Saturday, August 31, 2019

Evaluation of a groups work Essay

I will be evaluating two groups’ still images, on the subject of fame. The first group I have chosen is Matt, Sally, Elena and Naomi’s group. I liked there still images as I thought they used a good range of levels and had good spatial awareness. For their first still image they had a celebrity in the centre, two people trying to reach over and get autographs, and another person on the floor on her knees, taking pictures of the celebrity. I think this was a good image as it showed the after fame pictures. I liked the fact that Elena playing the celebrity, was in the centre and was the one standing up right, as two people were leant over, trying to get autographs, and the other person was on the floor taking a picture. This showed levels and status, it showed that she was the centre of attention, and the person getting all the attention, whilst the others were at a lower status and have a much lower status in society. We can tell this as they are at lower levels than the person in the middle. The second image displayed good spatial awareness, as each individual thing that was represented had its own space, and it was very clear and easy to see what the meaning of it was. It represented a lifestyle of sex, drugs and fame. In one corner there was two people hugging, in the centre there was a person laying on the floor, and to the other side and slightly to the back was a person reading a newspaper story, of the things going on around her. I think the people were positioned carefully and the levels were also varied. However I think this still image could have been improved slighty, by bringing the person reading the story forwards, so that what she is reading is going on behind her. This would make it clearer that she is reading these things about sex and drugs. The second group I have chosen is Lucy, Laura, Beth and Bens’ group. I liked their still images, as they were both a negative one and a positive one. Their first still image their was one person in the middle, surrounded by paparazzi. This also shows status, as all the paparazzi were bent over at different levels trying to get a picture, it shows that the person in the middle has the most attention, and has the highest status. However the person doesn’t want to be photographed, and is trying to turn away from the cameras. This is an after fame still image, and in my opinion shows that the celebrity, is maybe not ready for fame and is very new in this society. The second still image shows a pro fame image. There is 4 girls in a row striking a pose, it seems like this is a photo from just before they become famous. These two images show contrast, as the first image shows someone who is in the lime light but maybe is not to keen to be, and the second image is the complete opposite with a girl band posing for the camera lapping up all the limelight and absorbing their first few seconds of fame, thinking that they are going to get all the fame and glory.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Case Study Analysis: The Need for Time Management Essay

According to Karen M. Williams, the â€Å"poor management of time will prevent a business from reaching its full potential† (1994, p. 1). Carl Robin’s case study is the perfect example of why time management is a crucial skill in the business world. Carl has been a campus recruiter for ABC Inc. for six months and recently hired fifteen new trainees who will work under the Operations Supervisor Monica Carrolls. Carl’s primary objective is to hold a new hire orientation; unfortunately, he let several key issues fall through the cracks and now it seems as though the orientation will not happen. Time management is extremely important and should have been used when coordinating recruitment activities. There are many arguments that could be made in this case study such as Carl being too new to his job to be in charge of the recruiting process, or that there should be more people involved in the effort overall. In this analysis a discussion will be made on the causal ch ain of problems that occurred because of Carl’s poor choices and inability to use his time wisely. As a result of Carl procrastinating and not using time management effectively, a causal chain of trouble was created. In order to fix this chain of trouble Carl must employ time management. Carl Robins was not prepared for leading the recruitment process. According to the case study, Carl is in a panic because his June 15th orientation is ruined because none of the elements are in place. If he was prepared to lead the recruitment process then he would have known to employ good time management skills. A little less than three months should have been enough time to coordinate the orientation and ensuring that all other issues are taken care of before the June 15th orientation meeting. Carl needed to be on top of all the different pieces that are involved in the recruitment process. Since call had only been employed for a few months, Carl did not know how to use good time management skills. This is a common  occurrence when time management is not used properly (Williams, 1994). Since Carl was new to the company he did not know that time management skills are necessary to complete each task in time for the orientation. There were several tasks that needed to be completed by Carl before the orientation in order for it to be a success. For example, Carl needed to create a training schedule and organize the orientation. Organization of the orientation included scheduling the meeting and ensuring that no other events were taking place in the training room during that time. He also had to put together manuals and policy booklets for trainees, and coordinate their physicals and drug tests. Carl also needed to make sure all these tasks were completed by trainees. He then had to ensure that each trainee’s transcript and application was on file prior to the orientation. None of these tasks were complete as of two weeks before the orientation date. Since Carl could not complete the tasks as required, the orientation will not be successful. The case study indicates that Carl procrastinated. Procrastination led to Carl not completing the required tasks in time. Procrastination can be a serious problem in the workplace which results in the need for â€Å"fires† to constantly be put out (Estroff Marano, 2003). Procrastination leads to people waiting until the last minute to attempt tasks. In this case, Carl looked into the tasks that needed to be completed only a couple weeks before the due date. There are numerous reasons that people procrastinate according to Kantra (2010). Some of the most common reasons for procrastination include the desire to avoid discomfort, or the need for perfection causes people to avoid doing a task; for example a person may decide to put off a task because they feel they can’t give 100% to the task (2010). Some people also suffer from self-doubt that they won’t be able to complete the task at hand; and there are some people who are just plain lazy (2010). In Carl’s case it is difficult to say with certainty what caused him to procrastinate as much as he did. As a new employee of the company it is possible that Carl suffered from self-doubt since he has never handled a recruitment event on his own. Regardless of the reason, it is evident that the reason none of the orientation tasks were not completed was because Carl procrastinated. Carl did not utilize his time well because he didn’t use time management. Carl should have used time management skills to ensure that all the orientation tasks were completed. By implementing time management skills Carl would havebeen able to better utilize his time. For example, he could have created a chart of what tasks needed to be completed and by when. Instead of waiting until the end to determine that drug tests and physicals were not complete, Carl could have informed trainees immediately what they needed to do and made arrangements for them to go to the clinic by the end of April. Another time management skill that would have helped Carl utilize his time better would be to review the existing policy and manual booklets within the first month to decide what was missing and fix them. The Operations Supervisor informed Carl of the various tasks that were needed by June 15th. This gave Carl an entire month to complete the above mentioned tasks and he assured his supervisor that everything would be completed; unfortunately, Carl was wrong. Carl did not utilize his time well because he didn’t use time management. Scheduling conflicts were also a problem in this case study. When Carl checked on some of the tasks at the end of May (after Memorial Day), nothing was completed and the training room was booked .Carl had not checked with the training room schedule to determine whether it was free on June 15th. As a result, another employee was using it for the entire month for his training class. This is a huge problem that could have been avoided if Carl had been better prepared. Carl should have double checked everything prior to the orientation to ensure that no last minute details were overlooked. Scheduling is a part of time management. Carl had a list of tasks that he needed to complete such as booking the orientation room. The orientation room was not available because of scheduling conflicts. This case study demonstrates conflicts of schedule. Carl should come up with an alternative plan of action. Carl was faced with the decision of whether he should just admit he failed and face the conseq uences of his actions, or make an attempt at fixing this problem. Carl will likely have to admit to his supervisor that he made many mistakes in coordinating the orientation since the supervisor will likely question any changes to the schedule. However, he should not give up, but rather come up with an alternative. An alternative plan is needed, which should have been a part of his process to begin with it. There should always be a plan B. Alternative solutions to Carl’s immediate problem are a few though. If Carl is to forge ahead in hopes of actually holding the orientation then he needs to move fast. He has approximately two weeks from the point he discovers the problems to the date  of the orientation. If he moves efficiently and uses effective time management skills, he should still be able to hold the orientation. Carl must create an alternative plan of action in order for the orientation to be held on time. Now that Carl knows there are major problems he must sit down and creatively come up with a plan. First, he must contact trainees and have them report to the clinic within the next 48 hours. This of course, is not ideal and would put a lot of pressure on the trainees, but it must be done. If for some reas on some of the trainees cannot do it within the 48 hour time frame, an extension could be made, but it cannot extend longer than the end of the first week. This is because he will need to have time to collect results, and take appropriate actions based on those results, which will take a few days. He must also contact the Human Resources department and get copies of all fifteen applications and transcripts. If they do not have copies, then Carl must contact the trainees and have them deliver them to him no later than at the end of the first week. During that first week, Carl must also search for an alternative room for the orientation. It might be possible to hold the orientation in another room within the company. Perhaps there is an auditorium or meeting room that can be used. Carl must be creative in order to create a plan. Once the most time consuming tasks are complete, Carl must address the policy and manual handbooks. This can be done in the second week to allow for the more important issues to be handled during the first week. This can be a fairly easy task. Any policy or manual documentation that isn’t available should be available at the Human Resources department. Once he receives the documents, he can copy the pages and then put them together. This is the final task that needs to be completed and can be accomplished in just a day. There is also always the possibility of moving the date of the orientation to after June when the orientation room would be available. This would also give Carl enough time to coordinate the various tasks that need to be completed. The problems that occur with this approach are that it is unprofessional and will give the company a bad impression of Carl, especially since this is his first attempt at recruiting. Also, Carl’s original plan was to get the trainees working by July. To move the orientation date into July would go against his original plan. Therefore, moving the date of orientation is not an acceptable alternate solution. As previously mentioned Carl’s options are limited. The  fact that he is new at this particular position calls for a quick and effective solution to the problem. His supervisor will know that something went wrong when she sees that the orientation loca tion has been moved. It is for this reason that Carl’s best choice is to admit he made a mistake, but then demonstrate that he has remedied that mistake effectively. When he approaches the supervisor about the mistake, he should have proof in hand of the new plan and all the completed tasks. The blame should not be entirely placed on Carl seeing as he is a new hire in his position of recruiter. As a new hire, he should have had someone assisting him through the steps of coordinating a new trainee orientation. There is also no mention of an employee handbook, or similar that would have helped him through the process. Having a partner or superior, as well as a manual for directions, is common in the workplace which is why it is surprising that these were not present in the case study. Perhaps the organization itself is not well organized. A large project such as the one Carl was working on calls for collaboration. Collaboration in an organization is of critical importance. As mentioned above, it was surprising that Carl did not have a superior to walk him through his first recruitment event. This does not mean, however, that Carl couldn’t have approach a fellow employee for assistance. If Carl had reached out to fellow employees, perhaps the tasks would have been completed on time through collaborative efforts. Research has shown that collaboration creates a flexible and productive workplace (Beyerlein, et al., 2003). It is unknown whether ABC Inc. fosters a collaborative environment; however, reaching out to coworkers for assistance in not usually frowned upon by management in most companies. Carl should have sought to collaborate on the recruitment project. Effective time management would have helped Carl complete each task and to recognize certain problems, such as the unavailable training room, prior to the June 15th deadline. Carl had an opportunity to demonstrate his recruitment skills for the first time and two weeks prior to the project deadline was faced with the fact that he might fail. Unfortunately none of the tasks were completed and the room was unavailable to him. The only appropriate choice was to attempt to get all tasks completed within the two week span before the orientation date. This is unprofessional and will  highlight his mistakes to his supervisor; however, it is better to fix the mistakes and then admit them, rather than to admit to the mistakes and not fix them at all. Effective time management skills would have helped Carl to successfully fulfill his recruitment event tasks. References Beyerlein, M.M., Freedman, S., McGee, C., and Moran, L. (2003). The Ten Principles of Collaborative Organizations. Journal of Organizational Excellence. Retrieved March 29, 2012 from http://courses.washington.edu/nutrmgmt/564_ArticlesUsed_07/Beyerlein_Teams_03.pdf Estroff Marano, H. (2003). Procrastination: Ten Things to Know. Psychology Today. Retrieved on March 14, 2012 from http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200308/procrastination-ten-things-know Kantra, D.S. (2010). Just Do It! Why People Procrastinate. PsychDigest. Retrieved March 29 2012 from http://psychdigest.com/just-do-it-why-people-procrastinate/ Williams, K.M. (1994). Tips on Effective Time Management. Ohio State University. Retrieved on March 14, 2012 from http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/1006.html

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Executive Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Executive Summary - Essay Example Generally, the advancement in technology has led to the increase in the use of computers worldwide even in the developing countries. This implies that there is increase in the demand for computers and the subsequent repair to the parts. This presents a chance for the company to offer its services worldwide. The business was formed in February 13th 2011 with the founders being Michael McDonald and Ben Omogen. McDonald and Omogen are the directors for the company ensuring that the there is positive image of the firm in the market, especially to the investors. The company has employed two hundred and fifteen in all its five locations in USA. The main branch is in New York with the other branches being in California, Illinois, New Orleans, and Missouri. In terms of performance, the company is in a good position in the market when considering the higher sales that it got in its last year operation. The company obtained an overall of $200,000 compared to the $50,000 in last year. This represents a growth of $150000 within just one year. The company also realized a net increase in its cash and cash equivalents of $41383 as shown in the income statement. Computer Galore complement the computer retail business by offering repair service after the computer’s warranty coverage has elapsed. Computer Galore will engage in the selling of computer parts and software and is also engaged in the customization, upgrade, repair, virus removal and hard disk data recovery of computers (Du et al, 2008). The company intends to create a niche in the computer retail and service industry by providing customized computers as well as providing repair service at a significantly lower cost than competition delivered through an unparalleled customer service. It will work in synergy with the computer customization business as the skills needed in the repair

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

TESLA MOTORS, INC Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

TESLA MOTORS, INC - Research Paper Example Most people have welcomed the new developments brought about by making revolutionary electric cars, but there are still many that are still to be convinced that the electric way and specifically the route taken by Tesla is the future.This work is intended to highlight initiatives that can get more customers on-board1. One of the most apparent concerns by customers about electric cars is the issue of mirage since this specific sector is not as adequately supported by other parties such as power supply. The primary purpose as to why the firm has been in a position to succeed in the market is because it has found a way to achieve a commendable mirage from its batteries. In a revolutionary platform that Tesla built for itself, solving one issue cause the rise of another. The fire that broke out in the Model S raised national and international concerns that the car may not be safe. The source of the fire was recognized to be as a result of an object hitting the batteries at speed.2 Tesla hence has to revise its strategy of building batteries while deliberating over the two issues. Safety is the key concern since the company has already achieved the installation of the batteries that offer the highest mirage in the market. Increasing this mirage is of course a major consideration to be made, but safety should be the key issue. It is essential to get a way to install the batteries in a part of the car that does not pose a hazard for its occupants. Although the Roadster and the Model S can both be considered as successes for the company on the bases of economics and laying a favorable foundation for the company to establish itself, the company has failed to establish a wide range of vehicles for customers to select from. This is of utmost importance seeing to it that competitors have already realized that Tesla is capable of providing proper competition. But Tesla still has some shortcomings such as the availability of only two models for

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Lahore Pakistans Shahi Mohalla prostitution district Research Proposal

Lahore Pakistans Shahi Mohalla prostitution district - Research Proposal Example This dance was very exotic and colorful and was used to entertain the Muslim nobility of South Asia. In her book titled ‘Taboo’ The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area’, eminent writer and human rights activist, Fouzia Saeed gives us the bigger picture of this famous red light district of Lahore’s famous Shahi Mohalla in Pakistan with all its prostitutes, pimps, customers, managers, musicians and all the others. The ancient traditions of great dances by courtesans used for entertaining the royalty, is still continued even today, while these people try to eke out a living. According to the writer Khushwant Singh, during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Hira Mandi was named after the minister who was in charge of that district called Hira Singh. Previously, it was called as Shahi Mohalla, which meant ‘Royal Neighborhood, because it was very near to the royal dwellings of the Mughals. This age old tradition of prostitution of South Asia is always very closely linked to great performances of both music and dance. This book also highlights the fact that these dancers and musicians have laid an indelible imprint in the world of performing arts by its contribution. According to Fouzia, ‘Pakistani society has created and reinforced many myths to explain why prostitution has nothing to do with ‘nice people’. These myths put all the blame on ‘immoral’ woman who are responsible for tricking ‘honest’ men into sinful acts.’ (Fouzia, 2001) However, our society not only discourages, but also prevents people from questioning these myths. The writer also states that, ‘By exposing our myths about prostitution, the book helps eradicate a blind spot in our understanding of power relations experienced by all women throughout our society.’ (Fouzia, 2001) Prostitutes do not earn huge sums of money and hence their children face very appalling conditions in the red light area. The Society for

Monday, August 26, 2019

Hellenistic Art Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hellenistic Art - Personal Statement Example Each of these generals co-opted the art of the time to display the unique influences that their particular kingdoms engendered. However, the unifying mark that united these differing pieces is the gigantism and baroque nature that the art oftentimes entails. However, this was taken to such an unbelievable extreme that the art lost a great deal of its appeal and became overtly tacky. As a result, gone was the era of the muted and reserved art forms of the classical era. As previously stated, the art form of the Hellenistic period was anything but restrained. Rather than showing the ideals of human and godly actions/virtues, Hellenistic art focused on the very extreme. As such the art oftentimes showed individuals in the throes of mortal combat, characters prostrating themselves in various poses, defeated warriors downing poison, men overcome by fear, the loss of honor in death, and many other such expressive/explosive emotions. In this way details such as the forcefulness of the action or circumstances and the violence of the movements associated with these are amplified. Interestingly, although the same can be said for the mosaics other art forms, the pottery and other earthen rare remained largely unchanged and muted. One could reasonably expect that this was the result of the fact that the artists were attempting to extol the highest degrees of grandeur in the public displays of Hellenistic art; whereas the more muted domestic settings required art forms that did not necessarily need to be so bold and overbearing.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The Electoral College System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Electoral College System - Essay Example The existence of Electoral College Vote system has ensured that only candidates who win the majority Electoral College votes ascend to power. The Electoral College vote system comprises of 538 electors who determine the occupant of the white house. The presidency of the USA is won by whoever gets 270 of the electors’ votes. Electoral College votes vary in different states and the winner of a state’s majority votes wins all the college electoral votes of that particular state. In Bush vs Al Gore case, Al Gore had won in the popular votes, but there was a fierce disagreement over who won the Florida state. Florida State was to decide the winning candidate in terms of electoral votes. Bush won the majority votes in Florida by being declared popular vote winner in that state. This case was later taken to the Florida court, which ordered a recount, but there was a problem on the method to be used in recounting. However, the case was later taken to the US Supreme Court, which nullified the recount process and later made unsatisfactory decision the ultimate winner was George W. Bush. Considering that even the US Supreme Court justices were divided on this matter, it is unclear whether the decision made was political or was strictly based on judicial grounds. Thanks to Al Gore who conceded defeat having realized that based on the supreme court decision, he only managed 266 electoral votes against Bush’s 271 (Baker 1-3).The Electoral College system is believed to be catering for the minority and special group interests. A candidate must consider these groups since their votes may be a determinant in winning a particular state’s popular votes hence college electoral votes. In addition, the college electoral votes promote political stability by allowing only two major parties to exist.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Choice & Manipulation PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Choice & Manipulation - PowerPoint Presentation Example v. Kelly Ayotte, Attorney General of New Hampshire was an important case that decided on the right of the information providers to sell the data related to the prescribing practices of doctors to pharmaceutical companies (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010). The pharmaceutical companies used this information to streamline their detailing strategies, which were already under shadow owing to some questionable practices. The law under question was based on the reason that the pharmaceutical companies used the prescriber specific data to invade doctor privacy and to promote the sale of branded preparations, which augmented the overall cost of providing health facilities to the people (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010, p. 235). The court subscribed to the Central Hudson line of analysis to gauge the constitutionality of this law. Though, the court agreed with the AG’s premise that the restraining of health costs as envisaged by this law was a valid state interest, it felt that this in no way authentic ally proved that the patented drugs caused more harm as compared to generic salts or in any way interfered with the goal of promoting public health (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010). Besides, the court also concluded that the state could resort to many other institutional measures to counter balance the impact of detailing and did not need to restrain pharmaceutical companies from accessing information that they could use to make their marketing strategies more sophisticated (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010, p. 237). Hornell Brewing Company v. State was another important case that delved on the legality and ethics of advertising. Hornell named one of its products, Crazy Horse, which happened to be the name of an esteemed Native American leader (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010, p. 239). The state banned Hornell from...   Ã‚   The law under question was based on the reason that the pharmaceutical companies used the prescriber specific data to invade doctor privacy and to promote the sale of branded preparations, which augmented the overall cost of providing health facilities to the people (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010, p. 235). The court subscribed to the Central Hudson line of analysis to gauge the constitutionality of this law. Though, the court agreed with the AG’s premise that the restraining of health costs as envisaged by this law was a valid state interest, it felt that this in no way authentically proved that the patented drugs caused more harm as compared to generic salts or in any way interfered with the goal of promoting public health (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010). Besides, the court also concluded that the state could resort to many other institutional measures to counter balance the impact of detailing and did not need to restrain pharmaceutical companies from accessing information that they could use to make their marketing strategies more sophisticated (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010, p. 237).  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hornell Brewing Company v. State was another important case that delved on the legality and ethics of advertising. Hornell named one of its products, Crazy Horse, which happened to be the name of an esteemed Native American leader (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010, p. 239). The state banned Hornell from using this name, holding that it hurt the Native American sentiments and made this community more vulnerable to alcoholism (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010, p. 239).

Renaissance and Baroque Artists and Musicians Assignment

Renaissance and Baroque Artists and Musicians - Assignment Example Leonardo Da Vinci, who is one of the greatest celebrated artists of the Renaissance, was also a sculpture, architect, scientist and engineer. He was born in a small town of Vinci, near Florence. During 1940’s his family settled in Florence and he was given â€Å"the best education that Florence, the intellectual and artistic center of Italy, could offer†. His influences from other artists are not very defined, yet, his sound interest in science and â€Å"his in-depth study of human anatomy aided him in mastering the realist art form† (Leonardo Da Vinci's Life). While all other works of arts seem to be static arts, Vinci always tried to create movements in his works and all his works are considered examples of accuracy and perfection. His exposure to his father’s scholarly texts and his apprentice under Andrea del Verrochio in Florence boosted his talents. His most famous works included â€Å"The Last Supper, The Mona Lisa and Vitruvian Man: The Proportion s of the Human Figure†. He died in Cloux, France and legends reveal that â€Å"King Francis was at his side when he died, cradling Leonardo's head in his arms. prestigious St. Michael's School in Là ¼neburg and â€Å"it is almost certain that while in Là ¼neburg, young Bach would have visited the Johanniskirche and heard (and possibly played) the church's famous organ†.. Among many others, his major works that he is famous for includes â€Å"the Brandenburg concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor, the St Matthew Passion†.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Comments on two posts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Comments on two posts - Essay Example How could Germany have altered its command, control, and logistics for more success in the East? One of the most crucial fronts of the war was the east, where Germany launched Operation Barbarossa to occupy Soviet Union and gain control of significant resources in the east.4 According to the post, the winter, bad road conditions, and a lack of cohesion; and that the Germans must have conquered just enough territory to effectively sustain the campaign. However, I think that the biggest mistake of Germany was attempting to conquer the Soviet Union itself, for the Soviet Union was very successful in their industrialization and has so immense resources and manpower to be able to successfully repulse any German advance;5 they must have not invaded the Soviet Union and focused on invading Great Britain instead. Bibliography Clay, Blair. Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939-1942. New York: Cassel & Co., 1996. Higgins, Trumbrull. Hitler and Russia: the Third Reich in a two-front war, 1937-1 943. New York: Macmillan, 1966. Overy, Richard.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Is the current welfare system a problem Essay Example for Free

Is the current welfare system a problem Essay Poverty and inequality has always been the problem that confronts the many leaders of different nations. It was a long weary issue yet unfaltering. The many times we can behold it, the many times will I yell the grievances of the poor and the deprived. Hierarchy of classes occurs since time immemorial. The Biblical times even have account for that, but the most disgusting is the continuous perpetuation of the situation, the despicable and unfathomable exploitation of the poor by the elites and the growing wealth disparity. How many times did proposals were made and yet proposals remain as it is, it never attempt to address the basic needy of the poor. People grew weary and tired in of hoping that all their ails were to be address accordingly, but it was always a fancy illusion. When somebody toils for subsistence, the state always exploits him, his vulnerable soul. Heavy taxes and the cost of living were surging. How can he find fulfillment in a society, which he lives thereby/ it’s all useless. Even justice was at all naught. It favors those who live in luxury and never was fashioned to the marginal population. In every corners of the world, anvil is laid for the rich, and never for the poor. Sometimes, you cannot blame for their wrongdoings, for their transgression on the lives of others. The society pushes them to do so, and apparently, their body reacts. Even the figures published by the government were all falsely done. In a broader perspective poverty does not alleviate, it even upsurge. We need not to dig deeper on the and establish a methodology to measure a single family their capability or incapability to sustain their family to come up to a conclusive grounds that they are really belongs to the poverty line. It is more then enough to see their famished predisposition. But famish must be understood not on its context only. Everybody feels famish at times, anyway. Famish co-exist with duration. The longevity of being coiled to starvation is not a natural process of life. It is a disease inflicted by the society’s unsophisticated individuals. Thus, it is problems that need to be resolve before it’s too late to mend it. Enough for the hullabaloo’s of many politicians who intermittently exhibit their philanthropist being, because as quoted and which I have absorb the lot â€Å"those that are lavish in words are niggard in deeds†, it is undoubtedly true. We cannot deny the fact that we are inclined to let things bend over us, to satisfy our tiny whims or our desire to shower ourselves with gold. But let this not blind us. In the far end, we will become the victim of our addiction. For if we let the hurricane whirls on our surrounding and we keep still, we will sink in the center and drown out to death. The powerless and aimless vast number and keeps on expanding poverty-stricken families will one day, gain their leverage to unite in numbers and fight the oppressors of the world, to oust them in power and to establish a society devoid of injustices and inequality. The rise of modernism aggravated the plight of the poor; you cannot blame them to raise a couple of counter reactions against the elites; their rights and privileges were deprived and naturally, they were determined to assert it. Why should we wait for ‘Nature’s vendetta’ to come when we can make tiny reparations and adjustments to give what is due for our brothers and sisters. This about it, tomorrow will never become brighter, while the remnants of injustices are alive. Yet, we are looking forward to a brighter future. Let’s then mark an end to widening poverty line in our own tiny ways.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Qualitative Research Methods in Organisations

Qualitative Research Methods in Organisations Provide a justification for qualitative research in organisations Qualitative research is a field of inquiry in its own right. It crosscuts disciplines, fields and subject matters. A complex, interconnected family of terms, concepts, and assumptions surround the term qualitative research. These include the traditions associated with foundationalism, positivism, postfoundationalism, postpositivism, poststructuralism, and the many qualitative research perspectives, and/or methods connected to cultural and interpretive studies. (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000:2) qualitative researchers can access fascinating data by observing mundane settings or by finding everyday features in extraordinary settings. (Silverman, 2007:37) This essay provides a justification for the use of qualitative research methods in organisations. In the past, qualitative research methods have always been sidelined and quantitative research methods have been preferred for undertaking organisational research. One of the reasons for this is that qualitative research is always influenced by the researchers personal disposition. According to Creswell, Qualitative Research is a form of interpretive inquiry in which researchers make an interpretation of what they see, hear, and understand. Their interpretations cannot be separated from their own backgrounds, history, contexts, and prior understandings. (Creswell, 2009:176) Another reason for this is given by Silverman when he says that Policy makers and managers have been pushed away from ethnographic research because it takes a relatively long time to complete and appears to use unrepresentative samples. Even though some ethnographers are able to produce powerful arguments about what c an be read from a single, well researched, case, others muddy the waters by political posturing and by suggesting that they want no truck with conventional scientific standards. (Silverman, 2007:86) The pull of quantitative research for organisations is that it tends to define its research problems in a way that makes immediate sense to practitioners and administrators. (Silverman, 2007:86) More recently many organisations have started recognising the merits of using qualitative research methods to undertake research in the organisation. Qualitative research methods enable a thorough scrutiny of the researched topic which is not possible in quantitative research. Even within qualitative research, the researcher is provided with a vast range of options and opportunities for exploring diverse issues within the area of organisational research. What are the different methods used to adopt qualitative research? The most commonly known and most used method of qualitative research is ethnography which had its origins in social anthropology, with particular reference to the study of the culture of social groups and societies. The culture of a social group is made up of these complex networks of meaning and the key task of ethnography is to develop an interpretation and understanding of culture. (Thorpe and Holt, 2008) Ethnography can be described as a longitudinal research method that is often associated with participant observation, but can also draw on other research approaches such as contextual and historic analysis of secondary data published by or on the group being studied. The ethnographic approach to developing an in-depth understanding of peoples behaviour makes it well suited to studying organisations. (Marshan-Piekkari and Welch, 2004) But It bends reality considerably to imply that ethnography is today the main method of qualitative research and that observational material is the main data source. This is hardly surprising given the plethora of materials that invite our attention. These extend beyond what we can observe with our own eyes to what we can hear and see on recordings, what we can read in paper documents and electronically download on the internet, to what we can derive by asking questions in interviews or by providing various stimuli to focus groups. (Silverman, 2007:37) Grounded theory research, discourse analysis, deconstruction, content analysis, narrative method, action research (Humphreys, 2006), participatory enquiry, participant observation (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000), autoethnography, interviewing are just a few of the current approaches to qualitative data collection and analysis. All these methods are appropriately used in different forms of organisational research. I will be looking at autoethnography, grounded theory research, critical discourse analysis and the narrative approach towards qualitative research and will study the use of these methods in conducting organisational research. Autoethnography Ethnographers have started undertaking the observation of participation where they reflect on and critically engage with their own participation within the ethnographic frame thus giving birth to autoethnography. (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005:467) Karra and Philips have defined autoethnography as, the generation of theoretically relevant descriptions of a group to which one belongs based on a structured analysis of ones experiences and the experiences of others from ones groupIt is an attempt to produce sense from ones experience of a group that can be set down in a text and shared with interested others. It does not mean that the researcher studies only himself or herself, but that the researcher is an insider who can draw upon personal experience, cultural competence, and linguistic resources to frame and shape research in a way that an outsider cannot. (Karra and Phillips, 2008:547) Autoethnography has been very efficiently used by Karra and Phillips, in their article about internatio nal management researchers conducting studies in their own cultural context. They say that, autoethnography provides a methodological frame for understanding and managing their research. Even more importantly, it acts to sensitize the researcher to the importance of carefully managing the complex dynamics of this form of cross-cultural research including questions of authorial voice, role conflict, and power. (Karra and Phillips, 2008:543) Autoethnographic approaches have four important strengths- ease of access, reduced resource requirements, ease of establishing trust and rapport, and reduced problems with translation- but at the same time pose three important challenges- lack of critical distance, role conflict, and the limits of serendipity. (Karra and Phillips, 2008:541) The strengths of this mode of research are considerable and despite all the criticisms this method of qualitative research has acquired it can be used very successfully in organisational research where the need is to draw upon personal experiences. One of the uses of autoethnography is to allow another persons world of experience to inspire critical reflection on your own. (Ellis and Bochner, 1996:22) Experience is given a lot of importance in organisations and autoethnography enables the researcher and the organisation to use this experience in a positive manner and in a way which can be very beneficial to the organisation and its employees. Grounded Theory Grounded theory, developed by Glaser and Strauss, is a kind of theory generated from the data collected. The methodology refers to a style of conducting qualitative data analysis whose aim is to discover what kinds of concepts and hypotheses are relevant to the area one wishes to understand. Grounded theory, therefore, provides new insights into the understanding of social processes emerging from the context in which they occur, without forcing and adjusting the data to previous theoretical frameworks. (Cassell and Symon, 2004:242) Grounded theory is a method that is more appropriate for some questions than others. It is most suited to efforts to understand the process by which actors construct meaning out of intersubjective experience. Grounded theory should be used in a way that is logically consistent with key assumptions about social reality and how the reality is known. It is less appropriate to use grounded theory when you seek to make knowledge claims about an objective realit y, and more appropriate to do so when you want to make knowledge claims about how individuals interpret reality. (Suddaby, 2006:634) While the grounded theory approach appeared at a time when methods discourse was decidedly modernist, forty years of development reflect he paradigmatic plurality of current qualitative research. (Thorpe and Holt, 2008) The application of grounded theory in organisational research has been gaining popularity in recent times. This is because organisational psychology has been marked by a trend of moving from an individualistic point of view towards a more collective view. Grounded theory has been applied in studies focusing on organisational culture, organisational growth, change and innovation, team work and company survival to name a few. Grounded theory produces descriptions of organisational reality which elicit positive discussions around important themes in the organisation among the employees and, thus, form a basis for positive organisational development trends. (Cassell and Symon, 2004) Critical Discourse Analysis According to Cunliffe, Discourse analysis is a term covering a number of approaches to research that analyze language use. These approaches range from a focus on language itself, to a broader examination of the relationship between language use, social action and social theory. (Thorpe and Holt, 2008:81) Discourse analysis provides a theoretical and methodological framework for exploring the social production of organizational and interorganizational phenomena. (Phillips, Sewell and Jaynes, 2008:1) As a methodology, critical discourse analysis allows for the use of different kinds of methods in specific research projects. However, this kind of research in particular demands the ability to make sense of the linkages between specific textual characteristics and particular discourses on the one hand, and between the discourses and the relevant socio-cultural practices and historical developments on the other. This means that research of this type generally tends to favour in-depth scrut iny of and reflection on specific texts. (Marschan-Piekkari and Welch, 2004) Discourse analysis has become an increasingly popular method for examining the linguistic elements in the construction of social phenomena. It has been increasingly adopted by organization and management scholars interested in the social construction of specific organizational ideas or practices. (Varra, Kleymann and Seristo, 2004:3) There are three important problems facing researchers wishing to adopt a critical discourse perspective in their work. First, like ethnography, discourse analysis results in quite lengthy analyses that are often a poor fit with the requirements of journal editors. Second, discourse analysis often involves major data-management issues because of the volume of data that is often available. Finally, as this is a fairly new are of activity, there are few standard models available to follow. Developing innovative data analysis techniques for each study thus remains a final challenge facing researchers. (Phillips, Sewell and Jaynes, 2008) Narrative Approach According to Oswick, Narratives are an inevitable and unavoidable aspect of social life and, as such, are integral to the processes of managing and organizing. (Thorpe and Holt, 2008:141) Although the narrative approach is one with many merits which are being acknowledged by researchers, it is still a field in the making and is not very commonly used. Researchers new to this field will find a rich but diffuse tradition, multiple methodologies in various stages of development, and plenty of opportunities for exploring new ideas, methods and questions. (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005:651) A recognition that discourse is the principle means by which organization members create a coherent social reality that frames their sense of who they are has led to an increased interest in narrative approaches in organization studies. A narrative approach explicitly recognizes that, in organizations, language is the primary medium of social control and power, and that the analysis of linguistic practices is key to an understanding of how existing social and power relations are reproduced or transformed. (Humphreys and Brown, 2007) In the article, An Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility at Credit Line: A Narrative Approach by Humphreys and Brown (2008), the authors adopted a narrative approach to the analysis of organizational processes in a bank, Credit Line, in order to explore how individuals in a financial institution dealt with relatively novel issues of corporate social responsibility. The authors used narratives to successfully draw attention to the plurivocity of orga nisational life. Use of qualitative research methods to undertake organisational research in a public sector organisation Public sector organisations are those organisations which are managed by the government. The main aim of these organisations is not to make a profit but to provide a service to the people under the government. Some example of public sector organisations are airports, public hospitals, railway stations, government run schools and colleges. Governments nowadays are looking to privatize most of the public sector organisations in order to increase their efficiency and effectiveness. Thus most of the above given examples have now been partially or completely privatised in most countries. Public sector organisations are common grounds for research amongst qualitative researchers. This could be due to the fact that public sector organisations are more easily accessible than the private sector organisations. Many public sector organisations have also started coming up with their own research and development department which undertakes the organisational research. In my opinion participant observation and interviewing together make an ideal combination to undertake organisational research within a public sector organisation or for that matter any organisation. The shortcomings of participant observations are covered by interviewing and vice versa. Thus, the two methods complement each other perfectly. Participant Observation The methodology of participant observation is appropriate for studies of almost every aspect of human existence. Through participant observation, it is possible to describe what goes on, who or what is involved, when and where things happen, how they occur, and why at least from the standpoint of participants things happen as they do in particular situations. (Jorgensen, 1989) Participant observation is one of the most popular ways of conducting fieldwork in an organisation. This is because through observation of the participants going through their daily routine researchers pick up information which they might not have access to in a more formal setting, an example of which is interviews. Participant observation can be of two types. In the first, the identity of the researcher is known to all and the researcher has a choice of forming relationships with the participants or to stand back and eavesdrop. This form of participant observation is ethically correct but the researchers pe rsonal disposition and identity may influence the participants behaviour and this may have an effect on the research material gathered. The second type of participant observation is covert participant observation where the identity of the researcher is hidden. This form of participant observation raises many ethical questions and is just another form of deception. Thus, covert participant observation should be avoided. The researchers ability to build relationships and develop rapport with subjects is crucial in participant observation. The danger here is that the researcher may feel so embedded and sympathetic to the group being studied that interpreting events objectively becomes difficult. Another demerit of participant observation is the time-consuming and open-ended nature of this kind of research which means it often doesnt get done. In a cost-conscious research climate in which specific and often short-term, definitive objectives are required to secure funding, sustained part icipation is a risky strategy. (Thorpe and Holt, 2008) Interviews The qualitative interview can be seen as a conversation with a purpose, where the interviewers aim is to obtain knowledge about the respondents world. (Thorpe and Holt, 2008:118) The goal of any qualitative research interview is to see the research topic from the perspective of the interviewee and to understand how and why they came to have this particular perspective. (Cassell and Symon, 2004) Interviewing is the most popular method of conducting organisational research. The method has three important advantages. Firstly, interviewers allow the researcher to discover new relationships or situations not previously conceived. Secondly, interview based research may be optimal when there is a small population of possible respondents as interviewers offer an opportunity to acquire a richness of information from each respondent. Finally, interviews may allow researchers to develop a deeper rapport with informants which is necessary to gain honest and accurate responses and to add insights that lay the groundwork for larger or follow-up studies. (Marschan-Piekkari and Welch, 2004) But the interviewing method also suffers from three disadvantages. Firstly, developing an interview guide, carrying out interviews and analysing their transcripts, are all highly time-consuming activities for the researchers. Secondly, qualitative interviews are also tiring to carry out as they involve considerable concentration from the interviewer. Thus, no more than three interviews, each of the duration of one hour, should be carried out in a day. Finally, interviews are also time-consuming for the interviewees and this may cause problems in recruiting participants in some organizations and occupations. The latest trends in interviewing have come some distance from structured questions; we have reached the point of the interview as negotiated text. Researchers are not invisible neutral entities; they are a part of the interaction we seek to study. Interviewers are increasingly seen as active participants in an interaction with respondents, and interviewers are seen as negotiated accomplishments of both interviewers and respondents that are shaped by the contexts and situations in which they take place. (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005) Depending on the type of organisational research which the public sector organisation needs to carry out and its goals and aims, either participant observation or interviewing or a combination of both the methods can be used appropriately in acquiring the required research material. Conclusion Thus, I conclude by saying that qualitative research methods have formed a niche for themselves in organisational research. The importance of organisational research is growing day by day and qualitative research methods are now an important part of organisational research. Although many forms of qualitative research make the use of figures and numbers to support a point of discussion, thus incorporating a characteristic of quantitative research methods, they also provide an in depth analysis on the topic of research and use one or more of the methodologies of qualitative research which include participant observation, interviewing, autoethnography, use of secondary data, grounded theory, ethnography, discourse analysis, narratives and rhetorical analysis. In this essay I introduced qualitative research and outlined its increasing importance in organisational research. I followed this up by describing approaches to qualitative research specifically concentrating on autoethnography, grounded theory, critical discourse analysis and the narrative approach, and critically analysing their use in organisational research. Finally, I concentrated on public sector organisations and why I think that participant observation and interviews are the best methods of qualitative research to undertake organisational research in public sector organisations. In doing this I feel that I have justified the use of qualitative research in organisations. References Cassell, C. Symon, G. (2004) Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research. London: Sage Creswell, J.W. (2009) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (Third Edition) Thousand Oaks: Sage Denzin, N.K. Lincoln, Y.S. (2000) Handbook of Qualitative Research (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage Denzin, N.K. Lincoln, Y.S. (2005) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research (Third Edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage Ellis, C. and Bochner, A.P. (1996) Composing Ethnography: Alternative Forms of Qualitative Writing. Walnut Creek: Altamira Humphreys, M. (2006) Teaching qualitative research methods: Im beginning to see the light. Qualitative Research in Organisations and Management: An International Journal Vol. 1(3) 173-188 Humphreys, M. and Brown A.D. (2008) An Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility at Credit Line: A Narrative Approach. Journal of Business Ethics Vol. 80 403-418 Jorgensen, D.L. (1989) Participant Observation: A Methodology for Human Studies London: Sage Karra, N. Phillips, N. (2008) Researching Back Home: International Management Research as Autoethnography. Organizational Research Methods Vol. 11(3) 541-561 Marschan-Piekkari, R. and Welch, C. (2004) Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for International Business. Cheltenham:Edward Elgar Phillips, N., Sewell, G., and Jaynes S., (2008) Applying Critical Discourse Analysis in Strategic Management Research. Organizational Research Methods 1-30 Silverman, D (2007) A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Qualitative Research. London: Sage Suddaby, R (2006) From the Editors: What Grounded Theory is Not. Academy of Management Journal Vol. 49(4) 633-642 Thorpe, R. Holt, R. (2008) The Sage Dictionary of Qualitative Management Research. London: Sage Varaa, E., Kleymann, B., Seristo, H. (2004) Strategies as discursive constructions: The case of the airline alliances. Journal of Management Studies Vol. 41(1) 1-35

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Using Profitability Ratios To Evaluate A Businesses Overall Financial Performance

Using Profitability Ratios To Evaluate A Businesses Overall Financial Performance While profitability ratios evaluate a business overall financial performance through appraising its capability to produce revenues in surplus of service costs as well as other expenses. There are at least four profitability ratios, which they are gross profit margin, as well net profit margin, besides return on assets, in addition to return on equity. These ratios are used to assess performance and, with other data, forecast prospect profitability. Along with that is the future viability in addition to the soundness, which will repay loans as well as credit, additionally pay interest along with dividends. Since profits are divided amongst shares, the profit per share indicates possible dividend. However, there are varieties of elements that might be utilized to assess profitability. As instance, financial analysts service can use return on equity, or else yield to cost as assessment of profitability. Neglecting of the element utilized, these ratios might be a wealth of interaction among Business firms along with its competitors; is also useful to find an Industry enterprises profitability ratio in excess of time to appraise performance. The profitability ratios are so important to several professionals such like, managers who utilize ratios to promote analyze. In addition to Credit analysts such the same as credit managers or else bank loan officers. And also for stock analysts. There are some limitations of Profitability ratios, which were observed, like as; out of dated data in financial statement. As well as business firms can use different accounting policies. Besides summarized data in accounts. In addition to use of Creative Accounting. Along with inflation. Also we can add interpretation of the ratios is not a science. Plus different market along with financial risk profiles. At the end there is an impact of seasonality on trading. Moreover, some recommendations were enclosed, such like; Developing as well enhancing such performance orientated targets for all of profitable ratio imperative issues. Besides Understanding of the scope along with dimensions of the profitable ratio consciousness. In addition to elevate awareness of the consequences of profitable ratio posed by their risksÙ . Along with extension of appropriate approaches to contest profitable ratio understanding. Finally, to Identify resources available to ensure creditability to a better understanding of profitable ratios. Table Of Contents Introduction: Identifying the Four profitability ratios Profitability ratios Definition: 1) Gross profit margin 2) Net profit margin, 3) Return on assets, 4) Return on equity: Profitability ratios measurements: The role of the Profitability ratios: The limitations of Profitability ratios: Conclusions: Recommendations: References: Text Books: Web Sites: Introduction: An accounting ratio is made via dividing one-account transactions into another. The aim is to achieve a comparison that is easy as well as beneficial to clarify. Evaluate ratios for one Industry enterprise over several years. A graph of the ratio may allow a long-term trend. The same ratio is from many firms of similar size in the same industry. These ratios are used to assess performance and, with other data, forecast prospect profitability. Along with that is the future viability in addition to the soundness, which will repay loans as well as credit, additionally pay interest along with dividends. Since profits are divided amongst shares, the profit per share indicates possible dividend. Identifying the Four profitability ratios As we can clarify at this point that profitability ratios evaluate a business overall financial performance through assessing its capacity to make income more than operating costs as well as other expenses. There are at least four profitability ratios, which they are gross profit margin, as well net profit margin, besides return on assets, in addition to return on equity. Profitability ratios Definition: 1) Gross profit margin It demonstrates how well the business is efficiently producing or else providing products as well as services. It shows how well products are priced given the proper otherwise variable costs it takes to create or even give them. The better is the ratio; the higher is the profit potential. Therefore, the higher the gross margin, the more of a premium a Business firm charges for its products or else services. The higher the Gross Profit Margin the more success of an Industry enterprise will be at paying off expenses along with building savings. On the other words, it is simply net income divided via revenues. It shows the distribution of each sequence in sales that may in fact be kept such like earnings. A high profit margin evaluated to peers in the industry implies that the Business firm has different species of competitive advantage in parallel to their competitors, who are utilizing the costs better, proprietary knowledge, brand recognition, etc. While a good sign, it is up toward the person analyzing the shares to be able to prove that an Industry enterprise essentially does have a sustainable competitive advantage. Another significant trend is an accumulating profit margin, which effect that the Business firm is developing its competitive environment in the business. Profit margins might be also is utilized to assess whether growing earnings are useful for the Industry enterprise. Earnings growth along with a reduction in profit margin is an indicator, which the Business firms earnings growth may not be sustainable. 2) Net profit margin, It deals with the profits after taxes for the annual sales. Therefore, the higher ratio is, the better assisted the organization is to get downtrends brought on via adverse conditions. On the other words, the higher the Net Profit Margin the more efficiency the Industry enterprise is. Since the higher the percentage, the better the Business firm is at operating costs. Since the average profit margins different between industries, as well net profit margin might be utilized to evaluate firms within the same area or even part. Furthermore, it can also be utilized to establish the profitability of an Industry enterprise over time through comparing actual profit margin numbers toward recent ones. Furthermore, it illustrates the lowest level in profitability; the quantity of every sales proceeds is at last available pull out of the business or else to perform as dividends. 3) Return on assets, This ratio shows the after tax earnings of assets moreover it is an indicator of how successful a Business firm is. Thus, Return on assets ratio should be the primary indicator of the successful of an Industry enterprise. On the other hand, it indicates how well the business is using its assets to generate more revenue through relating how much profit (before interest along with income tax) the business earned headed for the total capital used to do that profit. It gets along with net profits after taxes within the assets utilized to justify such profits. A high percentage rate will tell you the Business firm are well run moreover it has a thriving return on assets. It can be used to assess rates of return with other investments, which might be implemented. Since it is just same as in the amended net turnover percentage described earlier, ROA adjusts for the effects of debt financing via taking off the after-tax impacts of interest expense. Moreover, it may additionally be utilized t o assess profitability across Industry enterprises along with over different times. It is the other part of the balance sheet from equity. One-way or even another, its effect is on determining whether to invest in a Business firm is indirect at best. 4) Return on equity: The most influential profitability ratio commencing an investors purpose is the return on equity (ROE) ratio. Moreover, it is always called ROI, as return on investment ratio; as a result, it may cause the yearly rate of return in the direction of the Industry enterprises investors otherwise owners. Return on equity represents the residual interest that is available to owners after deducting all other financing costs. Moreover, it is determined through dividing net income via owners equity. However, net income is listed at the end of the income statement since owners equity. It is encompassing the three main areas where investors can calculate the Business firms profitability, asset management as well as financial advantage. ROE represents the administrations ability to consider these three pillars of corporate management along with investors will get a feel of whether they will receive a fair return on equity as well as determine the administrations ability to perform. In short, thi s ratio tells the owner whether all the effort put into the business has been helpful. All other things, which are being objective, the more worth the ROE the achievable the Industry enterprise besides the more help you are getting from the industry you are putting into running it. Profitability ratios measurements: Financial ratio measures the Business firms aptitude to create revenues in surplus of working along with other expenses. Profitability ratios are used to calculate the profitability of an Industry enterprise besides it is necessary to evaluate the performance of a Business firm. Profitability ratios are ways to evaluate an Industry enterprises capacity to make money, as a profit for its investments chances. However, there are varieties of elements that might be utilized to assess profitability. As instance, financial analysts service can use return on equity, or else yield to cost as assessment of profitability. Neglecting of the element utilized, these ratios might be a wealth of interaction among Business firms along with its competitors; is also useful to find an Industry enterprises profitability ratio more than point in time to quantify performance. Therefore, for such firms with seasonal swings in earnings, though, this model may fall short. Profitability ratios are above all u sed to determine the value earned through a Business firm relation toward its sales, net profit in addition to total assets. However, these profitability ratios measure as per the following: 1) Gross profit margin ratio is a measurement of how much funds, being after costs of products sold, are left behind for different costs. It is calculated as follows: Gross Profit Margin = Gross Profit / Total Income 2) The net profit margin ratio measures the value might be available for distributing within owners after paying all the costs within a specified time. It indicates the importance of all transactions actions conducted within a given time, such as business, administration, selling, financing, and pricing, along with tax management. It is calculated as follows: Net Profit Margin = Net Profit / Net Sales 3) Return on Assets can be classified as it measures the net income over the Industry enterprises average assets. Moreover, it measures how well a Business firm is utilizing its assets. Therefore, a higher Return on Assets ratio shows the Industry enterprise is more effective at using its assets to generate income. Further (ROA) ratio can be calculated by using the following formula, which is= Net Profit after Taxes à · Total Assets 4) Return on Equity is calculated as net income divided via owners equity. Furthermore, it is a measurement of how much income a Business firm is generating on the money invested through the owners of the Industry enterprise. A high ROE is an indicator whereas funds can be put into investment in having the Business firm is well spent. The mathematical formula for return on equity is; Return on Equity = Net Income / Shareholder Equity The role of the Profitability ratios: Such ratios might be used to evaluate the profitability of an Industry enterprise in addition to it is necessary to measure the compliance of a Business firm. Profitability ratios are first used to determine the value earned via an Industry enterprise association toward its sales, network standards as well as total assets. Ratio analysis is used through three principle groups: 1) Credit analysts such the same as credit managers or else bank loan officers who analyze ratios in assisting to start a Business firms capacity to create its existing debts. 2) Stock analysts, these people who are having the interest within Industry enterprise productivity besides growth prospects comparing a Business firms ratios to industry ratios provides a convenient tool how the Industry enterprise measures up toward its competitors. Nevertheless, it is still true that Business firm specific differences can result in deviations from industry norms. 3) Managers who utilize ratios to promote analyze, as well control, and thus increase the Industry enterprises operations. The most effective way to evaluate ratios involves trend analysis: to calculate ratios for a Business firm over several years besides to take note of how they change over time. Trend analysis avoids cross-Industry enterprise in addition to cross-industry comparisons, enabling the analyst to reach conclusions about the Business firms financial condition along with its variation over time. The limitations of Profitability ratios: Thought ratio analysis may offer valuable information concerning an Industry enterprises operations as well as financial condition; it has some limitations, which can be classified as potential problems are listed below: 1. Out of dated data in financial statement As we can observe that the numbers of accounts are likewise to be minimal several months later, besides so might not get a real indication of the Business firms current financial situation. In addition, since the Balance Sheet is simply a snapshot of business at a particular time, any ratio based on the figures contained within the Balance Sheet might not be as an indicator of the financial position of the Industry enterprise for the year as a whole. For example, it is common for a seasonal business to have a year-end, which coincides with a low level of business activity. Thus, stocks as well as debtors may be reduced in the Balance Sheet because of this. 2. Business firms can use different accounting policies The choices of accounting policies may distort inter-Industry enterprise comparisons. Accounting law allows Business firms to exercise some caution when preparing accounts. Industry enterprises should be consistent with their own policies, not changing how they make their accounts each year, but this does not mean that will use the same policies, as rival Business firms. This argument makes inter Industry enterprise comparisons potentially most difficult. 3. Summarized data in accounts Ratios are on financial statements that are concluding of the accounting records. Therefore, it is through the summarization some relevant information might be left out that may have been of related toward the users of accounts. 4. Use of Creative Accounting The businesses include creative accounting in trying to explain the improving economic performance otherwise state that can be misleading in the direction of the users of financial accounting. These are techniques applied through a Business firm in order to create a strong financial position. 5. Inflation Comparison of performance over time can be distorted through inflation, which leads to price increases. Inflation makes comparisons of outputs over time false, as financial indicators might not be in a straight-line equivalent. Changes in results one year to the next, such as increases in revenue as well as net profit may indicate that the business has improved its authority when in fact increases may have resulted from inflation not improved sales. 6. Interpretation of the ratios is not a science. As we have seen it is hard to take a broad view about whether a exacting ratio is good or even bad. For example, a strong Acid Test Ratio may indicate a strong liquidity position, which is true or then again excessive funds that are offensive. In the same way, either a high gearing ratio may present an Industry enterprise that uses its borrowing for development proficiently or even slightly, one that is up toward its neck in debt besides cannot afford to repay its loans. 7. Different market along with financial risk profiles No two firms are the same, besides they can be markedly different. One excellent source of the difference is the kind of business the Industry enterprise operates in it. All of these will affect profit margins as well as prices, even when examining competitors in the same area or even market, using ratios to evaluate one Business firm with another could cause inaccurate information. Two Industry enterprises may be the same profession but have different financial risk profiles. One Business firm might be advantageous to get bank loans at better rates, is therefore borrowing to develop also will show high gearing levels, while another Industry enterprise may be judged not credit worthy, therefore will not be successful in obtaining loans along with it may seem that it is operating at low gearing level. An extremely fast analysis of the accounts might conduct Business firm two is in the maximum financial sources whenever in fact its less gearing field is since it cannot secure funding, whilst the first Industry enterprises superior gearing is part of a remarkably valuable business strategy. 8. Impact of seasonality on trading Financial statements are essentially on the part of the year that fluctuations that occur on a seasonal basis. Businesses, which are affected through seasons, might be chosen the right time to produce financial statements to show better results. For example, a maize growing Business activity will be able to demonstrate satisfactory outputs if accounts are generated in the thriving season. At this time, the business will have a decent stock levels in addition to bank balances will be at their highest. If results had been produced six months earlier the Business firm will have many liabilities, much lower cash balances besides fewer debtors about to pay. Conclusions: Ratio analysis is a valuable tool for judging a Business firms state, but those examining accounts should be aware of the problems described above besides it makes adjustments as necessary. Ratios analysis conducted without consideration of external influences also without realizing the potential for distortion is not convincing analysis. Nevertheless, if used wisely besides with good judgment, the use of ratios can provide a valuable understanding of an Industry enterprises operations. Profitability ratio analysis is extensively used via managers, creditors as well as investors. Used with caution as well as innovation, the technique might reveal much about a Business firm besides its operations. However, there are a few things to be never forgotten about ratios. Primarily, a ratio is only one odd divided through another, so it is difficult to understand that the mechanical calculation of one ratio, or even some ratios, will often provide valuable insights into an Industry enterprise. It is useful to think about ratios as in a detective story. One or even some ratios might be confusing, rather than when got together within different awareness of a Business firms management along with economic circumstances, profitability ratio analysis can tell us tremendously much. Recommendations: Recommendations may be concluded as the following: Developing as well enhancing such performance orientated targets for all of profitable ratio imperative issues. Understanding of the scope along with dimensions of the profitable ratio consciousness Elevate awareness of the consequences of profitable ratio posed by their risks. Extend appropriate approaches to contest profitable ratio understanding Identify resources available to ensure creditability to a better understanding of profitable ratios.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Albert Camus Philosophy in The Plague Essay example -- Albert Camus P

Albert Camus' Philosophy in The Plague To know ourselves diseased is half our cure. - Alexander Pope As the title clearly suggests, the novel The Plague is, indeed, a story of disease. On the surface, the novel The Plague, may be an accounting of facts detailing the outbreak of bubonic plague in the town of Oran. But on a deeper level, it is a novel that reveals awareness and acceptance of the limits of human existence. And it is also a reminder of our absurd freedom and the choices we make in life, especially when facing death. In writing The Plague we are told that Camus "sought to convey [...] the feeling of suffocation from which we all suffered and the atmosphere of threat and exile in which we lived" (Bree, 1964:128). He was, of course, speaking of the horrors of World War II. But "at the same time [he wanted] to extend [his] interpretation to the notion of existence in general" (Bree, 1964:128). Camus' interpretation of existence is revealed in his philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus in which he discusses the absurd and its consequences, revolt, freedom and passion. Some interesting connections can be made between the philosophical discussion in The Myth of Sisyphus and the existential themes found in The Plague. In The Myth, Camus outlines his notion of the absurd and its consequences; in The Plague he brings his philosophy to life. This tale of life and death is told by Dr. Rieux, who maintains that his "business is only to say 'this is what happened', when he knows that it actually did happen, [and] that it closely affected the life of a whole populace [...]" (Camus, The Plague, p.7). Of the novel, Germaine Bree says, "considered in its totality [The Plague] transmits a personal experience ... ..., one way or another, and The Plague is a reminder of that absurd fact. The quote at the beginning of this paper, "To know ourselves diseased is half our cure" has its relevance in the ultimate lesson we learn from The Plague. But there is another lesson to be learned and Camus reminds us of it in The Myth of Sisyphus: "the point is to live" (Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, p.65). While facing the horrors of death, the characters in The Plague do an excellent job of bringing that philosophical point to life. Works Cited Bree, Germaine. (ed.), Camus: Collection of Critical Essays. Prentice-Hall: Englewood, NJ. 1962. Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus and other essays. New York: Vintage Books, 1991. Camus, Albert, The Plague. Vintage: NY, 1991. Ellison, David R. Understanding Albert Camus. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1990.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Character of Mr. Jaggers in Great Expectations Essay example -- Gr

The Character of Mr. Jaggers in Great Expectations Mr. Jaggers plays a pivotal role in the novel, Great Expectations, written by Charles Dickens. We are first introduced to him in Chapter 11, where Pip encounters the rather condescending lawyer on the stairs of Satis House. Pip describes Mr. Jaggers as "a burly man of an exceedingly dark complexion." We cannot help but notice that he is extremely pontificating, by virtue of him holding Pip's chin and being almost sure that Pip was of "a bad set of fellows" although he had scarcely known Pip for two minutes. Mr. Jaggers' silent and terrifying ambiguity conjures mystery and enigma all around him. We find that very little is mentioned of his background and that he has no family. He is the epitome of callousness and displays the very least human feelings and affection. Through his desperate attempts to remain on the pedestal and away from social company, he is also Dickens' classic example of isolationism, in line with the theme of Great Expectations. He fears that friendly relationships with others will inconvenience his professional work. Undoubtedly, we find him to be an extremely intelligent and capable lawyer of high calibre. It is he that saves both Molly and Magwitch from the gallows through his expertise. He is also the one who supposedly saves Estella from the misery of orphanhood. Although many may argue that he did her more harm than good by giving her to Miss Havisham, we cannot blame him for he thought "that here was one pretty child out of the heap who could be saved.", which he did. By doing all this, he contributes effectively to the movement of the plot. Nevertheless, we also observe that... ...mphasizes that "If my advice had been asked, I should not have been here. It was not asked, and you see me here." This demonstrates that at the very beginning, Mr. Jaggers looked down on Pip and did not consider him worth the money and effort. Overall, Mr. Jaggers is a classic and exemplary embodiment of Victorian society. He is of paramount significance to the novel's plot, but more so to the theme. He is connected to every part of the plot. Through him, we learn what Victorian society was really like - how it judged people, how it treated people and how cruel and unjust it was. Indeed, Mr. Jaggers is Dickens' social message that a true gentleman with morals, human feelings and the spirit of justice was better than a "born gentleman" imbued with the social prerequisites of class and material wealth. This is what the theme of Great Expectations is essentially about.

Society?s Arthurian Variety :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Writers have reflected the differences in society and individual opinions over many years in their writing by slightly altering the plot of Arthurian Romances to appeal to the interests of their community. Arthurian Romances, at early times, were written with themes of magic and violence whereas legends from later times attributed critical turning points in the plot to the power of love and were more involved, containing a long list of characters. Also affecting the differences in the times are the writer’s nationality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earlier Arthurian Romances were written by Celts. Their warrior mentality led the writers to depict gruesome and violent legends. The beginning of The Wife of Bath’s Tale (Canterbury Tales) blatantly describes a knight, who is supposed to uphold the strict regiment of chivalry, violently raping a virgin at first glance. Such an occurrence commonly appears throughout Celtic Arthurian Romances and is a reminder of the life of war that they led. The rest of The Wife of Bath’s Tale has mystical pretences, signifying the Celt’s belief in the gods of good and evil. The answer to the question of which the malicious knight was questing for was held by a deceptive witch, who appears to be a rich young woman after gaining the knight’s respect. The writing style of the Celts also makes the tale appear to be more mysterious by their to-the-point storytelling by leaving out the details which make tales seem real to the audience, in many cases not ev en giving their characters names instead of positions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the French perspective, Arthurian Romances took on a whole new profile. Many intertwined characters with elegant names such as Lancelot and Gwenyvere, from Excalibur, promote honor and a strong reverence of love. Whereas knights commonly took advantage of their animal instincts in the Celtic tales, they upheld a strict code of honor, chivalry, from the French perspective. The struggle within Lancelot and Gwenyvere to discover why their hearts wanted to make the wrong decision when they already had the right and best situation shows that the French did not totally understand the nature of love and believed it to be unpredictable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Arthurian Romances have been depicted in many different ways to tell the same story in the end, but the contrast between the Celtic and French versions sticks out like a sore thumb.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Locus of Control vs Quality of life Essay

The locus of control measures the rational one has on how they assess the nature of cause and effect in their life. Studies show that the measure of control one interprets they have on the incidents in their life the better quality of life they lead. This is the core concept of the relationship between locus of control and quality of life, as well as the main topic of debate for many scholars. In his study† Community Correlates of Outcomes in Subjects with Panic Attacks†, David A. Katerndahl utilizes structured interviews of randomly selected adults from 18 different census tracts to measure the way they perceive their lives. All of those studied are college students, and lack of control directly correlates with stress. Oddly enough, the stressors that apply to these students tend to be some of the same stressors that apply to the lives of everyday working people. For instance Katerndahl notes that one significant stressor all of the students shared had to do with an inadequacy over their income to rent ratio. He ultimately concludes that there is a direct connection that can be made between quality of life and the control one feels they have over occurrences. He connects this finding with cases of panic attacks. The 97 subjects with panic attacks included 78% females, 56% Hispanics, and 30% non-hispanic whites (Katerndahl, 2001). More than anything Katerndahl’s work serves as an adamant argument for women being vulnerable to life stressors and anxiety being a detriment to their health. One major problem in society that is mentally affecting women is the culture of thinness. There is a constant pressure placed on women to be attractive, thin, and fit into the valley girl image established by films As a result, women are more likely to develop eating disorders. Anorexia, an eating disorder that involves drastic fasting, and Bulimia, which consists of binge eating followed by any compensatory behavior, are virtually nonexistent in men (Katerndahl, 2001). Both of these disorders lead to serious health problems but anorexia ultimately leads to death by starvation. It is thought that these disorders are caused by a perceived lack of control in their lives; which is balanced by these women having complete control over their looks. Discrimination against unattractive or overweight women is an unspoken prejudice. This epidemic of attaining physical perfection is actually an unnecessary and harmful setback for women. Here the locus of control, or lack of control, these women feel prevalent in their lives leads to cases of bulimia, anorexia, and even death. While Katerndahl’s study seems to imply that women are more prone to anxiety and and feeling a lack of control. Biologically, research shows that men and women are actually not all that different. Pertaining to cognition, men are more suited for mental rotation, navigation using geometry and recognizing objects within visual backgrounds. Women show better memory for locating objects and navigating through the use of landmarks (Allen, Goldscheider, & Ciambrone, 1999; Baider et al. , 1995; Ben-Tov, 1992; Ptacek et al. , 1994). As far as motor skills, from age 3-5 years old onward, men show an exceptional accuracy at aiming projectiles, while women show the ability for exceptional speech rate and small amplitude coordination. Pertaining to math skills, men are best suited for solving abstract reasoning problems, while women tend to be statistically best at computation and calculation problem solving. As far as verbal abilities go, women show earlier development of virtually every aspect of verbal ability, verbal memory, spelling grammar and fluency (Oren & Sherer, 2001). When emotions come into play, men and women use different areas of their brains to control sexuality, but most of the chemical systems overlap and most of the social bonding is somehow connected to the sexual process. Men and women have different forms of aggression. In most mammals, men tend to be the aggressor; many forms of aggression are controlled through different neural pathways (Oren & Sherer, 2001). BNST manages ‘affective attack’; this region is sensitized by testosterone and desensitized by estrogen. AVP stimulation increases aggressive behavior and drives persistence; circuits for this neuron are also more prevalent in males than in Females (Allen, Goldscheider, & Ciambrone, 1999; Baider et al. , 1995; Ben-Tov, 1992; Ptacek et al. , 1994). The mild biological differences that exist between men and women can only be significantly contrast their methods of responding to stress when the stressor in some way capitalizes on either sex’s chemical weakness. For example, men are psychologically more prone to substance abuse; a man under the influence of a substance that inhibits or enhances the circulation of AVP would affect the testosterone levels in the male’s body, thus making him more or less aggressive. This shift in behavior would entirely be dependent on whether the male abuses substances as a coping strategy for stress. This would have the same effect for a woman, but men are more prone to this dysfunctional behavior. Oddly enough, maternal stress can lead to a drop testosterone development desynchronizing or preventing masculinization. Stress can also effect the human body’s ability to heal itself when sick or influence the method of coping with disease. The biological assessment of both men and women show that at the core of the human mind everyone has a similar breaking point or defining line that depending on circumstances could drive any individual toward a panic attack. Katerndahl’s end finding sums it up best when he say, â€Å"This study found that, with the exception of overall quality of life, all of the assessed outcomes were associated with at least one community factor, accounting for up to 15% of outcome variance. Although previous work found that country-level variables (i. e. , unemployment, gross national product) were not related to morbidity or work satisfaction [Benavides et al. , 2000], this does not imply a lack of impact by neighborhood level factors (Katerndahl, 2001). † Here he is basically pointing out that in all of the events that occurred in the lives of each respective college individual, all of the students at least felt that 15% of the effects they endured were caused by community events out of their control. Which is understandable, but it also suggests there is a window for perceived helplessness in the psyche of all individuals, a panic attack is just dependant on the measure of one’s locus of control. Everything has a cause and effect, and while an individual can dictate their course of actions, sometimes the effect can be unpredictable and completely controlled by community events. For example, Katerndahl mentions how a major source of anxiety for many people is maintaining an adequate rent to income ratio. An individual who has a weak sense of control might fall into a morbid depression over their income which is ultimately designated by the government, so they rightfully feel as though they are catching a bad break; but, they also have the option of working more hours, or bettering their education for higher pay. In this scenario the locus of control is decided by deeply one buys into the illusion of being without options. This is a characteristic that many of the scholars suggest is measured by socioeconomic factors, such as upbringing, family education, and the environment of one’s neighborhood. This is the core concept in Jerome J. Tobacyk’s work. In Tobacyk’s article Changes in Locus of Control Beliefs in Polish University Students Before and After Democratization, he argues that sociocultural changes through changes that occurred through the democratization of Poland ultimately allowed for shifts in the locus of control perceived by Polish citizens. He directly connects ones economic circumstance to the extent of which they can construct their life. He argues that the ability of one to reinvent themselves was seen as a luxury only accessible to the financial elite before Poland became a legitimate democracy. As he notes, â€Å"The recent dramatic democratization movement in Poland allowed a study of the effects of the transformation from an external control to an internal control sociocultural situation on individual locus of control beliefs. This study compares the locus of control beliefs of Polish university students before (in 1985) and just after (in 1991) the profound sociocultural change of democracy. Here it becomes clear that the imediet newfound belief that one can achieve entirely independent of heritage, race, religion, or sex has the ability to uplift the moral of an entire nation. The author further notes that, â€Å"The most dramatic transformation was the change toward internal control (ie. Autonomy, independence, self-determination) in the sociopolitical effort (Tobacyk, 2001). † In sum, with their studies, these scholars show that one’s perceived happiness is just a measure of the control they insist they have over their respective circumstances. They can only insist they have this control, because even this control is just based on perception. As Katerndahl’s study shows only a fool would live as though outside forces have no effect on one’s life just as a lunatic might believe their life is completely driven by predestined events. Work Cited Allen, S. M. , Goldscheider, F. , & Ciambrone, D. A. (1999). Gender roles, marital intimacy and nomination of spouse as primary caregiver. Gerontologist,39, 150–158. Almeida, D. M. , & Kessler, R. C. (1998) Everyday stressors and gender differences in daily. distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75,670–680 Long J. D. , & Williams R. L. (1988) The relationship of Locus of Control to Life Style Habits. Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 44, no. 2 Katerndahl, M. D. , M. A. (2001) Community Correlates of Outcomes in Subjects with Panic Attacks. Depression and Anxiety 13:194–197 Oren, N. , & Sherer, M. (2001). Cancer Patients and their Spouses: Gender and its Effect on Psychological and Social Adjustment. Journal of Health Psychology, 6(3), 329-338. Retrieved Sep. 18, 2008, from file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Simon%20Breedon/My%20Documents/Gender%20Differences-Coping%20with%20Stress. pdf. Tobacyk, J. (2001). Changes in Locus of Control Beliefs in Polish University Students Before and After Democratization. The Journal of Social Psychology, 132(2), 217-222

Friday, August 16, 2019

Managing communication Essay

The turn exchange system of interpreting mirrors the possibilities of ordinary turn exchanges in any language, Smooth transitions, potential gaps or pauses, and overlapping talk are all features of turn-taking processes in any language. However, in face-to-face encounters which are interpreted, interpreters actively involve themselves in the ebb and flow of talk; Interpreters are an integral part of the exchange process. Speakers cannot know possible transition moments in other languages, nor can they know what pauses are or how turns end. They participate only in their own language. Thus, two turn-taking systems are operating independently of each other while yet another system, Ð ° discourse exchange system, is controlled by an interpreter. All primary participants within any discourse event interact in complex ways. Together, speakers and interpreters create pauses, overlapping talk, and turns. Although speakers attend to the interaction because of the reasons that brought them together, interpreters attend to interaction management and make decisions about the discourse process itself. Interpreters are doing more than searching Ð ° lexical bank, or syntactic rules, to create coherent utterances and turns. They act on understandings and expectations of the way social scenes emerge in interaction, as well as on social and cultural knowledge of the â€Å"ways of speaking† within particular situations. Choosing appropriate equivalents depends more on the relative status of the interlocutors and desired outcomes than on grammatical or semantic factors. Some scholars might suggest that the complexity and uniqueness of this event lies solely in the fact that one participant is using Ð ° linguistic system of Ð ° different modality (ASL). However, І argue that the mode of Ð ° linguistic system has very little to do with the nature of interpreting as Ð ° face-to-face interaction. Pauses, simultaneous talk, and confusion regarding turns exist during interpreting no matter which linguistic system is in use. Ð  speaker who knows only German cannot know the import or intention of Ð ° response from Ð ° speaker who knows only Yoruba (Ð ° language of Nigeria) any better just because the languages are spoken and not signed. Interpreters are members of interpreted conversations, involved in creating turn exchanges through their knowledge of the linguistic system, conventions for language use, the social situation, and the discourse structure system. Experienced interpreters, then, are competent bilinguals (or multilingual) who possess knowledge of two (or more) languages and also knowledge of social situations, â€Å"ways of speaking,† and strategies for managing communication. Finally, the interpreter is not solely responsible for either the success of the failure of interpreted interaction. All three participants jointly produce this event, and all three are responsible, in differing degrees, for its communicative success or failure. Accounting for and determining the role of different rights and obligations of speakers and how this knowledge influences interpretations is an ongoing discussion that the profession must have. Although interpreters may know and act instinctively on this knowledge, it is my experience that neither practitioners nor students study, practice, talk about, or reflect on decisions about discourse processes, such as turns and overlapping talk. What is missed in not acknowledging or studying this level of knowledge is that experienced interpreters intuitively and successfully interpret the pragmatic meanings of discourse events more often than not, and, subsequently, these situations turn out much as they would if the two primary speakers did speak Ð ° common language. Although these individual events may turn out successfully, without further research and study, there is not pattern or consensus for teaching interpreting to entering students, for teaching successful strategies, or for competently certifying interpreters.