Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Developing and applying theories in a pluralistic society †The Person Centred Method Free Essays

string(202) " may therefore need to enable the lesbian woman to restore her self esteem and her concept of being a woman, the traditional female roles, as mother and wife may not be stereotypes that she aspires to\." For this assignment I will be considering Carl Roger’s person centred method and it’s application to lesbian women in a pluralist society, I will be drawing upon the theoretical frame work previously used in my presentation. Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was the founder of the person centred method his theories are associated with the Humanistic psychology it is also associated with Maslow(1908-1970) and phenomenological approach. Phenomenology is a philosophical assessment of the individual it was developed by Husserl (1975), the focus is on the subjective experience. We will write a custom essay sample on Developing and applying theories in a pluralistic society – The Person Centred Method or any similar topic only for you Order Now The method involved requires the professional to suspend their assumption and interpretation of the client’s world, thereby allowing the client to interpret and explore their own experiences and thoughts. It is important to consider the context in which psychological theories conceptualised and developed. Humanistic psychology developed in the industrial age and in the 50’s and 60’s it therefore places great importance on the individual as a person striving for independence, self actualisation and their maximum potential. Dryden et al (1989) have also given an outline of the origins of the humanistic theory, that these were in the affluent era of the 50’s and 60’s in California, terms such as self actualisation, can be just a ‘slogan’ that is applied without any real meaning, when contrasted between the prosperous, optimistic society of California, it can have a different meaning for those people that are in poverty are unemployed or homeless. The concept of self actualisation which is considered necessary by psychologists such as Rogers can be explored in relation to lesbian women and how society conceptualises them. Homosexuality has been viewed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists as a mental illness, and was considered as such until 1974 when the American Psychiatric Association declassified it, however there was considerable opposition to this from psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, and ‘medical model’ psychiatrists ( Mcleod J, 1998), in-fact psychotherapy was used to try to ‘cure’ homosexuality. Although the work of Rogers’ has encouraged progress and has been associated with movement away from the previous medical model of mental illness, one the draw backs of Rogerian person centred therapy out lined by Ivey et al (1997) is that it is a ‘highly verbal’ technique, which is over-concerned with the deeper meaning of life rather than tackling problems and finding solutions. Therefore it may not be suited to all clients especially those with mental health problems etc. Roger’s therapy known as ‘person centred’ and non-directive aimed to change the balance of power towards that of the client, and to treat the individual as a ‘client’ rather than a patient. However this point can be debated as to whether the balance of power is actually shifted and the control is with the recipient, rather than the provider of the therapy. Criticism of therapies, such as Rogerian, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural according to Ivey et al (1997) is that they place responsibility for the problem with the client rather than considering structural, political and environmental issues that are relevant to the clients experience. The person centred method in relation to lesbian women needs to be applied in a way that is sensitive to them, therefore if the counsellor is male he will need to be aware that he does not impose his own assumptions and interpretation onto the client, firstly about his ideas about women’s roles within society and as nurturers, wives and mothers, secondly stereotypical perceptions about lesbianism. Feminists criticise models of the helping relationship which have their origins in the white middle class male ideology, they relate this to the way a patriarchal society oppresses women into submissive roles, Banks (1999) also questions whether male therapists can validate a female clients experiences in a male dominated society. Hetro-sexual women can also oppress lesbians through negative assumptions and homophobia that can lead to imposing our own values and assumptions about lesbian relationships, McLeod (1998) gives a good example where a female therapist tried to actively encourage her lesbian client to date men. The person centred approach places particular emphasis on the use of the core conditions, genuiness, unconditional positive regard and empathy, and its view of human nature is positive and optimistic in comparison to Freudian psychology. The core conditions out lined by Rogers plays an essential part in building a therapeutic relationship, between the therapist and the client. From my professional experience when working as education social worker relating to a teenage pregnancy, the girl was fifteen years old and Asian. I was surprised when she said that she thought she was a lesbian, however working with the young person and applying Rogers core conditions, of genuiness, empathy and unconditional positive regard, enabled me to realize that people need to discover their sexuality and who the real person is; society can place pressure on young people to conform to the norms of a white, heterosexual society and thereby place conditions of worth on them. Unconditional positive regard which is accepting the clients experiences without judgment is essential in building a therapeutic relationship, however if the counsellor has absorbed negative, homophobic assumptions about homosexuality, from the society that he/she lives in then these may consciously or unconsciously be transferred on to the client. Humanistic psychotherapist Don Clark (1987) has expressed that therapeutic neutrality is impossible to maintain, since we have taken on board society’s negative stereotypes of homosexuality, he has stated that â€Å"it is presumptuous to assume that counsellors who have been taught about valuable concepts such as unconditional positive regard are able to apply them with gay-lesbian clients if they are not aware of their own heterosexual or homophobia biases† (Davies and Neal,1996) A lesbian women may for example find it difficult to come to terms with her own sexuality, because of negative stereotypes and stigma associated with it, â€Å"Lesbian women are raised to view themselves as a half person without a man, they may see marriage as a door to personal growth, adult hood, freedom, and motherhood†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ( Davies and Neal,1996) the counsellor may therefore need to enable the lesbian woman to restore her self esteem and her concept of being a woman, the traditional female roles, as mother and wife may not be stereotypes that she aspires to. You read "Developing and applying theories in a pluralistic society – The Person Centred Method" in category "Papers" The impact of Homophobia on the self concept of a lesbian woman will create conditions of worth, therefore lesbians may feel they are not worthy individuals if they are not heterosexual, do not have children, have a male partner and behave as society expects women to do. Bradshaw (1998) has defined the concept of ‘Toxic shame’ in relation to internalised homophobia within the self-concept. This notion cannot be fully understood without the use of a more eclectic approach to counselling because it states that the self concept can become, fragile and a false self concept can develop, through denial, this may be conscious or unconscious but it will be due to the fear of discovery. Toxic shame can lead to the development of defences which can lead to alcohol, substance abuse, suicide attempts, distancing oneself from others, underachievement or over-achievement etc. Being functional or dysfunctional human being is particularly relevant to how lesbian women’s identity and self concept develops, becoming functional human being requires being able to use ones own organismic valuing process, which maximises the potential to grow and become the true self. The dysfunctional human being lives to meet the values of others to acquire love and respect. Coming out as a lesbian therefore is fraught with anxiety and even danger of rejection by family, friends and community. The primary question is will they be valued by society if they come out as Lesbian? The organismic need to come out and be accepted as a lesbian should be facilitated by the therapist to enable the client to accept their real identity; however the client should be ready to do this in her own time. Therefore acceptance from the therapist or social worker or other professional is an essential first step. However therapists as well as other professionals such as social workers can easily oppress lesbian women, an example from my practice experience when working with the Education Welfare service in a case where the child was not attending school regularly, during the home visit the client revealed that her relationship with her husband had broken down and that she had started a lesbian relationship, this immediately led me to make the assumption that the child’s non-attendance may be related to this new relationship. On reflection I noticed how easy it was to jump to a conclusion relating to same sex relationships and would I have made the same assumption if the relationship was with a partner of the opposite sex? Drawing from my own experience I notice how easily professionals from helping organisations can make assumptions that can lead to discrimination and oppression, when working in a refuge for vulnerable women that had been the victims of domestic violence, a Black woman with four children came to the centre it was assumed automatically by the member of staff taking down her history that the abusive partner was male. The woman found that she had to explain that she was in a lesbian relationship, and the abusive partner was another woman. This is a good example where social assumptions and stereotypes where women are perceived to be submissive, passive individuals that are the victims of domestic violence rather than the perpetrators of it. It also shows that assumptions are made by professionals regarding relationships that a partner automatically means someone of the opposite sex. The person centred method when applied to lesbians need to take into account the experience of the individual as a woman and also as lesbian her experience needs to be valued and respected, this method if used effectively according to Rogers, can build up the self -worth and self acceptance. However Davies and Neal (1996) state that few British training courses in counselling or psychotherapy cover working with lesbian, gay and bi-sexual people. They propose a model of gay affirmative therapy; this should be incorporated into other theoretical methods such as humanistic and psychodynamic etc. â€Å"Gay affirmative therapy is not an independent system of psychotherapy. Rather it represents a special range of psychological knowledge which challenges the traditional views†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Davies and Neal (1996) Gay affirmative therapy is an eclectic model that incorporates both theories. 2 important factors pointed out by Davies and Neal is firstly whether the counsellor is competent to counsel the homosexual individual, and secondly that it is important for the counsellor to examine their own ‘ideas about values, moral and lifestyles when working with clients who are culturally different’. This is the important factor of genuiness or congruence that Rogers has defined, Kus (1990), states that a therapist should be open and honest about personal prejudices that they hold about homosexuality, and refer clients on, however congruence can be much more difficult in practice, if the therapist or the client with holds information from each other in the relationship. Empathy is also an important core condition that was noted by Rogers with in the person centred approach, it is a deep understanding of the clients personal perspective of their problems, however it can be argued whether a heterosexual person can fully understand what it feels like to be a lesbian, similarly can a white person fully understand what it feels like to be black? This question exposes the difficulty of cross-cultural counselling, especially if the counsellor or therapist is unaware of the their own prejudice for e.g. non-verbal behaviour, body language or are ignorant about the issues for lesbian women. However it is important for professionals such as therapists not to assume that all lesbians need counselling for coming to terms with their sexuality, counselling may be required for a wide range of other issues as with hetero sexual women. R.J, Kus (1990) states that one of the most frequent criticism concerning helping professionals is that they get ‘fixated’ upon the homosexual life style and lose sight of the issues the help is being sought for, this means that the therapist assumes that the life style is the problem, despite the client stating other issues that help is sought for. The Humanistic perspective has contributed to social work practice by providing valuable criteria working in anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory way with service users, the most useful contribution is the person centred approach, which facilitates building of genuine helping relationship and listening to the service user. It also acknowledges that the client is expert on his/her particular problems. The person centred method has many positive aspects that can be used by social workers and other helping professionals, and aspects of this model can be incorporated with other theories to provide an eclectic model that can be used effectively by them. For example the humanistic person centred method is a valuable tool to build warm, respecting and trusting relationship with clients such as lesbian women, it will facilitate understanding their present situation, and how they view them selves within society and explore their organismic needs. Aspects of the psychodynamic approach may be useful in the enabling the client to explore their unconscious feelings and motives, whilst multicultural perspectives, acknowledge the cultural background and identity of the individual. I think that for anti-discriminatory social work practice that can empower the individual an eclectic model may be the most useful approach in a helping relationship. 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Data Analysis and Decision Making-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Decision Making Process and Factors Influencing it. Answer: Introduction In this assignment, the learner has critically identified the relevant process that is related to decision making. For making a best fitted decision for an organization, a manager has to understand the concept of decision making and its effect on organization culture. Defining the problem and accumulating relevant data is required for making an effective decision. Deciding the best solution which will be benefitted for both the company as well as its employees is the only way to achieve success. The decision that will be taken must be implemented in the organization with the acceptance of each member of the organization. However, decision making process is influenced significantly by various factors. The factors are feelings, structural factor, the locus of control, the inclination to innovate, managers moral approach, authority to decide and organizational structure. These factors significantly influence the decision making process and its effect reflects on the working culture of t he organization. If the decision is taken with the consent of each stakeholder in the organization then it will be considerably easier to implement Steps to define decision making process Decision making is typically a mental process which results in the selection of an appropriate choice among several alternatives. Each and every process of decision making procures an exact final choice. The result can be critically an opinion of choice as well as can be an action. Decision making process is an everyday movement for any individual. There is no special case about that. As stated by (Albright, Winston and Zappe, 2010), with regards to business associations, basic leadership is a propensity and a procedure also. Powerful and fruitful choices make benefit to the organization and unsuccessful ones make misfortunes. Consequently, corporate basic leadership process is the most basic process in any association. In the basic decision making process, manager needs to pick one strategy from a couple of conceivable choices. During the time spent basic decision making, may utilize many instruments, procedures, and recognitions. What's more, there can be a time when managers may s ettle on their own private choices or may favor an aggregate choice. In terms of analysing a perfect choice, a manager needs to analyse both the negative and positive results of business and later must opt for the positive results. This in turn helps the organization to maintain its standards and also avoids any misfortunes or lower profitable margin. As put forwarded by (De Bruijn and Ten Heuvelhof, 2010), once in a while, it is important to maintain a relevant distance towards basic decision making process seems very much less demanding; particularly, when managers involves in a great deal of encounter in the wake of settling on the extreme choice. Yet, settling on the choices and bearing its results is significantly the appropriate process for remaining responsible towards professional life as well as time. As a rule, decision making process is hard. The Greater part of corporate choices includes some level of disappointment or struggle with another gathering. The steps that init iate the decision making process are as follows- Defining the problem The first step towards making an accurate decision is defining the problem. Decisions that will be made must not depend on self-depending factors as well as must address the problem critically for the betterment of the company. The first step is to differentiate the problem significantly by the manager. The problem has to be characterized critically to understand the depth of the issue for better outcomes else it can mislead which can affect the standard of the organization significantly. The progression that has been made must be well recorded by the manager. As opined by (De Wit and Meyer, 2010), one significant process that a manager can help decides the genuine issue in a circumstance is by recognizing the issue independently from its side effects. The problem is critically defined as the discrepancy between the desired and existing state of affair. A manager must be assured that it is a problem and not a symptom of that particular problem for making perfect decisions (Xu et al. 2011, p.50). The identification of a problem is generally subjective and not objective. The discrepancies observed can be significantly found by comparing the current result with the relevant standard. Gathering and analyzing the relevant data Managers search out a scope of data to elucidate their decisions once they have distinguished an issue that requires a decision. A problem will have various factors which are related to it. Even there are various factors that influence a problem critically which can have an adverse effect critically. As suggested by (Griffin and Moorhead, 2011), while spending the time for analysing the problem, the manager must accumulate all data relevant to the problem and also the reasons associated with it. 'Check Sheets' can be adequately utilized by managers for identifying the problem critically. Managers may look to decide potential reasons for an issue, the people related to the issue and procedures engaged with the issue and any imperatives put on the basic decision-making process. Considering alternative solutions Managers measure the advantages and disadvantages of every potential issue. They even look for extra information if necessary and select the alternative they feel has the most obvious opportunity with regards to progress in any event cost. As put forwarded by (Jones and Jones, 2010), the main characteristics of the problem has to be framed significantly. In terms of symbolizing the criteria, hierarchical purposes and additionally the business culture have to be contemplated. Managers can also seek external assistance for solving the problem critically as in the first steps the manager made each decision by its own and can look forward for potential arrangements for further learning the problem. Deciding the best solution Having an entire understanding of the problem the managers can proceed forwards towards making potential arrangements towards the issue. The progression made can be based on each experience had by the managers or can also be based on formal arrangements with other employees. Later a strategy can be developed with ideas which can assist to solve the problem. Conceptualizing to list down every one of the thoughts is the best choice. Prior to the thought era step, it is imperative to comprehend the reasons for the issue and prioritization of causes. For this, the manager can make utilization of Pareto Chart apparatus and Cause-and-Effect graphs. As opined by (Amason and Schweiger, 1994, p.241), circumstances and end results graph encourages distinguishing every single conceivable reason for the issue and Pareto diagram encourages organizing and recognizing the grounds with most astounding influence. Critically at that point, the manager must move forward towards every possible arrangeme nt that can be made to solve the problem critically (Zhang and Bartol, 2010, p.111). Utilization of each strategy towards accurate decision making and maintain the standard of the organization has to be done effectively by the manager. Adequacy and experience of the arrangement that has been made by the manager is an integral part towards the success of the organization. The managers has to be efficient towards their work for the decisions they are making towards its positive as well as negative outcomes. Implementing the decision There is no opportunity to second figure once the decision has been made earlier without any hesitation regarding the second choice. When the manager has focused on setting up a particular arrangement, it is required to get the majority of the representatives on board and put the choice vigorously with conviction. This shouldn't imply that an administrative choice can't change after it has been instituted; canny administrators set up observing frameworks to assess the results of their choices. As stated by (Blanchette and Richards, 2010, p.562), legitimate and compelling correspondence of decisions has to be passed down to the juniors. Choices have to be carried in clear and reasonable way. Acceptance of each decisions made by the manager is important in terms of the organization. Gathering cooperation and the inclusion of the representatives will assist towards smooth adoption of the decisions made by the managers. Correct planning in the arrangement will help towards eliminating th e risk for changes. Practically, every decisins leads to changes and employees are not much comfortable with the chnages (Popovi? et al. 2010, p.730). However, implementing the best possible decisions which is well accepted by each members can lead to successful integration of the decision. Factors affecting the decision making process Cultural factors critically affect the decision making process. The basic process of ddecision makig in an organization is profoundly perplexing. Any choice may influence the association overall, investors or the number of employees. This kind of factors critically affects the employees in terms of increments or raised wages. Subsequently, there lies several factors that critically influences the process of decision making. As opined by (Bottrill et al. 2008, p.650), nonetheless, an essential factor impacting basic decision making is the procedure or efficient process behind basic leadership. Factors that affect decision making process are given below- Feelings Feelings are the major culture variable than facts. It assesses that whether the deciders opt for a subjective or objective view of the issue or problem that has been generated in the organization. Feelings can get in the method for sane the process of decision making. Outrage, specifically, can influence workforce to build their sense of duty regarding a falling flat plan. Managers who comprehend these inclinations can help reduce their impacts on the association. As put forwarded by (Brinckmann, Grichnik and Kapsa, 2010, p.38), feelings constitute effective and unsurprising drivers of basic leadership. Over distinctive sorts of choices and essential regularities show up in the fundamental components will critically impact judgment and decision. In this manner, the impacts feeling are not irregular. Preference and predisposition are presented in managers choices by their perceptual procedures and may make them settle on ineffectual choices. In the first place, recognition is profoun dly specific, which implies that managers just acknowledge what they need to acknowledge and henceforth just such sort of data channels down to their faculties (Salas, Rosen and DiazGranados, 2010, p.971). Second, observation is exceptionally subjective, implying that data gets misshaped keeping in mind the end goal to be predictable with their pre-built up convictions, states of mind and qualities. Structural factors Supportive cultures are less critical in terms of risk taking behavior as well as are more allowing. This factor is at a higher proportion in terms of potential entrepreneurs (O'Faircheallaigh, 2010, p.22). It also influences the psychological features of each individual in a particular population. Psychologically, they are constantly awkward with deciding. As stated by (Darley, Blankson and Luethge, 2010, p.101), managers are never truly beyond any doubt if their decision of the option was right and ideal until the point that the effect of the ramifications of the choice has been felt. This influences manager to feel unreliable. Supportive culture can diminish the stress of taking a particular risk while making an appropriate decision. If the coordination among the members is well established then structural factors might not affect decision-making process hugely (Sanayei, Mousavi and Yazdankhah, 2010, p.29). However, while taking certain risks for making a decision supportive cultu re is needed by the decider to formulate the plan or solution effectively and will significantly benefit the company in every possible way. Locus of Control It is an evident fact that managers tend to believe in prior planning for future events. The reason behind such fact is their confidence level towards control of certain events. It is true that managers must be aware of the future problems or should make proper planning for taking the actions at a faster rate during the time of need. This, in turn, influences the decision-making process hugely as it is more uncertain to learn about future problems and also can differ. As opined by (DeTienne, 2010, p.210), there also exist few deciders that consider the future decisions are kind of futile planning. They believe that future lies in the external forces that hugely impacts such as technology, fate, science, god, and nature. This kind of deciders in a company is also useful as they do not waste much time thinking about future problems rather focus on present ones (Yeoh and Koronios, 2010, p.29). This kind of influence to the managers decision making process can lead to profitability as we ll as potential risks towards the company. Inclination to innovate There comes a time when managers have to decide whether they want to stick to the similar plan that has been already implemented or they want to implement a new solution which contains risks. This hugely influences the decision making process. As put forwarded by (Garrison et al. 2010, p.791), risks and uncertainty are created in managers, halfway because of certain individual attributes and somewhat because of authoritative qualities. On the off chance that the authoritative strategy is the end goal that it punishes misfortunes more than it rewards increases, at that point the manager would have a tendency to maintain a strategic distance from the choices that have a few odds of disappointment (Darnall, Henriques and Sadorsky, 2010, p.1080). Hence, a manager may stay away from a conceivably decent open door if there is a slight possibility of a misfortune. The individual qualities of a leader with respect to his states of mind towards chance taking influence the achievement of the c hoice. Managers moral approach Managers moral approach can be categorized into two types. As stated by (Glckner and Witteman, 2010, p.22), the first is utilitarianism and the second is moral idealism. Utilitarianism is the process where the manager looks into a solution in a certain way that points out whether the solution will work perfectly or not. Moral idealism is the process where the manager makes a decision on the basis of whether the action that has been chosen is the right thing to do or not. It has been observed that in Western society utilitarianism is much more preferred than moral idealism. Authority to decide The process of decision making can be organized by the authority of an organization. Authority is divided into two categories. The first one is autocratic, where the decisions that will be made are based on the choices of a particular individual. For instance, the company Apple Inc. had an autocratic leadership by Steve Jobs. He used to make each and every decision for the company and the subordinates have to follow the instructions. The social and gathering standards apply extensive impact on the style of the leader. As opined by (Han, Hsu and Sheu, 2010, p.333), a social standard to be an assessing scale assigning on the satisfactory scope and a shocking scope for conduct movement, occasions, convictions or any protest of worry to individuals from a social unit. As such social standard is the standard and acknowledged method for making judgments. Likewise, social childhood and different social measurements profoundly affect the basic leadership style of a person. In America, despit e what might be expected, the basic decision making style is for the most part individualistic with the assistance of choice models and quantitative strategies (Kon, 2010, p.903). The second one is participative, where the decisions are taken collectively. For instance, collectivistic societies such as Japan prefer bottom-up or consensus approach towards decision making. In the Japanese hierarchical framework, a leader lands at a choice in accord with others. This style is socially arranged and settles on the usage of the choice significantly less demanding since everyone takes an interest in the basic decision making process. Organizational structure This factor critically affects the speed of decision making process. In terms of centralization structure such as Apple Inc., the decisions taken are too slow. Managers settling on choices by the autocratic organizational style are recognized by the speed; however, it might grow a danger of committing errors or of missing great options. It is essential to have satisfactory and precise data about the circumstance for decision making; generally, the nature of the choice will endure. It must be perceived, in any case, that an individual has certain mental limitations, which restrain the measure of data that he can enough deal with. As opined by (Ho, Xu and Dey, 2010, p.21), less data is as unsafe as an excessive amount of data. Some very legitimate people do settle on choices on the premise of relatively less data when contrasted with more moderate leaders. However, in terms of decentralization organizational structure such as Westerners, the decisions are made speedier and faster to im plement. An extraordinary preferred standpoint for such kind of administrators is an arrangement of engagement of representatives in a basic decision making process, which prompts have more choices and develop the probability of settling on better choices. In any case, the drawback of an informative style is that in organizations this process might be related to a great deal of time. Conclusion In this assignment, the learner has elaborately described steps that are required to make an effective decision. The steps that are required for making a decision must be followed strictly as whatever the decision will be made can have a direct impact on the organization. Each step must be followed by the manager with the consent of each member of the organization for implementing the decision smoothly. However, the factors that have been described in the assignments influences the decision making process as well. This kind of factors can divert the decisions which may also affect negatively towards the success of the organization. The process of decision making is hard as there comes several constraints as well as factors which influence them. Hence, for making an effective decision each step has to be followed and the factors that influence it must be considered as well. References Books Albright, S.C., Winston, W. and Zappe, C., 2010.Data analysis and decision making. Cengage Learning. De Bruijn, H. and Ten Heuvelhof, E., 2010.Process management: why project management fails in complex decision making processes. Springer Science Business Media. De Wit, B. and Meyer, R., 2010.Strategy: Process, content, context. Cengage Learning EMEA. Griffin, R.W. and Moorhead, G., 2011.Organizational behavior. Cengage Learning. Jones, G.R. and Jones, G.R., 2010. Organizational theory, design, and change. Journals Amason, A.C. and Schweiger, D.M., 1994. Resolving the paradox of conflict, strategic decision making, and organizational performance.International Journal of Conflict Management,5(3), pp.239-253. Blanchette, I. and Richards, A., 2010. The influence of affect on higher level cognition: A review of research on interpretation, judgement, decision making and reasoning.Cognition Emotion,24(4), pp.561-595. Bottrill, M.C., Joseph, L.N., Carwardine, J., Bode, M., Cook, C., Game, E.T., Grantham, H., Kark, S., Linke, S., McDonald-Madden, E. and Pressey, R.L., 2008. Is conservation triage just smart decision making?.Trends in Ecology Evolution,23(12), pp.649-654. Brinckmann, J., Grichnik, D. and Kapsa, D., 2010. Should entrepreneurs plan or just storm the castle? A meta-analysis on contextual factors impacting the business planningperformance relationship in small firms.Journal of Business Venturing,25(1), pp.24-40. Darley, W.K., Blankson, C. and Luethge, D.J., 2010. Toward an integrated framework for online consumer behavior and decision making process: A review.Psychology marketing,27(2), pp.94-116. DeTienne, D.R., 2010. Entrepreneurial exit as a critical component of the entrepreneurial process: Theoretical development.Journal of Business Venturing,25(2), pp.203-215. Garrison, R.H., Noreen, E.W., Brewer, P.C. and McGowan, A., 2010. Managerial accounting.Issues in Accounting Education,25(4), pp.792-793. Glckner, A. and Witteman, C., 2010. Beyond dual-process models: A categorisation of processes underlying intuitive judgement and decision making.Thinking Reasoning,16(1), pp.1-25. Han, H., Hsu, L.T.J. and Sheu, C., 2010. Application of the theory of planned behavior to green hotel choice: Testing the effect of environmental friendly activities.Tourism management,31(3), pp.325-334. Ho, W., Xu, X. and Dey, P.K., 2010. Multi-criteria decision making approaches for supplier evaluation and selection: A literature review.European Journal of operational research,202(1), pp.16-24. Kon, A.A., 2010. The shared decision-making continuum.Jama,304(8), pp.903-904. O'Faircheallaigh, C., 2010. Public participation and environmental impact assessment: Purposes, implications, and lessons for public policy making.Environmental impact assessment review,30(1), pp.19-27. Salas, E., Rosen, M.A. and DiazGranados, D., 2010. Expertise-based intuition and decision making in organizations.Journal of management,36(4), pp.941-973. Sanayei, A., Mousavi, S.F. and Yazdankhah, A., 2010. Group decision making process for supplier selection with VIKOR under fuzzy environment.Expert Systems with Applications,37(1), pp.24-30. Xu, H., Luo, X.R., Carroll, J.M. and Rosson, M.B., 2011. The personalization privacy paradox: An exploratory study of decision making process for location-aware marketing.Decision support systems,51(1), pp.42-52. Yeoh, W. and Koronios, A., 2010. Critical success factors for business intelligence systems.Journal of computer information systems,50(3), pp.23-32. Zhang, X. and Bartol, K.M., 2010. Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement.Academy of management journal,53(1), pp.107-128. Popovi?, A., Hackney, R., Coelho, P.S. and Jakli?, J., 2012. Towards business intelligence systems success: Effects of maturity and culture on analytical decision making.Decision Support Systems,54(1), pp.729-739. Darnall, N., Henriques, I. and Sadorsky, P., 2010. Adopting proactive environmental strategy: The influence of stakeholders and firm size.Journal of management studies,47(6), pp.1072-1094.

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Strategic Analysis of Internal & External Environment of Dyson

Question: Identify what comprises strategic capabilities in terms of organisational resources and competences and how these relate to the strategies of organisations. Distinguish between basic and unique resources. Analyze the business functions of the company. Answer: Corporate objectives Vision The vision is to enhance the performance of the organization and establish its pillars within the competitive market segment. Mission The mission of the company is to provide encouragement for the design engineers of the next generation in order to be creative, challenging and invent. A statement of corporate values Dyson reflects efficient means of engineering. The CSR team works by ensuring that the workers are treated very fairly and the environment including the workplaces remains safer. External analysis PESTEL analysis Political factors: It has been seen that throughout the UK and the US the political factors remains merely in the favor of the home companies. At home, the Duson's role as becoming the conservative partys technical czar created an impact as soon as the government announced the increment of the rate of development and research of tax credit to nearly 225% merely for the mid-sized business which became effective from April 2012. Moreover, the vested regulations like the EU experts have imposed restrictions on the desired power used by the machines such as the vacuum cleaners (Al-Hakim and Memmola, 2009). EU have also summoned for the development of the new technologies in order to reduce the power input for saving the energy consumption. EC required the desired power input to get cut till the year 2014 nearly to 500 watts merely for the respective upright cleaners and for the canister cleaners it was 750 watts (Baran and Galka, 2013). This resulted in the declination of the sales and this type of the bur eaucratic laws merely forces the different companies to keep pace with the innovations by the expansion of the competition. It becomes very important for Dyson to open doors for the similar type of the changes. Economic: During the year 2010 and 2013, there were several small companies who returned to the same levels of growth but the vacuum cleaners were predicted to seen slow rate of growth. The capturing of the retail growth in china as well as in India will focus the growth of the sales and will help in ease pressure of the concerned western markets. The reports critically indicate that in the developing countries the growth rate was projected up to 6.7 percent. In most of the developed countries the company was performing well and the people who were staying at their home for the longer time, the demands for the disposal homes got increased merely for the homely gadgets (Berk and DeMarzo, 2014). But the moderate incomes throughout the emerging market segments remained the matter of scrutiny as it was favorable for the premium price of Dyson. Social factors: The social factors create a great impact on the execution of the business process of any of the company concerned. The contribution of the Dyson Company was recognized on large numbers having effective and efficient charitable ventures like the global workshop in order to bring out the best design and engineering (Blank Page, 2014). The rewarding programs for the engineering students contributed towards the development of the society on large numbers. There was the outsourcing of the jobs throughout the different countries such as Malaysia, china and much more and was through the testing labs. Expansion of the job openings for the youth throughout the different parts of the world is the key strengths of the company. Technological factors: This is one of the important factors that helps ion increasing the growth of the organization to a large scale. There are some of the well-known developed countries who accounted for 68% of the total robotic vacuum cleaners selling in the year 2011. This market changes mainly due to the robotic design and the needs of the new technologies are quite high and considering the other regions or the areas the demand for the vacuum cleaners proved to be very high (Dalum and Midtgaard, 2011). Therefore, there is a crucial need for the implementation of the innovative tools as well as innovative techniques for the evaluation and growth of the entire business processes of Dyson. Environmental factors: The common topic for most of the companies is global warming. As per the rules and regulations of the UK government, businesses or the various companies needs to participate in the waste disposal or in the reducing as well as recycling of the wastes in order to make the environment a safer place for the people (Dyson.co.uk, 2016). In responses to these regulations, there are companies like VAX who have reduced nearly 50% polystyrene throughout their packaging. Dyson also follows the rules as well as the regulations of the government in reducing and recycling of the wastes related to the electronic equipment and has created a great positive impact on the environment. Legal: In this particular sector, the desired fight for the infringement for securing the design as well as the technology of the different vacuum cleaners was common for the companies. The facts reside that in the year 2010, the company significantly lost the legal case against one of the well-known company VAX limited. Therefore, there is a crucial need for each of the companies of any field to execute their respective business processes as per the rules and the regulations of the government (Ehrhardt and Brigham, 2011). There were some of the legal matters related to the payment made to an engineer and this case was in the high court of England. Thus, it became more important to establish the desired pillars of the company following the rules as well as the regulations of the government. Porters Competitive Forces Analysis Porter's five forces are the desired framework which will help in recognizing the competition level within a particular industry. Moreover, it helps in the development of the business processes of the organization. Buyer power: In this, the power remains in the hands of the buyer. The availability of the more options having low-end cost prices brings out discouragement for the customers. The customers or the buyers can bargain from the variety of the products available and there are other companies available who provide the similar products with similar features. There is the wide variety of the retail point of the purchase. Supplier power: In the manufacturing and the designing of the houses provides great benefit in the leading time and maintains the flow of the desired supply chain. The high amount of investments in the R and D becomes a competency for the entire organization (Ehrhardt and Brigham, 2011). There are more than 350 of the engineers as well as scientists who use the latest technology and innovation in order to increase the power of the suppliers. In order to increase the selling of the products, the company has more than 120 special types of the testing center stations throughout Malaysia. Threat of the new entrants: A new entry within the market segments critically increases the competition level for the existing companies. On the other hand, there is less amount of threat to the company as there is difficulty in the R and D innovation for the competition (Harrison, 2011). It becomes very hard for competing with the brand presence as well as the quality of the products. M A may be the desired way for fresh companies in relation to the bold threat. Therefore, the companies need to implement effective strategies regarding the threat from the new entry into the market segments. Threat from the substitutes: There are uncertain economic conditions for the Dyson Company. The increment in the design and technologies in the field of vacuum have created the potential threat for the respective products of Dyson. The cases of the M A are accepted to continue, which creates a threat for the products of the company (Johnsen, 2009). There are substitutes available from the different companies and this creates a tough penetration within the new market segments where the brooms are used instead of the vacuums. Competitive rivalry: There are some of the main competitors within this industry having the similar scale and strength which competes for the larger marginal growth areas. The implementation of the advanced technologies as well as the innovation provides the desired competitive edge to the company as compared with that of the other companies (Khachidze, 2012). There are two of the common trends for the market invasions, they are merger and acquisitions. Internal Analysis Organizational Resources Audit The VRIN framework helps in analyzing the strategic capabilities of Dyson, which are mentioned below: Value The primary aim of Dyson is to solve the issues and improve the preferred traditional products. Moreover, the company wants to innovate its products by improving the designing of the concerned products. So the exceptional RD is very significant in enhancing the manufactured goods. Rarity Dyson has numerous competitors which offer the very cheaper contrast to Dyson. The company is providing the finest value product just before the community. Inimitability As there have numerous competitors throughout the competitive market, it is probable to reproduce its goods. But it becomes very difficult for doing that, because the company has numerous patents related to their product, such as the Root Cyclone expertise, and it have filled up with nearly 564 patents of it, so in a case of extra vacuum cleaner it cannot employ this particular technology. Non-substitutable In fact, the Dyson's goods can be alternated by extra company's goods. But the brand name cannot be substituted and this is a great advantage for Dyson. Functions of the Business and Core Competencies The company was looking forward to focusing more on the innovation as this could help in evaluating the desired growth of the company related to the vacuum cleaners. It is a British company that designs as well as manufactures vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans hand dryers and the heaters (Dyson.co.uk, 2016). The company has given priority to the advancement of the designing and the technical advancements of the machinery merely for the vacuum cleaners. The company executes its business process in more than 70 countries throughout the world. There were several competitors in this particular industry related to the designing and manufacturing of the vacuum cleaners but the company had given priority to increasing the capability of the engineers (Okumus, Altinay and Chathoth, 2010). The company is facing tough competition from many of the well-known companies related to the designing and manufacturing of the vacuum cleaners. Therefore, in order to capture the entire market segments the co mpany has formulated several strategies as improving the designing and the implementation of the new innovative tools swell as techniques. Basis of Competitive Strategy Key Market Segments Analysis The different forms of the competition stand at various levels within the global as well as the domestic market segments. The US market segments are mainly led the by the Techtronic Industries corporation limited which was contributed by Hoover as well as the Dirt Devil. The selling of the vacuum cleaners was in large numbers and it encountered a global presence which appeared as a potential threat (Sensmeier, 2009). There were several other companies throughout the market segments which provided the desired importance to the designing of the product. Innovation, as well as the advancement of the technology, played the most important role in increasing the competition in this particular industry (Special Issue of Strategic Organization: "Strategic Management Theory and Universities", 2015). Porters Generic Strategy Framework Analysis In order to compete with the other companies and maintain its position throughout the UK, the demand for the innovation increased significantly for Dyson. This can easily be achieved by the supply chain management and the in-house capability of the Company. Innovation is considered to be the most important for the development and the growth of the organization. The pricing strategies of the company related to the vacuum cleaners have provided the desired platform to evaluate the growth of the organization (Spedding, 2009). The products sales of the competitors were high during the initial stages of the firm. The economic conditions remained very uncertain throughout the developed market segments. Implementation of the advanced technologies and the innovation provides the desired competitive edge to the company as compared with the competitors. Strategic Choice: Ansoffs Matrix Figure: Ansoffs Matrix for Dyson The Ansoff matrix evaluated the fact that Dyson has formed several strategies for selling of its products and to evaluate the growth of the organization throughout the competitive market. The company has decided to enter into new market segments where there are 45 of the countries who are still expanding having the previous or existing products (Stroke: latest treatment options in acute management, 2015). The next strategy is to a development of the products with new features as compared with the existing products in order to capture the entire market segments. Strategy Evaluation Suitability The most appropriate choice of the ANSOFF matrix is the product development and the company needs to0 develop the products as per the reliability of the users. The changing trends throughout the market segments have forced towards modification of the products and the competitors are doing this very systematically. Therefore, the implementation of the innovative tools will help Dyson in evaluating the growth of the organization (Swedish glossary for corporate finance, 2013). Ranking of the strategic options as well as the decision trees will help in evaluating the suitability of the product development. Acceptability The designing and the manufacturing of the products are considered to be more important and, therefore, the company needs to manufacture its products with the help of the new and innovative machinery. This will help in bringing out the innovation for the development of the best vacuum cleaners for the customers (Triggle, 2015). In this section, the returns, risk, and the stakeholder's reactions are considered to be most important. Feasibility Breakeven analysis with the help of the cash flow analysis helps in bringing out the desired facts for the identification of the feasibility of the product development (Truss, Mankin, and Kelliher, 2012). The company needs to identify and collect the desired resources which are required for the development of the products as this will help in increasing the selling of the vacuum cleaners within the market segments. Conclusion Dyson is a British company that designs as well as manufactures vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans hand dryers and the heaters. The company has given priority to the advancement of the designing and the technical advancements of the machinery. The company executes its business process in more than 70 countries throughout the world. There were several competitors in this particular industry related to the designing and manufacturing of the vacuum cleaners. This report reflects the strategic analysis of Dysons business processes. Recommendations The company needs to work on the quality and the pricing satieties of its products. Moreover, the priority should be given to the use of the innovative tools and techniques in order to keep pace with the other competitors. The engineers need to increase their skills in order to bring out innovation in the products. Yes, the company is significantly capitalizing its strengths efficiently and effectively with the help of the strategic choices. The main weakness was in the designing as well as in the pricing strategies of the company related to its products. Now, the company with the help of effective strategies is able to manage the competitors effectively. Yes, there was the contradiction between the strategic choices of the company and its vision but it can be overcome with the help of innovative tools and techniques. References Al-Hakim, L. and Memmola, M. (2009).Business web strategy. Hershey: Information Science Reference. Baran, R. and Galka, R. (2013).CRM. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Berk, J. and DeMarzo, P. (2014).Corporate finance. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Blank Page. (2014).International Strategic Management Review, 2(1), p.IFC. Dalum, C. and Midtgaard, J. (2011).Strategisk regnskabsanalyse og vrdiansttelse af Carlsberg. Frederiksberg. Dyson.co.uk. (2016).Dyson vacuum cleaners, fans, heaters, accessories spares | official site. [online] Available at: https://www.dyson.co.uk/ [Accessed 31 Mar. 2016]. Ehrhardt, M. and Brigham, E. (2011).Corporate finance. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Harrison, D. (2011). How the latest mental health strategy can guide practice.Nurs Residential Care, 13(7), pp.341-344. Johnsen, H. (2009).Strategisk regnskabsanalyse og vrdiansttelse af Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S. Frederiksberg. Khachidze, V. (2012).Contemporary research on E-business technology and strategy. Berlin: Springer. Okumus, F., Altinay, L. and Chathoth, P. (2010).Strategic management for hospitality and tourism. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann. Sensmeier, J. (2009). The latest? A shift from operations to outcomes.Nursing Management (Springhouse), NA;, p.2. Special Issue of Strategic Organization: "Strategic Management Theory and Universities". (2015).Strategic Organization, 13(4), pp.365-367. Special Issue of Strategic Organization: "Strategic Management Theory and Universities". (2015).Strategic Organization, 13(2), pp.163-165. Spedding, L. (2009).The due diligence handbook. Amsterdam: CIMA. Stroke: latest treatment options in acute management. (2015).The Pharmaceutical Journal. Swedish glossary for corporate finance. (2013). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. The local and regional impact of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. (2012). Luxembourg: Publications Office. Triggle, N. (2015). Moving on from where the Cancer Drugs Fund failed.Cancer Nursing Practice, 14(8), pp.8-9. Truss, C., Mankin, D. and Kelliher, C. (2012).Strategic human resource management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

History Of Light Infantry Essays - Military Terminology,

History Of Light Infantry For a long time peace was understood in negative fashion, simply as the absence of war. -Yvon Garlan Kendrick Pritchett in the introduction to the book ?The Greek State at War? points out that in order to write history of Greek Warfare one would require a knowledge of many aspects of Greek life. The would-be investigator would have to be familiar with terrain in the case of any given battle, have an acquaintance with the archaeological artifacts of various types, close familiarity with the written sources, and most important, an understanding of the general economic picture. He would also need some insight into ancient religion and acquaintance with military and naval procedures and strategy.? There is a definite truth about the statement. Even such narrow subject as development of light infantry in ancient Greece requires inquiries in multiple areas of overall Greek history. The knowledge of what ancient Greeks considered light infantry, an insight on development of ancient Greek infantry in general, agricultural warfare, key historical event that assisted in changing Greek outlook on war: these areas are absolutely essential in researching the subject of light infantry in Ancient Greece. Researching the primary sources for the subject of ?light infantry? an investigator would find a puzzling fact; there are little or no references to the subject of inquiry. Ancient historians Thucydides, Xenophon, Herodotus, do not refer to ?light infantry? troops, instead they use term peltast. It appears that the term peltast signifies a ?light armored warrior? for the ancient historians. The term itself comes from pelta or pelte - a small shield that inhabitants of Thrace used as their battle armor. We find descriptions of Thracian peoples in Herodotus' ?The Histories.? ?The Thracians in the army wore fox-skin caps on their heads, and tunics on their bodies; over these they wore embroidered mantles; they had shoes of fawnskin on their feet and legs; they also had javelins and little shields and daggers.? Climate in Thrace, both political and weather wise contributed to development of specific armor (or lack of it) and way of fighting. Ancient Greek historian Xenophon had served under Odrysian prince Seuthes in Thrace and recorded one of the campaigns in his treaties ?Anabasis.? From the description, Thrace appears to be very cold and snowy which is not uncommon for northern parts of Greece. It also explains why Thracian peltasts had no heavy armor, relied on maneuverability and preferred skirmishing techniques to battle in formation. Also, there is no account of Thrace developing a city-state or any other kind of political organization other than tribes. Which explains predominance of primitive way of fighting over organized formation. Arthur Ferrill argues that although there definitely was a contact between ancient Greeks and Thracians, it had little or no affect on Greek warfare in general. This point is arguable, since there is evidence (mostly pottery, unfortunately) that Thracian shield and helmet designs were used by Greeks from 460 BC and on. Also the appearance of ekdromoi - runner outs in Greek phalanx, was probably a result of contact with Thracians. Ekdromoi were young, physically fit warriors that were instructed to run out and prevent Thracian peltasts from harassing Greek formation. Consequently, ekdromoi had to give up some of their heavy armor to gain in maneuverability. Considering evidence in hand, Ferrill's argument appears to be more plausible since history shows that it would take much more than skirmishes with Thracians to change Greek outlook on war and fighting. Agricultural warfare, Greek Hoplites. Placing light infantry on the battlefield by the ancient Greeks signified the change in general Greek way of fighting. Roughly, ?general way of fighting? is associated with hoplite phalanx warfare. Understanding hoplite warfare is essential in uncovering the origins of light infantry aside from it setting the pace of Greek life for almost five hundred years. Sometime between 700 BC and 650 BC formation of heavy infantry or hoplites began to take place. The changes took place primarily due to social and political developments within Greece itself, appearance of polis, Greek city-state and extensive agriculture, which created communities of equal property owners. It is plausible to assume that Greek farmers out of concern that somebody would traverse their land began to arm themselves, farmer solidarity developed.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Free Essays on Describe And Explain The Global Patterns Of Earthquakes.

â€Å"Earthquakes are probably the most dramatic of Man’s natural enemies.† (Hallam 1977) â€Å"Earthquakes are vibrations of the earth caused by the rupture and sudden movement of rocks that have been strained beyond their elastic limits.† (Hamblin and Christiansen 2001). Shockwaves are generated when an earthquake occurs. There are three types of seismic waves: Primary waves, secondary waves and surface waves. Earthquakes tend not to be deeper than 700km into the earth. Shallow-focus earthquakes occur from the surface to a depth of 70km. Intermediate-focus earthquakes occur between 70km-300km below the surface and finally deep-focus earthquakes between 300km-700km. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured on a Richter Scale. If the locations of earthquakes are plotted on a map it becomes clearly evident that there is a pattern. Earthquakes are generally concentrated in areas where plates meet. If we plot the areas where shallow, intermediate, and deep focus earthquakes occur it becomes apparent that virtually all deep earthquakes are associated with ocean trenches and island arc structures bordering the Pacific. The reasoning behind this is plate tectonics. The earth can be internally divided into three major areas: The outer crust, the mantle and the core. The rigid outermost layer of the crust comprises of both continental and oceanic crust. Underlying the crust is the mantle, it comprises the largest portion of the earth and finally the innermost portion is the core. Plate tectonics tells us that the earth’s outermost layer (the lithosphere) is broken into both oceanic and continental plates which slide over the uppermost layer of the mantle (the athenosphere). These plates are in constant motion and interact with their boundaries. It is these interactions which are the cause of earthquakes. We now know there are seven major crustal plates about 80km thick and all in constant motion relative to each other. It is along t... Free Essays on Describe And Explain The Global Patterns Of Earthquakes. Free Essays on Describe And Explain The Global Patterns Of Earthquakes. â€Å"Earthquakes are probably the most dramatic of Man’s natural enemies.† (Hallam 1977) â€Å"Earthquakes are vibrations of the earth caused by the rupture and sudden movement of rocks that have been strained beyond their elastic limits.† (Hamblin and Christiansen 2001). Shockwaves are generated when an earthquake occurs. There are three types of seismic waves: Primary waves, secondary waves and surface waves. Earthquakes tend not to be deeper than 700km into the earth. Shallow-focus earthquakes occur from the surface to a depth of 70km. Intermediate-focus earthquakes occur between 70km-300km below the surface and finally deep-focus earthquakes between 300km-700km. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured on a Richter Scale. If the locations of earthquakes are plotted on a map it becomes clearly evident that there is a pattern. Earthquakes are generally concentrated in areas where plates meet. If we plot the areas where shallow, intermediate, and deep focus earthquakes occur it becomes apparent that virtually all deep earthquakes are associated with ocean trenches and island arc structures bordering the Pacific. The reasoning behind this is plate tectonics. The earth can be internally divided into three major areas: The outer crust, the mantle and the core. The rigid outermost layer of the crust comprises of both continental and oceanic crust. Underlying the crust is the mantle, it comprises the largest portion of the earth and finally the innermost portion is the core. Plate tectonics tells us that the earth’s outermost layer (the lithosphere) is broken into both oceanic and continental plates which slide over the uppermost layer of the mantle (the athenosphere). These plates are in constant motion and interact with their boundaries. It is these interactions which are the cause of earthquakes. We now know there are seven major crustal plates about 80km thick and all in constant motion relative to each other. It is along t...

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Equity and Debt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Equity and Debt - Essay Example However, this is balanced by the requirements of the debt covenant to regularly service that debt; that is, the company regularly needs to make payments to the issuer of the debt to cover the principle they borrowed and the interest required by the debt covenant. This detriment is offset in some regard through the reduction in tax liability (Seidman, 2005) – in short, the payment of debt reduces the amount of income that the company is taxed upon. Equity financing carries with it its own distinct set of advantages and disadvantages. Chief among the advantages of equity financing is the existence of no repayment period of the capital used to expand the business (Seidman, 2005). Since the capital is raised through individuals or businesses buying a share of both the company and its future earnings, the rewards for providing the capital come through an expected increase in the value of their investment. This, however, translates into a disadvantage of equity financing. Namely, wh ile profits are expected to increase, the â€Å"pie† is now being divided into more pieces, thus reducing the value of the existing stakes. Further, with the issuance (or release) of additional stock into the market to support an equity financing endeavor, the company becomes more susceptible to outside influences, whether through potential takeovers or through some loss of control of the decision-making process (Seidman, 2005). I neither fully agree nor fully disagree with management’s decision to proceed with equity financing instead of the intended debt financing in the expansion of their manufacturing capabilities. Equity financing makes sense, especially in light of the 305% rise in the company’s stock price over the past year (American Superconductor, 2003). Management is able to take advantage of the ability to raise capital with less dilution of current stockholders’ shares than would otherwise be expected in an environment of stable share price. Debt financing, too, makes sense in regard to the fact that with the government project becoming profitable a quarter ahead of expectations and with the massive savings in operating expenses, debt financing would have been rather easy to service (American Superconductor, 2003). Using that approach, no dilution of stockholder value would be necessary and there would be no potential for a loss of corporate autonomy. Further, with an eye again to lower future operating costs and an unexpectedly profitable revenue stream, debt financing would have lowered the potential future tax burden that the company will soon be faced with. Instead of management undertaking either approach, I believe that a third option would be best. With the company’s results that lent themselves to support debt financing as well as a nearly doubling of revenue company-wide over the past year, management could have funded the entire endeavor through retained earnings had the expansion decision been put off for a short period of time (American Superconductor, 2003). This approach would prevent any dilution of share value, any potential loss of autonomy, and would avoid the seemingly unnecessary burden of additional indebtiture at a time when the company is flush with cash. Having made the decision to raise the capital through equity financing, management needs to determine what the cost of equity truly would

Monday, February 3, 2020

Airport Design Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Airport Design - Research Paper Example The stakeholders of the airport include customers, transporters, Government agencies, airlines companies, civil aviation authorities, airport management and the staff members. Therefore, the airport design should facilitate all of them in a balance so that there can be efficiency in all the working areas of the airport and thus giving benefits to the airport management. all of these aspect of the airport design should be managed in the planning session therefore it is the duty of the engineers to keep these things at preference. The purpose of this research paper is to provide a guideline about the planning of an airport design. The main persons included in the process will be the airport managers, airport staff, airport planners, architects, and the overall aviation industry. However, these are the main persons in the planning process and then the construction process but throughout the planning and construction their main focus should be on considerations of the stakeholders and their concerns about the usage of the building. There are many of the important considerations or the factors, which are very important for the planning processes of an airport design. These factors or considerations are safety, Security concerns, operational ability, commercialism, financial support, aid, and the environmental conditions. In addition to this, there is a requirement of settlement with the local Government bodies and the civil aviation authorities. So that the airport management will not face any problem, form the legal agencies regarding any law or rules. In this section of the report, there is a detailed description of the step by step procedure of planning the airport design, analysis of all the necessary components of an airport design and an overview of the primary users of the airports. In the planning process of airport design, the first step is to gather and