Employer of Choice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employer of Choice - Assignment Example ng the five most important elements or criteria that I look for in a prospective employer are those factors which fit my lifestyle, accommodate my need for a personal life outside of work, and are also flexible. Health Benefits- Health insurance is becoming increasingly more important as the cost of health care continues to rise. Health insurance, though not something we use every day, can be considered a form of personal risk management, spreading risk out among a number of individuals, thereby preventing the possibility of personal catastrophe should something happen. This is a high priority when I am choosing potential employers. Opportunity for promotion and growth. With goals of moving up the corporate ladder it is important that the company that employee’s me allows me the opportunity to expand and increase my skills and abilities, preventing any position from becoming stale as I strive to take advantage of promotion opportunities and positions offering more responsibility. A wage or salary comparable to the median to upper range for the type of position that I am seeking. Because I know that I am well trained and educated in my field I expect to be compensated on a level between the median and upper level as reported by various consulting companies. A company that is financially secure and solid. A company that is well established and strong will ensure that there is less risk of layoffs, closure’s and staff reductions, while also providing more opportunity for professional growth. Edward Jones is currently seeking financial advisers and branch operators and provides extensive training in order for their employees to be successful. They also offer generous benefit packages, employees have schedules that promote a healthy family lifestyle, offer extremely competitive wages and as a company are financially solid and secure. Edward Jones is also rated number five by Fortune Magazine in 2012’s best companies to work for (Jiminez). Though Boston

Motivation and job performance of employees Essay

Motivation and job performance of employees - Essay Example We also try to identify some flaws in the ideas and implementations in the ways organisation carry out the motivation, performance appraisal and reward system. Organisations have failed to realise that employee’s needs are not consistent and numerous factors are not taken into consideration before some of these factors actually contribute in demotivating employees. The analysis hopes to prove that rewards are not directly responsible for employee motivation and motivation is essential for job performance and that rewarding employees is not in the organisations best interest. According to Bono and Judge (2003) the standard and quality of work carried out by employees usually depends on the level of motivation and commitment. The biggest asset any organisation has is its employees mainly because these are the individuals who make the difference when it comes to highly successful organisations and not so successful ones; this applies to both senior and junior employees. The relationship which exists between employer and employee in terms of driving the business forward has been largely based on the employers ability to motivate his employees to excel in their various departments within the organization ( Linder, 1998). Burr and Cordery (2003) suggest that motivation plays a critical role in job performance of employees; organizations are constantly inventing new ways through which motivation can always be maintained at its highest, since it has a direct effect on employee attitude towards work. The heart of any work force lies with its employees, so it is imperative performance catalyst be introduced however and whenever seems fit. The blind side of motivation is that it tends to assume that motivation is predominantly based on rewards or benefits which are gained by employees who perform satisfactory. In the past organizations have laid emphasis

Building Luxury Apartments In Colombo Construction Essay

Building Luxury Apartments In Colombo Construction Essay It is proposed to set up a BOI registered joint-venture company to build luxury apartments in Colombo. The entire project can be done in three phases while this proposal will primarily address Phase I. This involves the purchase of 83 perches of pre-identified land. The subsequent phases will involve the purchase of 85 perches and 100 perches of land respectively. (Survey Plan Appendix part D) The number of units to be constructed for Phase I will be 123 units in a 30-storey tower and will be aimed at the mainly local buyers in the middle to upper income brackets, as well as Sri Lankan expatriates. The preliminary works for Phase I will take about 12 months, including pre-sales of apartments and collection of deposits. The construction period is expected to be 30 months. Phase II will involve 177 units in a 35-storey tower and Phase III will involve 263 units in a 45-storey tower. Phase I of the project is based on an average construction cost of Rs9,030 per sq.ft while the average selling price is expected to be Rs25,800 per sq.ft. The construction will only commence upon reaching secured sales through deposits amounting to 50% of the construction cost by sales value. The capital required for Phase I is Rs650mn (Rs235 mn being in cash and Rs415 mn being land value) where the cash is sufficient to cover consultants fees, marketing expenses and CMC fees during the first 12 months, up to push-button. The project is expected to generate a profit of Rs777.8 mn for Phase I. If the same capital is retained in the company, Phase II can generate Rs1,850.3mn and Phase III of Rs3,325.8 mn. Background This proposal aims to capitalize on the buoyant market for affordable, yet luxury, condominiums within the Colombo city limits. In this regard, it is proposed to set up a joint-venture company for the purpose of raising equity capital to acquire land and develop a luxury condominium project. This project in to be located in the heart of downtown Colombo and is to be developed in three phases, with the land to be acquired already been identified. This proposal addresses the development of Phase I of this project, while the remaining Phases can be developed along similar lines. The project will be developed and promoted by experienced professionals with a proven track record in the property development market. Project Plan Pre-project Planning Approval of project Collect relevant market information and trends, analyze best fit for available land base / land that may become available in future, supervise the preparation of preliminary project evaluation document for presentation at Board of Management (BoM), get approval for sending out Architects brief, Guide the team in preparing architects brief; study and modify preliminary design provided by architect in line with market trends; make a presentation to BoM on the project in order to get the required approvals for commencement of pre-sales and necessary funding for this purpose MEASUREMENT CRITERIA Quantitative/Qualitative Total time taken from project conceptualization through project feasibility through project evaluation to presentation; Number of project presentations made to BoM; success rate of presentations Pre-Sales of Project and Approval to Commence Construction Supervise the preparation of legal documentation / collateral / show flat / advertising and promotional plans; Selection of Consultant / Project Manager Firm; Initiate work with the local consultants, including Project Manager towards obtaining building approvals in order to meet push button threshold and necessary statutory building approvals. MEASUREMENT CRITERIA -Quantitative/Qualitative Actual Sales against Target Project Construction Implementation On achieving required sales threshold, make presentation to BoM for approval of project construction phase, monitor project progress weekly, authorize project payments, variations, extensions of time, negotiate with contractors on modifications in order to ensure quality and timely completion of project within approved budget. MEASUREMENT CRITERIA -Quantitative/Qualitative Project as per Specifications; Cost Overrun; Time Overrun Sales and Collections Review achievement of sales targets; if required, initiate necessary actions to meet targets; monitor timely remittances of customers payment tranches in order to ensure planned revenue recognition. MEASUREMENT CRITERIA -Quantitative/Qualitative Actual Receipts against Target Project Closure Obtain necessary statutory approvals and execute all necessary legal documentation in time, full-fill customer expectations in order to deliver customer satisfaction, and enhance company reputation. MEASUREMENT CRITERIA -Quantitative/Qualitative Customer Feedback; Repeat Business from existing customers Construction Strategy Design Considerations The project will aim to maximize the plot coverage to ensure efficient use of the land. Given the site size, location, road frontage and road width, the maximum permitted plot coverage as per existing regulations of 50% will be utilized. The design will be based on a fixed mix of apartments (i.e. not a modular design) as this will bring in design efficiencies and cost savings. The design will be essentially a reinforced concrete structure with locally procured materials (such as granite, tiles etc) while more expensive imported fitments and fittings will be procured in keeping with the market positioning of the condominiums. The design will also involve cost savings through efficient ME design (such as split-type air conditioning as opposed to central air conditioning) as well as other means to contain costs. Careful attention will be paid to ensure smooth operational considerations from car parking arrangements to easy maintenance of the building. Efficient energy and water usage will also be important given the high cost of electricity while pipe-borne potable water is in short supply. Further, it is proposed to have the car parking above ground at podium level as this will avoid the need for expensive basement construction. Costing This project will be on a BOI duty free basis and will be subject to 15% VAT. The target overall construction cost for Phase I of this development is expected to be about Rs9,030 per sq.ft. (which excludes land costs, consultancy fees and contingencies). Timeline It is estimated that the finalization of designs will take 8 months while obtaining all the regulatory approvals will take an additional 4 months. Sales will run concurrently while waiting for regulatory approval. As such, it is estimated that push-button will be about 12 months from the inception of this project. It is estimated that it will take 30 months for completing construction of Phase I from the time of push-button. Risk Factors and Mitigating Measures Demand / Pricing Risk Supply and demand of luxury apartments in the market will determine pricing. The supply of apartments within Colombo city is growing, but is also constrained to some extent due to lack of availability of suitable tracts of land. Meanwhile, the demand for apartments continues to grow from the Sri Lankan middle and upper middle class as they migrate to the city to be closer to their work place due to increasing traffic congestion and poor infrastructure. Sri Lankan families also wish to be closer to childrens schools, hospitals and other services. Given that the infrastructure is failing to keep up with the growth in the urban population, demand for condominiums in the heart of the city will continue to grow. This should help to underpin prices. However, there is the risk that if the local economy slows down, it will adversely affect apartment sales. Further, a poor investment climate and falling tourism will curtail purchases from overseas buyers as well. In situations such as this, an over supply of apartments can lead to price cutting by developers to sell their inventory of apartments. To mitigate the risk from over supply and price cutting, this project has two mitigating measures. The first is to ensure that the pre-determined sales target has been secured before push-button. The second is to phase out the development into three, thereby limiting the risk to one phase at a time. Cost Risk Costs on a project such as this will be affected by domestic inflation and the exchange rate of the SL Rupee. As both of these factors cannot be directly controlled, it is proposed that this project be worked on a fixed-price contract for the construction. This will effectively pass on the risk of cost increases to the contractor. Further, as this development will be done in phases, it has the benefit of having a shorter timeframe for each phase and thus being able to limit the fixed price premium. Duration Risk The risk that the project construction gets delayed is very real. This could arise due to a number of reasons, including poor management/cash-flow by the contractor, unavailability of skilled labour, shortage of materials (such as bricks etc.) amongst others. To mitigate this risk that arises from any delay, only short-listed contractors with good reputations will be invited to tender for this project, preferably with their own directly employed labour. In addition, professional project managers will be hired to manage the project on behalf of the developer. Interest Rate Risk Interest rates have been rising and this will affect the ability of potential apartment buyers to finance a purchase through a mortgage. Although this risk cannot be directly avoided, as this project will be focusing on the affordable segment of the market, it should still enable customers to buy an apartment. Further, the payments will be staggered through the construction of the project. Indeed, this project has the advantage that as the land will be acquired through the equity infusion, the need for a large deposits/tranches from buyers at the start can be avoided as a further incentive to buy. Company Structure Capital Requirement It is proposed to raise equity capital to cover the cost of the land acquisition for Phase I, the cost of Consultancy , Marketing costs and CMC fees over the first 12 months of the project upto push-button. The required capital is thus Rs650 mn, of which Rs235 mn being in cash, the rest being value of the land. A breakdown of these costs is given below. Rs (mn) Consultancy Costs 62 Marketing Costs 33 Pre-Contract works 29 CMC Fees 111 235 Land cost 415 650 The project will not rely on long-term borrowings to raise capital. However, short-term cash shortfalls are to be met through bank overdrafts. Equity Structure It is proposed to set up a BOI registered joint-venture company for the purpose of this development. The required capital is to be raised through a private placement. The promoters of this project will be entitled to 2% of the equity. The final structure of the company will be as follows. Equity Investors 98.0% Promoters 2.0% 100.0% Key Assumptions Land cost of Rs5 mn per perch Exchange rate at start of development of Rs110 Phase I Phase II Phase III Land Extent (perches) 83 86 100 No. of Units 123 177 263 Parking Amenities levels 5 6 7 Apartment levels 25 30 38 Total No. of Storeys 30 36 45 Average Cost of construction Rs 9,030 psf Rs9,800 psf Rs10,635 psf Time for construction 30 months 36 months 45 months Aver. selling price (inc. VAT) Rs25,806 psf Rs27,703 psf Rs30,921 psf Period to sell out units 25 months 30 months 38 months

An Approach to Introducing Ambient Music :: Graduate Admissions Essays

An Approach to Introducing Ambient Music John Cage (1912-1992) presents an attractive challenge to a music GSI teaching a class of non-majors. As much an idea man as a pen-on-paper composer, Cage proposed through his writings and artistic approach that all sound, whether deliberate or accidental, whether inside or outside of the concert hall, is in fact a macro-series of musical events. In effect, according to this way of thinking, all ambient sound is music. Considering the way most of us have been brought up to think about music, this is a significant imaginative leap as well as an important door to open for those who might not come across the idea elsewhere. It began on a whim during one particular session: while the students were busily at work on an unrelated quiz, I took dictation from the auditory environment in the classroom. That is, I wrote down (as one might write down music) the inadvertent sounds made by the students as they wrote the test. This is a sound world familiar to all teachers: the students, suddenly resolute, are anxiously scribbling away and producing involuntary sounds: sighs, grunts, low moans, inhalations, ruffling, pencil-clicks and chair-squeaks. Incorporating the low hum of the ventilation system, I compiled the sounds into a neat musical score by drawing the sounds as they occurred over a twenty-second time span. I then titled my piece "Twenty Seconds of Music 20A Taking a Quiz." The following week, at a strategic point in a discussion on Cage's works and ideas, we listened as a class to the ambient sounds surrounding us in the room. As always, the variety and richness of these sounds was surprising. I asked them: "Is this music?" Most said no. I then handed out photocopies of my score discussed above and posed my question again. At this point, there was some discussion: now that there was musical intent in my creating a piece, about one third of the room felt that these sounds were in fact "music". Finally, we recreated the ambient sounds I recorded by "performing" the piece as a class. Dividing the parts up as one would for a choir, we assigned some students as the "chair-squeakers", some as the "sighers", some as the "inhalers", and one (who had been the student who had clicked his mechanical pencil during the actual dictation) as the "pencil-clicker".

Regency Grand Hotel Bangkok

In the earner set-up. He employees were expected to follow the orders of their managers without questioning them. Initiatives to solve problems at personal level were discouraged and it led to lack of innovation and risk-averse behavior. Eventually, the hotel staff got accustomed to the style of management over the past fifteen years, and it made the work go smoothly with minimal number of conflicts. The practice reduced the bureaucratic governance that was embedded in the past management.The employees were now able to get involved In decision making, creature, and innovation. Interaction with top management was also encouraged. Backer's policy however did not improve the performance of the organization, he spent a great deal of time solving employee problems, there was an increase in the number of complaints by customers and an increase in mistakes made by the employees. The performance of the organization therefore deteriorated. However, the recent sale of the hotel to a new Americ an group Introduced an altogether new style of administration to the employees.The management style of the new GM was entirely opposite to what the staff was familiar to, and it caused problems bringing the hotel's performance and reputation down the drain. Symptoms & Causes of Deterioration of Performance: Symptoms & Causes of Deterioration of Performance, Cultural factors, Communication factors, Staff performance: 1 . Personality and organizational fit 2. Job design and role ambiguity 3. Espoused and enacted values Power hierarchy &: decision making process 4. Stress 5. Absenteeism, 6. High staff turnover and 7.Job satisfaction Major Issues In the case Major issues in the case Organizational change inadequately managed. The differences in the newly merged workforce with dissimilar profiles had not been addressed. Following this, Becker did not employ a communication strategy that supported the dissimilarity between management and employees and their different cultures. I en unc lear calicles making process Ana power annularly. Lack AT proper analysis of the chances of success of the strategy of empowerment. Lack of proper coordination within the management team, when trying to implement the empowerment strategy.The Hotel also faced the challenge of social emotional conflicts among employees. Contingencies of power such as source of power were not clearly outlined. These issues resulted in high levels of stress, absenteeism and remover. An overview of the problems occurred Junior and senior managers feel losing power because of the practice of empowerment. Most of the managers waste time on dealing with minor issues. The general manager John Becker is sick of giving minor decision instructions to his subordinates.Motivation Motivation Motivation is a fundamental aspect of improving the quality of performance of the work force. The Regency Hotel management aimed at developing motivation among employees. However the employees were not motivated. Increased fru stration, stress, Job dissatisfaction and high turnover were some of the factors that immemorial employees. Encouraging innovativeness and creativity among employees is an essential component of a successful organization. The free environment provided by the organization was not effectively utilized by the employees.The performance of the organization depreciated as a result. Motivated staff Improved performance of organization Empowerment Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of the individuals. It often involves the empowerment developing confidence in their capacities. In some situations empowerment could motivate employees. The problem n the hotel is the measurement of a major or a minor issue. There is not a definition or standard states what a major issue is. Actually employee needs to know what he/ she can touch and what he/she cannot.Conflict comes when the management disagrees with the employees' view. For example, a guest go es to the front-counter people and asks for a room upgrade. The front-counter boy thinks he could do that without approval from his superiority the front-counter manager may think it is a big issue because it would affect the profit of the business. What the front-counter boy has done may annoy the front-counter manager. Issues ; Consequences After Empowerment Empowerment can be described as People having the skills and the self-belief to proactively deal with issues and make the most of the opportunities available to them. UT soon after the execution of empowerment Becker realism that things are not going according to his expectation because staff of regency grant don't know what is empowerment? Because they use to work as per their manager order in the previous management they are not allowed to innovate & generate anything new ,Ana were Electorates Day teen sensor managers Ana rater all tens teen note want o take risk and get punished by the management but general manger back in America was working in a empowered environment where staff has a power of decision making & can take minor decision on their own . Classically it's a cultural difference between management and staff, where people+ from Thailand believe in team work and management is from America who believes in individuality they believe that they can do anything unaccompanied which was the first issue. Outcomes Of The Failure Of Empowerment Due to failure of empowerment hotel regency grand was losing its profit, client's and tutus in Bangkok as well as it's intangible assets like market value and quality standards began to decline.Becker thought that empowerment will help his hotel to earn more profit and guest satisfaction but his strategies backfired on the hotel reputation, resulting in the decline of the overall Performance of the hotel. It was for the first time that there were an increase in number of guest complaints both verbally and in written. Guest started complaining about the services provided to them and above all disgrace in the news paper as one of the Sais's nightmare hotel. Criticism about service standards of the hotel, Staffs were also not happy takes it to the inequity among the employees.Back biting among employees was commonly seen now and good working atmosphere was harshly strained. Lack of team spirits among the employees now they were against each other when mistakes were made by any employee. Unclear power hierarchy Unclear power hierarchy Another major issue encountered at the Regency Grand Hotel which affected the organizational culture was the problem of unclear power hierarchies which lead to staff not understanding their role clearly in the decision making process. Employees were given empowerment but this proved to be problematic as staff were unable to discern between what constituted a major or minor problem.Staff found that in many cases when they did make a decision it was later overturned by supervisors. One part of the process of empowe rment is impact. â€Å"Empowered employees view themselves as active participants in the organization; that is, their decisions and actions have an influence on the company's success† (Ms Shame, 2008, p. 185). Becker introduced empowerment but this part of the process was distorted as the employees felt that their decisions were not valued and often overturned. Additionally, Becker stated he would not tolerate the same mistake twice.Staff now found it easier to revert back to their old ways of passing all problems over to their supervisors. This was directly counteractive to the plan of â€Å"allocating more decision-making authority to front line employees† (Machines, 2008, p. 192). This further reduced the effect of empowerment. Job Design and Role Ambiguity Job Design and Role Ambiguity Employees were uncertain of the types of issues that were to be considered â€Å"Minor† and â€Å"Major†. Without clarification, they continued to refer problems to man agement.Jobs that have ambiguous demands, Jobs that have too many demands, and Jobs that do not allow the employee to participate in work related echelons are Kelly to anneal attempts at stressful performance, tenured frustrating higher order needs† (Behr, Walsh ; Table, 1976, 42). This frustration results in reduced effort and motivation. They go further to state that â€Å"Effort toward quality is related to role ambiguity in that concern with the quality of one's work is not maintained if it is unclear what constitutes task success†(Behr et al, 1974, 46).Supervisors were unsure and reversed employee decisions to refer them on to higher evils of management. Role Conflict: The front-line staff were expected to experiment and be creative in dealing with situations at work, but were only allowed to make a mistake once. This resulted in reduced learning capacity as employees began behaving defensively in order to avoid reprimands for errors. Reduced Job Satisfaction: Incr ease in customer complaints, increase in absenteeism and employee turnover. Intra-organizational relationships suffered as trust was lost and fear reigned.Poor reviews due to declining levels of customer service. Role Ambiguity Role ambiguity Role ambiguity was another issue for the Hotel. Role ambiguity can be defined as a lack of information needed to perform the role (Pearce, 1981; Cooper et al. , 2001). This issue can lead to many problems. â€Å"Employees who experience role ambiguity tend to perform at lower levels than employees who have a clear understanding of Job requirements and what is expected of them. Likewise, role ambiguity is reflected in employees' uncertainty concerning appropriate actions in commonly occurring Job situations.It explicitly results when employees are not clear concerning the amount of authority they have and when they do not know others' Job reference expectations Job design According to the Job characteristics model, employees are more motivated and satisfied when Jobs have higher levels of characteristics. People have different skills, it is important to put the right person into the right position. A few employees of the hotel were transferred to other positions when the acquisition was done.They might not have the abilities to complete the full range of the new work. Recommendations Recommendations for introduction into the Regency Grand Hotel In addition to the exercise, relaxation techniques and learning and development solutions, it is commended that Employee Assistance Programs be introduced to the Hotel, this program offers employees a service whereby challenging situations can be discussed with counselors and psychologists who can provide tools that will embed coping mechanisms (Traveler and Protocol, 2005).Recommended stress reducing strategies Physical activities Relaxation techniques Learning and development solutions Employee assistance program O The remedy for the situations that have evolved within the hotel is to clearly define each person's role and make them aware of the importance their part plays in the overall operation of the hotel. Ensure employees are aware AT tenet irresponsibleness Ayatollah to Attlee want Is a major Ana melon problem and make it clear to members of staff who has the power to make decisions at each level, would also be of great assistance.For example if a problem arises at the front counter with a customer which would incur a minimal cost to the organization this could be handled by reception staff with little impact on the supervisor and within a much faster time frame causing less inconvenience to already disgruntled customers. This could be achieved by removal of the ‘same mistake twice rule' that Becker introduced. In this way employees would truly feel empowered to make decisions that would have an impact on the organization thereby feeling that they were an important part in the hierarchy that exists in the hotel.Address Managerial / Supervisory l evel employees' concerns at losing power. Reward them for encouragement and development of front-line team results. Conclusion The majority of problems experienced during the acquisition of the Regency Hotel may have been avoided or at least reduced dramatically through effective communication strategies, incorporating a comprehensive feedback loop to ensure understanding of changes and new requirements on an organizational level as well as individual level for all employees.Cultural, personal and organizational aspects should be taken into account; and changes to Job design and Job roles should be made clear to ensure successful adoption of the new system. At this stage, the Regency hotel is in a state of flux, with reduction in staff retention, profit and reputation. Effective change management strategies as outlined in this presentation should now be introduced to assist the employees to build a new Organizational Culture and incorporate the Empowerment strategy.

Persuasive Essay on Global Warming Essay

Recent news all around us gives rise to much concern about global warming. Personally, I am alarmed at the rate that the earth is now deteriorating. For example, there is the fact that the second warmest global surface temperature in more than a century was recorded in 2001. News such as these should not only affect me, but the entire world. Starting from individuals like me, every little effort towards avoiding global warming would count and make a difference. On this note, it is nice to learn that there are many groups and institutions that actually endeavor to develop new technologies that could help prevent global warming. The whole world should join in this effort to save the environment. There are many issues that are bothering the human population nowadays, such as terrorism, war, economy, and others. However, there is no other issue that so pervades human consciousness recently than the issue on global warming. Many celebrities and international organizations are exerting efforts to build awareness around the world that there is a real danger to our planet, and that the time is ripe for all to take action. Everyone should be concerned about global warming, especially considering the various deleterious effects it poses on life in the planet. The gravity of the situation calls upon nations, as big movers and possessors of power in large scale, to put more effort into developing new technologies to prevent further global warming. On the small scale, recent news on global warming should be enough to wake everyone from slumber and do their part in saving our environment, which is becoming more dangerous because of continued global warming. The gravity of the current situation is shown by the fact that the second warmest global surface temperature in more than a century was recorded in 2001. Previous decades, particularly the period between 1951 and 1980, registered cooler climates. This trend of warmer climates is seen as a consequence of anthropogenic causes such as the emission of greenhouse gases (Hansen, Ruedy, Sato, and Lo 275). Such trend is alarming and should wake people up from their inaction, because the recent calculations of temperature increase foretell the possibility of even greater temperature in the coming years (King 780). Moreover, as the facts recorded at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hilo, Hawaii tell, carbon dioxide levels consistently rise at a rate of about 2 p.p.m. per annum (King 780). These data show a marked increase in the rate of carbon dioxide levels, that are way above recorded levels in previous warm periods (King 780). These facts also show how warm global temperature has gotten since the last century, which further confirm the realization of the greenhouse effect theory (King 780). It is appropriate to note that the theory of climate change can be traced as far back as 1827, when a French mathematician named Fourier thought about the possibility that the earth may be absorbing the heat that should be sent back to space (King 779). At the time, Fourier built upon the observation of British scientist Tyndall that minority gases in our atmosphere, namely, carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor, cause the greenhouse effect (King 779). This theory is fast demonstrating its reality, as shown by the above observations. Globally, there are observed environmental changes that have become worse in time. Among these are deforestation, greenhouse gas-induced warming, loss in biodiversity, and desertification (Grimmond 83). These environmental changes are caused largely by the rapid increase in human population (Grimmond 83). The effects of all these environmental changes are being felt both in large and small scale. The effects of these changes in small scale climate change can be seen at the urban level, wherein broader environmental changes are being felt in greater magnitude (Grimmond 83). Urban climates have changed. Among the effects of urbanization on climate are the alteration of energy and water exchanges and airflow due to surface and atmospheric changes and urban warming due to direct anthropogenic emissions of heat, pollutants and carbon dioxide (Grimmond 83). While there are some cities that can be considered lucky, because their large spaces of irrigated greenspace provide cooler temperature, a majority of the cities experience up to a 10-degree-Celsius difference in temperature (Grimmond 83). The materials chosen and used in the construction of buildings and other infrastructure in urban locations and other factors such as the distances between such structures all contribute to urban warming (Grimmond 86). The morphology of cities, particularly in terms of the width, height and density of the buildings therein, affect solar access in daytime and the cooling rates at night (Grimmond 83). Unfortunately, urban warming has grave implications to inhabitants, such as those relating to their well-being, health and comfort (Grimmond 86). Compared to rural environments, urban locations are warmer by an average of 1 to 3 degrees Celsius (Grimmond 83). One of the scariest implications of urban warming is felt mostly by the poor (Grimmond 87). For example, heat waves swept all over India in 1998 and caused injuries and deaths (Grimmond 87). The same catastrophe occurred in France and Spain in 2003 (Grimmond 87). With regard to the effect of urban warming on human comfort, there is involved a vicious cycle. The intense heat makes people uncomfortable. Thus, they would want to use airconditioning systems (Grimmond 87). The increase use of airconditioning, on the other hand, generates more heat and demands more energy through increased generation of electricity, which again would cause increased urban warming (Grimmond 87). Indeed, this is not an unjustified fear. The increased use of airconditioning had already been observed in large continents such as Asia, Europe and North America (Grimmond 87). Such increased demand has been observed to cause amplified electricity generation (Grimmond 87). This, in turn, results in the production of more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which again leads to intensified global warming (Grimmond 87). With the continued abuse by people of the environment and the continued generation of heat, risks greater than the heat waves experienced in many countries are very likely to arise (Grimmond 87). It may be considered that the contribution of urban development and urban warming to the global scenario is small; however, the dangers tat urban warming poses should not be ignored (Grimmond 87). Gases from urban areas, such as pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are the leading anthropogenic sources of global warming (Grimmond 87). Moreover, as discussed above, the experience of warmer climate in the cities lead to increased consumption of energy, which again causes global warming (Grimmond 87). The combinations of many factors, including those occurring in urban zones, would surely give rise to global consequences and implications (Grimmond 87). It is important, in any effort to convince people into action, to make them understand the implications at stake (Grimmond 87). The strategies towards solving the problem of global warming cover a wide range, and any move should involve the participation of all stakeholders (Grimmond 87). For example, in the community level, each person can do his small but significant part in mitigating global warming, by avoiding or minimizing the use of airconditioning in order to reduce consumption of energy. Reduced demand for airconditioning would lead to decreased demand in energy supply, which would lead to less production of greenhouse gases (Grimmond 87). Thus, a simple act of minimizing the comforts of the modern world could do wonders in preventing further global warming. The threat of continued and sustained global should be enough to raise concerns among all people, because of the extreme events that we should be prepared for as a consequence of global warming (King 780). For one, global warming causes more water vapor to remain in the atmosphere, which is exactly what the greenhouse effect means (King 780). Increased water vapor is a result of increases in the level of carbon dioxide in the air, and comes alongside the increase of temperature in the seas and the earth (King 780). Deforestation is another negative effect of global warming (King 780; Saxe, et al.). The increased temperature leads to decreased rainfall, which leads to dryer conditions and more forest fires (King 780; Saxe, et al.). Increased global heat contributes to easier catching up of large fires in the forest. In turn, deforestation again increases global warming, like a vicious cycle. Deforestation deprives the planet of vital carbon sinks, which are required to balance the global carbon budget (Saxe, et al. 389). Fortunately, this can be reversed through the planting of more trees and building more density in the forests, in order to counter the production and existence of carbon in the atmosphere (Saxe, et al. 389-390). Global warming can also cause the loss of the Greenland ice sheet (King 780). This would cause serious problems because it could raise the sea level around the globe by approximately 7 meters over a period of about a thousand years (King 780). It could also cause enhanced retreat of glaciers in some places (King 780). Further effects of global warming can also be observed in the oceans, through increased acidity (King 780). The increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere cause a corresponding increase of the same in oceans, thereby increasing their acidity (King 780). Thus, there are already observed effects on coral reefs and plankton population, while wider impact on marine life and on the food chain is yet to be observed (King 780). To date, a documented total of 17 coral reef ecosystems have been found to be degraded around the world. This is a huge blow to the planet, since it is estimated that â€Å"coral reefs provide support to ecosystems worth more than $375 billion per annum to the global economy (King 780).† These terrible consequences should be enough to make everyone concerned about global warming and its deleterious effects on all aspects of life in the planet (King 780). People should be concerned about destroying life and support systems in different ecosystems, which would eventually affect human lives. Having seen the scary possibilities that come alongside global warming, everyone should join the movement towards making this planet greener and healthier. People should be moved by stories of forest fires, destruction of ecosystems, and deaths due to heat waves, that are occurring all over the world (King 780; Saxe, et al. 389). The planet is becoming less safe with each passing day that people live in ignorance of the damage they are causing the environment. Continuous apathy and inaction could lead to more catastrophic deaths and further destruction of the planet, which possibilities should raise alarm and concern in all mankind. Each person can definitely do his share in minimizing the anthropogenic causes of global warming. We have seen how a simple act of minimizing the consumption of airconditioning could have positive effects on the environment. It is time that each of us does our share to save our home. This is the only way that future generations could still enjoy earth as we know it. Works Cited Grimmond, Sue. â€Å"Urbanization and global environmental change: local effects of urban warming.† Cities and Global Environmental Change: 83-88. Hansen, J., Ruedy, R., Sato, M., and K. Lo. â€Å"Global Warming Continues.† Science, New Series 295 (2002):275. Kellomaki, Seppo, Rouvinen, Ismo, Peltola, Heli, Strandman, Harri and Rainer Steinbrecher. â€Å"Impact of global warming on the tree species composition of boreal forests in Finland and effects on emissions of isoprenoids. Global Change Biology 7 (2001): 531-544. King, David. â€Å"Climate change: the science and the policy.† Journal of Applied Ecology 42 (2005): 779-783. Saxe, Henrik, Cannell, Melvin G. R., Johnsen, Oystein, Ryan, Michael G., Vourlitis, George. â€Å"Tree and forest functioning in response to global warming.† New Phytologist 149 (2001): 369-400.

Thought and Husband Essay

Thought and Husband Essay Thought and Husband Essay Colleen Bowden Barriers To Critical Thinking HUM/114 August 25, 2014 Pamela Strunk There are many barriers to critical thinking. The ones that I feel are barriers for myself are anger, stress and depression. These three barriers can cause a person to not be able to correctly critically think about a specific situation they are in. Anger. The first barrier that I feel hinders my critical thinking. I’m going to use an example with my husband to best describe this barrier. Let’s say I am having a bad week all around, work, home, kids, school, everything is just not going right for me. Then we add on the sink full of dishes, the dirty floor that has not been swept or vacuumed all week and the mound of laundry in each room of the house. Meanwhile, my husband is watching his favorite shows or movies or playing on his phone. I work full time, going to school full time and have two little ones, I could use help around the house. Not realizing that I am overwhelmed at the current moment, my husband doesn’t think anything of it. I let the sink full of d ishes sit there because I want to â€Å"show him† I am not going to do it, but I am upset with him about it already. The next day the dishes are still there, then the same for the following day. I just blow up. My anger gets so heated that I cannot think rationally and think things through. What I should do to overcome this barrier is from the get go, have good communication with my husband. Let him know off the bat that my week is not going so well and that I am feeling overwhelmed and that I would love to have extra help this week. That right there can stop anything else from happening during the week to have me go postal on him for something so small and minor. Let’s say I do get to that point that I am that mad, I need to take a breather. Step back, leave the room or the house for a minute and cool down. Collect my thoughts and find out what it is that is making me so angry, is it that there is a sink full of dishes? Or maybe that I am feeling so overwhelmed and ne ed help. Then go talk to my husband about it instead of blowing up at him over something that was not his fault. Stress can cause a person to not be able to critically think. I know when I am feeling overwhelmed and have a lot going on and I am stressed out I cannot think straight. I think irrationally and think of a â€Å"quick† fix to things that are overwhelming me or stressing me out. Right now, to overcome

buy custom Hostile Takeovers essay

buy custom Hostile Takeovers essay Introduction Hostile takeovers have over the years taken the role of keeping corporate management in check. This is because to add the shareholders value, corporate raiders often change the management team once the buyout is complete. For this reason, hostile takeovers often solicit negative reactions from target corporate management. Corporations when taken over through buyouts are restructured to enhance wealth. Hostile takeovers can be described as unsolicited purchase of one firm by another. The buyer is referred to as the acquirer or the bidder, while the company that is bought out is referred to as the target. Unlike friendly takeovers where a buyout often ends improving the corporate status of the buyer and target in hostile takeovers not both corporations end up better off. Schwert ( 2000 ) argues that hostile bids are often perceived as threats by the targeted companies. Because of this negative perception the target management reacts defensively towards the unsolicited bid. Schwert ( 20 00 ) further argues that hostile take overs can be beneficial to the shareholders when redudant management teams are replaced, since operations improve.In a hostile takeovers the details of buyout can be made become public by either the buyer or the target. The buyer can make his bid public in order to force the negotiation. The target firm on the other hand, can make the details public in bid to resist the take over. The target can also go public in order to solicit multiple bids and push for better prices. Given such undertakings, hostile takeovers often attract both negative and a positive perception from the various stakeholders. However ,in cases where the takeover threats increase the companys share prices,such news is often welcomed by the shareholders and other market players. Buyers often go public with their intention to takeover the target ,when private negotiations fail. They can also go public if they perceive their offer being rejected. By making their intentions publi c ,buyers put pressure on target firms managers by informing the target firms shareholders of their options. When the details of the offer become public target management teams can use the information as a means of attracting better offers. Targets, therefore, the publicity that often accompany takeover threats, to attract better prices. In the process the target management team can get better offers from other bidders. Problem statement Hostile takeovers can be used to ckeck management excess in corporations,However, this role is often curtailed by the interest that drives the hostile takeover bid. Hostile takeovers can ,therefore ,be beneficial or disadvantageous to shareholders. Briefly define the concept of corporate governance In the modern world corporations have become powerful dominant entities with tentacles in each corner of the planet. Today business are seen to be more powerful that governments. Indeed, governments are nowadays perceived to be serving the interest of the corporate world. For this reason most corporation seek more power by increasing their operation and entering new markets. This has seen more corporations use the various tools available to them to enlarge the range of their business. This is especially so, in this era of globalization where successful corporations have operations in all corner of the globe. This means that in the last few decades, business organizations have acquired rivals, merged with competition and taken over vulnerable completion in a bid to catch up with the globalization frenzy. As such the global business environment has turned into an arena of intense competition, where it is fair play to exploit all weaknesses of competing entities. In addition, all the av enues available to ensure competitive advantage is maintained are exploited. These include management strategies intended to run corporations more efficiently and reduce costs so as to maximize profitability. The current business environment, therefore, has been increasingly getting competitive forcing business to adopt various strategies to remain ahead of their competition. Gompers, Ishii, Metrick ( 2003) argue that in order to survive, business organizations today require corporate management strategies, which will see them remain competitive. This has seen various organizations adopt varied strategies to survive. One of the most touted strategies is the good corporate governance strategy. Corporate governance entails making a decision and implementing the best choices. Most corporations today have wider ownership, which leaves the management teams with the roles of overseeing the organization on behalf of their many shareholders. These roles, of overseeing the day to day runnin g of organizations are entrusted to management teams who act on behalf of shareholders by making the necessary decisions and overseeing their implementation. Caton and Goh ( 2009) argue that managers are agents who oversee the daily running of organizations on behalf of the shareholders. To secure the interest of their varied owners, managers employ corporate governance strategies that add value to their shareholders investiment. Corporate governance can be reffered to as the process of making and implementing the best decisions in organization. This process as mentioned earlier ,is entrusted to management teams, whose role is to direct organizations on behalf of the shareholders. However ,the corporate governance strategies that organizations employ can vary from one corporation to the next. Corporate governance operates on the principle that managers or shareholders agents, will act in the best way that brings maximum value to their shareholder investiment. This therefore means that ,Corporate governance can be defined in a number of ways and may differ from one organization to the next (Jensen Meckling, 1976). The principles that govern corporate governance ,however largerly remain the same. So ,despite various definations the function of corporate governance is to oversee the competent running of organizations. By observing the laws governing the various states they operate in, a the regulatory framework guiding the operations of the organization. Moreover ,most coporations today have set objectivesand goals that are outlined in their vision and mission statement. Corporate governance entails fulfilling the set goals ensuring that an organizations mission is fulfilled while observing the corporate culture adopted. One such defination is by OECD ,according to their defination corporate governance is a set of relationship between an organizations management, the organizations board ,the stakeholders and the organization shareholders (Bhimani, 2008). They view these relationships as providing the structural framework in an organization, to enable its achieve the organizations set objectives. The relationship also involves monitoring the performance to determine whether the objectives are met. Although, the stakeholders such as suppliers and creditors are often recognized ,corporate governance is mostly seen as related to shareholders and managers (Scharfstein, 1988). According to Bhim ani (2008) managers are driven by self interest and at time undertake huge risks. On the other hand, he argues that the shareholders are only interested in maximum returns. Given such behaviour ,it is possible to understand why large corporations fail. Management team can fail to achieve an organizations set objectives for several reasons. Such reasons include, immense pressure to deliver their shareholders expectations, therefore, undertaking risky projects. Self serving behaviour, can also lead to failure especially if managers acts for their benefit, rather, than serving the interest of their shareholders. To ensure that shareholders and stakeholders are not undercharged, organization management teams are expected to follow good coporate gorvanance practices (Bhimani, 2008). However , this is easisly said than done. Bhimani( 2008) argues that for an organization to meet their goals and maximize their shareholders value , agood regulator framework should be in place. Agency theory and coporate governance The agency theory determines the relationship between shareholders and the corporation management. According to the theory managers acts as agents for the shareholders. The agency theory reduces corporations into an entity involving the shareholders and their agents or more appropriately the management team. This theory simplyfies the relationships that exist in any given bussiness organizations. In that, it views corporate governance relations from the mangers and the shareholders perspective.as earlier noted corporate governance is a set of relationship between an organizations management, the organizations board ,the stakeholders and the other organization shareholders (Bhimani, 2008). These other stakeholders can range from regulators,creditors,suppliers,distributors, consumers,employees to the general public. They hold a stake in organizations , in that its behaviour can affect them directly or indirectly. It is ,therefore, in the interst of all these stakeholders that corporati ons be governed in a manner that remuneration all those concerned. The agency theory seeks to explain corporate governance from a more simplified perspect. The theory, therefore, view corporate governance as a beneficial relationship between the management and the shareholders. In other words managers are employed or appointed by shareholders to protect their investiments by overseeing eeficient daya to day running or their corporation (Bhimani, 2008). Corporate governance theories and hostile takeovers Several theories have been formulated to help explain corporate governance. In their paper Heath Norman (2004), argue that in absences of an effective regulator framework, corporate failures such asEnron can easily be repeated. Such huge failures ,have demostrated that greedy human nature, can easilytake over and run down even the big coporations. The self serving nature of management teams is evident in such failures ,where the interest of shareholders comes second to self interest. As such, various tools should be employed to help keep in check the behaviours of management teams responsible for failure. According to Franks and Mayer (1996) hostile takeovers are a market driven mechanism that can check ineffective management teams. Various schorals have, however, raised objections to the capability of hostile takeovers in checking management failure. Grossman Hart ( 1980) for instance, dispute this view. According to them, hostile takeovers are motivated by bidders self interest , rather, than to check management behaviour. In their view, bidders seek to maximize their investiments. Hostile takeovers , on the other hand, evoke different reactions from the various stakeholders. As earlier noted, the agency theory seeks to simplify the realationships existing in corporations, to be perceived as that involving managers and the organizations shareholders. However , the various actions undertaken by coporation management teams,does not affect the two parties alone. Management decision can affect the members of the general public, whose may seem to have no relation to the actions or events in a given company. As earlier mentioned, corporate governance can be seen to as a means of providing the structural regulatory framework. This structured regulatory framework, can be argued to have the capacity to enable an organization its achieve the organizations set objectives. The relationship between coporation management and that of its stakeholders, should also have mech anisms to monitor management performance to determine whether their objectives are met. Although, the stakeholders such as suppliers and creditors are often recognized ,corporate governance is mostly seen as related to shareholders and managers (Scharfstein, 1988). According to Bhimani (2008) managers are driven by self interest and at time undertake huge risks. On the other hand, he argues that the shareholders are only interested in maximum returns. Given such behaviour ,it is possible to understand why large corporations fail. Hostile take overs are seen as one of the mechanism that can ensure that management undertake their roles in an efficient manner in order to maximize their shareholders value. The takeover process and possible strategies by individual shareholders and raiders Hostile takeovers can be undertaken by corporations with similar assets as the targeted firm on in the same industry as their target. This is done in order to specialize in a given industry in order to gain larger market share. Dominant firms in any given industry are in most cases, those larger firms that control a large chunk of their given market. This control, often results in more market power. Corporations with immense market powers can be able to cut their operation costs either through the economy of scale or by undercutting their competition. On the extreme such firms gain the capability to dictate their product prices and make it difficult for new entries to gain substantial markets. Hostile takeovers can, therefore, be employed by corporations in order to gain market power or specialize in their given industry. Hostile takeovers can also be undertaken by corporate Management Buyout teams or corporate raiders. The management buyout teams (MBO) and corporate raiders, takeove r corporations purely to gain wealth and power. They operate through indentifying vulnerable firms; move in to takeover either by accumulating shares of their targeted firm or through direct negotiations. Hostile takeover gains, can at times result from merely under pricing the share value of the target firms. In such a case, the bidders gain wealth simply by buying their target firm. Most MBO Teams and corporate raiders operate on this premise. They make wealth simply by target firms that have under priced shares then buy them out increasing the value of their investment. Similarly, they can buyout vulnerable firms then change the management team to increase the value of the taken over corporation. For such a scenario to succeed, the management of the targeted firm has to be inefficient thus, operating the firm below its capacity. In such a case, by simply changing the management team the stock price of the target firm simply increases. Effects of potential hostile takeovers threat on corporation management The motives of hostile takeover are often not very direct. It is safe assumed, however, that most takeovers are driven by wealth gains. This can be either direct gain, where a corporation share prices are undervalued. Alternatively, indirect gains can be realized through cost cutting measures that can result, through gaining more market powers (Goergen Renneboog, 2004). Either of the above motives translates into better management for the new venture. In the first scenario undervalued corporation share prices translate to investment value lose for the targeted corporations shareholder. A takeover bid, can point out such discrepancies leading to corrections. Increased share value translates to wealth gain for the shareholders. This means that, the overall effect is that shareholders investments increase in value hence, maximizing their resources. The general motive of any business organizations is to maximize its shareholders value. The management teams, which act on behalf of their shareholders, are tasked to carry out this vital task. A hostile bid that results in such objectives being met can, therefore, be said to achieve its end. Hostile takeovers can be linked to good corporate governance practices. In that, corporations avoid being targets of potential takeover threats. The link between corporate governance and hostile takeovers can, therefore, be said to be the capability of hostile takeovers to keep managers in check. Managers ensure that they run their organizations, in such a way that, their efficiency deters potential hostile takeovers threats. In so doing, managers run their organizations more efficiently, to ensure that shareholders value is maximized to keep away looming potential hostile takeover bids. Other gains that can ensure efficient corporate governance include joint research, distribution, procurement among many combined operation capable of reducing operating costs. Reducing costs can have an overall effect of cutting wastages in corpor ations, which implies the application of good governance principles (Heath Norman, 2004). According to Bhimani ( 2008) corporate governance entails running organization efficiently to reduce the overall cost in organizations. In the recent years, however, there has been increased cases of higher managemant compensation and higher board honoriums. Their overall effects is that management increase the risks taken and misrepresent the financial reports, in a bid to make their organization more attractive to shareholders and other stakeholders (Heath Norman, 2004). Such underhand management practices can be said to be undertaken to keep looming hostile takeovers at bay. Takeover defenses Acting in ones best interest can be said to be second to human nature. As such, managers often act in self serving ways, putting the interest of their shareholders second to their interest. Bhaghat, Schleifer, Vishny ( 1990) argue ,that a substantial number of takeoverbids are often undertaken or detered to fulfill managements interest. Managers can undertake defensive measures against takeoverbids, to serve their own interest. According to (Bhaghat, Schleifer, Vishny ( 1990) one of the major results of takeovers is the laying off the top management teams. Given that it is predictable that takeovers results in management changes, managers can undertake defensive measures to ensure that their jobs are secure. Similarly hostile takeovers are accompanied by changes in corporation boards,defensive measures can be as a result of the self serving nature of humans. Despite such defensive self serving behaviours, defensive actions can be carried out to protect the erosion of shareholders v alue. This is particularly so,in areas where the bidders underprices their bids to gain wealth. In other words, as long as the defensive actions such as a fair price amendments can be undertaken to protect shareholders values. Given then ,that management can block hostile takeovers in order to protect their shareholders, such measueres should be allowed. It all depends, on the motive of disallowing the takeover. As noted earlier, hostile takeovers can gain more wealth for the shareholders. As such each case should be judged on its merits. Hostile takeovers benefactors Various stakeholders react differently to hostile takeovers. The reactions range from acceptance to outright rejection of the takeover bids. These varied reactions are often driven by the various self interests that different stakeholders hold. Hostile takeovers are often accompanied by changes in management, corporate structure and the general ways in which an organization is run. This implies that various players in a target corporate can either gain or lose from a hostile takeover. Franks Mayer (1996) argues that in most of the takeovers in the USA and Britain management changes were carried out. As such, we can argue that the first culpruits to fall when hostile takeovers are undertaken , are the management teams. Consindering this, then it is clear that the managements objection to takeover bids is not always to protect their shareholders. Franks Mayer (1996) argue that takeover motives can vary. In most cases, however, the bidders are driven by wealth gains. This is because, most target firms are often underprices and post-takeover periods are marked by significan rises in the new entitys value. The question that arises, is the sources these wealth gains. In an examination of over sixty hostile takeovers bids between 1984 to 1986 Bhaghat, Schleifer, Vishny (1990) found out that fifty two targeted firms were acquired. In their post-takeover analysis they concluded that in most cases the wealth of bidding firms increases. In their examination they also concluded that target firms gain from take over bids whether successful or not. In their examination of hostile takeovers (Bhaghat, Schleifer, Vishny (1990) post takeover operation were evaluated in order to find out the gainers in the takeover bids. divesture ,tax savings ,investment cuts and layoff operations after takeovers were examined to determine the gains made and those who benefitted. They also looked into the possibilitoes of taken over firms losing their investiment values. The authours noted that once takeovers were concluded and the merged entity operations harmonised it was impossible to determine or attribute any given gain to the target firm or the bidder. Their joint ac count records do not specify the origin of gains or loses made after operations of the two firms are combined. Howeever , their reasearch indicated that the first losers in the takeovers are employees in top management positions. The following layoffs according to their findings begins with the acquired firms top management team. Tax savings in the examined hostile takeovers were minimal implying that wealth is not gains from tax savings. They argue that gains made from tax savings are minimal in comparison to the gains made by laying off top employees. They did note, however, that the resulting entities make substantial tax reduction in their merged operations (Bhaghat, Schleifer, Vishny, 1990). The overall implication of these savings is reduction in the operation costs of the new entity. This proves the point tht in hostile takeovers the merged entity becomes more efficient since operation costs are significantly reduced. In additon, the debts incurred during the takeover are paid out in shorter periods reducing the interest rate burden on the new merged corporation. Their reaserch also concluded that once the firms merge they do not undertake major investiments. This means that the motives for hostile takeovers are not so that firms can increase their investiment. Share holders of the bidding firms were also found in some cases to lose the value of their investiment while the investiment value of the target corporation increases slightly. The most common characteristic that they found in the operations of the resulting corporations , was that targeted firms and bidders are most often in the same industry or closely related fields (Bhaghat, Schleifer, Vishny, 1990). This suggest that one of the motives of hostile takeovers is to corner the industry market. This is because the resultant firms most often become big players in their given industry. One of the gains that result from hostile take overs is an enlarged market. This therefore implies that future operations of the resultant firm can gain immensely from the economy of scales. The bidding firms also gains market shares in regions where it previsouly had no presence. Similarly majority of the targeted firms ,often have similar assets to those of the larger bidder. This implies that in most cases, hostile takeovers represent an attempt by corporation to specialization in areas where they have invested substatial assets. In such cases the gains that motivate hostil e take overs seems to be cost saving strategies, resulting from the new joint operation. Under such consinderations, we can argue that some of the hostile take overs are driven by future gains rather that immediate wealth increament for the shareholders. In addition, large corporations dominate their given industry. Thus , hostile takeover can be power driven as corporations seek to dominate their industry to gain market power. This can enable such firms to dictate prices and undercut their competition. Hostile takeovers can also simply earn the bidders wealth. This is especially so in cases where the stock value of the targetted firm is undervalued. These kind of hostile takeovers are often undertaken by corporate Management Buyout teams or corporate raiders. Simply put, they buyout underpriced corporations, and by merely doing so, gain additional value for their investments. The management buyout teams (MBO) and corporate raiders, takeover corporations purely to gain wealth and power. They indentify vulnerable firms with undervalued stocks or inefficient management teams. Hostile takeover gains, can at times also result from merely under pricing the share value of the target firms. The bidders, therefore, gain wealth while the targeted firms shareholders lose theirs. During negotiations the bidders simply offer to buy firms at lower values knowing that by doing so they are gaining wealth. In such a case, the bidders gain wealth simply by buying their target firm. Most MBO Teams and corporate raiders operate on this premise (Bhaghat, Schleifer, Vishny, 1990). They make wealth simply by target firms that have under priced shares then buy them out increasing the value of their investment. Similarly they can buyout vulnerable firms then change the management team to increase the value of the taken over corporation. For such a scenario to succeed, the management of the targeted firm has to be inefficient thus, operating the firm below its capacity. Changing the management, therefore, increases the value of the targeted firm. Hostile takeovers can also be instigated by a firms management purely for personal gains. In such a case, both the bidders shareholders and targeted firms shareholders can gain from the hostile takeover (Franks Mayer, 1996). In that most hostile takeovers become public, the publicity puts the takeover bid under scrutiny helping the targeted shareholders realize that their stock is underpriced. In other case, other bidders emerge offering better prices. As mentioned earlier takeovers can be carried out in a bid to gain more market power. This often the case with bidders targeting firms in the same industry (Schwert, 2000 ). This means, that the bidding shareholders can fail to gain from such an undertaking. In that, if the hostile takeover motive is to corner the market, the bidder may end up overpaying the target. Such a hostile takeover bid is often driven by the management, and is undertaken to achieve management teams expansion strategies. In such a case, the target shareholders end up gaining wealth. On the other hand the bidders shareholders, stands to gain from their management long-term strategies. This can be accrued through future savings, as well as, pricing advantages and cost cutting gains through economies of scale. In other words, the bidders shareholders, in management driven hostile takeover have no immediate wealth gains. Instead they end up paying the target more that their stock value. This implies that they lose wealth while the bidders gain more wealth. For every case, therefore, wealth loses to the bidders shareholders, implies wealth gains to target shareholders. In most cases as mentioned earlier the publicity that results from hostile takeovers often results in competition for the targeted company. This, inevitably increase the value of the target stock prices. In most cases, target shareholders end up gaining in the majority of hostile takeovers (Bhaghat, Schleifer, Vishny, 1990). Additionally, by announcing takeover bids, share prices for the target firms often increase. This also increases the value of target shareholders stock. Hostile takeovers can also result in operation efficiency. In that joining operations firms can gain through combined marketing, research, headquarters, and distribution among other combined operations. Conclusions The link between corporate governance and hostile takeovers can be said to be, the ability of hostile takeovers to keep managers in check. Managers ensure that they run their organizations, in such a way that, their efficiency deters potential hostile takeovers threats. Acting in ones best interest can be said to be second to human nature. As such, managers often act in self serving ways, putting the interest of their shareholders second to their interest. This means that some of the hostile takeovers, are undertaken to serve the interest of managers. This can be ,to expand the bussiness by divesting or increasing their market shares through acquisations. Such moves,can lead to the bidders overpaying for their target. The process cana also be open to manipulation by management teams in order to serve their own interest. As earlier noted in absence of efficient coporate governance, corporations can fail.Such huge failures ,have demostrated that greedy human nature, can easilytake over and run down even the big coporations. The self serving nature of management teams is evident in such failures ,where the interest of shareholders comes second to self interest. As such, various tools should be employed to help keep in check the behaviours of management teams and prevent failure. Hostile takeovers, have demostrated the capacity to keep such failure in check. In addition shareholders can also gain from hostile takeovers by increasing the value of their investments. This can happen by bringing efficiency in the corporate world.However , hostile takeovers can also earn the bidders shareholders wealth. This occurs, where the stock value of the targetted firm is undervalued. In addition, hostile takeover can accrue gains to bidders simply by under pricing the share value of the target firms. The bidders, therefore, gain wealth while the targeted firms shareholders lose theirs. However, the joint ventures resulting from hostile takeovers often enjoy combined operation ad vantages such as procurement, marketing, research, joint overall operations and distribution. This helps shareholders, increase their investments value and maximize their investments achieving the overall objective of corporate governance. Buy custom Hostile Takeovers essay

How To Answer the Interview Question, “Why Are You Looking For a New Job”

How To Answer the Interview Question, â€Å"Why Are You Looking For a New Job† This question very often comes up in an interview setting- and always makes you a little nervous. It feels a bit like a trap. You want to answer honestly and say: â€Å"Because I need to eat† or â€Å"Because if I stay at my current job another five minutes I’ll go crazy.† But you’ll never get the job without finessing this moment as you must finesse the others in an interview. Here 5  strategies for how to answer.1. Play to your strengths.Find a way to pivot in your answer back to what you’re there to sell: yourself. Frame it in terms of your long-term career goals in such a way that allows you to draw emphasis to your particular skills and expertise.2. Make it about your hopes for the future.Make your answer compelling. Don’t let it just be about a paycheck. Emphasize your passion, your desire for challenges and growth. And be focused on the future, rather than dwelling in your past.3. Also make it about them.No matter what, try wrapping up your answer in such a way that shows your respect/admiration for the company. If you’re just a little bit obsessed with the company, that’s a great way to show your enthusiasm as well. And that you’ve done your homework!4. Be honest, but stay positive.If you’re looking because your current job just isn’t cutting it, find a way to frame that in a positive new light. Try focusing on your desire for new challenges, to learn or do more, rather than being held back by a crappy job.5. Turn the table.This only works if you have a good read on your interviewer. But if you can keep your tone professional-but-casual and pivot back to ask your interviewer whether he or she  might have made a similar transition during the course of their career, you could be opening the door to a very candid and easy conversation that might just frame you in the best light to get the job.

The different between coffins and caskets Research Paper

The different between coffins and caskets - Research Paper Example It is mainly made of custom wood, particleboard or solid timber. Unlike that of caskets, the lids of the coffins come separate. The lid is then fitted into place with 4 to 6 plastic or metal screws. A coffin could have 4 or 6 handles. They are available in the different styles such as: Particle board with stain or veneer, Particleboard /Custom wood plain, Solid Timber, Particle board, painted with a matt or gloss paint and Particle board with surrounding paper design among others (Funeral Line Australia). In shape, a casket is more of rectangular with the same height and width from head to foot. It is commonly made of solid metal or wood. The lid is attached to the coffin with hinges on one side. However, some lids are designed in two sections to assist viewing of the corps. Caskets are traditionally larger in size compared to coffins and come in different designs. They may either have a handle bar or individual handles. Caskets are available styles of caskets are namely; Cardboard Casket, Rental Casket (particleboard capsule, in a sold timber outer shell), Solid Timber and Metal Casket among others (Funeral Line Australia). The most popular selections available for both caskets and coffins are in plain white or a wood grain finish. Some funeral enterprises may offer custom options, whereby the family can choose between a casket and a coffin painted in a certain color or design. This comes at an extra charge for these options. Values of caskets are affected by; production method, materials used for construction and /or styles of caskets (fcpr.fsu.edu). Below is an image of a 14-karat gold casket. It was on displayed in 2010 at Malaysia’s National Museum of Kuala Lumpur. This casket has vents and silk lining inside and safety lock systems. Tit was valued at RM 500,000 or $217,400. The above casket was modeled after The Promethean (Below) which is one of the most expensive and famous

Critical Thinking Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical Thinking Questions - Essay Example This paper will discuss the composition of a successful lesson plan, the importance of considering students’ backgrounds and strategies of differentiated instruction. A lesson framework acts as the instructor’s guide to what students should learn and how it will be implemented effectively within the allocated class time (O'Bannon, 2008). Before planning a lesson, an instructor should identify the learning objectives and design appropriate learning activities and strategies to get feedback on student learning. A successful lesson plan is made up of objectives for student learning, teaching and learning activities and ways of checking student understanding (O'Bannon, 2008). A well created plan includes; A) The goals the lesson is reaching towards B) The measurable outcomes in acquired skills at the end of the lesson C) Ratio of the expected number of students to the teacher D) Previous knowledge of the learners E) Required time for each teaching and learning session F) Co nsideration of cultural differences, specific needs and learning styles of individuals G) Methods of evaluating the lesson Lesson plans may be varied by certain aspects in different content areas. They may include the content, introduction, goals, objectives, materials, and development (Wong, 1998). The introduction describes the area of focus and ways of getting and retaining the students’ attention while motivating them to participate in the learning process. Getting the students to attend and respond to different introductions sets the stage for the upcoming lessons. Under contents, the teacher lists the key concepts, facts and skills the lesson intends to cover (Wong, 1998). A teacher may also prepare an outline with key learning outcomes. The goals identify the aims or desired results that students should achieve at the end of the planned lesson. They are the end products and broad in nature and relate to the knowledge and skills identified in the contents. Objectives id entify what the students are expected to achieve in the tasks they will be engaged in within the learning process. They are behavioral and performance specific in nature (Wong, 1998). They outline what will be under observance in student performance and the criteria by which they can be measured. The list of materials outlines the resources that will be used throughout the lesson for a successful ending. It may also include technological resources that vary according to the desired results (Wong, 1998). Different development strategies describe how a teacher plans, models and explains what students should do. Modeling the learning behaviors expected of students demonstrates whether they can imitate and practice on their own. Different areas of learning will have different development plans (Wong, 1998). Students in the same class have varying learning abilities. Among them, there are differences in learning style, background knowledge, language proficiency and readiness to learn. Ho wever, regardless of their individual differences, they are expected to understand the same principles, concepts and skills. This requires innovative thinking from the teachers (Wong, 1998). They should provide several learning options that help students understand information and make sense out of concepts and skills conveyed to them. Furthermore, they should present appropriate levels of challenge to all categories of students, including those with quick understanding

International Business - Foreign Direct Investment Essay

International Business - Foreign Direct Investment - Essay Example China still holds and implements its policy that discourages or sometimes bans wholly foreign-owned investment. Certain intangible aspects have been recommended for foreign investors to put into consideration in order to run a successful joint venture in China. These aspects are culture, common sense, law and understanding of finance which jointly complement each other in China business environment. Throughout the 1980s up to mid-1990s, Chinese government oversaw inbound FDI mainly through entry intervention where the government emphasized FDI project ratification in which the government was able to manipulate and influence FDI size, location, timing and sometimes partner selection. China way of dealing with foreigners which is partly contributed by the country’s culture and government policy largely exhibited lack of experience in dealing with most MNCs hence most of these corporations remained regulated (Grosse p.297). The concerns of China’s government during this pe riod largely came to reflect regulation tendencies as to which industries should be opened to foreign investors and where FDI should be channeled to. Most enacted laws and regulations did not grant MNCs total control and operation powers instead these laws, rules and regulations became to be associated with how to control foreign company entry into the nation’s market (Grosse p.297). Carrying out research in 1993 Erramilli and Rao noted that joint venture as a preferred entry mode by MNCs become successful when the cultural space is relatively large between the host and home countries. Further the authors found out that there exist relationship between joint venture entry mode with â€Å"the level of the host country wellbeing, the level of host government restrictions, and the level of competition in the host country† (cited in Jiang, Cristodoulou and Wei par.3 ). At the same time literature postulate that MNCs entry mode decisions is largely affected and influenced b y the host country’s investment policies. The popularity of joint ventures in China has been attached to numerous reasons with popular one being â€Å"direct or indirect government rules requiring them in a certain circumstances to do so† (Jiang, Cristodoulou and Wei par.3). Further joint ventures (JVs) in this country have resulted due to popular and widely held belief that JVs are likely to work with Chinese municipal governments well without much conflicts.

Cohabitation before marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cohabitation before marriage - Essay Example Most of the students in this age are potentially dating a fellow or is considering to. The high school students have a higher chance of advancing to the college levels where cohabitation largely takes root. If you still deliberating, is it essential to prepare in advance for a looming dwell or do so when the challenge actually arrives? The wise will consider advance preparation for the dwell; in this case the dwell being marriage and preparation being cohabitation. III. Credibility: Research by the Council of Contemporary Families indicate that partners who start to cohabit in their college years demonstrate a higher chance of leading a successful marriage than those who never attempt to make such effort early enough. Among randomly selected 200 participants who qualified the set conditions for a successful marriage, 164 (82%) stated having tried cohabiting during their college days with only 36 (18%) indicating they attempted cohabiting in later years after completing colleges. Among the 164 participants who tried cohabiting in college years, 73 were male and 91 female. a. Can you really know someone that well as to commit without living with them? I bet no; living together is the certainly the ultimate test of knowing your partner before committing. Cohabitation tests the ability of partners to tolerate each other on various aspects including the ability to survive through charming elements of cohabiting. It tests the compatibility of the partners particularly through their abilities to resolve the arguments and conflicts of interests. For the college students who cohabit, they are exposed to the realities of commitments early enough. Young couples are able to drop the preconceptions of the ideal relationships that they watch in movies and face realities of life. b. If a young couple can learn to love even after the realization that all aspects of relationships are not always fun, then they can be assured of a

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

International Business - Essay Example Our baby foods will include fruits, vegetables, meat, chicken and rice. They would all be full of nutrition and will fulfill baby’s body growth needs. The company will have 3 main units; the baby food unit, clinical nutrition department and the research and development department. They all will work simultaneously analyzing the market needs and improving the product. European Union; which is the union comprised of 27 member states of Europe has set rules and policies for the business which have to be adhered by the company. The company has devised few strategies which would help it in the stage of final implementation of the project. The company’s aim is to manufacture and sell the baby food for the baby’s from age 4 months to 2 years. Our intention is to produce premium quality food which fulfills the hygienic standards and is full of nutrition’s for the baby, keeping in mind his growing needs. It will be a new experience for the company to enter into a new market, thus realizing its needs it has signed partnership agreement with local manufacturers Mr. Z and Mrs. Z who will help in implementing appropriate strategies, plans and provide necessary knowhow to the company about the local market. The profits will be shared in the ratio of 20:80, 20 % to Mr. and Mrs. Z and 80% to the company. Furthermore the company will finance the projects and Mr. and Mrs. Z will aid in selling the products to local retailers. The company will require setting up its factories in Europe in order to manufacture baby food, thus it has decided to enter Europe in 2 countries; United Kingdom and Spain. It has planned to establish its factories in London and Madrid respectively. As being capitals these two places are easily accessible with transport facilities and there is ease of goods availability. In addition they are busy cities and will attract

Problem-based Learning (PBL) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Problem-based Learning (PBL) - Essay Example Although this concept was initially used by the medical school of thought, today it is widely employed in the field of nursing education also. As scholars point out, problem based learning can be very effective in nursing education because this concept is capable of enhancing patient safety. This paper will discuss a nursing situation where problem based learning activity is performed to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. The paper will also analyze how this type of study design can be applied to teaching practice. Problem Based Learning (PBL) The article ‘Problem solving strategies used by RN to BSN students in an online problem based learning course’ written by Oldenburg and Hung (2010) illustrates that elements of problem based learning process including ‘active learning, analysis and synthesis, collaboration, and learning in the context’ can significantly contribute to the development of problem solving and critical thinking skills in nursing students. The major purpose of this article is to gain understanding of students’ problems solving experiences in an online problem based learning environment. The article gives particular focus to various problem solving strategies used by students and changes identified in those strategies throughout the semester. The authors conduct this study based on the problem based learning and the community of inquiry models. The community of inquiry model outlines the essential elements of higher education success in an online environment such as social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence (Oldenburg & Hung). In this research work, a qualitative-case study approach was employed to obtain extensive information and deep understanding of various problem solving strategies chosen by a group of learners in a problem based learning course. RN to BSN nursing students, enrolled in an online pathophysiology course were the participants in this study. Under this study, each group of students were asked to identify the patient’s primary condition and relevant pathophysiology and to make decisions in order to assess the problem solving strategies used by students. The research findings indicated that problem solving is a dynamic process, and students change their strategies between the phases rather than continuing their work in a sequential manner. According to Oldenburg and Hung, the problem based learning activities really assist students to effectively deal with processes like problem recognition, information gathering, construction of meaning, and problem resolution. Cooper and Carver (2012) assert that the problem based learning can greatly aid students to define each problem using their past experiences and knowledge. It was observed that students analyzed the problem information to determine which information was to form a good understanding of the problem. Using their previous experiences, students could easily recognize relevant fac ts and the additional information required to diagnose the problem. The authors opine that the most advantageous feature of this problem based learning activity is that students can identify their own knowledge gaps. Referring to Cooper and Carver, under the problem based learning approach, students used their past experiences to guide research with the help of shared information obtained from textbooks, scholarly articles, and other online resources. In addition to gathering

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

International Business - Essay Example Our baby foods will include fruits, vegetables, meat, chicken and rice. They would all be full of nutrition and will fulfill baby’s body growth needs. The company will have 3 main units; the baby food unit, clinical nutrition department and the research and development department. They all will work simultaneously analyzing the market needs and improving the product. European Union; which is the union comprised of 27 member states of Europe has set rules and policies for the business which have to be adhered by the company. The company has devised few strategies which would help it in the stage of final implementation of the project. The company’s aim is to manufacture and sell the baby food for the baby’s from age 4 months to 2 years. Our intention is to produce premium quality food which fulfills the hygienic standards and is full of nutrition’s for the baby, keeping in mind his growing needs. It will be a new experience for the company to enter into a new market, thus realizing its needs it has signed partnership agreement with local manufacturers Mr. Z and Mrs. Z who will help in implementing appropriate strategies, plans and provide necessary knowhow to the company about the local market. The profits will be shared in the ratio of 20:80, 20 % to Mr. and Mrs. Z and 80% to the company. Furthermore the company will finance the projects and Mr. and Mrs. Z will aid in selling the products to local retailers. The company will require setting up its factories in Europe in order to manufacture baby food, thus it has decided to enter Europe in 2 countries; United Kingdom and Spain. It has planned to establish its factories in London and Madrid respectively. As being capitals these two places are easily accessible with transport facilities and there is ease of goods availability. In addition they are busy cities and will attract

Airline Industry Bangladesh Essay Example for Free

Airline Industry Bangladesh Essay ABSTRACT Air transport is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing transportation systems. Formation of regional and sub-regional co-operation will have a significant influence on air transportation system. Realizing the potential of air transportation in the country and region, after the recent air transport deregulation in Bangladesh, a number of private airline companies have started their operation which results in a better and competitive market. The paper focuses on the impacts of privatization on aviation industry of Bangladesh. This paper presents the results of a study on the comparison among various private and public airline companies and analyses their problems and provides some guidelines for their development. The results show that the supply cost of the private airlines is 40 percent lower than the same for public airlines. The results of this study can be used by the South and Southeast Asian countries to develop policies in this regard. INTRODUCTION Privatization of the airlines is more generally known as deregulation of the airlines industry. In the last two decades air transport world have witnessed dramatic changes in the deregulation in this sector. The movements towards the deregulation of the air transportation industries with the â€Å"1978 Deregulation Airline Act† have significantly altered the operating environment for the firms providing passenger and cargo transportation related services. With the airline deregulation, airlines were permitted to choose the routes and fares. These changes have had profound effects on many aspects of airline operations, particularly fares, level of service and routing. Through privatization of air transportation in Bangladesh the Government has opened up a new horizon. To achieve a competitive environment and maximize the benefit, private airlines can control their scale of operation, effectively pursue cost reduction measures, and generate additional demand through improved services and reasonable fares. By providing improved level of service and lower fare the private airlines may create new demand which will result in unit cost reduction and allow further fare reductions and service improvement. This virtuous circle should continue to strengthen the position of the operators and increase consumers’ benefit. Moreover, recent trends in the development of regional and sub-regional co-operation together with foreign investments in remote areas will have a significant influence on air transportation system. These cooperative frameworks will demand dynamic changes both in routing and scheduling of air transportation. Public airlines are incapable of dealing with these changes due to their bureaucratic structure and lack of motivation. To develop the policies for privatization and regulation of air transportation market it is necessary to analyze various aspects of the system. This paper focuses on the potentiality of the private air transport operators in Bangladesh. The paper has been prepared on the basis of a detailed study on demand and supply of air transportation in the country (Karim, 1998). The paper discusses the impact of deregulation on different cost items of airline operation. The aggregate cost of operating the airlines has been segregated into major cost items. Then comparison is made between public and private airline operators on the basis of these cost items. The paper also identifies several areas where adequate regulations are required for the overall betterment of t he system. The objective of the study is to investigate the potentiality of the changes brought about by privatization in air transportation in Bangladesh. The results will help the operators in the industry to develop their strategies. As the East, Southeast and South Asia are expected to experience a high economic development as well as a shift towards service and hi-tech industries, their demand for air transportation is also expected to increase accordingly. In this regard, the results of this study are important for these countries also. AIR TRANSPORTATION AND AIRLINES IN BANGLADESH The domestic air transportation network in Bangladesh is comprised of 8 conventional (full-size) airports, 8 airports for STOL (Short-Take-Off and Landing) aircraft including two airports under construction. The 8 conventional airports, which are used for commercial purpose, handle widely varying traffic volumes. The largest airport is Zia International airport near Dhaka and the smallest one is Cox’s Bazar airport. The most important corridors, as measured by air passenger volumes, are those between Dhaka, at one end, and Chittagong, Jessore, Sylhet at the other end. At present there are five airlines operating in Bangladesh. They comprise one public airline and four private airlines. The state owned national carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airline (BBA), is the oldest and has been the only operator in domestic arena until the recent past. It has generally been a losing concern contributed by many factors that could include inappropriat e size of aircraft to handle low volume of demand, insufficient level of operation and inefficient management. Although air transport carries only a small portion of total passenger and cargo movement in the country, its relative importance is much higher if aspects such as value of the product as well as time, speed and efficiency of the alternative modes are considered. Realizing its importance and considering the opportunities that exist, private airline companies (PAC’s) have now joined the fray of enticing domestic passengers and freights. This trend in domestic air transportation market is expected to reduce the monopoly of BBA and make air transport mode a better as well as competitive one for domestic transportation. Biman Bangladesh Airlines and four independent airline companie s are regulated by the government authority named Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB). Fares are subjected to the approval of CAAB and certain minimum standards of service are imposed on the airline companies. Initially the fares of private airlines were 39 to 50 percent higher as compared to that of BBA. Recently BBA has increased its fare by 25 percent. Although it seems that the fares of the private airlines are higher than the same of BBA, the demand of private airlines has been increasing. This may be caused by better quality of service which include punctuality, regularity, improved customer services and lower waiting time. INTRODUCTION OF PRIVATE AIRLINE COMPANIES In October 1993 the CAAB advertised for applications from the interested parties to start airline operation. Although about 50 organizations submitted their proposals, the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) permitted twenty-seven of them to operat e. Three of them have already started carrying passengers and one has ventured into cargo transportation. These airlines tended to become very popular and the passengers who used to travel by Biman for so long have started showing their interest in traveling by private airlines in domestic routes. A brief description of these airlines is given in the following section, which is also summarized in Table 1. Aero Bengal Airlines (ABA) Aero Bengal Airlines was the first private airlines in the country and started its flight operation on Dhaka-Barisal route with two Chinese built 17-seater Y -12 aircraft. Later a leased Russian built 48-seater N-24 aircraft was included in ABA fleet for the operation in Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Chittagong routes. Air Parabat The airline has started commercial flight operation with two brand new Czech-built 19-seater LET L410 aircraft on all the routes operated by Biman (except Ishurdi). It is now planning to add destinations like Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Shamshernagar to its network in near future after procuring two more Czech-built LET L410 aircraft. Air Parabat has appointed Airspan as its General Sales Agent (GSA) which will be responsible for all the advertising and customer services for Air Parabat and in this way they are saving their overhead expenditure. At the moment, it is operating profitably and has no dues owed to the CAAB. The airline is expecting to recover their investment in 7 years. GMG Airlines Starting operation of commercial flights in early 1998, GMG airlines have emerged as the leading private airlines in Bangladesh. GMG started with Canadian manufactured Bombardier built 37-seater full- fledged aircraft. It operates a number of flights in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Jessore, and Barisal every day and has plans to expand the network of destinations at home and aboard. The airline has signed an inter- line traffic agreement with British Airways (BA) enabling them to sell tickets to different destination of the world via BA. GMG Airlines have already made an investment of Tk. 1.00 billion (US$ 20 million). It has also planned to spread wings overseas and already sought permission from the government to operate in international destinations. This is a good planning because if GMG make progress and can operate South Asian countries, they would probably become the leading private airline in the region. Omni Airlines This airline only deals with cargo operation. Most of the cases the company provide the logistic support via using aircraft of other companies. It has also started air cargo operation for international destinations. During the devastating flood of 1998 when most of the national highways and railways were inundated and surface transportation became inoperable, many exporters especially garments manufacturers used the airline to transport their product to the port. Table 1 presents a comparison among the inventories of BBA and PACs. This comparison indicates that BBA operates at lower load factor with respect to PAC’s. This may be caused by the size of aircraft, which seems to be too large for low level of air travel demand existing in the country. Table 1 Inventory of the Airline Companies Operating in Bangladesh. Name of the airlines Biman Bangladesh Airlines Aero Bengal Ailines Air Parabat Limited GMG Airlines Year of Starting Service 1972 No of Aircraft 4 Type of Aircraft F-28 ATP AN-24 Y-12 LET-410 UVPE. DASH 8SRS 100 No. of seats 85 70 48 17 19 37 No of weekly flights 68 Avg. Pass. Load factor 55-60% (approx.) 75-80% (approx.) 80-85% (approx.) 80-85% (approx.) Avg. No. of Pass. (Weekly) 5134 July, 1995 January, 1998 April, 1998 3 2 2 18 56 35 1016 1294 1520 For the three PAC’s the sizes of the aircrafts seem to be more preferable for profitable operation. Figure 1 illustrates as comparison of usage among BBA and PAC’s in the domestic routes. In most important routes BBA is still dominant whereas in other routes passenger movement of BBA and PACs are almost same. In the Dhaka-Barishal (BZL) route the number of passengers carried by PCAs is higher than the same for BBA because the latter does not operate regularly in the route. 1500 No. of Passenger 1200 900 600 300 0 CHI ZYL JSR SPD RAJ CXB BZL BBA Air Parabat Aero Baegal GMG Airlines Figure 1: Passenger Movement Comparison between BBA and PACs AIRLINE OPERATION COST IN BANGLADESH In this section, the cost of operating airlines in Bangladesh is analyzed. The costs for public and private airliners are analyzed separately to facilitate comparison between them. Here the cost elements are calculated on the basis of average monthly costs because actual data supplied by various airlines are monthly data for different cost items. This cost is transformed into the cost per passenger for different routes. For the development of cost function nine principal cost elements are included in the analysis. The cost variables included on the analysis are shown in Table 2. The values of these variables are calculated on the basis of twenty-two secondary cost factors, which are also mentioned along with the principal cost variables in the table. For the analysis, data has been collected for several years for all the routes considered in the study. Table 2 Cost Elements Analyzed in the Study with their Notations Cost Elements Administrative Cost Maintenance Cost Marketing Cost Civil Aviation Charges Running cost Capital Cost Contingency Cost Procurement Cost Profit Important Cost Elements To describe the supply analysis conveniently all the costs are grouped under two heading namely ‘Total Operating and Maintenance Cost’ (TOMC) and Total Cost (TC). TOMC includes administrative, maintenance, Civil Aviation charges, running, capital and marketing costs and TC includes TOMC, contingency and procurement cost. Among the nine principal cost elements, running cost is the most important one (on an average 39 percent of TOMC. Other important cost elements are capital cost (33 percent) and maintenance cost (19 percent). Small variation in these figures will result in a significant change in operator’s revenue and profit. Among the nine cost elements administrative, Civil Aviation charges and marketing cost do not vary significantly although these costs includes both fixed and variable cost. Fixed cost is the main portion of these costs because these costs don’t vary greatly with the increase in the number of flights or distances traveled. Effects of Scale of Operation on the Cost Elements Using small-scale aircrafts, civil aviation charges and capital cost can be saved significantly. For larger aircrafts greater charges are imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority. Similarly, capital cost is a function of cost per hour of operation and load factor, which also depend on the size of the aircraft. For example, private airlines use comparatively smaller size of aircraft that results in savings of 20 percent of civil aviation charges. Also by using smaller aircrafts these airlines are able to attain higher load factor than BBA. Due to higher load factor the capital cost per passenger reduces significantly. For the same reason a small amount of maintenance and running cost can also be saved. Although BBA purchased larger sized aircrafts to operate in domestic routes to achieve scale economy, it seems that smaller aircrafts are more suitable due to low air travel demand in the country. Symbol C1 C2 C3 C4 Secondary cost components No. of flight (Fl), Capacity of aircraft (Q), Load factor (I) No. of flight (Fl), Capacity of aircraft (Q), Load factor (I) No. of flight (Fl), Capacity of aircraft (Q), Load factor (I) Night surcharge (Ns), Hanger charge (Hn ), Cost of parking charges (Pa), Landing (La), Security charges (Su) and Navigation charges (N a). Cost fuel per liter (Fu), fuel consumption of aircraft per hour(Fc), Trip distance of travel (TD) Fleet size (La), Flying time of aircraft (Ft ), Cruising speed of aircra ft (Sp ) Total cost Number of flights (Fl) Total cost (TC) C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 One of the major cost items of air transportation for both types of operator is unexpected accident or technical fault of aircraft during the operation period. Contingency and procurement cost are 15 percent and 12 percent of TC respectively. If operators can maintain their aircraft more efficiently they can enjoy significant savings in these areas also. Cost Comparison between Public and Private Airlines Comparison between the public and private airlines on the basis of various cost items is given in Table 3. The values in the table represent the ratio between cost per passenger for BBA and average of the same for PACs for all the cost elements discussed earlier. It shows that the costs incurred by BBA are higher for all the cost elements. The differences are very prominent for administrative cost, maintenance cost and civil aviation charges. The negative ratios for the case of profit imply that for BBA the total cost is higher than fare, which results in losses for the airline. Table 3 Ratio between the Costs of Public and Private Airlines on the basis of cost elements. Routes DAC-CHI DAC-ZYL DAC-JSR DAC-SPD DAC-RJH DAC-CXB DAC-BZL Adm Cost (C 1 ) 1.6 1.58 1.66 1.88 1.89 1.93 1.51 Maint Cost (C 2 ) 1.37 1.31 1.39 1.56 1.57 1.44 1.14 Aviat. Charge (C 3 ) 1.23 1.23 1.23 1.19 1.19 1.24 1.24 Run. Cost (C 4 ) 1.16 1.19 1.21 1.03 1.39 1.04 1.04 Capit. Cost (C 5 ) 1.04 1.07 0.98 1.14 1.28 1.11 1.03 Mark. Cost (C 6 ) 1.15 1.11 1.16 1.19 1.21 1.11 1.12 Cont. Cost (C 7 ) 1.17 1.22 1.19 1.06 1.26 1.08 1.41 Proc. Cost (C 8 ) 1.23 1.21 1.14 1.09 1.25 1.09 1.23 Profit (C 9 ) -3.46 +.01 -2.38 -1.46 -1.16 +0.26 -1.36 IMPACTS OF PRIVATIZATION ON AIR TRANSPORTATION IN BANGLADESH The introduction of PAC’s in the aviation sector of Bangladesh is expected to bring about some short and long-term effects in the air transportation sector of Bangladesh, at least in the domestic routes. These effects are discussed below. Making Profit Oriented Service Introduction of private airline in Bangladesh will compel the state-owned BBA to be a profit-oriented organization rather than being only service oriented because the plane journey is made by the rich who do not require any subsidy. The competition is also expected to improve level of service. Increase in Fare Pursuing a wrong policy, the fares charged by BBA in domestic have always been less than the actual cost which resulted in huge losses (over US$ 4 million in 1997). Private airline imposes a higher fare pressuring Biman to increase fare. It increased fare by 15% in July 1996 and could make up losses of about US$ 1 million annually. In 1998 BBA ag ain raised fare so that it can reach breakeven point and make profit on the domestic sector. Improvement of Customer Service Due to the introduction of private airlines, the customer facilities have improved a lot. Customers seem to be very satisfied with the overall services provided by the private airlines. Private airlines provide regular and punctual services with less waiting time and, very easy and informal ticket confirming process that improves the level of service of the operation. Better Competitive Market In case of GMG Airlines the promoters have sought for permission from the government to operate air service on the international routes. Government is considering to accord permission to private airlines so that they can operate service among SAARC countries. In that case the government of SAARC nations will have to change their rules allowing more than one carrier of each country to operate air service among SAARC nations. All these changes will make the domestic as well as r gional air travel market a very e competitive one and this open air policy will construct a good future for the coming private airlines in this market. REGULATIONS NEEDED FOR PRIVATE AIRLINES Although PAC’s have shown a great a potential to improve the airline market of Bangladesh into a better competitive mode, but there exist some issues which should be carefully considered to develop a better future for the industry. Some of these issues are discussed in the following section. Schedule Problem in low Demand Routes Due to insufficient demand in some domestic routes, sometimes private airlines have failed to maintain their schedules properly or stopped operation in those routes. This may hamper future expansion in these routes. Government may consider subsidizing these routes. Choice of Aircraft One of the dominant factors of airline business is the appropriate size of aircraft. But some airlines have failed to procure proper and suitable aircraft for their operation. They have purchased aircrafts those are too backdated for safe and profitable operation. Proper advice and guidance are required in this regard. Development of long-term Strategic Plan Except GMG Airlines others have no long-term strategy or any specific future plan to expand and develop their operation. These airlines even had not even made any feasibility study before they started their business. As airline industry requires huge capital investment, long term strategies are vital for survival in the business. Level of Service Standards In some cases the private airlines have failed to improve quality service especially in the case of passenger compensation. Government should make strict regul ation in this regard and ascertain consumers’ right. Poor Performance in Analyzing the Current Condition The PCAs do not have good record keeping mechanism and thus unable to make routine performance evaluation or at least analyze or check the current cost and revenue conditions. Due to lack of experience in the aviation market, these new airline companies sometimes ignore the basic management principles. Lack of adequate consideration in this area may lead to financial and management crisis. Safety Aspect For profit maximization purpose, private airlines may neglect the safety issue, which is the most important factor of airline business in terms of reliability. Civil Aviation authority must impose some strict guidelines and safety precautions for providing the service on the private companies. At present twenty-seven airlines have the permission to operate in the domestic routes of Bangladesh. For the success of privatization policy it is essential for the airlines currently in operation to present a better and efficient performance. As the air travel demand in the country is still v ery low, entry of too many operators may jeopardize the situation. Also proper training related to the technology and systems need to be arranged. CONCLUSIONS A comprehensive review of the potentiality of privatization of domestic air transportation system of Bangladesh has been presented in this paper. The short-term trend suggests that the private airlines have a great opportunity in the domestic air travel market of the country. Their performances are quite satisfactory. There still exist a lot of room for improvement. This paper is concluded by addressing some implications in the light of the results of this study. (1)The trends in domestic air travel demand in Bangladesh suggest that in near future private airline companies will dominate the domestic market. (2) The operating costs of government operators are about 25-30 percent higher than those of the private operators under the same level of service. (3) From the cost elements it is evident that the administrative and maintenance costs of the public airline are significantly higher than the same for private airlines. This is indicative of the lack of management efficiency existing in the country. (4) Due to the introduction of private airlines the consumers’ benefit has increased significantly. (5) Although the private air line companies have so far performed quite satisfactorily, for betterment of aviation industry of the country and success of privatization policy of the government, some regulations need to be imposed. For this purpose a governing and advisory organization is required. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors are grateful to the private airline companies as well as to the authority of Biman Bangladesh Airline for their help during the course of this study. REFERENCES BBS (1996), Statistical Y Book of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. ear Karim, D.M. (1998), A Study on Demand and Supply of Domestic Air Transportation in Bangladesh, Research Project Report, Department of Civil Engineering, BUET, Dhaka.