Behavioural Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Behavioural Studies - Essay Example The definition highlights that organisational stakeholders will have similar overall goals and objectives but there will be some key differences not only in the importance placed on each but also how the organisation achieves them. An organisation's stakeholders can include an almost endless list of employee's, suppliers, customers, shareholders etc that can be broken down and sorted into various groups with independent goals and objectives designed to meet their own view of effective organisational behaviour. An example of stakeholder conflict can be seen at The Countryside Agency, a government body with the aim of 'improving the quality of the Countryside for those who use it and the quality of life for people in rural communities'. Simply by dissecting the aim of the body it is possible to see that there are clearly conflicting interests at an organisational level because it is trying to satisfy two major external groups at the outset by balancing the needs of those who live in Th e Countryside with those who visit it. Internal stakeholders such as the finance department view their role as ensuring that any public money that has been spent was justifiable and recorded and stored accurately. This is often to the annoyance of the Policy work areas who feel stronger about improving the countryside than the bureaucratic process of justifying and recording public spending often seeing the financial procedures as a time consuming hindrance. This conflict means that each stakeholder will have a different view of whether the organisation is successful or not and will have different solutions to what they individually see as being the key obstacles to success. When looking at how the management of people can contribute to effective organisational behaviour, development and good health through leadership it is important to establish the differences between management and leadership. Some theorists hold the opinion that leadership is one area of the management role and in order to be a successful manager they must possess some leadership skills by default. The argument for differentiating between leaders and managers was started by Zaleznik (1977, 2004) in 'Manager and Leaders: Are they different' where he argued "the difference between managers and leaders lies in the conceptions they hold, deep in their psyches, of chaos and order". A more recent argument suggests that "a manager can be regarded as someone who by definition is assigned a position of leadership in an organisation" (Buchanan and Huczynski, 1985). This definition suggests that managers are in positions of leadership but may not necessarily be leaders. The definition therefore suggests that leadership is in some way an extension of the management function. In 'what leaders really do' Kotter (1990, 2001) argues that "Leadership is not necessarily better than management. Rather leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Each has its own function and characteristic activities". In the article Kotter identifies what he sees as the key functions of leadership and management. Management roles are concerned with "bringing a degree of order and consistency to key dimensions like the quality and profitability of products" (Kotter, 1990, 2001). Key aspects of the management

Satoro Tanaka and Mrs. Hitara Importance in David Masumoto's and Pico Essay

Satoro Tanaka and Mrs. Hitara Importance in David Masumoto's and Pico Iyer's and Texts - Essay Example In Harvest Son Masumoto mentions how his interaction with a buckwheat farmer Satoro Tanaka comes to affect him profoundly, and how he develops a fondness for the farmer. Pico Iyer is a British-born, American-raised eminent writer of Indian descent who decided to settle in Japan. His essay â€Å"Our Lady of Lawson† is about his experiences in Japan as a foreigner who refuses to succumb to the pressure to indulge in native Japanese food. He talks about a convenience store he frequently visited and the effect it had on him, especially the interaction between him and the convenience store manager, Mrs. Hirata. The two stories therefore share the common theme of two foreigners analyzing two different characters in Japan. Discussion In Harvest Son, Masumoto forms a close attachment to a local buckwheat farm and its farmer, Satoro Tanaka, while in Eat, Memory: Our Lady of Lawson, Pico Iyer experiences the same emotional attachment to a local convenience store, Lawson’s, and it s proprietor, Mrs. Hirata. Several similar themes run through both of these narratives, starting from the similarities between both authors. First and most important, both Masumoto and Iyer can be considered as â€Å"wild† children, belonging everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Masumoto is a Japanese-American while Iyer was born in England but has been raised in the United States of America. Masumoto has journeyed back to the land of his ancestors to reconnect with their native heritage while Iyer has chosen Japan as his country of settlement. They are considered, as Masumoto puts it, â€Å"strangers†. Iyer writes of the sense of alienation due to something as basic as his entrenched American eating habits and lack of love for Japanese food; â€Å"my housemates in Japan simply shrug and see this as ultimate confirmation -- me dragging at some lasagna in a plastic box while they gobble down dried fish -- that I belong to an alien species† (Iyer, pg.1). His l ove of the convenience store further serves to solidify his characterization as an outsider who refuses to fit in, even though he insists that his love for Japan is real and on a deeper level. Having lived in the country for 12 years, he should still not be typecast as an alien, yet somehow, he still is. This he attributes mostly to his refusal to conform to Japanese food and his standing firmly by convenience-store meals. It can therefore be said of both of them that they are attempting to fit into their homeland’s culture, and understand and identify with their people. Masumoto identifies with Satoro Tanaka’s buckwheat farming while Iyer points out the specific attributes and values he considers â€Å"Japanese†: It's no easier to understand Japan in Western terms than it is to eat noodles with a knife and fork. Yet it has been evident to me for some time that the crush of the anonymous world lies out in the temple-filled streets; the heart of the familiarity, the communal sense of neighborhood, the simple kindness that brought me to Japan, lies in the convenience store.(Iyer, pg.2). The convenience store, and specifically, Mrs. Hitara, or Hitara-San, as Iyer refers to her in formal Japanese, comes to embody these values: And yet, in the 12 years I've lived on and off in my mock-California suburb, the one person who has come to embody for me all

4 questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

4 questions - Assignment Example Associate Justice Florentino Cuellar is new in office after he was sworn in on January 5, 2015. Also, Associate Justice Kruger Leondra assumed office on January 5, 2015 after she was appointed by the Governor on December 22, 2014. Los Angeles Superior Court operates multiple courthouses across the Los Angeles County. One of the court’s courthouses is located at 9355 Burton Way, Beverly Hills. The Beverly Hills courthouse opens from Monday through Friday. Metered parking on the courthouse venue is available at $8.00. Superior Court of California offers legal dispute resolutions programs at Santa Barbara County through online platforms (Smith 28). The County of Santa Barbara online program was established in July 1999, after the Dispute Resolution Committee was inaugurated into office. As of April 2005, the ODRP had a dispute resolution rate of approximately 83%. Sign ordinances are common in most city councils across the United States. Unconstitutionality of sign ordinances can be challenged when posting of signs fail to impede the flow of either vehicular traffic or pedestrians (Smith 24). Admittedly, posting campaign signs on lampposts and utility posts does not impede pedestrian and vehicular traffic flow in any way. Therefore, the court will consider whether the sign ordinance fails to provide free speech even when posting of the signs do not necessarily impede flow of traffic and pedestrians along the

Satoro Tanaka and Mrs. Hitara Importance in David Masumoto's and Pico Essay

Satoro Tanaka and Mrs. Hitara Importance in David Masumoto's and Pico Iyer's and Texts - Essay Example In Harvest Son Masumoto mentions how his interaction with a buckwheat farmer Satoro Tanaka comes to affect him profoundly, and how he develops a fondness for the farmer. Pico Iyer is a British-born, American-raised eminent writer of Indian descent who decided to settle in Japan. His essay â€Å"Our Lady of Lawson† is about his experiences in Japan as a foreigner who refuses to succumb to the pressure to indulge in native Japanese food. He talks about a convenience store he frequently visited and the effect it had on him, especially the interaction between him and the convenience store manager, Mrs. Hirata. The two stories therefore share the common theme of two foreigners analyzing two different characters in Japan. Discussion In Harvest Son, Masumoto forms a close attachment to a local buckwheat farm and its farmer, Satoro Tanaka, while in Eat, Memory: Our Lady of Lawson, Pico Iyer experiences the same emotional attachment to a local convenience store, Lawson’s, and it s proprietor, Mrs. Hirata. Several similar themes run through both of these narratives, starting from the similarities between both authors. First and most important, both Masumoto and Iyer can be considered as â€Å"wild† children, belonging everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Masumoto is a Japanese-American while Iyer was born in England but has been raised in the United States of America. Masumoto has journeyed back to the land of his ancestors to reconnect with their native heritage while Iyer has chosen Japan as his country of settlement. They are considered, as Masumoto puts it, â€Å"strangers†. Iyer writes of the sense of alienation due to something as basic as his entrenched American eating habits and lack of love for Japanese food; â€Å"my housemates in Japan simply shrug and see this as ultimate confirmation -- me dragging at some lasagna in a plastic box while they gobble down dried fish -- that I belong to an alien species† (Iyer, pg.1). His l ove of the convenience store further serves to solidify his characterization as an outsider who refuses to fit in, even though he insists that his love for Japan is real and on a deeper level. Having lived in the country for 12 years, he should still not be typecast as an alien, yet somehow, he still is. This he attributes mostly to his refusal to conform to Japanese food and his standing firmly by convenience-store meals. It can therefore be said of both of them that they are attempting to fit into their homeland’s culture, and understand and identify with their people. Masumoto identifies with Satoro Tanaka’s buckwheat farming while Iyer points out the specific attributes and values he considers â€Å"Japanese†: It's no easier to understand Japan in Western terms than it is to eat noodles with a knife and fork. Yet it has been evident to me for some time that the crush of the anonymous world lies out in the temple-filled streets; the heart of the familiarity, the communal sense of neighborhood, the simple kindness that brought me to Japan, lies in the convenience store.(Iyer, pg.2). The convenience store, and specifically, Mrs. Hitara, or Hitara-San, as Iyer refers to her in formal Japanese, comes to embody these values: And yet, in the 12 years I've lived on and off in my mock-California suburb, the one person who has come to embody for me all

Individual report Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Individual report - Coursework Example This was further aided by a comparison with competitors in the industry and how their positioning either presents threats or opportunities. The comparisons show that BMW is well placed to take advantage of the key purpose of the existence of the single market, which is for the benefit of the half-a-billion European Union citizens. The key opportunities are seen in the need for clean energy and removal of tariffs while threats are in the form of pricing, substitutes and new entrants. It is concluded that although threats occur, BMW has significant growth opportunities in the European Union’s single market. The single European market (SEM) is a trade bloc composed of European Union (EU) member states with the objectives of simplifying the existing rules of trade through the bringing down of barriers. The ultimate benefits are targeted at the over 500 million people and 21 million businesses of the 28 countries of the EU. It is founded on four strategic freedoms which include the free movement of labour (people), capital, goods and services between all the member states (Europe Economics 2013, p. 8). On the other hand, the Bavarian Motor Works (BMW), founded in 1916 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, is one of the largest companies in the EU and also among the leaders in the automotive industry (Kiley 2004, p. 21). The company still builds slightly over 50% of its products in Germany, but is also significantly present in the rest of the EU, which is supported by the fact that the largest export product in Germany is cars. This report on BMW will focus on the analysis of the business opportunities and threats in the context of the enlargement of the EU, which indicates that the company stands to gain significantly. Before presenting the report on BMW, it is imperative to briefly describe the EU business environment and how it is affected by the EU laws, treaties and policies, since the report will be based on the EU’s

An Analysis Of A Mergers Profitability

An Analysis Of A Mergers Profitability Abstract Introduction In the last few years we have observed a revived surge in the number of mergers. They are more often observed in countries with better accounting standards. Companies undergo mergers for a number of reasons. The primary reason is the proper allocation of resources and thus, increasing cost efficiency. A small amount of research has been done in the past years analyzing the short and long term effects of mergers in creating value for the companies. It has been seen that most mergers result in failures but not much research has been done in analyzing the reasons behind it. My research would be based on few of the biggest mergers that have taken place in the last few years. Firstly, my analysis of a mergers profitability would be based on standard event study methodology. It would take into account the return to shareholders. Secondly, it would also aim to provide evidence regarding the signalling theory and the synergistic and the agency views. This would be based on an in-depth analys is of various determinants such as the excess returns around the announcement of the merger bid and around the termination of the merger and the significant differences in the responses of firms attempting focusing versus diversifying mergers respectively. Lastly, this would be followed by a thorough analysis of the valuation effects of mergers. There have been varied views but no one conclusion has been reached. I would thus, like to investigate deeper into it 2. Literature Review and Hypotheses Analysis revealed My research concentrates on the effects of a focusing and diversifying merger on the abnormal returns around the announcement period of the merger. The study by Delong (1999) can be seen as an extension to my research. He based his research on evaluating the stock pricing behaviour of the bidder and the target in bank mergers. He further studied the abnormal returns according to the nature of the merger i.e. focusing or diversifying. In my analysis, I take into account only activity focused mergers, whereas Delong (1999) considers mergers which focus on both activity and geography. His results show an enhancement in value of a focusing firm of about 2 % to 3 % as compared to a diversifying firm irrespective of the time period. On investigating further, he found that the relative market size of the target to the bidder and the pre-merger performance of the targets show an apparent relationship with the cumulative abnormal returns so calculated. Wong and Cheung (2009) analyse the changes in the stock prices of the bidding and target firms in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Japan, following a merger or an acquisition announcement. It can be seen from their analysis that such an announcement yields positive results for the bidding firms but does not prove to be very beneficial for the target firms. Their hypotheses considered the consequences of the mode of payment, the type of acquisition and the type of the target firm on the stock pricing. Out of them only the second variable seems to have a direct effect on the post announcement returns of the bidding firm. Huang and Walkling (1987) conducted similar research by extracting a sample of acquisitions from the Wall Street Journal which consisted of all initial front-page acquisition announcements. But this, took into account slightly different variables as compared to the other analyses discussed above. They determined the effect of tender offers vs. mergers; cash offers vs stock offers and resisted offers vs. unresisted offers. Their analysis revealed higher abnormal returns for tender offers which were quite insignificant once the effect of the extent of resistance and the payment type were isolated from it. The deals which faced resistance during a merger or tender offer showed higher abnormal returns irrespective to the mode of payment. All the results obtained above were either insignificant or marginally significant, but the effects of the third variable i.e. the form of payment showed some concrete results. The cumulative abnormal returns obtained from cash offers were radically high er than those obtained from stock offer. This research carried out by Huang and Walkling gave quite a holistic overview of the effect of the announcement of an acquisition, as it took into consideration, variables which are affected by both the bidding and target firms decisions. All the literature discussed earlier in this paper, has illustrated some positive effects of an acquisition for both the bidders and the target firms. But, the analysis conducted by Bruner (2001) showed a little variation to the above. It suggested that only the target shareholders draw upon the benefits of the acquisition. No such profitable return is observed for the bidding firms. But, the combined returns of the bidder and the target yield positive results. The approach followed by Bruner differs significantly from most of the research discussed earlier. He measures the performance of a merger and acquisition based on the investors required returns. After observing the abnormal returns of the acquirer around the announcement date of the merger as per my research, the most obvious next step would be to analyse the long term effects of the merger. Various studies have been done in order to rightfully determine the outcome .The study by Asquith (1983) showed drastic negative returns after about three years of the merger. One of the best analyses that I found was by Agrawal, Jaffe and Mandelkar (1992) in their paper ‘The Post-Merger Performance of Acquiring Firms: A Re-examination of an Anomaly. Their results are based on a thorough analysis of a number of mergers that took place from 1955 to 1987. They explored the effect of the size of the firm and its beta risk, and found a loss of 10 % in the total wealth of the acquiring firm, five years after the merger was completed. An attempt was also made to find the additional NPV which is not captured by the announcement returns analysis. But, it was seen that the modification of t he market was similar for both the announcement and post merger analyses. Cole et al (2006) Investigate a number of unsuccessful mergers in order to determine if they create or destroy value for acquirers by using mainly two approaches. Their signalling approaches show that the value of the bidding firm is reduced by a large margin in the market, which is a form of a punishment for considering the acquisition of a low NPV project. They also find that horizontal mergers yield negative CAR. Hypothesis 1: The average abnormal returns (AAR) yield positive results for all sub-periods in the event Hypothesis 2: The Cumulative average abnormal returns (CAAR) yield positive results for all sub-periods in the event. Hypothesis 3: The type of acquisition, kind of acquisition, the mode of payment and the type of target firms affects the value of the cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) around the announcement day t=0 in the event. Take into account focusing and diversifying 3. Methodology We begin by classifying the effective sample into two categories – Focusing and Diversifying. The classification approach has been adopted by Mann and Sicherman (1991).This can be done by comparing the two-digit SIC Codes of the acquirer and the target firm respectively. If both the firms involved in a deal have the same two-digit SIC Code, it can be classified as a focusing acquisition, whereas, if both firms have different codes, it is classified as a diversifying acquisition. Now we progress towards analysing the cumulative value created by a focusing and diversifying acquisition around the announcement date, using a standard event-study methodology described by MacKinlay (1997), Huang and Walkling (1987) and Wong and Cheung (2009). The Market Return Model is used in this case, to calculate the abnormal returns of the sample using a linear relationship between stock returns and market return. Rit = ÃŽ ±i + ÃŽ ²iRmt + ÃŽ µit (1) E (ÃŽ µit = 0) var (ÃŽ µit) = ÏÆ'ÃŽ µt2 Where: Rit : Return on security i on day t Rmt : Return on market portfolio on day t ÃŽ µit : Zero mean disturbance term ÃŽ ±i, : expected value of the difference between Ri and ÃŽ ²iRmt ÃŽ ²i : covariance between Rit and Rmt divided by the variance of Rmt ÏÆ'ÃŽ µt2 : variance of the error term We use the market model instead of the constant mean return model as it gives us a more accurate judgement of the effect of the event. This is true as it does not take into account the variation of the market return , thus, giving us more accurate abnormal returns. ( if any words remain add how to calculate rit and rmt) In order to calculate the abnormal returns, we use the market model parameter estimates. ^ ^ ARit = Rit – (ÃŽ ±i + ÃŽ ²iRmt) (2) Where: ARit : the abnormal return for security i on day t ^ ^ ÃŽ ±i and ÃŽ ²i : estimates of ÃŽ ±i and ÃŽ ²i In order to calculate the abnormal returns we use a maximum of 351 daily observations (Huang and Walkling, 1987). We start collecting data from t -300 to t +50 days, with t = 0 being the announcement date of the acquisition. These 351 days include non-trading days as well. In other words, we actually gather data from t -214 to t +36, taking only trading days into account. We use different time periods of an event for a complete comparative analysis of abnormal returns in each sub period which is described as below: Event period : day t -10 → day t +30 (41 days) Pre-announcement period : day t -10 → day t -2 ( 9 days) Announcement period : day t -1 → day t 0 ( 2 days) Post Announcement Period : day t +1 → day t +30 (30 days) diagram To analyse the effect of the event , we now calculate the average abnormal return (AAR) for all the securities for a time period t. AAR is the sum of all abnormal returns of firms on day t divided by N( the number of firms): (3) The t statistic, à Ã¢â‚¬ ¢, is calculated by dividing AARt by the standard deviation of the average abnormal returns. This is final step of the model, which helps in determining the significance of the AARt in the event period. (4) While calculating the standard error, an estimator is used to calculate the variance of the abnormal returns in the absence of but in this case we use the sample variance measure of that we derive from the market model regression. The estimator is as follows: In order to establish a more holistic viewpoint, the cumulative average abnormal returns (CAAR) are calculated: Where T1 to T2 is the duration of the event in which the AARt is collected. According to our hypotheses we have to calculate one more variable, the cumulative average abnormal return (CAAR) over a certain period. In order to find out the significance of CAAR we calculate its t statistic as follows: Where var(CAAR) is the variance of the cumulative average abnormal returns. We could use a variety of formulas to calculate the standard deviation and t statistic such as those described in Campbell, Lo and MacKinlay (1997) and Brown and Warner (1985). But we calculate using the method adopted by Kothari and Warner (1985): Where: : Variance of the average abnormal return for one period. L : Longer the L, the higher is the variance of CAAR To test the third hypothesis, another variable is taken into consideration the Cumulative abnormal returns (CAR). We now develop a regression model using dummy variables to test the effect of the type of acquisition, kind of acquisition, the type of the target firm and the mode of payment on the CAR of the acquirers. The control variables are the relative market size of the market value of the target to acquirer (RMV) and the market size of the acquiring firm (M) (Wong and Cheung, 2009). Where: : Cumulative abnormal return from day d1 → day d2 D1 : 1 if the type is acquisition D1 : 0 otherwise i.e. merger D2 : 1 if it is focusing D2 : 0 otherwise i.e. diversifying D3 : 1 if target firm is private D3 : 0 otherwise i.e. public D4 : 1 if mode of payment is cash D4 : 0 otherwise i.e. stock M : Market Value of the acquiring firm=Number of outstanding share *closing price on the announcement date The tests of hypotheses 1, 2 and 3 can be described as the following tests: H1 : H0 : AARt = 0 H1: AARt ≠  0 H2 : H0 : CAARt = 0 H1: CAARt ≠  0 H3 : H3i :ÃŽ ²1 = 0 (Acquisitions vs. Mergers) H3ii :ÃŽ ²2 = 0 (Focusing vs. Diversifying) H3iii :ÃŽ ²3 = 0 (Public vs. Private target firms) H3iv :ÃŽ ²4 = 0 (Cash offer vs. Share offer) 4. Data Description The number of mergers and acquisitions carried out in India has been quite extensive. Hence, certain criterion has been used to select a suitable sample. The deals carried out with Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Deustche Bank and Citi as their financial advisors should be included. These banks have been chosen as they deal with high valued mergers which are perfect for highlighting the true effects of a focusing or diversifying merger. All deals should have been completed from January, 2003 to March, 2010. The sample consists of only 178 completed transactions. All the acquirer firms must be publicly listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange. The SIC Codes for the target and acquirer should be available in the CRSP Database. This helps in dividing the sample into focusing and diversifying mergers. Because of these restrictions, the sample reduces to 70 firms, three of which have some information missing regarding the stock returns etc and hence our effective sample is 67. It has been further classified into 44 focusing and 23 diversifying deals. Using only publicly listed firms enables us to extract information about these deals such as – announcement dates, termination dates, stock returns, market returns etc. from the Thomson One database, company websites and the Bombay Stock Exchange. The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitivity Index or the BSE Sensex (30) has been used to gather the market returns of the firms.

ESD Static Electicity :: essays research papers

Every one knows what static electricity is. We have all seen static electricity in the form of lightning or even in the zap when reaching for a door knob. Sliding across the car seat or walking across the carpet can create this charge. The same types of electrical charges can have an effect on the electronic components you handle every day in class. Static electricity is an electrical charge at rest. Static electricity is most commonly created by friction and separation. Friction causes heat which excites the molecular particles of the material. When two materials are then separated, a transfer of electrons from one material to the other may take place. As electrons transfer, the loss or the addition or electrons creates an electrical field known as static electricity. The simple separation of two materials, as when tape is pulled off a roll, can also create this same transfer of electrons between materials, generating static electrical fields. The amount of static electricity gener ated depends upon the materials affected by friction or separation, the amount of friction or separation and the amount of humidity in the environment. Common plastic generally will create the most static charge. Low humidity conditions such as those created when air is heated during the winter will also cause the creation of static electricity. Many of the common activities you perform daily may generate charges on your body that are potentially harmful to components. Some of these activities include: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Walking across a carpet, 1,500 to 35,000 volts †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Walking over untreated vinyl floor, 250 to 12,000 volts †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Worker at a bench, 700 to 6,000 volts †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vinyl envelope used for work instructions, 600 to 7,000 volts †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Picking up a common plastic bag from a bench, 1,200 to 20,000 volts These activity examples were taken from www.midwestesd.com. When you feel a static shock, you are experiencing a minimum of 3,000 volts of electricity. While you can feel electrostatic discharges of 3,000 volts, smaller charges are below what the average human can feel. Unfortunately, these smaller charges can and do damage small electrical devices. Many of the components used in your computer can be damaged by charges of less than 1,000 volts.