Resource,learning and talent mgt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Resource,learning and talent mgt - Essay Example Graphic models, data and regression statistics support studies on leadership. Barker (2001) finds that management and leadership are two diverse topics. The statement by Barker shows that leadership and management cannot be used in an interchangeable manner because of their diverse nature. The differences between management and leadership show that it is difficult for an individual to become a good leader and manager at the same time. Organizations offer platforms for learning and developing effective management and leadership practices. An individual has the capabilities of navigating the two positions with the right knowledge and experience (Darr, 2011, p. 4). Leaders identify possible areas that require change and pursue them. These changes are facilitated by organizational theories of action that enable employees and followers to map their actions. Leadership begins with an individual’s choice to pursue and begin the process of change. Organizations, groups and teams requi re effective managers and leaders who can successfully run operations. Leaders and managers influence their employee’s job satisfaction and the operations of a learning organization. This means that leaders influence people’s actions and their abilities to map their actions in order to align with expected outcomes. ... e, Bill Gates assumes the state of both a leader and a manager though the two fields have different definitions, skill sets and behavioral consistency that contribute to effective leadership and management (Lesinski 2009 p. 45). For example, he motivates the workers by setting the vision of the organization, but also participates in providing operational guidelines as evident in the launch of various products within the company (Su-Chao, and Ming – Shing 2007 p. 156). Differences between Leadership and Management Leadership involves acting on possibilities that can influence an organization. This means that leaders see possibilities, describe the possibilities and plan to pursue the possibilities (Lain & Judy 2001 p. 21). For example, Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic has assumed the role of a leader by providing a vision that contributes to the growth of the company. This has improved his standing in the society because he seems to understand the needs of the company bey ond the management, and administrative roles (Carter 2013 p. 2). Conversely, management occurs as the act of coordinating efforts of people in order to accomplish objectives and goals. For example, the Manager at Bank of America seems to focus on goals stipulated by the administrative entities as well as the vision of stakeholders. He rarely acts on his own since the organization works as a system. Leadership begins with an individual who is willing to act as an agent of change. The main role of a leader is to envision a future and become an agent of change for the achievement of the future. Leadership starts with an individual’s choice to begin the processes of change. According to Dessler (2004), leadership, â€Å"is one person influencing another to willingly work towards a predetermined

Spain and portugal Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Spain and portugal - Annotated Bibliography Example The oldest brother Juan at age 32 will be coming back home after studying abroad in France. He had gone there and accomplished his goal of getting his master’s in Business. Now his goal was to set out on another adventure, since he had traveled to France now he wanted to see more of this wonderful world. The middle brother Roberto at the age of 26 was following his older brother’s steps. This trip to him was to celebrate that he had gotten into the master’s program and would soon be traveling to Italy to finish it there. This was to prepare him for the outside world and get more of an insight on what he would soon experience. Carlos the youngest was simply going with them to celebrate his 21st birthday and as well he just wanted to experience an adventure of a lifetime. However, he had also at such a young age gotten his bachelor’s in computer since at the University of Denver. All three of the Luna brothers want to make this an experience of a lifetime. Not only that they want this experience to help them grow with each other, to help them be able to go on off on their own and know how to be responsible. They love adventure and what will make this trip even better is that since they all like different things it makes the trip have a lot of diversity. This trip they will embark on will last 21 days and in these days the trip we want to prepare will make them learn things from each other. For example while one of them like’s things outdoors, historical sites, and museums. The other one likes just the nightlife, parties, and fancy restaurants. On the other hand the other one likes to just interact with the locals and just to go around and do a little shopping. They know their income all together does not add up to get a life of a king, but it will be enough for them to have a great trip and to enjoy everything they want. During this trip we will take the clients to explore 3 major cities two of them belong to the country of Spain, which are the

Covenants of the Old Testament Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Covenants of the Old Testament - Research Paper Example Whether it is one covenant expressed in different contexts and hence different forms, or it is different covenants with different persons, depends to a certain extent on individual interpretations† (Poon 42). God has made covenants with certain persons in the Hebrew Bible and some of these covenants could be unconditional or could clearly depend on the loyalty or fidelity of the human partner. God established covenants with notable people in the bible like Noah, Abraham, Moses and David (Brueggemann 91). It is important to note which of the covenants that God established with these persons in the Hebrew Bible that is unconditional and the ones that are conditional. In the book of Genesis, God made a covenant with Noah after he (God) had used flood to destroy the people of the earth except Noah and his family. According to the bible, God told Noah that, I solemnly promise you and your children and the animals you brought with you- all these birds and cattle and wild animals- tha t I will never again send another flood to destroy the earth. And I seal this promise with this sign: I have placed my rainbow in the clouds as a sign of my promise until the end of time, to you and to all the earth. When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will be seen in the clouds, and I will remember my promise to you and to every being, that never again will the floods come and destroy all life. For I will see the rainbow in the cloud and remember my eternal promise to every living being on the earth. Gen. 9:8-17 In the covenant that God made to Noah, it is clear that God did not like the fact that he had to destroy the people that he created with flood and due to the love that he had for Noah and his family, he had to establish this covenant with Noah and his generation. God promised not to open the floodgates of heaven and use water to destroy the world again. He promised that he would not destroy humans and animals with flood as he told Noah that the rainbow that appea rs in the cloud is the sign of the covenant that he (God) made with Noah and his generation. The rainbow shows that, to every covenant, there is a sign. The rainbow is also a reminder to man of God’s promise never to use flood to destroy the world again. This covenant could also be referred to the covenant of the preservation of life (Harris & Platzner 14). God gave Noah this covenant to assure him of his steadfast love for the human race. However, it should be noted that, the covenant that God made with Noah is an unconditional one as it did not in any way depend on the fidelity of the human partner. At this point, it is also pertinent to take a look at the covenant that God made with Abraham, who was a descendant of Noah. Abraham was a man of faith; he was a man that walked with God. As a result of Abraham’s faithfulness, God had to establish a covenant with him. God bestowed a great blessing upon Abraham that has made people to be blessed through him. In the fifteen th chapter of Genesis, God tells Abram (as his name was called then) that, â€Å"I have given this land to your descendants from the Wadi-el-Arish to the Euphrates River. And I give to them these nations: Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim. Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, Jebusites.† (Gen. 15:18-21). This was the covenant that

The Internal Analysis for Costco in US Research Paper

The Internal Analysis for Costco in US - Research Paper Example The corporation currently operates approximately 387 warehousing-shopping clubs in United States. This has played a great role in creating trust among the target market an aspect that has increased the corporations resources (Costco wholesale, 2010). Another resource that Costco is proud of is the brand name. The corporation has been able to invest heavily in its brand name. This has been through intense advertisement in order to familiarize the name with the market. As a result, the brand name acts an important asset that the company owns. In addition, the brand name plays a great role in the market as it is one of the resources that are used in the market as a competitive tool. The reputation that the company holds in the market plays a great role in ensuring that the corporation remain one of the most competitive wholesalers in the market (Hoovers, 2012). The Corporation has put great emphasis on improving its technology which is a great resource. With the current changes in techn ological level, companies must work hard in an attempt to remain competitive. As a result, the corporation keeps on reviewing its technology in order to install the current technology. This has enabled the corporation to keep on satisfying the interests of consumers and aspect that has created customer loyalty towards the products (Hoovers, 2012). Costco wholesale has high qualified personnel. These are able to read the market behavior and identify any changes that might occur in the market. The personnel working as a team are also a great resource that the company has as it is able to solve any challenge that may lead to collapse of the wholesale (Hoovers, 2012). Capabilities Costco Corporation has the ability to sell its products at a low price. Since the corporation has spread its risks through diversification of its operations, the corporation is able to reduce its profit margins in some of its branches and still able to sustain its operations. This has also been supported by us e of machinery in its operations an aspect that has reduced the overall cost of production therefore, lowering the breakeven price. This provides an opportunity for the company to attract more customers and maintain the existing customers. This has made Costco competitors e.g. AutoZone, Inc, Big Lots, Inc etc unable to keep up with Costco’s level of competition. In addition, the corporation keeps low prices through purchasing high quantities and not making up any product more than 15%, less than the typical 25% at the supermarket and 50% at the departmental store. Costco is able to make up for the low margins through charging fifty five dollars annual membership fee. Approximately 90% of its members renew their membership each year thereby making the Corporation to be profitable (Logan, 2012). The corporation has the ability to produce brand that can compete in national levels. Due to its skills, technology and experienced personnel, Costco has the ability to come up with new brand, which will be supported by the financial ability of the corporation to penetrate, position and segment the market. This has been indicated by the introduction of Kirkland Signature which was mainly aimed at competing with other national brands through lowering the prices of the commodity while maintaining quality. Core competences The corporation h

Psychological review Essay Example for Free

Psychological review Essay This interesting movie had many twist and turns that always kept you on the edge of your seat. The mysterious ending could have been interrupted in a variety of different views depending on the person watching the movie. The psychological role of the movie was tremendous, with patients ranging from paranoid schizophrenia to multiple personality disorders. The patients in the Manhattan Institute are suffering from various different disorders. The patient Prot was a delusional person that also suffered from PTSD. He thinks he’s from another planet, and many other of the patients are starting to believe him. Bess is another patient that is in a state of depression called paraiod schizophrenia and psychotic depression. Maria is a patient that is suffering from Multiple Personality Order. Her personalities vary form one to another. Howie is a patient that is on tranquilizers, and he has a desire for perfection. He spends most his time reading dictionaries and encyclopedias which enables him in his mind to speak without any mistakes. Prot is to be said from another planet, K-Pax. The evidence that is supporting his statement would be numerous events in the movie. First, he gave an entire map of his solar system and the exact coordinates. It was an amazing discovery that no other astronomer has yet discovered in our time. Next would be when the scientist said that Prot could see ultraviolet light, no human being can see this light. Also when Prot talked to the doctor’s dog about the kids sneaking up on the dog that the dog did not like that and the dog told him that which he talked to the kids about not sneaking up on the dog from the left side because he was hard of hearing in that ear. Prot said that he was going on a trip to Iceland and Greenland. The doctor didn’t believe him but Prot was missing for a couple of days. When he said he was going back to his planet at that exact time and date, a light came into the room and messed up all the security systems. Also Bess was missing because he said he was going to take one person back with him. After this incident Prot didn’t have to wear his sunglasses, and didn’t talk at all. All of the other patients didn’t recognize him at all. Also where Robert Potter lived near Roswell, New Mexico, which is a place where aliens have been spotted. Also after Robert killed the rapist and murderer he went down to kill himself in the river. The movie never really gives you the exact answer you are looking for as far as if he was an alien or not, it leaves the viewer to determine their own answer. All in All, k-pax is still one of my favorite movies just because of the psychological elements behind it.

Pigovian Tax: Analysis and Overview

Pigovian Tax: Analysis and Overview Neo-classicals uphold perfect competition as the ideal state of the market. But in truth, the economy is fraught with market failures. Therefore, we need government interference to correct many of these market failures. Pigovian Tax imposed by the government is one such course of intervention. It helps to curb negative externalities (e.g. pollution) and reduce the burden on the society caused by the externalities (social costs of production and consumption). Moreover, it attacks over-consumption, bringing it closer to the socially optimal level of production and/or consumption. The paper examines the effects of Pigovian tax and analyses its degree of effectiveness on an economy. What is Pigovian Tax? Pigovian tax is a kind of tax, which is levied to correct a negative cost that is created by the actions of any business firm, but that is not considered in a firms private costs or profits. Also known as sin tax, it is a tax placed on an action with a  negative externality,  to correct market failure (Mankiw, 2010). In the presence of negative externalities, the  social cost  Ã‚  of a market activity is not covered by the private cost of the activity. In such a case, the market outcome is not  efficient  Ã‚  and may lead to over-consumption of the product. A Pigovian tax equal to the negative externality is thought to correct the market outcome back to the level of efficiency. For example, a factory does not financially take into consideration the damages caused to the environment by their emissions. By imposing Pigovian Tax, the government can artificially make the firms bear the cost of the damages, which will ideally be equal to what the price would have been if a market for such an activity existed. In a country like Canada with a publicly funded health care system, that is, where the medical service of every patient is funded from government revenues, the cigarette tax acts as a Pigovian tax it raises the revenue necessary to offset the expenses towards the health care system, as a consequence of smoking. Pigovian Tax in Implementation This idea was first put forward by Arthur Cecil Pigou in the year 1912. In his book, The Economics of Welfare, he argued that industrialists seek their own marginal private interest, while not taking into account the social costs of their activities. Pigovian tax is the difference between marginal social cost and the marginal private cost, which is equal to the marginal external cost, shown as Tax in the diagram. The tax level may not equal the marginal external cost at quantities other than the socially optimum equilibrium level. The diagram indicates that marginal external cost increases with increase in quantity produced or consumed. After imposition of the Pigovian Tax, the new supply curve intersects demand (the marginal benefit) at the socially efficient quantity. As a result, the new competitive equilibrium, taking into account the amount of the tax, is efficient. Although this tax works perfectly in theory, its practical implementation is very difficult due to a lack of complete information on the cost of the damages to the environment. When Arthur Pigou first came up with the concept, he laid down a set of assumptions, one of which is a perfectly competitive market. Yet, perfect competition is an unrealistic situation. Monopoly, monopsony and oligopoly markets are commonplace. To internalize the external cost, the government needs to intervene by way of imposing taxes. Pigovian tax can be applied to all spheres of production, be it production of a good (automobile) or service (transportation, banking etc). Baumol and Oates (1975) argue that if Pigovian tax is set equal to the level of marginal damage (external cost) at the Pareto-optimal level of pollution, the industry will move towards its optimal pollution level. The tax is applied to the production of a good that has an externality. Overhead: Pigovian Tax Anatomy from Diagram 2- i. Unregulated result (Q, P) ii. Socially efficient level of production = Q iii. Efficient Pigovian tax = P-P iv. Tax payment to government (shared by consumer and producers = PACP v. Gross benefit from decrease in externality = ADBC vi. Foregone consumption benefits i.e., the social cost of abatement = ABC vii. Net benefit to society = ADB Pigovian tax enhances welfare of the society; restricting over-consumption. It also generates additional revenue for the government. Roland Coase (1960) propounded that if markets may not secure the optimal amount of externality, they can be very gently nudged in that direction without the necessity for full-scale regulatory activity. Yet again, the coarse theorem faces criticism. Property rights are not as strictly defined as required by the coarse theorem. Coarse argued that social costs are even worse if only the offender pays for the social harm and not the consumers for whom the goods and services are produced. Under the Pigovian Tax, it is only the firms who pay for the externalities. Moreover, it is difficult to calculate the right tax in a world of imperfect Coarsian bargains. The concept has evolved through time and many similar ideas were developed such as the Coarse theorem, emission trading i.e. cap and trade (Europe), Environmental Protection agencies (U.S.) formed with the idea of command and control, carbon tax, and tradable permits. The principal problem remains that of quantifying the externality. There is some debate about whether to quantify externalities if the methods are imperfect. The usual response is that as long as we are honest about the flaws in the numbers, it is better to have some numbers than none (Phillips, Carl V, 1999). The benefits accrued by taxing externalities are more than that without taxing the externalities as shown with the game theory approach. The co-ordination game consists of two players, Company A and Company B, with two strategies: Subject to Pigovian Tax and Not Subject to Pigovian Tax. The payoffs of each player are given in the matrix. Nash equilibrium occurs at 2 points, when both companies are subject to Pigovian taxes and when both companies are not subject to Pigovian taxes. If both the companies are ready to bear the social costs, the benefits of sustainability accrued to the companies and society as a whole are more than if the costs are not borne by either company. The many forms of Pigovian Tax Since players dont always come to a socially efficient negotiation, there is a traditional way of limiting externalities command and control. This approach sets quantity limits on activities that have external effects. However, the method is cumbersome. While this method has been undertaken by the US government, the economies of Europe consider cap and trade as a better solution. It causes the least polluting firms to do the majority of the production since their social cost of production is the lowest. Rajeev K. Goel and Edward W. T. Hsieh laid down a two-period model in their research (Durable Emissions and Optimal Pigovian Taxes) where a social planner minimizes social damage by setting the per-unit Pigovian tax on a polluting monopolist. Results show that for a given level of production, the durability of emissions and the socially optimal Pigovian tax are negatively related. Mike Moffatt, in his article named Pigovian Taxes Joining the Pigou  Club; Promoting Economic Growth and Reducing  Externalities, wrote in favor of Pigovian Tax, stating, One of the uses of taxes is to discourage activity that has negative externalities, or we believe is otherwise economically/socially harmful. The benefits accrued versus the inherent failings In addition to correcting social disequilibrium, these taxes also raise revenue for the state. In 2004-2005, the Canadian government collected $16.7 billion in other taxes, which were largely Pigovian taxes such as energy taxes and excise taxes on cigarettes and alcohol (Moffat, 2006). In theory, using Pigovian taxes to correct what economists call market failures is simple. But in practice, its not so. The important problem often ignored by advocates of Pigovian taxes is what might be called the measurement problem or the Knowledge Problem. Pigou himself also declared that it must be confessed, however, that we seldom know enough to decide in what fields and to what extent the State, on account of [the gaps between private and public costs] could interfere with individual choice (Pigou, 1954). Pigou and  Friedrich Hayek  point out that the assumption that the government can determine the marginal social cost of a negative externality and convert that amount into a monetary value is a key weakness in the framework of the Pigovian tax. The economists blackboard model assumes knowledge we dont possess its a model with assumed givens, which are in contrast with real-world happenings.  Friedrich Hayek  would argue that this is knowledge which could not be prov ided as a given by any method, yet could be discovered, due to insuperable cognitive limits. However, the key difficulty with this tax is calculating what level of applied tax would counterbalance the negative externalities. Even when a Pigovian tax is charged to correct the market imperfection in a world with regulations and efficient transfers, the observed amount of the externality (e.g., pollution) is unlikely to be zero since we will still observe some externalities as a consequence of the exchanges and transfers. The rate of tax best set should be equal to the per-unit external cost that spills over into the society. A tax imposed without such calculations may well be inefficient and redundant. There is also political influence on the levied tax, in such a way that lobbying of government by the polluters may tend to reduce the level of the tax levied and which would ultimately reduce the mitigating effect of tax and lead to increase in production. Instead of accomplishing the goal of the tax imposed, the burden shifts to the society. Thomas A. Barthold (1994) argued that in the US in the year 1994, the actual policy decisions often came from budget requirements, and not concern for the environment. The taxes do not always comply with economic theory because social benefits and costs are hard to measure. He uses the 1989 Montreal Protocol as an example. President George H. W. Bush signed this protocol that allowed either a permit auction or a tax on ozone-depleting chemicals. Barthold attributes the decision to implement the tax to the pressure on the Ways and Means committee to come up with more consistent revenue. Like the other taxes imposed by the government, Pigovian tax gives air to malpractices like black marketing, smuggling and child labour, especially if they create large differences in the prices of products, which are popular, and if the demand for the product increases in spite of the increase in production. Pigovian Tax imposed by the government is a complex mechanism. It has its societal merits and elementary de-merits. While it covers the cost of negative externalities and eliminates the burden of society, on the same page, it may also hamper the growth of industries leading to inefficiency of small industries. In a monopsony market, where there is only one buyer, it is difficult to impose Pigovian tax since the burden of the tax will be borne by one entity. This may consequently lead to rise in the prices of the commodity. When Pigovian tax is imposed, in a monopolistic competitive market, the tax will be borne by a large number of consumers and hence, the burden of tax is divided. While it can be said that imposing Pigovian tax would lead to a reduction in the level of quantity produced of a commodity by an industry, it can also cause the industries to look upon to new advancements in technologies. This will open doors to research and innovation in the field. For example, the company AkzoNobel Industrial Chemicals is always trying to innovate and make a leap forward in its development to achieve its target to reduce CO2 emissions. Its production facility in Mariager in Denmark uses wood to generate electricity. Wood and other plant-based materials are also used to produce chemical building blocks. Moreover, this shift in technology by commodity producers will cause the externality to be automatically internalised. Whatever benefits Pigovian taxes might be able to provide, it will usually give diminishing returns past a certain point, where the government might fail to achieve their objectives of meaningfully reducing the excess social costs. Instead, these kinds of taxes would appear to simply become a vehicle by which politicians may raise tax revenue by imposing a discriminatory tax policy aimed at an undesirable minority. Therefore, only where  institutional and trade solutions are not efficient, the government should consider whether specific  interventions, regulation or specific  taxes are appropriate to address externalities. These measures are preferable when the net efficiency gains from the  intervention are larger than the associated administrative and compliance costs. This suggests that intervention is desirable when externalities are reasonably large.

Techno †Cihuatl: The Birth of a Modern Mexican Female. :: Culture Cultural Mexico Papers

Techno – Cihuatl: The Birth of a Modern Mexican Female I learned about computers and technology a little at a time, from simple games, to web building and heavy use of applications. Some of the knowledge came form a school setting; most of it I acquired from trial and error and by a friend’s teachings I overcame the limitations of growing up in a Third-World country (Mexico) with little access to technology and tried to keep up with its changes as time went by. My country has had a love-hate relationship with the US for a long time. Within the huge Mexican middle class there are different opinions regarding the US way of life. While some people crave to have every single item of "gringo-wealth" such as electronics, clothing and even food, some others are deeply concerned about the "loss of identity" "deculturalization" and hegemony that US-like culture has brought to Mexico. This phenomenon is particularly clear among the generation born in the seventies, especially women. Young Mexicanas that are now in their middle twenties are torn apart between two worlds: First, the technology – driven college education and work that are the symbols of US - imported woman liberation. Second, the motherhood – housewife roles traditionally imposed on them by the Mexican culture along with their religious, mystical, and cultural implications. Instead of marrying both ideas into a nice middle term, Mexican society (which is still a male dominated environment) tends to relegate them apart: either you become a housewife, or a professional. I consider that these extremes are always detrimental. I was the first-born of a young couple fresh out of college. My parents belonged to the first generation of Mexicans that lost their political innocence (and correctness) with the student’s riots of ‘68; they were rebels by nature. My mother was a biochemical engineer in a society where women were supposed to be teachers or housewives. My father was the only one out of five sibling who finished college, and he worked in a transnational firm, which was very odd at the time. Unlike most of our relations, we were no strangers of technology, mainly because we "imported" many appliances from California, where my uncles lived. We had a black and white TV; my father listened music using certain tapes that looked like Nintendo cartridges and he also had acetate discs, we had no telephone, but we were the first family in our block to get a microwave.