Leadership in a Global Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Leadership in a Global Environment - Essay Example Management at the global level has resulted in a massive capacity strain on leadership and leadership strategies owing to the multicultural nature of the staff. In a multicultural managerial environment, leaders encounter a workforce with varying religious, political, cultural and racial backgrounds. As such, they view numerous things that are relevant in the workplace differently. The difference in the views may result in conflict among members of the workforce or between the management and the staff members (Griffin 2006, p. 72). For an entity seeking to establish a subsidiary in a different country, it is vital for the leadership of the company to adopt a leadership style, which will resonate well with the culture and the ideals of the new country. If such factors are overlooked, the human resource department will experience many challenges that will result in reduced output per employee. Some societies value individualism, for instance, in the western nations while other societies focus on projects, which will uplift the society in its entirety. The leaders in the multicultural managerial environment must remain alive to the complexitie s that result from diversity. Diversity is a great asset to a company since different people bring different skills and perspectives in the entity. However, if leaders fail to manage diversity shrewdly, it becomes an impediment to the management. Multicultural workforces have become symptomatic with global entities. Hence, one of the steps the leaders should undertake is to ensure that the mission and vision coined are global in nature. Most of the missions and visions will be a reflection of the ideals of the country of origin (Toyota 2014 p.1).

Revoltionary War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Revoltionary War - Essay Example The preliminary development of British was to invade Hudson Valley, as New York was crucial place to fight. The internal clashes between British Generals gave enough time to the American forces to formulate decisive battle strategy. Along the Hudson River, American forces established their defensive camps. It is known as Bemis Heights. The standings of Americans on Hudson River were dominant as they built their camps on height. The shortage of supplies was a big problem for the British forces. The strategic positioning of American forces was the turning point of this battle. The British plan was to bring armed forces from the North Side of New York. The British commanders believed that they will not only separate New England from American Colonies but they will also take in charge of Hudson Valley. British troops led by General Burgoyne, had to take strong place on the river because their supplies were coming from that region. Americans had full control over the river due to which British were trap. The shortage of supplies created chaos among the British2. To slow down British advances, Americans designed small group of troops to attack British from different regions. Burgoyne formulated another arrangement to chuck out American forces, but Americans sooner recognized British plans. British forces waited for help from New York City but got no response. Fierce fighting took place in which British and their allies faced historic defeat. Burgoyne was left with no option except escaping from these dreadful circumstances. They were unable to flee as General Gates army encircled British forces. Burgoyne had no other option left except to surrender on 17th October, 17773. The strategic planning of Americans and their allies led to this astonishing victory. The American Commodores also had slight disagreements with their allies core commanders, but they settled sooner. The positioning on Hudson River changed the

Path Goal Theories Situational Factors And Leader Style Management Essay

Path Goal Theories Situational Factors And Leader Style Management Essay The national trust is the biggest charity in the UK and it is completely independent of Government. They rely for income on membership fees, donations revenues and legacies. They have 3.6 millions members and over 55,100 volunteers, more than 14 million people pay entry for the property and over 50 millions visit their open air properties. National trust has too many historic houses, gardens and they look after forest, fens, farmland, downs and nature reserves. Task 1 .P1: Analyze any two leadership theories or modules that reflect current thinking. PATH- GOELS LEADERSHIP THEORY The path-goal leadership theory states that by rectifying the path to attain high level performance and removing downfalls and increasing own satisfaction for the work, and he/se should be able to motivate and maintain performances to his subordinate in work Path-goal theories Situational Factors and leader style Directive Supportive Participative Achievement oriented 1: Directive Leader- instructs the all subordinates and provides the proper and clear instructions and ideas to make their work perfect and perform well and finish their work within the given timeline and the job measured standard 2: Supportive Leader- works more with the well being and human need of his subordinates. And all subordinates are treated equally by the supportive leader 3: Participative Leader- the word participative defines itself that the participative leader participates and involves in ideas, opinions, suggestions and offers with the all subordinates about their job. 4: Achievement-Oriented Leader- the leader who motivates, encourages, and does everything for continuous performance and improvement. The leader motivates for the goals and gives the confidence to his subordinates to get their challenging goals. Ups and Down of this theory UP Side CHOOSING AN APPROPRIATE LEADERSHIP MOTIVATIONAL FACTORES PRACTICAL The theory tells leaders about which style should be used and how to choose a perfect leadership. The theory considerate motivational factors and it helps to define about leadership style for using in different situation. Down Side Broad Scope Worker Motivation Dependency This theory has a broad scope. Trying to implement too many variables in the selected style to a specific task is really difficult to do That theory does not explain how a leader can maintain standard, encourage employees to feel competent, it just tells the qualities about the leader And also it places more responsibilities on leader then subordinates and which make them dependent of the leader and discourage them too. (http://www.bealeader.net/107/the-path-goal-theory/) CONTINGENCY APPROACHES Contingency Approaches based on the concept that there is no single way of managing that works perfect in every situation. It attempt to isolate the key factors that should be considered and show how to cope with the situation when all key factors are present. Some factors of the theory Forces in the manager This theory helps the managers confidence amongst his subordinates, his value system, leadership inclination and awareness of the security in bad situation. Forces in the subordinates It also helps subordinates for their expectation, also gives them independency, decision making tasks and gives them proper approach to solve the problems and get involve in every matter and maintain the standard of their company by helping the leader, and also their interest in every matter. Forces in the situation Types of the organizations, groups and their effectiveness, the tasks and time limit In this theory manager make some decisions and before implementing them he/she refers them to the subordinates to get their suggestions and then implement the decisions which are the best approach to boost the organization and complete all goals. (http://www.stewart-associates.co.uk/leadership-models.aspx) Task.1 P1.2: Explain the expected impact of those theories on the organization that you have selected. Expected impact of path-goal theory on The National Trust UK Below we can find the expected impact of path-goal theory on the national trust In some cases it can be very much appropriate for the national trust to work under the directive system and they can expand their business more under the well established management. As I have worked within the organizations they already follow this theory. As this theory tells us where there leader take the more responsibility to boost the business and encourage all employees or subordinates and tells them to work properly. And not only work properly but also complete them within the time limit by this theory leader focus on the organization can be really good. He/she can assist all the team performance and can realize the performance of his/her employees and help them if they are having any kind of problem. And then by this theory leaders support can be really helpful for the organization, where there leader does not differentiate employees and employees are equal to him and he/she treats them equally which can give a positive impact on subordinates and the organizations and employ ees can work by their hearts as they are being treated equally. As we know this theory encourages leader to participate with his/her team or subordinates and then leader can involve all employees in ideas and he/she can take opinion about the work and can suggest them to work in right way, which can be really affective for the national trust. And then this theory also boost leader to get continuously performance and motivation for the goals can be helpful for the organization to expand their donations and business. The only negative impact of this theory on the organization is that this increase dependency for employees and they remain bound to get orders and instructions from up side which may be a drawback for the organization because it discourages employees but apart from this it goes fine for the organization. Impact of Contingency approaches theory on The National Trust UK The impact of this theory on the national trust can be more reliable then path-goal theory the reason is why because the big part of the national trust is running by the volunteers, and this theory increase independency for the subordinates and then they can show their performances. The impact of this theory on the organization is good because it gives the security for the employees and volunteers in bad circumstances and they own take all responsibilities to complete all tasks and can work together with the managers. This theory involves all small employees to show their mutual performances and gives them full confidence which can take this type of organization too forward, and positive thing about this theory is that this allow leaders to get involve all employees in any decision before its implementation, so by this kind of act volunteers interest may become more about their jobs and this can give them surety that they are really getting good experience from the organizations and then by the volunteers support national trust expand their donations. Task 2, P2.1:- Assess current requirement of leadership within the organization. The leadership requirements of the national trust are nearly based on contingency approaches. Competency:- The most essential requirement of leadership is competency. The leaders must know each and every work. They cant assess the employees if they dont know about the job their employees are doing, if you know everything then you can suggest or help others. Without knowing their work they cant expect their employees to do the job that they dont do. So leaders should be an example Loyalty:- The leader should also take care of his subordinates. He should loyal to his employees as well as organization. He has to find out where the problem is, if the company is not doing what the best for the people with him. Leader should be cooperative and should ask their needs about their job and help them in every matter. Respect:- Working as a leader in the national trust will force you to respect people and employees as the national trust relies on volunteers so it essential for the leader to respect. Respect is really important in every nature of the job. And this is one of the main requirements of the leadership in any organization. Leader should respect his subordinates and should know the status of their subordinates; it is obvious that if you respect people you get respect back. Mostly in some organizations employees leave their job because of their self respect amongst managers. Honest Honesty is the best policy. Leader must be honest. They dont string their subordinates along by promising rewards the never come through. And lie is the fastest way to lose respect amongst people who work for you. Integrity A leader who has the integrity will not join the office joking and will pull the rug out. He will never shit blame to others when he will be responsible. He will always accept responsibility for his own action. Learning, Listening and understanding others No one is perfect. It doesnt mean if you are leader and you know everything. Leader should listen and understand others and get the ideas from their subordinates. Leaders should welcome the ideas from down side. Goods leaders dont discourage subordinates for their ideas. They listen to them and give them feedback. In simple words I would say leader should be customer focused person who knows the value of the customers and deals with them properly and treats his employees as customers These requirements are the current basic for the leaders in the organization and they have to follow them for better performance. P2.2:- Develop an internally consistent ant plausible scenario of likely future requirement of leadership for the selected organization. Type of staff One of the future requirements of leadership is to hire the right and competent staff who may take the company too forward. National trust hires seasonal staff every year from February to October, so it is a big duty to judge staff and their mentality level, because most of the seasonal staff run away during the season to find out another job. So this is the main requirement for leadership to select right staff. History of the business National trust gets donations and money from historical houses, so it will be strong requirement for the managers to remember the history and maintain it for future because their business relies on their history houses and old places and its own history Culture of the business Same as its history culture is also more important. This might be a big challenge for them but leaders have to maintain the culture of the business for the new comers. If they come and they would be able to maintain as it was before. Quality of the relationship Members of this organization are the assets. National trust gets donations from its members. Members pay annual membership charges which makes a good relationship between national trust and them. So it is important for the leadership to maintain the quality of relationship in future for their future. Nature of changes needed Change is a part of every business. For attaining the goals and achievement some businesses try to change methods and rules which some time help them to go forward for their goals but some time not, and if they change circumstances at the right time and proper they get reward. So this is also a future requirement for the leadership to apply changes at the right time, for right thing and for right purpose. Accepted norms within the organization It might be required for the leadership to accept the standard within the organization. It can be a difficult task for the new leadership to follow the standard or pattern. Everyone tries to give their own suggestions. But the environment and modal of the company should be same which is running from companys birth.

Willy Lomans Depression in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman :: Death Salesman essays

Willy Loman's Depression in Death of a Salesman    Arthur Miller's, "Death of a Salesman," shows the development and structure that leads up to the suicide of a tragic hero, Willy Loman. The author describes how an American dreamer can lose his self-worth by many negative situations that occur throughout his life. The structure and complications are essential because it describes how a man can lose his way when depression takes over. The first comlication which occurs in Act I, is when the reader acknowledges that Willy put his whole life into his sons, Biff and Happy, and they turned their backs on him. Willy always believed that biff would be this great, successful businessman and it turned out that Biff is still searching to find himself, which disappoints Willy in the worst way. The conflicts between Willy and Biff are rooted very deep. It all started when Biff was younger and he had failed his math class. He traveled to Boston to visit Willy, who was on a business trip. He had told that he had let Willy down and comes to find out that Willy is with another woman. Biff leaves and never takes that math class over. Willy felt guilty about this and believes that deep inside that he is responsible for Biff's choices in life and his failure to be successful. This conflict makes Willy weak and tremendously guilty, which stays with him as a reminder. The second complication that destroys Willy is his aging. By getting older he can't do the things he used to do. His aging affects his work because he is not the salesman he once was. He is not making enough money to support his wife, Linda, and himself. Being 60, Willy is getting too old for the traveling he does for his work. Willy asks his boss, Howard, for a raise and Howard fires him. Willy is really worn out and Howard knows this. This situation in end destroys Willy's pride and he could never ask his sons for money. The last complication at the end of Act II, is the conflict between Willy and Biff. Biff finally wants to get everything straight and clear with his father. Biff shows Willy the rubber tube that Willy wants to kill himself with. An arguement errupts from this and Biff tries to explain that he was never what Willy wanted him to be. Willy Loman's Depression in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman :: Death Salesman essays Willy Loman's Depression in Death of a Salesman    Arthur Miller's, "Death of a Salesman," shows the development and structure that leads up to the suicide of a tragic hero, Willy Loman. The author describes how an American dreamer can lose his self-worth by many negative situations that occur throughout his life. The structure and complications are essential because it describes how a man can lose his way when depression takes over. The first comlication which occurs in Act I, is when the reader acknowledges that Willy put his whole life into his sons, Biff and Happy, and they turned their backs on him. Willy always believed that biff would be this great, successful businessman and it turned out that Biff is still searching to find himself, which disappoints Willy in the worst way. The conflicts between Willy and Biff are rooted very deep. It all started when Biff was younger and he had failed his math class. He traveled to Boston to visit Willy, who was on a business trip. He had told that he had let Willy down and comes to find out that Willy is with another woman. Biff leaves and never takes that math class over. Willy felt guilty about this and believes that deep inside that he is responsible for Biff's choices in life and his failure to be successful. This conflict makes Willy weak and tremendously guilty, which stays with him as a reminder. The second complication that destroys Willy is his aging. By getting older he can't do the things he used to do. His aging affects his work because he is not the salesman he once was. He is not making enough money to support his wife, Linda, and himself. Being 60, Willy is getting too old for the traveling he does for his work. Willy asks his boss, Howard, for a raise and Howard fires him. Willy is really worn out and Howard knows this. This situation in end destroys Willy's pride and he could never ask his sons for money. The last complication at the end of Act II, is the conflict between Willy and Biff. Biff finally wants to get everything straight and clear with his father. Biff shows Willy the rubber tube that Willy wants to kill himself with. An arguement errupts from this and Biff tries to explain that he was never what Willy wanted him to be.

Analysis of “The Trouble with Fries” Essay

Malcolm Gladwell’s article â€Å"The Trouble with Fries† is about a very invasive topic. Fast Food is killing us. Can it be fixed? Although his thesis statement isn’t exactly clear, he effectively uses evidence to convince his audience that a nutrition movement is needed especially for fast food. By discussing many factors with supporting evidence that is factual he shows why fast food is struggling to have a nutrition movement. Malcolm Gladwell uses some very shocking facts about French fries and how unhealthy they are for the body. He states the average American eats about thirty pounds of French fries a year. In 1990, health concerns arose about using animal-based cooking oil to deep fry them. This caused major fast-food houses to switch to deep frying in vegetable oil. Gladwell then proves this change to be even unhealthier. Switching to vegetable oil means going from saturated fat to trans-fat, this makes the body’s ability to regulate cholesterol uncontrollable. Vegetable oil becomes a trans-fat because it has to go through hydrogenation to become suitable for deep frying. According to a study Gladwell uses, for every 5% increase in the amount of saturated fats that a woman consumes, her risk of heart disease increases by 17%. But only a 2% increase in trans-fat will increase her heart disease risk by 93%. This study was designed by Walter Willett who also states that the consumption of trans-fat in the United States probably causes about 30,000 premature deaths each year. This evidence used by Gladwell is very persuasive in the matter that an actual nutrition movement is needed. Gladwell discusses an alternative healthier way to deep fry French fries which shows great strength in his argument. The much healthier way of deep-frying French fries is by using Olestra, Malcolm Gladwell discusses. Olestra is a fat substitute that cannot be absorbed by the body. Frito-Lay’s no-fat Wow! chips are made with a version of Olestra. The FDA won’t approved the alternate healthier way of deep-frying French fries by using Olestra because they claim it causes gastrointestinal distress. Proctor and Gamble, the developers of Olestra, performed a test and found that people eating typical amounts of Olestra-based chips don’t have significantly more gastrointestinal problems than people eating normal chips. The FDA is now reviewing this finding. Gladwell used this to point out that it’s entirely possible, right now, to make a French fry without many dangerous health concerns. The very strong point of this article is that Malcolm Gladwell not only uses French fries in his argument, but beef as well, to prove that it is not only the FDA holding back a nutrition movement. Gladwell uses evidence found by Auburn University. The Auburn Team created what they called the AU Lean beef. This was a beef patty that was ? water, 20% protein, 5% fat and, ? seaweed. They did a blind taste test comparison of AU Lean burgers and traditional McDonald’s burgers. The AU Lean burgers won overall. AU Lean also won in a test of 100 families trying AU Lean, market beef, and 5% fat beef. What this showed was that people can be fooled into thinking they’re eating a lot of fat when they really aren’t. Shortly after, McDonald’s came out with the McLean Deluxe, using AU Lean beef. It was sold as the healthy choice, therefore people were informed it was healthy and it went off the market. This was great evidence Gladwell used that proved Americans think healthier food won’t taste as well. There was also evidence that children also think the same way as the McDonald’s example of healthier food won’t taste as good. Gladwell discusses an experiment by Leann Birch on children’s aspects of food based on restriction. The experiment consisted of a large group of children feeding them a big lunch then letting them loose in a room with lots of junk food. Her findings were some children ate none of the junk food while others really chowed down. This showed that the ones who chowed down are restricted from high-fat, high-sugar food so they think in terms of presence and absence of food rather than their hunger. Because they had been told junk food was bad for them, they thought that it had to taste good. This example really set the light for Gladwell’s argument. It’s not the fact that the food is unhealthy but because of it. Malcolm Gladwell effectively convinced his audience that a nutrition movement is needed. He proves that not only the FDA is holding back an actual nutrition movement but the consumers as well. He supports this by the studies of evidence he provided stating there are healthier ways to fast food. Works Cited Gladwell, Malcolm. â€Å"The Trouble with Fries. † The New Yorker 5 Mar. 2001. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

Warhorse: World War I

Explain how the combination of two of the following elements was used in one live production that you have seen and assess their contribution to the creation of specific mood(s) and atmosphere(s) at moments: set design, lighting, sound. The live performance I have chosen to write about is ‘Warhorse’ which I saw on the 3rd February at the New London Theatre. In this essay, I am going to explain and analyse how the staging and the lighting together created the different atmospheres and moods such as fear and tension. Throughout the play, numerous themes are illustrated such as the barbarity of war and the cruelty of man. The themes of loyalty and hope are also illustrated and portrayed. Not only did the set and lighting help portray these themes and atmospheres, they also helped making the transitions fluid and the change between the two locations were easily interweaved due to the composite set. The staging used was thrust upon stage with a circular revolve in the centre. The revolve in the centre allowed for separation of the two sections along with the outside edge. The revolve was also used in holding frozen images when other action was taking place along the edge. The use of the no-naturalistic staging in the non-naturalistic theatre form was effective in portraying the different journeys from the likes of Joey. Even the flooring of the stage was a fundamental part of the set. The shades of grey and black gave the look of creased and uneven farmland and also the floor distinctively helped with making the trenches and war land look effective. The different appearances depended a lot on the lighting. At one point, on the back wall, there was a projection of a page torn out from Major Nicholl’s notebook along with projections of dates. This helped the audience follow the events of the war in chronological order. The page torn was also accompanied with different pictures inspired from Paul Nash, the World War One artist. Poppies were also projected to highlight the deaths that were caused by World War One. At the back of the stage, there was a large black area. The depth of this area gave the idea of the vastness of war space and the large scale of war. It also gave the illusion that the actors appeared from nowhere. We saw the transformation and transition of Joey from foal to adult in this black area. This moment was marked by the adult horse jumping over he foal in slow motion. Another big and memorable moment when this black area was used was when the new soldiers first arrived in France and they entered walking through the black space and into the wounded soldiers. This action was accompanied with a harsh white light which made the men look skeletal. The revolve helped in creating different locations and atmospheres and also helped mark key moments. One example of this is the ploughing scene. The struggle of the horse was emphasised by the turning of the revolve as it gave the illusion of a far distance. When Joey got caught on the barbed wire, the revolve was elevated and raised to a higher level to emphasise it. Another example of the use of the revolve was during the enlistment scene. As the announcement of war was made, men were encouraged to sign up along with their horses. The fun and exciting atmosphere at the funfair was highlighted by the revolvement. Flags were put up on the stage and also in the first few rows of audience. This made the audience feel involved and echoed how many people were involved in the war. There was a sense of dramatic irony as we saw the celebration of glory while one of the main themes of the play is barbarity of war. The striking, frozen image was held on the revolve and the image of triumph and glory was hugely contrasted with the action outside as Joey is being enlisted without the knowledge of Albert. We see the father receive money and the uncle giving his son the hand-me-down knife and also we see Albert frantically search for Joey – each of these moments being marked by a spotlight. The non-naturalistic frozen image held on the revolve juxtaposed the naturalistic action and images that were performed outside of the revolve. When Joey gets caught in the barbed wire, I found this moment very moving and it was one of the key moments on the revolve. The revolve emphasises the struggle from the horse. When Joey is ploughing for Albert, the revolve is again used to emphasise his struggle and also it gives the illusion of the long distance Joey had to plough for. The puppeteers who manipulated Joey in these scenes had the tough job of lowering his head and making all of his body parts move as if they were real. When he stumbles backwards, his legs shook and it looked very realistic. At the moment where he is stuck in the barbed wire, there is a projection of barbed wire on the back wall and this really enhanced the illusion that Joey was really stuck. The audience were tense watching this as they really worried about whether he would be able to escape. This was also the moment when the revolve was elevated as it stressed how much pain Joey was in and the fear he would be been feeling. He was lifted higher than the trenches and this showed how much pressure the horses were under and also how much they suffered too; it wasn’t just the soldiers and their families that suffered. Joey was helped freed by the two sides of the war came together. This exemplified the unity of men. By having a composite stage, it was effective as two different scenes were allowed to take place at once. One example of this is when Nicholls dies; men’s bodies and horses bodies were lying dead on the stage as Albert’s mother walked through in Devon; her life had not changed unlike the lives of these men. This moment illustrated how while these men and horses were fighting in the war, the families and people at home were safe at home going about as usual. When these two locations and atmospheres were combined it was really effective. At one point, in no-man’s land, black sticks were lowered from the hatches in the ceiling and they portrayed dead trees as it resembled the amount of deaths that were caused. The trees were representations of the lack of life; this created a reminiscent mood and made the audience reflect on those that died. Paul Nash was also the inspiration behind this. Images of silhouetted men were projected; this also reflected the vast amount of soldiers that died. The lighting used was effective in illustrating the change of location as we moved from Devon to France. It also assisted the set in creating the different moods and atmospheres. The lighting used for Devon was warm and gave homely atmosphere. The audience generally received a warm sense when Devon was visited. In comparison however, when in France, the lighting was dramatically different as it changed from cal, to quiet harsh white lights. The monochrome lighting that was constantly used in France really emphasised the gloomy and startling nature of the war. The bright lights intensified to portray key moments such as Nicholls’ death. Strobe lighting was also used to partner the repetitive gun shots. Nicholls’ death was a major key moment and was marked in numerous ways; he was thrown off Topthorne and a spotlight was focused on him as he and his horse fell in slow motion. A green light was also used to represent the mustard gas attack. As the gas leaked towards the soldiers, the audience felt the climax as we watched it approach them. To show the transportation from Britain to Franc, blue gels were used and also a yellow glow shone on Joey and the others as it demonstrated the life within them. This contrasted hugely with the bright white lights that were used to portray the skeletal look of the men and horses at battle in France. These same bright white lights were used in representing the explosions. Projections were also used alongside the lighting to effectively portray settings. The projection of Joey galloping freely in the open land was juxtaposed with the lack of freedom he got while at war. There was a projection of a tank during the scene where Joey is on stage with a huge tank. This was to done to portray the intimidation Joey must have felt as it was man vs. machine. As I have previously mentioned, the projection of Nicholls’ notebook created a sincere atmosphere for the audience as they reflect on the reason why Albert has gone to war; to find his horse. The only projection that was not in black and white were the poppies; this represented the bloodshed caused and again, the audience were left with a solemn and reminiscent mood. However, the colour also gave the audience the chance to reflect as the red illustrated remembrance. To conclude, I thought that through the set design and lighting of ‘Warhorse’, a variety of moods and atmospheres were successfully created. Tension, hope, remembrance were all enhanced and the audience were often left feeling reminiscent of the horrors of war.

Sopwith Camel - Top World War I Fighter

Sopwith Camel - Top World War I Fighter The iconic Allied aircraft of World War I (1914-1918), the Sopwith Camel entered service in mid-1917 and helped the reclaim the skies over the Western Front from the Deutsche Luftstreitkrfte (Imperial German Air Service). An evolution of an earlier Sopwith fighter, the Camel mounted twin .30 cal. Vickers machine guns and was capable of around 113 mph in level flight. A difficult aircraft for novices to fly, its idiosyncrasies made it one of the most maneuverable aircraft on either side in the hands of an experienced pilot. These characteristics helped make it the most lethal Allied fighter of the war.   Design Development: Designed by Herbert Smith, the Sopwith Camel was a follow-on aircraft to the Sopwith Pup. A largely successful aircraft, the Pup had become outclassed by new German fighters, such as the Albatros D.III in early 1917. The result was a period known as Bloody April which saw Allied squadrons sustain heavy losses as their Pups, Nieuport 17s, and older aircraft were downed in large numbers by the Germans. Initially known as the Big Pup the Camel was initially powered by a 110 hp Clerget 9Z engine and featured a visually heavier fuselage than its predecessor. This was largely composed of fabric over a wooden frame with plywood panels around the cockpit and an aluminum engine cowling. Structurally, the aircraft featured a straight upper wing with a very pronounced dihedral on the lower wing. The new Camel was the first British fighter to utilize twin .30 cal. Vickers machine guns firing through the propeller. The metal fairing over the guns breeches, which was intended to keep the weapons from freezing at higher altitudes, formed a hump which led to the aircrafts name. A nickname, the term Camel was never officially adopted by the Royal Flying Corps. Handling Within in the fuselage, the engine, pilot, guns, and fuel were grouped within the first seven feet of the aircraft. This forward center of gravity, coupled with the significant gyroscopic effect of the rotary engine, made the aircraft difficult to fly particularly for novice aviators. This was a significant change from earlier Sopwith aircraft which had been considered fairly easy to fly. To facilitate the transition to the aircraft, two-seat trainer variants of the Camel were produced. The Sopwith Camel was known to climb in a left turn and dive in a right turn. Mishandling the aircraft often could lead to a dangerous spin. Also, the aircraft was known to be consistently tail heavy in level flight at low altitudes and required steady forward pressure on the control stick to maintain a steady altitude. While these handling characteristics challenged pilots, they also made the Camel extremely maneuverable and lethal in combat when flown by a skilled pilot such as Canadian ace William George Barker. Sopwith Camel - Specifications: General Length: 18 ft. 9 in.Wingspan: 26 ft. 11 in.Height: 8 ft. 6 in.Wing Area: 231 sq. ft.Empty Weight: 930 lbs.Crew: 1 Performance Power Plant: 1 Ãâ€" Clerget 9B 9-cylinder Rotary engine, 130 hpRange: 300 milesMax Speed: 113 mphCeiling: 21,000 ft. Armament Guns: 2 Ãâ€" .30 cal. Vickers machine guns Production Flying for the first time on December 22, 1916, with Sopwith test pilot Harry Hawker at the controls, the prototype Camel impressed and the design was further developed. Accepted into service by the Royal Flying Corps as the Sopwith Camel F.1, the majority of the production aircraft were powered by 130 hp Clerget 9B engine. The first order for the aircraft was issued by the War Office in May 1917. Subsequent orders saw the production run total around 5,490 aircraft. During its production, the Camel was fitted with a variety of engines including the 140 hp Clerget 9Bf, 110 hp Le Rhone 9J, 100 hp Gnome Monosoupape 9B-2, and 150 hp Bentley BR1. Operational History Arriving at the front in June 1917, the Camel debuted with No.4 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service and quickly showed its superiority over the best German fighters, including both the Albatros D.III and D.V. The aircraft next appeared with No. 70 Squadron RFC and ultimately would be flown by over fifty RFC squadrons. An agile dog fighter, the Camel, along with the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a and the French SPAD S.XIII, played a key role in reclaiming the skies over the Western Front for the Allies. In addition to British use, 143 Camels were purchased by the American Expeditionary Force and flown by several of its squadrons. The aircraft was also used by Belgian and Greek units. Other Uses In addition to service ashore, a navalized version of the Camel, the 2F.1, was developed for use by the Royal Navy. This aircraft featured a slightly shorter wingspan and replaced one of the Vickers machine guns with a .30 cal Lewis gun firing over the top wing. Experiments were also conducted in 1918 using 2F.1s as parasite fighters carried by British airships. Camels were also used as night fighters though with some modifications. As the muzzle-flash from the twin Vickers wrecked the pilots night vision, the Camel Comic night fighter possessed twin Lewis guns, firing incendiary ammunition, mounted on the upper wing. Flying against German Gotha bombers, the Comics cockpit was situated farther aft than the typical Camel to allow the pilot to more easily reload the Lewis guns. Later Service By mid-1918, the Camel was slowly becoming out-classed by new fighters arriving on the Western Front. Though it remained in frontline service due to development issues with its replacement, the Sopwith Snipe, the Camel was increasingly used in a ground support role. During the German Spring Offensives flights of Camels attacked German troops with devastating effect. On these missions the aircraft typically strafed enemy positions and dropped 25-lb. Cooper bombs. Replaced by the Snipe at the conclusion of World War I the Camel downed a minimum of 1,294 enemy aircraft making it the deadliest Allied fighter of the war. Following the war, the aircraft was retained by several nations including the United States, Poland, Belgium, and Greece. In the years after the war, the Camel became entrenched in pop culture through a variety of films and books about the air war over Europe. More recently, the Camel commonly appeared in the popular Peanuts cartoons as the favored plane of Snoopy during his imaginary battles with the Red Baron.

Forecasting Canadas GDP Essays

Forecasting Canadas GDP Essays Forecasting Canadas GDP Essay Forecasting Canadas GDP Essay Two recessions can be observed from the Time Series plot from above, one in 1980 lasting up until 1982. The other recession was in 1989 lasting for 3 years till 1992. Canada had changed from a country producing and exporting mainly primary products to one that is increasingly producing and exporting manufactured goods. In the 1980s, machinery and equipment joined automotive products among the countrys leading exports; at the same time, the importance of natural resource product declined. Canada was hard hit by the recession of the early 1980s, with interest rates, unemployment, and inflation all running higher than in the United States. The effects of the recession on minerals and manufacturing were especially severe. By the end of 1982, all mining operations in the Yukon were closed, and throughout the country, more than 70,000 of 115,000 miners were unemployed. The economy recovered during the mid-1980s, and Canadas economic growth rate was amongst the highest of OECD countries during 1984-86. The recession of the early 1990s was an economic recession that hit much of the world in 1990-91. The Canadian economy had been affected by the gulf war. A Value Added Tax, the free trade agreement with the U.S and a tight monetary policy that culminated in a serious recession. The recession that occurs in the third quarter of 2008 was another economic recession that hit most of the world. : Between the third quarter of 2008 and the third quarter of last year, the countrys real GDP in Canada fell 3. 3 per cent, compared with 3. 7 per cent in the United States and bigger declines in Europe and Japan. 3 The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Canada expanded 0. 30 percent in the third quarter of 2010 over the previous quarter. From 1961 until 2010, Canadas average quarterly GDP Growth was 0.84 percent reaching an historical high of 3. 33 percent in December of 1963 and a record low of -1. 80 percent in March of 2009. Canadas economy is diversified and highly developed. Measures of Forecasting Errors The mean absolute deviation (MAD) measures forecast accuracy by averaging the magnitudes of the forecast errors (the absolute value of errors). The MAD is the same in the units as the original series and provides an average size of the miss regardless of direction. Equation 1: Mean Absolute Deviation MAD= The mean squared error (MSE) is another method for evaluating a forecasting technique. Each error or residual is squared; these are then summed and divided by the number of observations. This approach penalizes large forecasting errors, since errors are squared. This is important as the technique that produces moderate errors may well be preferable to one that usually has small errors but occasionally yields extremely large ones. Equation 2: Mean Squared Error MSE= The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) is computed by finding the absolute error in each period, dividing this by the actual observed value for that period, and averaging these absolute percentage errors. The result is then multiplied by 100 and expressed as a percentage. This approach is useful when the error relative to the respective size of the time series value is important in evaluating the accuracy of the forecast. The MAPE is especially useful when the Yt values are large. The MAPE has no units of measurements (it is a percentage) and can be used to compare the accuracy of the same or different techniques on two entirely different series. MAPE cannot be calculated if any of the Yt are zero. Equation 3: Mean Absolute Percentage Error MAPE= To determine whether a forecasting method is biased (consistently forecasting low or high). The mean percentage error (MPE) is used in these cases. It is computed by finding the error in each period, dividing this by the actual value for that period, and then averaging these percentage errors. The result is typically multiplied by 100 and expressed as a percentage. If the forecasting approach is unbiased, the MPE will produce a number that is close to zero. If the result is a large negative percentage, the forecasting method is consistently overestimating. If the result is a large positive percentage, the forecasting method is consistently underestimating.

Business Mission Statement and pany Performance

Thorns' tries to be a world-driving supplier of coordination arrangements, cooperating with its clients to make supply chains more effective, sheltered and supportable. Thorns' present territories of vital concentration include the following points: Putting resources into system advantage: The quality and size of Brambles' system of clients, individuals, benefit areas and resource administration ability is intrinsic to the Group's strategic offer to clients and shareholders alike. The Group is focused on contributing to keep up this system preferred standpoint and upgrade it through advancement and client joint effort; Driving operational and hierarchical effectiveness: Brambles bolsters its speculation programs with inward productivity activities that empower money related assets to be diverted to exercises that are esteem including for clients. The Group targets constant efficiencies in direct expenses while the five-year authoritative proficiency program, One Better, is centered around backhanded cost diminishment; and Taught capital allotment for long haul development: notwithstanding financing its built up organizations, Brambles tries to assign money to natural business openings or acquisitions where the Group trusts its particular production network ability can include esteem for clients and make esteem for shareholders. Thistles' shared qualities are explained in its Code of Conduct and are a center part of the Group's way of life: Blackmores works in three major regions of the world that include Australia, New Zealand and Asia too where they have developed their brand name in a very short period of time. The journey started with the initial contributions of only one person whose name was Maurice Blackmore. He was more focused toward the human wellbeing and his contributions are well-known for the betterment of the humans. The pany started off with a great boost and faced some difficulties in the middle of expanding their business but soon they were in the right place. Since then, the pany’s mission and vision is to ensure humans’ health with the best of the services. Some of the key points which they have always focused on include the following: Our excitement and trust in a virtuoso, prehensive manner to manage prosperity moves us to splendor in all that we do. We are direct, reliable additionally, mitted to the most astonishing benchmarks of individual, master furthermore, business lead. We treat each other with sensibility, regard and sympathy and we get a handle on contrasts. As an organization, in groups and as people, we utilize our astuteness, experience and information to rouse what's more, impact everybody to be their best (Amran 2012). Our activities show our care, regard and sympathy for our kin, the more extensive group and the earth. Since then, Maurice just toot forward the traditions of his father and continued serving humanity with the best of the services. The role he played for the betterment and health of the people is totally amazing because he did not had much resources initially but with the passage of time, he took this business to the highest level. Our things are made to requesting essentials, under the worldwide PIC/s (Pharmaceutical Inspection Tradition and Pharmaceutical Investigation Co-operation Conspire) measures of good delivering sharpen. We use magnificent fixings sourced from around the world. Our thing definitions are supported by major authorities where they are sold and are required to meet both our claim and diverse governments' stringent measures of security, quality and suitability. All business ought to be led in agreement with the laws and controls of the nations in which the business is found. We contend reasonably in the business sectors in which we work. We should work securely and apply industry best practice to the wellbeing, security and prosperity of our workers, clients, providers and the groups in which we work. We ought to plan to bring long haul advantages to Briers, as opposed to fleeting preferred standpoint for people to the detriment of the association's long haul interests. Our faith in individuals and collaboration requires participation with our partners over the Group to a plish our corporate objectives (Dharmadasa et al. 2012). Our words and activities must show regard for the differing scope of individuals and societies with whom we work and for their human rights. Degenerate practices are inadmissible. No influences or parable installments will be made to, or acknowledged from, any gathering. Every single business exchange will be legitimately and precisely recorded. Deals specialists, experts and parable guides ought to be designated as per these standards and paid at a rate steady with the estimation of their administrations. Resources and private data ought to be pletely ensured and should not be utilized by representatives for individual pick up. Maurice Blackmores' energy for normal human services keeps on being at the heart of what we do today. It is not only a theory; it is the way we work together. This energy is something we request that all workers share. Blackmores' prosperity is firmly connected to the way we concentrate on our clients; think imaginatively; act mindfully toward each other, the earth and our nearby group; and endeavor to exhibit our qualities (Orhan et al. 2014). Blackmores' qualities are woven into each fiber of our association. These qualities - known as PIRLS - are both behavioral and optimistic. They support our work rehearses and are upheld by lawful strategies and methodology. PIRLS shape our center hierarchical values and join: Our energy and trust in a trademark, widely inclusive approach to manage prosperity moves us to wonderfulness in all that we do. We are direct, dependable and concentrated on the most astonishing standards of individual, master and business lead. We treat each other with fairness, regard and passion and we get a handle on arranged qualities. As an association, in gatherings and as individuals, we use our knowledge, experience and figuring out how to energize and affect everyone to be their best (Castillo 2014). Our exercises show our care, respect and passion for our kinfolk, the broader gathering and the earth. Blackmores' faith in the significance of selecting and holding the best individuals, creating driving items and supporting an enthusiasm for what we do is the establishment of our way to deal with acting as a group. A lot of our prosperity is supported by drawing in and holding excellent staff that share our qualities and prehend what we are attempting to a plish together (Hopkins 2012). We solicit a great deal from each other: open correspondence, demonstrable skill, execution, and an authentic faith in our business objectives and corporate culture. Blackmores is focused on giving a workplace that cultivates fulfilled and drew in representatives who share a typical longing to be their best. Thorns is focused on ensuring that exact data about its issues is made accessible to its partners time lily, specifically to make beyond any doubt that the Australian market is legitimately educated of anything which would be probably going to have a material impact on its share cost. Keeping in mind the end goal to do this, it is key that we work an open inside divulgence arrangement so that applicable data from the organizations and capacities is gone through the proper channels to the corporate focus (Calder 2014). Board has been set up which is in charge of actualizing reporting procedures and controls and decides rules for the arrival of data. The board will delegate Disclosure Officers in each of the specialty units and key capacities. These officers will be in charge of giving the advisory group instantly with material data about the exercises of their specialty unit or range of practical duty. Blackmores' Board and administration are devoted to the most noteworthy measures of corporate conduct and responsibility all through all levels of the association. The Board routinely audits its administration practices to guarantee the necessities and desires of partners are met inside a structure that is suitable for Blackmores and guarantees lawful consistence. The Board embraces the ASX Corporate Governance Chamber's Corporate Governance Principles and R mendations (ASX Principles). This is how Blackmores focuses more on its stakeholders and keeps on obliging them through a better business. Stakeholders of Blackmores are very much familiar with the working standards of the pany and they know that this pany is doing a good job for its customers (Idowu et al. 2013). Their strategies and policies are in the best interest of the people. Moreover, they are fully equipped with the latest and advanced technologies which make them more stable and reliable for their stakeholders. They tak e really good care of their stakeholders by implementing the best strategies in their business. Amran, N.A., 2012. Mission statement and pany performance: Evidence from Malaysia.  International Journal of Business and Behavioral Sciences,  2(4), pp.98-107. Calder, W.B., 2014. Achieving an Institution's Values, Vision, and Mission.  College Quarterly,  17(2), p.n2. Castillo, R., 2014. Awareness, acceptance and perception of Batangas State University stakeholders towards its vision, mission, goals and objectives.  International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR). Retrieved from https://gssrr. Org/index. php. Coleman, J., 2013. Six ponents of a great corporate culture.  Harvard Business Review,  5(6), p.2013. Cornelissen, J., 2014.  Corporate munication: A guide to theory and practice. Sage. Dharmadasa, P., Maduraapeurma, Y. and Herath, S.K., 2012. Mission statements and pany financial performance revisited.  International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting,  4(3), pp.314-324. Orhan, G., Erdo?an, D. and Durmaz, V., 2014. Adopting Mission and Vision Statements by Employees: The Case of TAV Airports.  Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,  150, pp.251-262. Fernandez, M.W.B., 2015. Awareness, acceptability, relevance and congruence of the PNU-Negros Occidental vision, mission, and goals and objectives of the teacher education program.  Asia Pacific Higher Education Research Journal (APHERJ),  2(1). Grà ¼nig, R. and Kà ¼hn, R., 2015. Stakeholder Analysis and Revising the Mission Statement. In  The Strategy Planning Process  (pp. 77-83). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Hopkins, M., 2012.  The planetary bargain: Corporate social responsibility matters. Routledge. Idowu, S.O., Capaldi, N. and Zu, L., 2013.  Encyclopedia of corporate social responsibility. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Communication - Essay Example Through that, it will be easy to focus on how to have an effectively better communication among different groups of audience and the possible better channels to achieve that. Alcovy Wrestling Communication Plan Communication is a considerable method of conveying a message across regions, and can take diverse ways, which include a mouth-to-mouth communication, presentations, media broadcasting, press releases, the use of posters or fliers as well as particular events. To educators, effective communication is crucial because communication is the essential aspect for creating changes in learning institutions. Therefore, educators should learn to communicate effectively and listen carefully in order to achieve the intended goals of the organization. Vos, Otte and Linders (2003) argue that effective communication is the major aspect that contributes to better performance; thus, to be a successful communicator developing a communication plan is necessary. Planning is one way of organizing actions in order to achieve the intended goals successfully. Therefore, developing a strategic communication plan is necessary because it ensures that various activities are carried out as scheduled, which increases the efficiency and, consequently, an output. Developing an effective communication plan one should take into considerations the following factors – the purpose, the audience, the message to be communicated, communication channels, ways or distribution channels, and the action plan. Wrestling is a significant psychological and physical activity, and the presence of a communication plan ensures that all activities are coordinated, thus, the realization of anticipated results is feasible. Ferguson (1999) affirms that the primary purpose of developing a communication plan is to educate wrestlers and inform anyone interested to participate in wrestling next year at Alcovy high school, so that all the parties could carry out their duties efficiently. Furthermore, studie s suggest that wrestling is an imperative sport activity that draws diverse groups of people together, and it is also crucial in reducing anxiety and other health issues. As such, the presence of efficient and effective communication ensures that all the parties involved benefit both from physical and social perspectives. In essence, coaching in wrestling can be easy in case one has a good communication plan, but can be an overwhelming task in the absence of a communication plan while preparing diverse activities or aspects that should be achieved in a set period. Vos, Otte and Linders (2003) argue that developing a strategic communication plan can result into significant changes and lead to success in project implementation. Therefore, the goal of developing Alcovy wrestling communication plan is to convey information to the intended audience effectively. On the other hand, identifying the audience, whom the instructor tries to reach, is imperative because it simplifies the prepara tion of a logical communication plan. In this regard, there are varied ways one can categorize audience and employ the effective communication forms or approaches for communicating the message successfully. Since the majority of audiences are high school students, the use of fliers or posters will be an effective method of communicating about wrestling sports activities. To succeed, the coach will create information fliers about the wrestling site and the summer timetable for practices. Due to the existence of other audiences

Copleys Governor and Mrs. Thomas Mifflin and Watson and the Shark Essay

Copleys Governor and Mrs. Thomas Mifflin and Watson and the Shark - Essay Example The essay "Copley’s Governor and Mrs. Thomas Mifflin and Watson and the Shark" analyzes paintings of John Singleton Copley, Governor and Mrs. Thomas Mifflin and Watson and the Shark. Copley represents Mifflin’s role in this debate with a form of commemoration for the subject’s position as the first Pennsylvania governor after the liberation of the colonies. Copley’s 1778 portrait â€Å"Watson and the Shark† also has symbols alluding to aspects of the American Revolution through its highly expressive style. Plainly, viewers can say Copley wanted to commemorate a dramatic event wherein Brook Watson lost his foot (Pinder 186). However, a deeper meaning is an implicit allusion to the War of Independence. More specifically, the painting shows colonists as brave men as they physically struggle against a killer shark, another symbolic allusion to the British. The 1773 painting symbolically reveals Mr. Mifflin’s political beliefs. Mifflin was a trade r against taxes imposed on British commodities. Among the American Revolution’s key objectives was to resist paying duties imposed on commodities from England and encouraging other colonists to follow suit. At the same time, Mrs. Mifflin conveys a clear message about the political atmosphere in America during the revolution. Mrs. Mifflin has a unique attractive fringe that shows her intention to boycott English commodities and rather create her own. Sarah Mifflin uses her right hand and a loom held in place by a blue ribbon to lace the threads.

How has Robot Technology improved emergency response and will this Research Paper

How has Robot Technology improved emergency response and will this technology impacts the future of search and rescue - Research Paper Example This paper will describe how robot technology has improved emergency response capabilities and how this technology will influence the future of emergency management, as well as search and rescue operations. In the modern world there is an imminent need for humanitarian operations ranging from small disasters to humanitarian tragedies. Some of these emergencies can be classified as natural disasters while others are human made or human induced. The typical emergency situation can also be a combination of any three of the elements listed above. In such situations, the general approach is to utilise search and rescue (SAR) teams and systems. It has to be kept in mind that the budgets being spent on emergency relief efforts especially for search and rescue efforts is increasing manifold every year. For example, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) spent some 958.7 million Swiss Francs in the year 2005 while it registered a 16% increase in its overall budget since 2000. This is comparable to the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) who saw a budgetary increase of 13% between the years 2000 and 2004 (Ko & Lau, 2009). With these budgetary increases it must also be seen that most sea rch and rescue efforts feature human beings trying to resolve situations that may be out of their control. With the rapid advances in technology especially robotics, it is ironic that most search and rescue operations still feature dogs on leashes guiding human handlers to save lives. The very nature of emergency response is precarious to say the least. The advances in technology have been unable to feature heavily in these scenarios except for the isolated use of positioning systems, communication systems and camera mounted probing systems. The dangerous nature of these operations requires scapegoats that can tread not only further but also faster into emergency areas. It has been suggested that the

University education should be free Research Paper

University education should be free - Research Paper Example ss amount of money per public college student and state funding of the students and universities has been lowered or even cut to half as in California. â€Å"Education has long been seen as a principal source of economic mobility. But for years now public education, and especially public higher education has been under attack† (Reiff). Several educational reforms and financial planning could be carried out to make university education free for the students, because it would not only facilitate the students but also help in lowering the overall cost of educational budget. The fees for tuition, boarding have been inflating for the past 20 years, inspite of that the public universities have to make cuts in the various services and educational programmes in order to compensate for the deficiencies in the budget. Free university education for every person would be a possible solution to the current inflation and economic dearth. â€Å"Not means-tested, not cheap, not subsided, but free. For everybody† (Reiff). This could be made possible by implementing the tax payment, hypothetically 6 percent to the university which would provide the undergraduate degree. Those who earned more would pay more and who earned less would have to pay less, but at the end every person would have the privilege of having an undergraduate degree. Students will not have to work long hours in order to finance their university education, which not only affects their performance but also puts them under large debts they cannot pay (Reiff). Inability of United States to provide free higher education proves to be a downfall when compared to other developed countries which provide free university education. University education is not only an important determinant of the economic progress but also determines the employment rate in the state. â€Å"Currently, only 30% of Americans who start college or university end up graduating, and this represents a huge waste of time and money† (B. Samuels). If as

Comparison between Saudi Accounting Standards (SOCPA) and IFRS Dissertation

Comparison between Saudi Accounting Standards (SOCPA) and IFRS - Dissertation Example Comparison between Saudi Accounting Standards (SOCPA) and IFRS.The present unrelenting global recession that originated from the US and extended globally revealed the nascent close links that existing amongst international financial and economic sectors.The present unrelenting global recession that originated from the US and extended globally revealed the nascent close links that existing amongst international financial and economic sectors. The wayward acts of business leaders aided by aberrant accountants as depicted in the Enron and WorldCom scandals in 2001 and the subprime mortgage crisis exposed that financial accounting practices have to be strictly scrutinized globally to avoid any such repetition. Subsequently the diverse local accounting associations in accord with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) led by the EU instigated the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) (Yoon, 2009). These novel guidelines were intended to have harmonised standardiz ed regulations to steer accountants and organisations worldwide. However, the implementation of IFRS has met a raft of challenges in assorted jurisdictions including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia due to cultural, social-economic and religious beliefs. The accounting history in Saudi Arabia can be traced to the 14th Hijri century (1930) when through a royal decree it was established that accounting records should be upheld. The issuance of CPA regulations commenced in 1974 and the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) was initiated in 1992 through a royal decree No.M12... The issuance of CPA regulations commenced in 1974 and the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) was initiated in 1992 through a royal decree No.M12 (SCOPA, 2011). SOCPA has been responsible for developing and setting accounting standards or compliance with the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of Saudi Arabia as well as CPA exams, training, research, publications etc (Al-Aqeel, 2009). Keywords SOCPA-GAAP, Shariah and Islamic financial model, IAS/IFRS standards, standardisation Research Question What are the main areas of divergence and convergence between the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) and the International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards  (IFRS) standards? Aims This study aims at establishing a comparison between the SOCPA accounting standards and the IAS) and IFRS and probable evolution of SOCPA standards in view of the adoption of the universal international guidelines . The study will thus explore the convergence and divergence of the two standards in addition to examining the historical evolution of the accounting and auditing fields in Saudi Arabia. A critical scrutiny of the available literature as well as comprehensive field study will be conducted amongst organisations operating within the country. The Objectives of the Research This study will attempt to cover the gaps in previous studies that have scantily covered the region while offering recommendations on areas that can be transformed for more effective standardisation as well as for further studies. The study will therefore endeavour to understanding the convergence and divergence between

Competitive position and performance of Soft Drinks Industry 03082 Essay

Competitive position and performance of Soft Drinks Industry 03082 - Essay Example The discussion has provided a clear image about the organisations and their last five years financial performances. It has evaluated the non-financial performances to assess the future performance of the organisations. The study has provided essential recommendations for the organisations to improve their future performance. The soft drink market is the highly growing industry sectors of the UK with 44.8% market share. In comparison to 2013, the overall consumption of different soft drink brands within the UK has witnessed a modest increase of 0.9%. Approximately 48% of consumers in the UK prefer different brands of carbonated soft drink rather than other beverages. Over 37% of the household of the UK are replacing alcoholic beverages with the carbonated soft drink during their meal time (Ford, 2014). The UK soft drink market consists of wide range of product options such as carbonated drinks, flavoured juices, ready-to-drink beverages, packaged drinking water and energy drinks (British Soft Drink Association. 2014). The carbonated soft drink (CDS) market possesses the largest portion, i.e. 50.3%, of the UK soft drink industry. The major players of the UK CDS sector include Britvic Plc., Nichols Plc. and A. G. Barr Plc. which own respectively 43%, 2% and 3% of the overall market share by revenue (Britis h Soft Drink Association. 2013). Though the market consists of a huge number of local organisations, it is still dominated by different international players such as Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo Inc (Steen and Ashurst, 2008). The range of soft drinks on the shelves of retail outlets is rapidly growing which is giving people a wider choice than ever. Therefore, this situation has fuelled fierce competition within the local brands to secure a competitive position within the UK market. The strong competition in the market is also influencing the major local players to indulge in different research

Comparison between Saudi Accounting Standards (SOCPA) and IFRS Dissertation

Comparison between Saudi Accounting Standards (SOCPA) and IFRS - Dissertation Example Comparison between Saudi Accounting Standards (SOCPA) and IFRS.The present unrelenting global recession that originated from the US and extended globally revealed the nascent close links that existing amongst international financial and economic sectors.The present unrelenting global recession that originated from the US and extended globally revealed the nascent close links that existing amongst international financial and economic sectors. The wayward acts of business leaders aided by aberrant accountants as depicted in the Enron and WorldCom scandals in 2001 and the subprime mortgage crisis exposed that financial accounting practices have to be strictly scrutinized globally to avoid any such repetition. Subsequently the diverse local accounting associations in accord with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) led by the EU instigated the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) (Yoon, 2009). These novel guidelines were intended to have harmonised standardiz ed regulations to steer accountants and organisations worldwide. However, the implementation of IFRS has met a raft of challenges in assorted jurisdictions including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia due to cultural, social-economic and religious beliefs. The accounting history in Saudi Arabia can be traced to the 14th Hijri century (1930) when through a royal decree it was established that accounting records should be upheld. The issuance of CPA regulations commenced in 1974 and the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) was initiated in 1992 through a royal decree No.M12... The issuance of CPA regulations commenced in 1974 and the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) was initiated in 1992 through a royal decree No.M12 (SCOPA, 2011). SOCPA has been responsible for developing and setting accounting standards or compliance with the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of Saudi Arabia as well as CPA exams, training, research, publications etc (Al-Aqeel, 2009). Keywords SOCPA-GAAP, Shariah and Islamic financial model, IAS/IFRS standards, standardisation Research Question What are the main areas of divergence and convergence between the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) and the International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards  (IFRS) standards? Aims This study aims at establishing a comparison between the SOCPA accounting standards and the IAS) and IFRS and probable evolution of SOCPA standards in view of the adoption of the universal international guidelines . The study will thus explore the convergence and divergence of the two standards in addition to examining the historical evolution of the accounting and auditing fields in Saudi Arabia. A critical scrutiny of the available literature as well as comprehensive field study will be conducted amongst organisations operating within the country. The Objectives of the Research This study will attempt to cover the gaps in previous studies that have scantily covered the region while offering recommendations on areas that can be transformed for more effective standardisation as well as for further studies. The study will therefore endeavour to understanding the convergence and divergence between

Hydrotherapy Case Essay Example for Free

Hydrotherapy Case Essay Introduction This annotated bibliography is based upon three journal articles, all of which address the question, is hydrotherapy as effective as land based exercise for lower limb conditions? Hydrotherapy, water based exercise performed in a heated pool and will be analysed to determine whether it is an appropriate and beneficial type of physical therapy. Search Process Once the topic of hydrotherapy was of interest, keywords such as effectiveness of hydrotherapy and benefits of hydrotherapy for lower limbs were used in search engines such as Google Scholar and SciVerse. Once articles appeared to be of relevance to the guiding question, the abstracts of each of these articles were read and only those that were easily understood, were interesting and matched closely to the guiding question were selected to be used in the bibliography. After sorting approximately 5 articles that were of relevance to the guiding question, they were then searched for in the VU Library so their full text could be read, as there was only an abstract available when searching through Google Scholar and SciVerse. After reading the 5 articles in full the decision was made on three by how relevant they were to the guiding question and having slight similarities to each other also helped in the decision making process. The three articles that make up the annotated bibliography each compare hydrotherapy to land based exercise for patients suffering from a certain lower limb condition. The first article compares the two types of therapies for patients with osteoarthritis and whether their strength and physical function will be improved by which type of therapy. The second compares hydrotherapy to land based exercise for patients who have undergone a total knee replacement where as the final article bases its investigation on whether water therapy can be as effective as land based exercise for patients who have osteoarthritis in the knee. Each article used a different type of study design. Article 1 Foley, A, Halbert, J, Hewitt, T, Crotty, M, 2003. Does hydrotherapy improve strength and physical function in patients with osteoarthritis—a randomised controlled trial comparing a gym based and a hydrotherapy based strengthening programme. EULAR Journal, 62, 1162-1167. The aim of this article was to compare the effects of a hydrotherapy resistance exercise program with a gym based resistance exercise program focusing on strength and function in the treatment of osteoarthritis. It consisted of participants who were randomised into one of three groups: hydrotherapy (n = 35), gym (n = 35), or control (n = 35). There were 105 participants, 52 (49.5%) were women and 53 males. Having such an even number of both men and women allowed the study to be evenly distributed leaving little judgement of being one gender dominated which may effect the studys results. The mean (SD) age of the sample was 70.9 years. Originally it was decided to have only 22 subjects in each group as a sample size of 66 was required however, the sample size calculation was based on the assumption of an effect size of 1.0 with a level of 0.05 and 90% power. Therefore, to allow for drop outs and injuries, this sample was increased to 35 people in each group. This proved to be beneficial to the study as there were several subjects that discontinued with the study. Being prepared with a higher sample size to allow for subjects failing to attend would leave the study with very few subjects to test, therefore increasing the numbers to more than what was needed prepared any unsuspecting drop outs if they occurred. The warm up in the land based exercise group involved about four minutes of stationary cycling. The strengthening exercises included seated bench press, hip adduction and abduction, knee extension, and double leg press. It can be suggested that the strength exercises for land based focused more on lower limb and quadricep muscles such as double leg press with a resistance of 10 RM compared to hydrotherapy which was more focused on ROM and hip exercises such as hip extension and flexion, knee extension and flexion, hip abduction and adduction and knee cycling. It would be expected that land based groups quadricep muscles would be stronger as their exercises were more related to strengthening this area. As one of this studys major testing methods was to test the strength of the quadriceps, it should have focused on more quadriceps strengthening exercises for the water based group to complete to ensure both groups were evenly distributed with similar exercises. One of the strengths of this study was that the exercise intensity between the two intervention groups were closely matched as much as possible. However, it was stated that progressive overloading of the musculature and loading through the eccentric phase of muscle contraction is not possible in water as it is on land. Therefore, the exercise intensity would not have been as high in the water based group, hence the greater increases in strength are seen in the gym group. To balance this difference, the hydrotherapy program had an underlying aerobic training component, as higher and faster repetitions were used to increase the exercise intensity. Furthermore, the hydrotherapy group continuously worked for the full half hour session, moving immediately from one exercise to the next. Although this helped to keep both mediums on a level field, a limitation to this modification was that the water based participants heart rates were not measured suggesting that it may have been difficult to assess if they were exercising at a higher and more vigorous intensity compared to the land based exercise group. Furthermore, the land based group participants may have been exercising with just as much intensity as the water based group which would suggest they would be doing even more work than the water based group. It can be suggested that one of the limitations of this study was that it may have been too short in duration of the entire study. Only running for 6 weeks may have been too little time to be able to show obvious improvements within the subjects lower limb strength and aerobic endurance levels. Although improvements were seen with both groups it may have been beneficial to continue to a longer period for further improvements to be shown. Another limitation to this study was that only participants who could provide their own transport to the rehabilitation hospital where the study took place three times a week were eligible to take part in the trial. This would have made it difficult for those who may have wanted to participate but were excluded due to not being able to drive. Having osteoarthritis in the knee and hip joints may prevent some subjects from driving therefore limiting them form taking part in this trial. It may be beneficial for this study to have the hospital organise transportation services for subjects that would have been eligible to participate but were unable to due to transportation. This article has high relevance to the guiding question as it is based closely on comparing hydrotherapy to land based exercises and shows that hydrotherapy is just as effective when dealing with osteoarthirtis as land based exercises. Article 2 Harmor, A, Naylor, J, Crosbie, J, Russell, T, 2009. Land-Based Versus Water-Based Rehabilitation Following Total Knee Replacement: A Randomized, Single-Blind Trial. Arthritis Rheumatism (Arthritis Care Research), 61, 184-191. The aim of this article is to compare outcomes between land-based and water-based exercise programs delivered in the early subacute phase up to 6 months after total knee replacement. This study was a randomized single-blind trial of patients undergoing physiotherapy after primary total knee replacement surgery was conducted in a metropolitan public hospital. All patients provided voluntary, written informed consent prior to study enrollment and were allocated into either land based or water based program with the use of a random number generator. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline (2 weeks post surgery), after 6 weeks of rehabilitation treatment, and at 26 weeks post surgery. It was determined that a sample size of 40 patients per group would provide 80% power to detect a 20% difference between groups in 6-minute walk distance, at a significance level of P 0.05. Therefore, 102 patients were recruited to allow for a 25% dropout rate. This was a positive implication made by the conductors of the study as there were several subjects that were unable to complete the full 26 week trial. The primary outcome measured at each assessment was the 6-Minute Walk test and the secondary outcomes were stair climbing power (SCP), the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index, a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain in the operated knee, passive knee joint range of motion (ROM), and edema of the knee. One of the strengths of using the 6-Minute Walk as the primary outcome measurement was because it has a high efficiency of test–retest reliability and responsiveness after total knee replacement and permits decision making at an individual patient level. It was also beneficial because as the clients were recovering from knee replacement surgery, it was a non invasive, less intense outcome measure test. The patient is able to walk at their own pace and does not involve using an extreme amount of strength and effort which could put a high amount of pressure of their effected area. Walking not only allows the patients to become well practiced with their gait mobility but as it was re tested, did not put a high amount of pressure on the patient as it did not involve high amounts of pain on the newly replaced knee. This functional test for mobility-impaired older adults, in whom leg power is more important than strength for mobility, may be an optimal tool for measuring the magnitude of impairment and effects of therapy, and stair climb power test has good reliability and responsiveness after total knee replacements. Although the stair climb power test is a reliable test it can be suggested that it may be slightly dangerous and strenuous for elderly patients to complete especially after undergoing knee replacement surgery. 8 flights of 10 steps may seem daunting for elderly individuals especially if they need to use gait aid up and down the stairs which could become uncomfortable and awkward, therefore this test could have been modified to a smaller amount of steps instead of a large flight of stairs or another test that tests lower limb power could have been used in its place such as sit to stand test. In addition to the group exercise programs, all patients were instructed on a simple home exercise program, which was recommended to be undertaken daily and consisted of general active ROM exercises and walking as tolerated. However it was discovered that the home exercise program compliance was not formally monitored nor was the intensity of the exercises stated for the home program. Therefore it cannot be certain that the exercise prescription was similar for both land based and water based groups or even of sufficient amount to generate physiologic change. As the home exercises were not monitored it could be suggested that not all participants even completed the program on a daily basis while at home. If these home programs were monitored and logged by the subjects and also were made clear with the correct intensity to use this may have altered the results of the study and could have benefited the subjects further by improving in the measured outcome tests. One of the positives of this study was that during the outcome measures the patients were assessed by a blinded assessor so there was no bias shown to either group. However, this could also have been a weakness within the study as it was discovered that on a few occasions unblinding assessments occurred due to the initial blinded assessor being absent. This could have effected the outcome measure results for those particular tests that were held by the unblinded assessors. These results could have then effected the final results of the study favouring more so to one particular group. Another strength of this study was that most of the passive lower limb measurements were able to be re tested during the middle and end of the study and would be reliable tests. Knee edema was estimated by circumferential measurements at 4 locations (apex, midline, superior border, and 4 cm proximal to the superior border of the patella) with the knee in extension. The 4 measures were averaged for each knee and used as the knee edema outcome measure. These measurements which were very precise and specific to the affected area and would be a beneficial test to note the improvements and changes made around the affected knee area. An exclusion in this study which may have resulted in being a limitation to the trial was that there was no control group. Which would have made it difficult to compare the two trial groups as there was nothing to compare them to besides each other. It could suggest that having a control group would have made it easier to see improvements of each trial group compared to those who did not participate in either group. It could have provided a comparison to those who underwent knee replacement surgery and were not doing any physical activity program during the subacute stage. This may have showed actual significance of participating in physical activity compared to being sedentary and provided an indication if the subjects in the study were actually improving due to the exercises or if it was only due to their natural healing process. One of the limitations to this study was that during the water based program the hydrotherapy pool that was used was heated to a mean SD temperature of 25Â °C. Generally, the temperature should be increased to approximately 32–36Â °C for hydrotherapy for patients with knee and hip arthritis and recommended for reducing musculoskeletal stiffness. It was discovered that hydrotherapy could have produced more favourable results if the pool temperature was warmer. Not only would it have been more beneficial for the patients with their rehabilitation and recovery for reducing muscle stiffness but would have felt far more comfortable in the warmer water which would have made the program more inviting, hence reducing the nu mber of drop outs in the study. Another limitation involved in this trail was that patients who were not proficient in English were excluded from answering the WOMAC questionnaires which were used by the patients to answer questions in relation to pain, stiffness and functionality. Therefore this resulted in 8 participants in the land based and 9 in the water based groups that were excluded from this part of the study. This became a limitation because patients of language were able to be included in this study up until the questionnaires and reviews were being conducted. Furthermore, it could be suggested that having an interpreter or family member to assist with asking the patient the questions would ensure they were given the opportunity to complete the WOMAC questionnaire just as all the other participants had and may have even changed or effected the results slightly by there answers. Following the questionnaires, complications from the study were monitored up to 26 weeks post surgery using a standardized question form administered through a patient interview at review clinics or via a followup phone call after discharge. By reviewing the patients with a question form, it can indicate that those of non English speaking background would be again excluded from this part of the study. However, if these patients were still asked the questions the patient may not have fully understood the questions and given an incorrect answer. Furthermore the patient themselves may have questions they would like to ask the physical therapist about their recovery and would not be abel to communicate that across to the therapists. Therefore having someone who can understand them would be beneficial. . Follow up phone calls over the phone only allows for subjective assessments to be made which could lead to serious concerns if the reviewer is unable to see the patient. The patient may need to be further assessed or monitored objectively to ensure they are progressing throughout the study and finished the study without any further damage occurring and to ensure they are not in any pain due to the exercise program. The reviewer needs to see the patients surgical area to ensure the area has not been harmed or declined in the healing process from the studys exercise regime and to ensure they have recovered well after the program. It can be presumed that interviewing over the phone could be dangerous and too risky to assess the patients and should be sought out to ensure all reviews are done in person. Allowing patients who may not be fluent in English to participate in the study, may result in misinterpreting important information when reviewing patients or even while they are participating in the sessions. Again, having an interpreter on hand for those who are unable to communicate well enough with the assessors and instructors would be beneficial for both parties to ensure all information is passed on correctly with no misunderstandings occurring. This article was closely based on the guiding question as it gives a specific look at whether hydrotherapy is as effective or even more effective for patients recovering from a knee replacement to improve their gait mobility and knee range of motion. Article 3 Silva, L, Valim, V, Pessanha, A, Oliveira, L, Myamoto, S, Jones, A, Natour, J, 2007. Hydrotherapy Versus Conventional Land-Based Exercise for the Management of Patients With Osteoarthritis of the Knee: A Randomized Clinical Trial . Physical Therapy, 88, 12-21. The aim of this article was to evaluate the effectiveness of hydrotherapy in subjects with osteoarthritis of the knee compared with subjects with osteoarthritis of the knee who performed land-based exercises. This study was a randomized clinical trail where patients with osteoarthritis of the knee were selected from the Rheumatology Outpatient Clinics at SÃ £o Paulo Hospital and were invited to participate in this study. Sixty-four participants were included in the study. Thirty-two participants (30 female, 2 male) were randomly assigned to the water-based exercise group, and 32 participants (29 female, 3 male) were randomly assigned to the land-based exercise group. A noticeable difference is the very high number of females in the study, this could suggest that it was a limitation as it may have been beneficial use more male participants to have an even distribution of both genders as this may have effected the results and the outcomes of the tests. Within this study both programs had the same types of exercise were used for both. Land based exercises were adapted to be performed underwater in order to exercise the same muscles. The exercises used for both groups included stretching and strengthening of the major muscle groups of the lower limbs, as well as gait training. Both groups had 50 minute training sessions 3 times a week for 18 weeks. This suggests a strength of the study as having the same type of program for both groups would even both groups and by using the same muscle groups throughout the entire programs allows for an balanced investigation where no groups is focusing more on one aspect of their body. This allows to truly investigate which medium actually is more effective when testing the muscular strength and mobility of the lower limbs. An area of limitation was the lack of a control group to compare with the 2 exercise treatment groups. The authors did however take not having a control group into consideration, and stated that because there is considerable evidence that land based exercises are effective in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, they decided to compare hydrotherapy with the gold standard of exercise intervention. However, the lack of a control group meant that it was unable to determine whether the improvements in both groups resulted from exercise or other factors, such as the duration of therapy or the degree of participant attention or motivation. Nevertheless, it was believed that most of the improvement seen was attributable to the interventions used, as osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease and would be expected to cause a progressive worsening of the participants’ conditions. It may still have been beneficial to include a control group to prove that their study was accurate and improvements were actually made due to the exercise programs. The reduction in pain found in both groups is a very important benefit for such patients. Although we believe that this improvement occurred due to the strengthening of the leg muscles, we cannot affirm this due to the fact that we did not directly assess the strength of these muscles, as our primary objective was to assess improvement regarding pain and quality of life. We had expected pain to decrease more in the water-based exercise group than in the land-based exercise group. However, reductions in pain were found in both groups, thereby failing to demonstrate a greater benefit in the water-based exercise group and showing that water-based exercise is a real option for patients with OA of the knee. A positive of this studys method was that when assessing pain, it was assessed at the time of evaluation instead of assessing the pain experienced during the previous week. It suggests that this method may be a better representation of the pain experienced during daily activities compared to measuring pain experienced during the previous week. This is a positive outcome as it provides the assessors with answers to their patients pain as it was occurring and did not have to try and recall how they felt after their previous sessions. At times, pain can be present and concerning the patient however once it has been relieved it becomes forgotten and assessors may consider this valuable information about their pain levels. Another strength of this study was the use of the number of NSAIDs as a good quality measure for the assessment of pain. Patients were allowed to use sodium diclofenac to relieve pain during their sessions, however, it was discovered that the use of this medication was decreased significantly in both groups by the third month of the study, and a further reduction was seen in the fourth month in the water-based exercise group. Overall, a 50% reduction in sodium diclofenac use was observed by the end of the study. This was an effective and precise way of determining the patients pain levels throughout the study. From this it could be proven that patients pain levels were decreasing due to their exercise programs and the decrease in pain relief intake. This article was of close relevance to the guiding question as it provided information relating to the effectiveness of hydrotherapy compared to land based exercises. It proved that hydrotherapy was as effective as land based programs through pain level testing for patients with osteoarthritis. Summary In all three articles patients improved equally well in most outcome measures comparing land based with hydrotherapy. In the first article is was stated that neither mode was clearly superior to the other as both showed improvements and gained strength. Similarly, the second article showed findings of both being effective ways of treating lower limb conditions. However, not one medium was more superior than the other. The final article indicate that water based and land based exercises reduced pain and improved function in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and that water based exercise was superior to land based exercise for relieving pain before and after walking. These studies findings indicated that hydrotherapy is a suitable and effective way of exercising for patients with lower limb conditions as water buoyancy reduces the weight that joints, bones and muscles have to bear. Aquatic exercises have been widely used in physical therapy programs, especially when exercising under normal conditions of gravity is difficult and painful. Water buoyancy reduces the weight that joints, bones, and muscles have to bear. The warmth and pressure of the water also reduce swelling and increase blood circulation. Consequently, an underwater environment allows early active mobilization and dynamic strengthening. Reflection on Process On reflection of this process, there were many challenges that were presented. Throughout analysing the articles more knowledge may have been needed when critiquing the statistical analysis of the articles. Being able to find positives and negatives within the results areas of the articles proved to be difficult. Some of the barriers that occurred during this process was that not all relevant articles that proved to be interesting and closely matched the guiding question were unable to be viewed in full. This proved to be a difficult process and only some articles were found in the VU Library that had full text available.

Evaluating Human Resource Planning At Shandrani Hotel

Evaluating Human Resource Planning At Shandrani Hotel For any business to perform well, it must acquire and optimize the deployment of people with talent. Identifying the right talent to fill particular positions and roles is critical to an organizations effective functioning. All, too often, though, businesses fail to devote sufficient attention to this issue. Organizations and jobs will never be the same eternally. Changes are based on the global economy, on changing technology, on our changing work force, on cultural and demographic changes, and on the changing nature of work itself. We need to learn new skills and develop new abilities, to respond to these changes in our lives, our careers, and our organizations. HR planning is a decision making process that combines three important activities which are: identifying and acquiring the right number of people with the proper skills, motivating them to achieve high performance and creating interactive links between business objectives and people planning activities. The purpose of this assignment is to document on the human resource planning at Shandrani Hotel as HR planning is based on the belief that people are an organizations most important strategic resource. We will try to show how far theory can be put into practice as it is difficult to predict the future and also the policies and strategies within the organization can shift suddenly from one priority to the other. Moreover there is lack of evidence that Human Resource Planning really works as there has been little research evidence of increased use or of its success. To assess future requirement of new staff both in terms of numbers and of levels of skills and competences, formulating and implementing plans to meet those requirements through proper recruitment and training. Due to huge competition and globalisation around the world, managers have, to train and develop their employees to make them more efficient in the workplace. Human resource planning refers to the process of employing the right person for the right job. In all industry, organisation have now realised the importance of human resource planning, and all organisation may have different approach to HRP, however, this assignment lays focus in one particular sector, that is the tourism sector. Tourism sector which is labour intensive compared to other industries, for instance, sugar industry which is machine intensive. Therefore the application of human resource planning shall differ and be applied according to the need of the organisation. Chapter 1 gives an idea about what is the position of tourism in Mauritius, we can therefore deduce from past figures that tourism industry is growing, thus very profitable for Mauritian economy Chapter 2 defines the Human Resource planning since its year of introduction to its actual use in the market. We have compiled the views of various theorists on HRP. Chapter 3 shows the procedures followed to gather information for the assignment, with particular reference to Shandrani Resort and Spa. Chapter 4 gives an overview about Beachcomber group and presents Shandrani Resorts and Spa. Chapter 5 will focus on the process of Human Resource Planning at Shandrani Resort and Spa. CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF TOURISM SECTOR IN MAURITIUS The tourism sector, besides facing cut-throat competition knew an excellent performance for the first semester of 2010. Figures from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) of Mauritius has revealed that tourists arrivals for the period January-June 2010, has attained its 439,150 compared to 413,504 in the corresponding year of 2009, thus representing an increase of 6.2%. The tourism industry is of such paramount importance for the Mauritian economy, that the figures indicating the importance for the Mauritian economy towards GDP is expected to rise from 26.5% (MUR 77.8bn) to 32.4% (MUR216.4bn) in 2010. The credits of the massive increases go to a combination of factors, such as aggressive advertising campaigns abroad, the opening up of air access to the country coupled with the increased capacity of airlines already serving the route and the greater consensus amongst all the industry stakeholders. At the end of June 2010, there were 104 registered hotels in Mauritius, with a total room capacity of 11,362 and 23,168 bed places. For the first semester of 2010, the room occupancy rate for all hotels averaged to 64% compared to 59% in the corresponding semester of 2009 while the bed occupancy rate was 56% against 52%. Data from Bank of Mauritius indicates that gross tourism receipts for the first semester of 2010 were MUR 19,869m that is an increase of 8.5% compared to MUR18.249m for the same period of 2009. Based on data available on tourist arrivals for the first six months of the year 2010 and information gathered from various stakeholders, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) forecast of receiving nearly 1 million tourists this year, representing 5% year on year. According to Bank of Mauritius, tourism receipts for this year will be around MUR 935 millions, representing an increase of 6.3% over last year figures. Moreover, in order to tap the hospitality industry in Mauritius, major Indian hotel chains are aggressively setting up hotels in the country. According to Vijaye Haulder, Deputy Director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), about 5 major hospitality chains in India are in talks with the Mauritian government for getting land to build hotels. All these hotels are expected to add about 1500 rooms in the next three-four years. The Sagar Hotel Group which is already running two luxury hotels in Mauritius is planning another hotel spread over 20 acres in the country. The tourism industry is a colossal pillar for the Mauritian economy because we have a lot to give, sell and share with the world. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introducing HRP Organizations are presently operating in a rapidly changing and competitive environment. Managers have to optimize the use of the available employees in order to be competitive. HRP therefore attempts to reconcile organisations needs for resources with available supply of labour. HRP therefore results in matching people to the job, that is, the right people doing the right thing. HRP needs to be adjusted from time to time because the goals and objectives of an organization are not stable due to various uncertainties. 2.1 Defining HRP Walker (1980) defines it as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a management process of analyzing an organisations human resource needs under changing conditions and developing the activities necessary to satisfy these needs. Similarly, Vetter (1967), Burrack and Mathys (1985) define it as a process aimed at assisting management to determine how the organization should move from its current staffing position to its desired position. Nel et al (2008:216) maintains that HR planning ensures that a predetermined amount of employees with appropriate skills, knowledge and abilities are available at a specified time in the future à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Hr planning therefore systematically identifies what is needed to be able to guarantee their availability. As defined by Bulla and Scott (1994), it is the process for ensuring that the human resource requirements of an organization are identified and plans are made for satisfying those requirements. From the definitions of Human Resource planning proposed by the various researchers and practitioners, it is possible to attempt to define what HRP is in todays circumstances. It is in our terms a management process designed to translate strategic objectives into targeted quantitative and qualitative skill requirements, to identify the human resource strategies and objectives necessary to fulfill these requirements over both the shorter and the longer terms, As Quinn Mills indicates, human resource planning is a decision-making process that combines three important activities: 1) Identifying and acquiring the right number of people with the proper skills, 2) Motivating them to achieve high performance, and 3) Creating interactive links between business objectives and people-planning activities. However, it must be recognized that although the notion of human resource planning is well established in the HRM vocabulary it does not seem to be established as a key HR activity. As Rothwell (1995) suggests: Apart from isolated examples, there has been little research evidence of increased use or of its success. She explains the gap between theory and practice as arising from: The impact of change and the difficulty of predicting the future the need for planning may be the inverse proportion of its feasibility; The shifting kaleidoscope of policy priorities and strategies within organizations; The distrust displayed by many managers of theory or planning- they often prefer pragmatic adaptation to conceptualization; The lack of evidence that human resource planning really works.and to provide necessary feedback mechanism to assess progress. Overall the purpose of the planning is to invoke an institutional learning process and to generate information which can be utilized to support management decision-making in all staffing areas. 2.2 The process of Human Resource Planning (HRP) Organizations engage in the process of HRP to identify HR needs and the ways of meeting those needs. Business strategic plan; Defining future activity levels and initiatives demanding new skills. Resourcing strategy; Contributes to the formulation and implementation of business strategies. It refers to planning in order to achieve competitive advantage by developing intellectual capital employing more people than rivals; these people will have a wider and deeper range of skills and behave in ways that maximize their contribution-The organisation attracts such people by being an employer of choice. Scenario planning; assessing in broad terms where the organisation is going in its environment and the implications for human resource requirement. Scenario planning has been fairly described as a formal process but it can also be regarded as an informal approach to thinking about the future in broad terms, based upon an analysis of likely changes in the external and internal environment.(Armstrong 2001) The next stage in the process involves predicting how the need for and the availability of Human resource is likely to change in the future. Demand forecasting; estimating the future quantity and quality of people required. The ideal basis of the forecast is an annual budget and longer term business plan, translated into activity levels for each function and department or decisions on downsizing. Various demand forecasting methods are available and they will be analyzed below: managerial or expert judgment This is the most common method and it simply requires management to sit down and estimate the human resources necessary to achieve corporate goals. ratio-trend analysis It is carried out by identifying past trends, using statistical and mathematical techniques and project these into the future to determine requirements. work-study techniques This is effective when individual components of jobs can be measured. This job is broken down into discrete tasks, measure the time taken to complete each component and calculating the amount of labour required. modeling Mathematical modeling techniques using computers help to prepare demand forecast. Supply forecasting; measuring the number of people likely to be available from within and outside the organization having allowed for absenteeism, internal movements, and promotions among others. The forecast will be based on: 1) An analysis of the existing human resources in terms of skills, occupations 2) Forecast losses to existing resources through attrition/labour wastage. 3) Forecast changes to existing resources through internal promotions 4) Effects of changing condition of work and absenteeism 5) Source of supply from within the organization 6) Source of supply from outside the organization in national and local labour market Analysing internal human resources The review of current resources needs to cut organizational and occupational boundaries to provide inventories of skills and potential. It may be important 1) To know how many people with potential promotion exist and where they can be found 2) To know how many people have special skills and abilities in the organization 3) To identify the problems that may arise from retirement In fact the above can help to ensure that the organization is making the most efficient use of its existing resources and can help to identify any potential problem areas. Analysing external supply External supply of potential employees needs to be indentifies- some factors which can have important impacts on the supply of manpower at local and national market are: Population densities within reach of company The attractiveness of the company as a place to work in The effect of changing educational patterns, students staying longer in schools Analysing demand and supply forecasts The demand and supply forecast can then be analyzed to determine whether there are any deficits or surpluses in human resource. This provides the basis for recruitment, retention and if unavoidable, downsizing plans. It refers to the analysis of the number of people leaving the organisation. It provides data for use in supply forecasting, so that calculations can be made on the number of people lost who may have to be replaced. Moreover, an analysis of the number of leavers and the reasons behind their leaving the company will indicate whether actions are needed to improve retention rates. The most common method of measuring labour turnover is expressed as follows: Number of leavers in a specific period x 100 Average number of employees during same period This measure is used most effectively on a comparative basis and frequently provides the basis for internal and external benchmarking. Investigations into reasons for turnover are undertaken via exit interviews and leaver questionnaires or even through attitude surveys. Reasons for leaving are: More pay Better career prospects More security Poor relationships with manager or team leader Bullying, harassment Labour turnover can be very costly since it represents an opportunity cost of time spent by HR and Line Manager in recruitment, loss arising from reduce input from new starters until they are fully-trained, direct costs of introducing induction course. Work-environment analysis It refers to the analysis of the environment in which the people work in terms of scope it provides for them to use and develop their skills and achieve satisfaction. Operational effectiveness analysis Analysing productivity, the utilisation of people and the scope for increasing flexibility to respond to new and changing demand. Human Resource Plans The HR plans are derived from the resourcing strategy and takes into account data from a combination of scenario planning, demand and supply and forecasting and labour turnover analysis. Again there is a lack of certainty and predictability. The plans often have to be short term and flexible because of the difficulty of making firm predictions about HR requirement in times of rapid change. (Armstrong 2001: 375) Plans need to be prepared in the areas of resourcing, flexibility, retention, downsizing and productivity Resource planning This is primarily concerned with preparing plans for finding people from within the organisation, recruiting externally and attracting high quality candidates as the employer choice Internal resourcing is the first step to analyse the availability of suitable people from within the organisation, by referring t assessments of potential and a skill database- decisions can be made to promote, redeploy and provide extra training to eligible staffs. The recruitment plan would include the number and type of employees required to make up any deficits and when they are needed. The likely sources of recruits are colleges, advertising. Plan for trapping alternative sources such as part timers How recruitment programme will be conducted Employer of choice plan Recruitment plans should include plan for attracting good candidates by ensuring that the organization will become an employer of choice. Initiatives to become an employer of choice might include Providing opportunities for development and career progression Addressing work life balance issue Better remuneration packages Retention Plan Man Fred De Vries (cited in Williams 2000:28) stated that todays high performers are like frogs in a wheelbarrow: they can jump anytime Various organizations recognize this and are turning their attention to key staff. Retention measures can include the following: Pay and benefit competitive rates of pay, flexible benefits Recruitment and selection set appropriate standards, match people to posts, provide an accurate picture of the job Training and development good induction processes, provision of development opportunities to meet the needs of the individual and the organizations. Job design, provision of interesting work as much autonomy and ream working as possible. Management ensures that managers and supervisors have the skills to manage efficiently. Flexibility Plan Planning for increased flexibility in the use of Human Resource to enable the organization to make the best of its people and adapt swiftly to changing circumstances. Armstrong suggests that the aim of the flexibility plan should be to Provide for greater operational flexibility Improve the utilization of employees skills and capabilities Reduce employment costs Help to achieve downsizing smoothly and avoid the need for compulsory redundancies Increase productivity Thus strategies like job sharing, home working, tele working, subcontracting and employing part time workers should be implemented. Productivity Plan It sets out programmes for improving productivity and reducing employment costs in such areas as: Improving methods, systems and processes Mechanization, automation and computerization The use of financial and non financial incentives Downsizing plan The downsizing plan is implemented as last resort if all else fails It may be necessary to deal with unacceptable employment costs/surplus number of employees by downsizing. The downsizing plan should be based on timing of reductions and the process itself. The plan should set out the following: The number of people who have to go and when and where this need to take place A forecast of the likely numbers who will be volunteer to leave Arrangement for informing and consulting with employees and their trade unions 2.3 Aims of HRP Planning of human resource is extremely important as it enables the optimum use of the most valuable asset of an organization in the attainment of its objectives and goals. To find gaps and devise solutions. As we say, nobody plans to fail; they just fail to plan. To attract and retain the number of people with the appropriate skills, expertise and competencies To anticipate the problems of potential surplus and deficits of people To develop a well trained and flexible workforce, thus contributing to the organizations ability to adapt to an uncertain and changing environment To reduce dependence on external recruitment when key skills are in short supply by formulating retention as well as employee development strategies. 2.4 Factors affecting HRP Employment HRP is affected by the employment situation in the country i.e. in countries where there is greater unemployment; there may be more pressure on the company, from government to appoint more people. Similarly some company may force shortage of skilled labour and they may have to appoint people from other countries. Technical changes in the society Technology changes at a very fast speed and new people having the required knowledge are required for the company. In some cases, company may retain existing employees and teach them the new technology and in some cases, the company has to remove existing people and appoint new. Organizational changes Changes take place within the organization from time to time i.e. the company diversify into new products or close down business in some areas etc. in such cases the HRP process i.e. appointing or removing people will change according to situation. Demographic changes Demographic changes refer to things referring to age, population, composition of work force etc. A number of people retire every year. A new batch of graduates with specialization turns out every year. This can change the appointment or the removal in the company. Shortage of skill due to labour turnover Industries having high labour turnover rate, the HRP will change constantly i.e. many new appointments will take place. This also affects the way HRP is implemented. Multicultural workforce Workers from different countries travel to other countries in search of job. When a company plans its HRP it needs to take into account this factor also. Pressure groups Company has to keep in mind certain pleasure. Groups like human rights activist, woman activist, media etc. as they are very capable for creating problems for the company, when issues concerning these groups arise, appointment or 2.5 Human resource activities Human Resource (HR) planning is imperative to an organizations success. It serves as an analysis of the current and future needs of the organization. This process helps guide an organization in several areas, such as staffing, development, training, and benefits and compensation designs. Staffing Staff, or personnel, planning is one of the most common activities conducted by HR departments, according to an article on AllBusiness.com. It typically is comprised of using the current staff size and design to predict staffing levels for the upcoming year. HR departments may utilize a companys strategic plan as a resource for information. For example, if an organization intends to launch a new interactive website in the following year, the HR department will budget for additional staff to build and maintain the website. Training and Development HR departments create training and employee development plans as well. This type of planning must be conducted in advance of the companys needs in order to prepare for them, both from financial and resource perspectives. Training for new employees and product rollouts may be included. Teaching current employees new skills is considered an aspect of development. Organizations benefit from having streamlined and consistent training programs Career Development Career development is imperative in order to prepare an organization for upcoming retirements, as well as to retain long-term employees. Companies need to have a strategic plan on how they intend to replace their management with qualified leaders. This means that current employees should have career road maps and plans that incorporate both short-term and long-term goals. For example, if an organization is grooming a top, young salesperson for the management track in five years, training should begin now. This may include time management courses, classes on how to coach others and a mentor program. Downsizings When companies foresee an upcoming need to downsize, its in their best interest to have their HR departments plan for it in advance to ensure that the process is smooth and orderly, and complies with all legal requirements. This type of planning also may prevent loss of knowledge and resources. Some companies begin the downsizing process by eliminating non-essential personnel. Others lay off administrative staff, but keep money-generating positions. Organizations may be hit by lawsuits and high unemployment costs if downsizing is not strategically planned. 2.6 Advantages and disadvantages of HRP HRP, in both its traditional and more contemporary forms, can be perceived to have a number of distinct advantages. Firstly, it is argued that planning can help to reduce uncertainty as long as plans are adaptable. Although unpredictable events do occur, the majority of organizational change does not happen overnight so the planning process can provide an element of control, even if it is relatively short term. Taylor (2002 : 73-74) suggests that in the HR field there is potentially more scope for change and adaptation in six months than there is in relation to capital investment in new plant and machinery. Thus he argues that many of the assumptions about the difficulties of planning generally are less relevant to HR. Other advantages relate to the contribution of planning to organizational performance, for ex, the planning process can make a significant contribution to the integration of HR policies and practices with each other and with the business strategy, i.e. horizontal and vertical integration. Marchington and Wilkinson (2002: 280) suggest that HR plans can be developed to fit with strategic goals or they can contribute to the development of the business strategy, but conclude that either way, HRP is perceived as a major facilitator of competitive advantage. Another way that HRP can contribute is by helping to build flexibility into the organization, either through the use of more flexible forms of work or through identification of the skills and qualities required in employees. IRS (2002c) report that a number of organizations have predicted that jobs are likely to change radically over the next few years and so are using selection techniques to assess core values rather than job-specific skills. 2.7 Difficulties in implementing HRP Planners face significant barriers while formulating a Human Resource Planning. The major ones are the following: People question the importance of making human resource practices future oriented and the role assigned to the practitioners in formulation of the organisational strategies. Their argument is simple- there are people when needed offer attractive package of benefits to quit when you find them in surplus. HR practitioners are perceived as experts in handling personnel matter, but are not experts in managing business. The personnel plan conceived and formulated by the HR practitioners when enmeshed with organisational plan, might make the overall strategic plan itself defective. HR information often is incompatible with the information used in strategy formulation. Strategic planning efforts have long been oriented towards financial forecasting often to the exclusion of other types of information. Conflicting may exist between short-term and long-term HR needs. For example, there arises a conflict between the pressure of getting work done on time and the long term needs, such as preparing people assuming greater responsibilities. Many mangers are of the belief that HR needs can be met immediately because skills are available on the market as long as wages and salaries are competitive. These managers fail to recognise that by resorting to hiring or promoting depending on short term needs alone, long term issues are neglected. There is conflict between quantitative and qualitative approach to HRP. Some people view HRP as a number game designed to track flow of people across the departments. These people are strictly quantitative approach to planning. Others take a qualitative approach and focus on individual employee concerns such as promotability and career development. Best results are accrued if there is a balance between the qualitative and quantitative approaches. Non involvement of operating managers renders HRP ineffective. HRP is not strictly an HR department function. Successful planning needs a coordinated effort on the part of operating managers and HR personnel. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY This chapter examines the methodology used to carry out the research survey so as to collect data for the topic under consideration that is the process of Human Resource Planning with particular reference to Shandrani Resorts and Spa, member of the Beachcomber Hotels. It involves the examination of the whole research process from beginning to end. 3.1 Problem definition A problem well defined is half-solved.Kotter. Human resource planning is assumed to consist of 4 clear steps: 1)forecasting future needs, 2)analyzing the availability and supply of labour, 3)drawing up plans to meet supply to demand, 4) monitoring the implementation of the plan. The main issue of this assignment is to analyse the process of human resource planning and the focus of the research is on the hotel industry. 3.2 Research objectives The survey was most specifically carried out at Shandrani Resort and Spa and its objective is To assess future people requirements both in terms of numbers and level of skills and competences, formulating and implementing plans to meet those requirements in terms of recruitment and training. 3.3 Research design For the purpose of this assignment, the most appropriate strategies used were exploratory and descriptive as the research is analysing the process of HRP. On a first instance, an exploratory research was made to reach a better understanding of the research of the research problem. It took the form of an in-depth interview with professionals working at Shandrani, and for the Beachcomber hotels as well. The in-depth interview took the form of a question list with open-ended questions. 3.4 Data collection methods Secondary data Secondary data were collected from books, journals, articles, and appropriate websites. Information about the hotel has been collected from Shandrani Resorts and Spa documents, namely the Beachcomber group manual and Shandranis Livret Daccueil. Primary data An interview was carried out with top management to gather primary data. A questionnaire was therefore designed for this purpose. (See Appendix) Other primary researches Interview with the Director of Shandrani . Face to face interview with Director of Human Resource. Interview with Director of Beachcomber Training Academy for 3 hours. Interview with the Quality assurance manager. Int