pigs. Archaeology at Terra Amata Terra Amata was excavated by French archaeologist Henry de Lumley in 1966, who spent six months excavating about 1,300 square feet (120 square meters). De Lumley identified about 30.5 ft (10 m) of deposits, and in addition to the large mammal bone remains, he reported evidence of hearths and huts, indicating the Neanderthals lived for quite some time on the beach. Recent investigations of the assemblages reported by Anne-Marie Moigne and colleagues identified examples of bone retouchers in the Terra Amata assemblage (as well as other Early Pleistocene Neanderthal sites Orgnac 3, Cagny-lEpinette and Cueva del Angel). Retouchers (or batons) are a type of bone tool known to have been used by later Neanderthals (during the Middle Paleolithic period MIS 7–3) to put the finishing touches on a stone tool. Retouchers are tools are not typically as frequently found in European sites in the Lower Paleolithic, but Moigne and colleagues argue that these represent the early stages of the later developed technology of soft-hammer percussion. Sources .de Lumley, Henry. A Paleolithic Camp at Nice. Scientific American 220 (1969): 33–41. Print.Moigne, Anne-Marie, et al. Bone Retouchers from Lower Palaeolithic Sites: Terra Amata, Orgnac 3, Cagny-Lepinette and Cueva del Angel. Quaternary International  (2015). Print.Mourer-Chauvirà ©, Cà ©cile, and Josette Renault-Miskovsky. Le Palà ©oenvironnement des Chasseursde Terra Amata (Nice, Alpes-Maritimes) Au Plà ©istocà ¨ne Moyen. La Flore et aa Faune de Grands Mammifà ¨res. Geobios 13.3 (1980): 279–87. Print.Trevor-Deutsch, B., and V. M. Bryant Jr. Analysis of Suspected Human Coprolites from Terra Amata, Nice, France. Journal of Archaeological Science 5.4 (1978): 387–90. Print.Valensi, Patricia. The Elephants of Terra Amata Open Air Site (Lower Paleolithic, France). The World of Elephants- International Conference. Ed. Cavarretta, G., et al.s.: C.N.R., 2001. Print.Viallet, Cyril. Bifaces Used for Percussion? Experimental Approach to Percussion Marks and Functio nal Analysis of the Bifaces from Terra Amata (Nice, France). Quaternary International  (2015). Print.

Hate running the mile in PE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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