Merrill Lynch-Bank of America Merger

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that focuses on the moral, philosophical characteristics from formal, systematic and ethical principles. Moral judgments are calculated from ethical principles which need to be applied as a standard for everyday choices in life and business. This is directly related to the decisions human beings make. Cavico (2009) states utilitarianism is more than just moral philosophy. It is a way of reformation and used extensively in government decision making. This will be discussed further in the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch merger.Utilitarianism is considered a scientific system of ethics and not just a philosophical theory of ethics. Utilitarian ethics follows the belief of maximizing the greatest good for the largest number of people. As utilitarianism is identified, one needs to learn that the greatest good could be based on aggregate principle or a distributive principle. The Bank of America-Merrill Lynch merger will be assessed in regards to who, what an d how the greater good will be affected in this merger. Within utilitarianism, a moral philosophy is developed that focuses on the consequences of specific actions.An action is done, then observed and then analyzed. After identifying all the people that were involved, one needs to ask the question, â€Å"Do the sum of good consequences outweigh the sum of the bad consequences? † Quantify all the good and bad consequences in the scenario and if the good consequences are greater than the bad consequences then the action was moral and vice versa. In this paper, the actions of the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch merger will be discussed, evaluated and quantified with the Richard DeGeorge Utilitarian perspective.Pinpointing the stakeholders in this case will show who was direct and indirectly affected and how they were affected. Furthermore, it will be discussed the overall affect it had on society from a global perspective, reaction from competitive markets and the economic impact it created within the United States and worldwide. Critical points and actions will dominate the course of action on how utilitarian ethics was applied in this situation. Identifying the individual people or groups that were in this scenario will be evaluated on a pleasure v. ain scale where it will show the extent of good or bad in the situation and the possible outcomes that followed. The pleasure v. pain comparison will then be quantified on a grading scale that represents extreme pleasures and pains in Bank of America-Merrill Lynch merger. After totaling up the good and the bad points, it will determine if the actions in this merger were moral. In late 2008, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch were in negotiations for a business deal. Bank of America was going to buy Merrill Lynch for one of the largest bank mergers and acquisitions in the world.On the surface, Bank of America thought the merger was a good idea and a good business deal to pursue. Former Chief Executive of Bank of America, Kenneth Lewis, and the board of Bank of America saw this business deal as a way to expand into different sectors of the financial markets and strengthen many of its counterparts. With all the extensive financial records of both companies and balance sheet assessments, the deal looked great for smooth sailing. Catastrophically, the deal went through and contributed towards a massive failure in our financial markets that affected and crippled everyone worldwide.The private deal that once seemed so good has now become a nightmare. All of a sudden, the government has stepped in and has announced it will give twenty billion dollars in assistance from tax payer’s money. Investors and the public were shocked something of this magnitude was happening and felt betrayed, cheated and crippled. Within all the mayhem, the actions that will be evaluated come from Merrill Lynch and Bank of America and their failures to disclose pertinent financial information that would have shown greater losses than expected.United States (2009) stated the lack of transparency to investors and to the public showed that there was a negative atmosphere among them that they feared to disclose from the public. In addition to this, rumors circulated that the government had ties to this merger and flexed its power in order to make the merger happen. There were a great amount of people affected in this merger. Merrill Lynch as a company was being bought out in order to be saved financially. Merrill Lynch’s investors, shareholders and CEO, John Thain were a part of this corporation.Bank of America was the number one candidate for purchasing Merrill Lynch at the time. Bank of America’s investors, shareholders and CEO, Kenneth Lewis were all a part of this major merger. United States (2009) includes the Secretary of the Treasury, Hank Paulson and Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke were on the governmental side of this merger that apparently knew what was going on and forcefully made Bank of America buyout Merrill Lynch. This merger can also contribute to affecting the general public, global economies cross the world and the financial banking industry. As this case develops, there is uncertainty that Merrill Lynch and former CEO, John Thain, have to reveal massive amounts of losses and at one point a fourth quarter loss of fifteen billion dollars. In response, former CEO of Bank of America, Kenneth Lewis analyzes this and decides it may not be a good idea to pursue the merger. Secretively, the Fed, Paulson and Bernanke force Lewis to buy into the deal because if he doesn’t this could create a complete and total meltdown of the financial systems.Utilitarian ethics was used by considering the global economy; the government had to step in to minimize the blow as best as they could to help the greater good of society. In addition to this, there has been speculation that if Lewis hides these huge losses before the merger and reveals the m after the merger he could gain more government help in regards to the massive hit Bank of America now faces. Although the economy is in a meltdown and financial banks are getting hit harder than ever before, this merger may prove to save some of our largest financial institutions and lessen the blow of a complete loss for the global economy.On one spectrum of the scale we have the financial banks abusing high leverage investments in order to gain more money without caring about negative consequences but then on the other hand, the nation is faced with minimizing damages and saving as much as it can because in a result of total loss, the public could be in a greater state economic loss. With Merrill Lynch being saved and Bank of America taking on the bigger role of keeping afloat, Merrill Lynch now has the opportunity to be bought out and saved compared to total collapse and bankruptcy.In this case, it was a smart move for Merrill Lynch to be acquired by Bank of America and a fores eeable good in the future of the financial markets. Kenneth Lewis took the daunting task of acquiring Merrill Lynch and the bad debt expense that the company brought with it. Acquiring Merrill Lynch would provide a huge blow to Bank of America at first but restructuring and getting government help in the merger would prove to be a successful task that would provide foreseeable good in the future. Some people believe that Paulson and Bernanke used their governmental power to make this merger happen.Bank of America’s Acquisition (2009) states they forced Kenneth Lewis to buyout Merrill Lynch and if not Kenneth Lewis and the board of Bank of America would have been terminated. Although this may have been a threatening action, it was in the government’s best interest to make this merger go through or a total collapse of the financial markets would be devastating for the American population and further seep into global chaos. It is a very tough situation to assess but follo wing Utilitarianism considered the greater good of the population and this needed to be done.In addition to this, individual investors were hit very hard with the downturn of the economy. In many cases, people lost more than fifty percent of their investments which sounds terrible but comparing it to a nongovernmental bailout, those individuals would be left with nothing. In this research study, it is needed to define the severity of good and bad consequences for each individual or group that was affected in this case on a numerical grading scale. Each individual or group will be considered according to the Richard DeGeorge Utilitarian approach.The scale will be ranked from +5 being the best and -5 being the worst situation from a pleasure versus pain standpoint. Merrill Lynch being bought out by Bank of America is more of a good thing. Ranking it at +2 gives Merrill Lynch and Bank of America merger the positive side because without this merger people would be in greater amounts of trouble. Ranking a +1 for investors and shareholders of each company provides a positive side of this outcome. Although investors did lose over fifty percent of investments into the companies, this loss is better than losing everything that was invested.Other financial markets were consolidated and restructured. By getting rid of bad assets, other financial institutions could start over and reinvest in the proper markets. This was also a learning lesson for the financial industry and for them to never repeat these careless mistakes again. A rank of +3 will be given to the financial markets. Hank Paul and Ben Bernanke did prove to show excessive force in making this merger happen but only in regards to saving the U. S. economy and limiting the blow that it could’ve potentially produced.Giving the government a ranking of +2 shows they provided a better option for America and the possibility of avoiding a complete financial meltdown. Assessing our global economy by looking back at it over the past five years gives it a ranking of 0. This explains that as a country and globally, we have made minimal increases in our economy. One month says we are getting back on the right track while the next month says we are sinking deeper and deeper into recession. The economy shows a recovery in the stock arket one month but the next month there is speculation that the European markets are going to crash and take everyone with them. Living in these highly volatile times gives uncertainly and fear for most investors which hinders potential growth and recovery. After summing up all the pleasure and pain rankings, the total equals +8. This shows that amidst all the chaos, deceiving and cheating, the outcome created a positive effect that saved our economy as best as possible rather than let it sink and destroy everything.This tragic merger proves to be a morally correct standpoint regardless of the tough actions that were taken in order to achieve this outcome. No individu al cheated the system or manipulated the system in order to gain financial strength. It was in the best interest of the individual companies and the U. S. economy to keep them in tact or greater consequences could’ve occurred. Saving two of our largest banks provides us with a loss in investments but something that would be accepted rather than total and complete collapse of our financial systems.Primary Source: United States. (2009). Bank of America and Merrill Lynch: How did a private deal turn into a federal bailout? : joint hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, first session. Washington: U. S. G. P. O. Secondary Source: Bank of America’s Acquisition of Merrill Lynch: A â€Å"Shotgun Merger†?. (2009, June 16). My Bank Tracker. Retrieved August 4, 2012, from www. mybanktracker. com/news/2009/06/16/bank-of-americas-acquisition-of-merrill-l ynch-a-shotgun-merger/

Human Resource Forecasting Essay

PART 1: HUMAN RESOURCE FORECASTING Reference: Adapted from Human Resource Forecasting Assignment, pp 108 – 110 in Nkomo, S. M., Fottler, M. D., McAfee, R. B. (2008) Human Resource Management Applications: Cases, Exercises, Incidents, and Skill Builders, 6th Edition Due date: Week 9 LEARNING OBJECTIVES †¢Practice in forecasting an organisation’s people needs †¢To familiarize you with some of the factors that affect an organisation’s future people needs †¢To familiarise you with the complexities involved in making human resource forecasts †¢To point out that all human resource forecasting is based on assumptions and that these assumptions are critical to the accuracy of the forecast INSTRUCTIONS It has been a busy year with staff turnover, new employees and new equipment on order. Your CEO has requested a forecast of the human resource needs for North West Regional Hospital for the coming years. North West Regional Hospital (NWRH) is a purpose built, 180-bed inpatient facility and the largest regional hospital in the state. NWRH also has 15 outreach sites located throughout tropical, northern Australia, each of which employs approximately 17 individuals. In total, NWRH currently employs 700 people. Over the coming three years, NWRH is planning an expansion into additional regional areas and expects to add 25 new outreach sites. Each outreach site varies in size according to the needs of the community, so the figures  represent averages. During the past month, NWRH has placed an order for 3 new dialysis machines to increase its renal support services. These machines are scheduled to be in operation December 31, one year from now in existing outreach sites only. NWRH has found that for each new machine purchased requires four (4) additional nurses, on average. In addition, five (5) new doctors are added in year 2. A breakdown of NWRH’s current staffing is shown in Table 1. Your CEO has asked you to perform three human resource-forecasting tasks. First, based on the assumptions given below, you are required to determine employee turnover for the inpatient facility office, the old outreach sites, and the new outreach sites. The CEO would like to know this information for each of the next three years and for each of the major personnel categories (i.e., Doctors, Nurses, and Inpatient Facility Administration staff). Your job is to complete Table 2. Second, your CEO would like to know the number of new employees NWRH will need to hire for each major personnel category for each of the next three years. Your job is to complete Table 3. Finally, your CEO would like to know the total number of employees who will be working for NWRH as of the end of each of the next three years. Your job is to complete Table 4. Table 1: Present staffing Total Employees700 Number of outreach sites15 Doctors per outreach site5 Number of Doctors75 Nurses per outreach site12 Number of Nurses180 Outreach facility employees255 Inpatient Facility Employees445 Table 2: Turnover Employee CategoryCurrent YearYear 1Year 2Year 3 Old outreach site Doctors Old outreach site nurses Inpatient facility New outreach site Doctors New outreach site nurses TOTALS Table 3: Number of Employees to be hired Employee CategoryCurrent YearYear 1Year 2Year 3 Old outreach site Doctors Old outreach site nurses Inpatient facility New outreach site Doctors New outreach site nurses TOTALS Table 4: Year-End Employment Employee CategoryCurrent YearYear 1Year 2Year 3 Old outreach site Doctors Old outreach site nurses Inpatient facility New outreach site Doctors New outreach site nurses TOTALS In order to complete your assignment, your CEO has told you to make a number of assumptions. They are: A.You are making all projections in December for subsequent years ending December 31 B.With regard to the existing outreach offices, assume a.The 15 existing outreach offices employ 5 doctors and 12 nurses each. b.On December 31 (one year hence) 3 new dialysis machines are placed in operation and require an additional 12 nurses (4 per machine). c.On December 31 in the 2nd year, 5 new doctors are employed. d.Turnover rate is 40 percent for nursing personnel, and 20 percent for doctors. C.With regard to new outreach sites, assume a.New outreach sites are added as follows: 6 in Year 1, 10 in Year 2, and 9 in Year 3. b.Each new outreach site employs 17 individuals (5 doctors and 12 nurses). c.Turnover is 30 percent for nurses, and 20 percent for doctors. D.With regard to the inpatient facility, assume that turnover will be 15 percent per year. PART 2: WRITING JOB DESCRIPTION & RECRUITMENT ADVERTISEMENT References:Adapted from Job Analysis: Writing Job Description, pp 97-99 in Nkomo, S. M., Fottler, M. D., McAfee, R. B. (2008) Human Resource Management Applications: Cases, Exercises, Incidents, and Skill Builders, 6th Edition Note: For your presentation in Week 5, you will use one (1) Job Description to develop one (1) Advertisement to present as a group. The developed advertisement cannot be used in the Portfolio Assignment. LEARNING OBJECTIVES †¢To familiarise you with the job analysis process and with job descriptions †¢Practice in writing job descriptions †¢To make you aware of different methods for recruiting candidates and stand out from the crowd INSTRUCTIONS:Job Analysis, Writing Job Descriptions and Recruitment Advertising You are required to write three (3) job descriptions, one (1) job advertisement, and one (1) selection criteria for the Portfolio Assignment. The job advertisement should reflect one (1) selected job description (choose one (1) – doctor, nurse, and inpatient facility administrator), and the selection criteria should reflect the selected job advertisement to create a flow in your portfolio. A.Draw up a set of job descriptions for each of the (3) positions in the case (doctor, nurse, and inpatient facility administrator). You may use whatever sources you want, including interviewing people you may know in these positions or similar positions or searching relevant web sites as you want job descriptions and lists of duties that apply specifically to regional hospitals and outreach facilities. The Job Analysis Questionnaire (below) can be used as a guide to help determine the major responsibilities and tasks of the job and the required knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal characteristics needed to perform the job. Remember to write the job description using action verbs when describing the employee’s tasks, duties, and responsibilities. It is also important that specific duties be grouped and arranged in descending order of importance. The complete job description should follow the format shown in sample provided (below). B.Choose (1) job description to draft one (1) job advertisement, to attract the right people to apply for that position. Write the advertisement as if it will appear on an online employment agency (e.g. seek.com). It will need to stand out amongst the many thousands of other positions being advertised. Job Analysis Questionnaire A.Job Responsibilities and Duties a.Job title b.Department title and/or division title c.Title of immediate supervisor d.Description of duties (describe the duties in enough details to provide a complete and accurate description of the work) i.Provide a general overall summary of the purpose of your job ii.What are the major results or outputs of your job? iii.Describe the duties and tasks you perform daily; weekly; monthly. iv.Describe duties you perform irregularly. e.List any machines, instruments, tools, machine, materials, and work aids used in your job. Indicate percent of time used. f.Describe the nature of your responsibility for nonhuman resources (money, machinery, machine and so on). What monetary loss can occur through an error? g.What reports and records do you prepare as part of your job? When are they prepared? h.What is the source of instructions for performing your job (e.g. oral or written specifications)? i.Describe the nature and frequency of supervision received. j.How is your work reviewed, checked, or verified? B.Reporting Relationships a.How many employees are directly under your supervision? What are their job titles? b.Do you have full authority to hire, terminate, evaluate and transfer employees under your supervision? Explain. c.What contacts are required with other departments or persons other than you immediate department in performing you job? Describe the nature and extent of the contacts. C.Working Conditions a.Describe the working conditions present in the location and environment of your work such as cold/heat, noise, fumes, dust, and so on. Indicate frequency and degree of exposure b.Describe any dangers or hazards present in your job. D. Job Qualifications (Be certain not to list the incumbent qualifications, but what is required for performance by a new employee). a.Describe the  kind of previous work experience necessary for satisfactory performance of this job. b.What is the amount of experience required? c.What kinds of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) are needed to perform the job? d.What is the minimal level of education (grammar, high school, degree etc.) required? e.Are any special physical skills and/or manual dexterity skills required to perform the job? f.Are there any special certification, registration, license, or training requirements? Sample Job Description Job Title: Shift Supervisor (Mining) Position Purpose: The purpose of this position is to maintain a safe and efficient plant operation through directing the activities of the operation’s personnel and providing a management support function for the plant superintendent. Typical Job Duties: 1.Directs the activities of the operations personnel and coordinates the activities of the maintenance personnel. 2.Issues written communication to employees concerning personnel policies and operational concerns. 3.Administers a maintenance request program through collecting requests, scheduling, and recording maintenance activities. 4.Administers the plant tagging procedure. 5.Conducts the training and safety programs for shift employees. 6.Schedules shift assignments to reflect workload and vacation schedules. 7.Performs administrative tasks such as recording workers’ time, maintaining records concerning operational activities, and updating written procedures. 8.Prepares annual budget for assigned plan area and maintains the inventory level on these items. 9.Appraise performance of shift employees annually 10.Counsels employees on disciplinary problems and job-related performance. 11.Assumes plant superintendent’s duties when assigned. Physical Requirements: walking and climbing stairs Working conditions: Remote locations; secure fully furnished housing is provided. Quarterly rotations between locations are available. Four day rotating roster with morning, afternoon and night shifts. Machine and Machines Used: CRT, spectrometer, PH metre, conductivity metre Reporting Relationships: The shift supervisor reports directly to the plant superintendent. The shift supervisor directs the control room operator, two or more utility operators, trainees, and other assigned personnel, and coordinates the activities of the maintenance personnel present on shift. Qualifications: Education: Associate degree or equivalent training (e.g. management training classes) OR five (5) years of management experience Related Experience: Minimum of three (3) years as a control room operator for a coal-fired boiler operation. Job Knowledge/Skills Required: 1.Comprehensive understanding of plant systems. 2.Fundamental understanding of electrical systems and motor control centres. 3.Thorough knowledge of boiler chemistry. 4.Comprehension of flow, logic, and electrical prints. 5.Ability to perform elementary mathematical and algebraic calculations. 6.Communication and human relations skills. 7.Ability to operate CRT, spectrometer, PH metre, and conductivity metre. 8.Managerial skills. PART 3: WRITING SELECTION CRITERIA References: Adapted from Selection Decisions, pp 131-138 in Nkomo, S. M., Fottler, M. D., McAfee, R. B. (2008) Human Resource Management Applications: Cases, Exercises, Incidents, and Skill Builders, 6th Edition Selection Criteria adapted from Practical Exercises: Graduate trainee  selection at Yarra Bank, pp 269–271 in Stone, R. J. (2010) Managing Human Resources, 3rd Edition LEARNING OBJECTIVES †¢To help you develop skills in developing selection criteria and evaluation measures †¢To make you aware of the complex criteria often used to select candidates †¢To help you develop skills in planning and implementing semi-structured interviews †¢To give you practice in preparing for the selection interview INSTRUCTIONS:Selection Criteria Using the job description, you chose for the job advertisement: 1.Develop a list of key selection criteria for an upcoming vacancy in this position in terms of experience, qualifications, skills/abilities, personal qualities and special requirements (see template below). 2.Outline how you would evaluate the candidates on each criterion. What questions would you ask? 3.Identify your interview selection panel. Indicate the number of people to be on the panel, the positions that they hold and provide a brief explanation of why they are required on the panel. Key selection criteria Experience: What type of and how much experience is required to perform this job successfully? Qualifications: What are the minimum formal educational qualifications required to perform this job successfully? Skills/Abilities: What special skills and/or abilities and knowledge are required to perform this job successfully? Personal Qualities: What special personal qualities (physical characteristics and personality  characteristics) are required to perform this job successfully? Special requirements: What special requirements are required to perform this job successfully?

Language Awareness[ 10th edition] Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Language Awareness[ 10th edition] - Assignment Example It is a negative word and should be left at that, as it has a significance that should not be forgotten. Since the true meaning of the term is founded in racism, it should not be plucked from its role and meaning, in an effort to render it impotent. Suppressing the word and restraining it in the confines of racist conduct continues to give the word social significance and a place in history from which today’s generation can learn of the progress made by society (Asim, 2007). Although efforts of making the term impotent have been made by various entities, due to the historical significance of the word, such efforts remain unsuccessful. The word can only be made impotent by restricting its use to history, where it played a specific role (Asim, 2007). Not using the word in today’s setting to try and change its meaning only serves as a reminder of past history and the tension that existed between the white and black community, since the word tags more than mere

Design and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Design and Technology - Essay Example I will accomplish this survey by walking around the bank and interviewing those related to my area of concern. For instance, the head of banking security in your facility may help me answer a few questions. Those in charge of monitoring surveillance facilities will also be interviewed. Entrance guards will also be important in this survey by answering a few questions regarding their place of operation. I recognize that banking security is a critical area of study. Because the security of the bank forms the basis of operating the bank in this locality. Compromising the security of this facility may lead to a failure of the whole banking system. Due to this proper care will be exercised during this study. All information obtained from this survey shall be kept confidential. I will ensure that the data obtained from this survey is restricted to class use and no other malicious use. I will not discuss or share your bank information with any third party as this is likely to compromise the security of your bank. The Bank of Kentucky definitely is among the largest commercial banks in the region. The bank has a sole aim of providing the best financial services to each customer they serve each day. Over time, the bank has grown attaining its targeted 100000th deposit account in 2010. The bank is celebrating over 20 years of service since it first started receiving deposits from its customers. The services offered by this bank include saving accounts, fixed deposits accounts, lending services, foreign exchange among other banking and financial services.

Media Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media Law - Case Study Example Sullivan a policeman from Montgomery, Alabama, sued New York Times for alleged untrue facts about him in the ad of New York Times. Alleged false information consisted of several minor inaccurate details about the protests at Alabama State College. Most of them were of minor character (for instance the names of songs were confused or some other minor facts were stated). Supreme Court found that newspaper really misrepresented some facts, yet it nevertheless held that public official who sued for the damages must prove first of all, that untrue information was intentionally presented as such or that no attempt was actually made to find out whether this information was false or untrue and thus gross neglect to the verification of the truth occurred. However, in the opinion of the Court no such intentions were evident in the actions of New York Times, and thus the case of the Sullivan collapsed. 1 However, is Sullivan defense present in current libel laws of the United Kingdom In order to answer this question one has to study the law that regulates libel and defamatory. Let us consider the most important features of UK libel law. First of all, one should distinguish between slander and libel. ... Libel is the statement in print; whereas slander is statement in spoken form (however statement made by radio and TV broadcasters or by some performers can be regarded as libel as well). Libel can b presented in any form, it can be written on bulletin boards, websites and emails 2. As far as the broadcasting is concerned, defamatory statements are regulated by Broadcasting Act of 1990 3, and this act protects broadcasters especially if they make true, honest statements without malice. However, the broadcasting is a unique type of media, as the sound as well as visual materials is transmitted, and a broadcaster might wrongfully point out, or give the impression that they target some persons or companies. As the result of it some people may believe that they were especially targeted and singled out whereas they were not Also some allegations in defamation can be made when particular text can be on top of some pictures that might induce persons to make some conclusions about particular person or event. 2 Libel, 3 Broadcast The same pertains to the radio that can mix music with particular text and thus can give particular impression about the event or another person. 4 If the statements induce person to evince hatred toward particular individual, might entail isolation of the person mentioned (the person can be avoided by some group of people as the result of the libel), damage his reputation and entail some financial difficulties or losses either for business or some groups of people, then the statements can be denoted as defamatory ones5. However, if the statements might induce people to hate or consider with contempt Royal family, Government,

Paper on the social structural theories then break it down into the Research

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FREEDOM WRITER'S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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A Case Study Analysis, Focusing Upon 360 Degree Performance Appraisal Essay

A Case Study Analysis, Focusing Upon 360 Degree Performance Appraisal within IKH ZASAG University of Mongolia - Essay Example They feel that owing to the obsolete nature of the appraisal system their performance appraisals would not be done in a perfect manner. Thus it is increasingly felt that a modern system of appraisal like the 360 degree appraisal systems should be put in place which would help in satisfying the needs of the employees.The context of the research was based on the employee circle of a state run University of Mongolia, The IKH ZASAG University. This University holds its pride in reflecting the ancient Mongolian culture as maintained by the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan. The 360 degree appraisal system is used in this context to understand the mindset of the superiors towards their employees and subordinate groups. Similarly the appraisal system also appraises the superior’s work and performance based on the views rendered by the subordinates. Another added feature of the 360 degree appraisal system is the conducting of the appraisal of the employees based on the views of the external stakeholders like customers. Herein, being an educational institution the academic and non-academic employees’ performances are appraised based on the views of students and their parents. Thus both the management and the employees feel satisfied by the overall process of appraisal conducted by the 360 degree appraisal systems. ... .....18-38 Analysis and Discussions............................................................................38-53 Conclusions and Recommendations...........................................................53-54 Appendices.................................................................................................55-71 Bibliography.................................................................................................72-76 LIST OF TABLES Table Pages 1 The Phases of The Research Investigation 15 2 Usage of 360 Degree Performance Appraisal System 33-34 LIST OF FIGURES 1 Graph Showing Subordinates’ Responses in Regards to Shouldering the Right Responsibility Page: 40 2 Graph Showing Subordinates’ Responses Received in regards to Frequency of Happening of Training and Induction Programs Page: 41 3 Graph Showing Percentage of Subordinates’ Responses Received in regards to the Frequency of receiving Rewards and Criticism Page 42 4 Graph Showing the Rate o f Subordinates’ Responses Received in regards to the Rate of Growth Opportunities Received by Employees Page 43 5 Graph Showing the Rate of Subordinates’ Responses in Regards to the Frequency of Appraisal Activities Conducted Based on 360 Degree Appraisal System Page 44 6 Graph Showing Superior’s Responses in Regards to Shouldering the Right Responsibility Page 45 7 Graph Showing Superior’s Responses Received in regards to Frequency of Happening of Training and Induction Programs Page 46 8 Graph Showing Percentage of Superior’s Responses Received in regards to the Frequency of receiving Rewards and Criticism Page 47 9 Graph Showing the Rate of Superior’s Responses in Regards to the Frequency of Appraisal Activities Conducted Based on 360 Degree Appraisal System Page 48 10 Graph Showing the

Discovering Management Thought Leaders - Andrew Kakabadse Essay

Discovering Management Thought Leaders - Andrew Kakabadse - Essay Example ict approach to governance practice, boardroom effectiveness and research work has contributed widely to his success, achievements and excellent reputation. According to Wall Street Journal, in support of the Harvard Business Review, Kakabadse features in the top fifty executive researchers and educators, who specializes in interpersonal skills, particularly on issues related to governance practices, international relations and leadership (Kakabadse, Bank & Vinnicombe 2004). According to Kakabadse, Bank & Vinnicombe (2004), what separate Kakabadse from other instructors, educators or professors are based on priority, interest and the mode with which he disseminate his services, which inherently include teaching, writing and proper research on top teams and boards. In addition, much as other instructors would be over emphasizing on payment before delivering their services to their clients, for instance charging the clients according to duration and amount of service they provide to the clients, Kakabadse would put his results before the payment (Kakabadse & Korac, 1998). This implies that he would not ask for payment if he has not registered a positive impact or result to his clients. Another feature, distinguishing Kakabades from other thinkers, is his peculiar understanding of the issues related to board research and the concept surrounding the international practices and the governance practices. Unlike other educators, Kakabadse view research and international relation not as a brief interaction but rather as a lasting obligation to generate exemplary results to the boards and their team, and to establish how the boards are viewed, including positive feedback, which can be assimilated into his more than 20 global databases. Moreover, Kakabadse, through out his working, has maintained hyperactive and relentlessly positive character, a trait which has made him outsmart other thinkers in the same line of activity (Kakabadse, Bank & Vinnicombe 2004). This

Managing Change in Organisations - Improved HR onboarding process Essay Example for Free

Managing Change in Organisations Improved HR onboarding process Essay The main goal of this change initiative is to improve the financial results of the company by improving the engagement and performance of the new HR employees at Mars, Inc. It’s aimed to be achieved by introducing a new, globally aligned, best-in-class 1-year-long induction process with supporting tools and learning events. The target group of new HR associates1 includes those who joined HR at Mars less than 12 month ago, either from externally (from other company) or internally (from other department). As Mars,Inc. is a large family-owned business with over 100 years of history and globally well known brands. It has unique and mature company culture which is driven by its 5 principles: Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Effectiveness and Freedom. These principles drive the behaviour of the employees at all level of the hierarchy and have been shaping the characteristics of the organisation. Mars, Inc. fits well to ‘elaboration of structure phase’ (Granier 1972) of the organisational life-cycle: the company is led by a team of professional managers and is very much decentralised with a small headquarter. The business units of the countries therefore enjoy a lot of freedom and responsibility to drive the local business effectively. This approach reflects also in the way they shape the processes within the company: the global process standards are mainly just broadly defined with limited (if any) written documentation about them, which lets the local teams shape it and use it as best fits to their needs. As it has the advantage to allow tailor-made solutions to best assist local business objectives, it also has disadvantages. It is not uncommon that extra local resources are needed to shape the process, and when the process has changed too much, it becomes difficult to compare the practices and results of different units. It also often happens that local units come up with very similar best practices after investing significant resources locally in process development, which resources could have been reduced if globally – or at least regionally – someone would have co-ordinated these development initiatives. As part of the company culture, Mars, Inc. refers to employees as associates, therefore in my paper I will use both terms to reflect the same concept. Realising the potential of this kind of centralisation led the business leaders to setting up global functional centres of expertise, like the Mars University (Mars U) is for learning and development within Mars, Inc. The Mars U is responsible for designing and deploying world-class learning programs, which enable the competency building of employees, so they can achieve their full potential in contributing to the business to achieve its goals. It has matrix structure and its smaller teams are set up by functions (named â€Å"Colleges† of HR, finance, supply, etc.), regions (they coordinate the deployment of functional development programs in a region) and special learning and development related areas (like learning technology). Mars U therefore faces the challenge of balancing between centralisation and decentralisation by providing centrally defined and globally aligned learning solutions in a matrix organisation with decentralised leadership. That is the same challenge in case of the new induction process initiative. In the near past an introductory training program existed for new HR employees, which was similar in all the regions, but inconsistent in content, so it gave a lot of space for local solutions to flower. Moving from this decentralised approach to a more centralised one may cause push backs from the associates in these local units, thus careful change management is essential. Nature of change By assessing the nature of change based on the description above, this change can be categorised with the terms of Ackerman (1997) as ‘transitional’ as the intention is to â€Å"achieve () a desired state† by setting up a globally aligned world-class induction process for new HR associates, which is a significant difference from the current decentralised approach. One can argue whether it is not defined as ‘transformational change’ as it can result a difference in an organisational process and change in the culture, but as it won’t change fundamentally neither areas, the definition of ‘transitional change’ fits better in this case. To give a full picture about the nature of change, it need to be emphasised that after finishing this particular change project, the change itself will not stop, it will continue as ‘developmental change’ by continuously improving the set up induction process. From another perspective, using the categories of Mintzberg and Waters (1985) this change initiative can be identified as ‘determined’ or planned change as the goal, that need to be achieved, is clearly set, as well as the process how to get there. It does not mean though, that ‘emergent’ changes will not come up during the project, as it may happen that a locally designed induction process which works well will have an improving effect on the globally designed process and tools to ensure the implementation of the best possible practices. Drivers of the change This change initiative has mainly internal triggers. First and foremost, improve the productivity of every new HR associates by providing them all the essential knowledge, competencies and network they need in their new role. Improving their engagement level is also an important trigger, as engaged associates have usually better performance and they less likely to leave the business (Buckingham and Coffman, 2005). In case of HR department, better performance of associates, among other things, could lead to better internal and external customer satisfaction or decrease of costs by effective ways of working, while improved retention cut the costs and time invested in recruitment and training of a new employee. Although the internal triggers are more relevant in this case, the external drivers also need to be mentioned. Mars, Inc. had several acquisitions in the last few years which led to an incoherent culture in the different business segments. To enable exchangeability of human resources and best practices, setting up centrally aligned processes is a key. Also, considering that Mars, Inc. operates in a quickly changing market (FMCG), being innovative and best-in-class in its processes could ensure competitive advantage and retention of employees. Nonetheless, the change needs to be done in a global environment fitting to the expectations of different cultures in different regions. Key Stakeholders As in case of most major changes in an organisation, winning the support of top level management is essential. In this case the management means the Global HR Leadership Team of Mars, Inc. who also plays the role of sponsor of the project and expected to play a key role by being role model in using the new induction process. Their influence is very high as they could stop or change this initiative any time. Their attitude toward the change to be expected very positive, still, contracting with them is critical as many priority projects are currently going on in the business so need to ensure proper focus. Driving the change process requires change agents to ensure smooth implementation: the Mars U associates in the regions and other (local) learning or talent development specialists. As the project aligns well with their general purpose of their roles – to improve associates capabilities, – their attitude is expected to be positive. As they will play the role of connecting the project leaders with associates in their regions or units, their influence is also very high, but mainly only in their area of responsibility. The communication and deployment of the change will focus mainly on the HR managers as they will be the most affected by the change, as they need to change their ways of working the most. Thus, 5 their attitude can be either positive or negative depending how valuable the new process seems to them. Their influence can be high in the area of their responsibility – so the more senior the manager is the higher is the influence. Also important stakeholders, but less influential, are the new HR associates. The new process is all about them, but from change management perspective they play a smaller role, as their attitude to be expected very positive. In any case, careful communication toward them needs to be planned to ensure their full involvement in the process and gain feedback from them to identify potential areas for improvements. There are also some other key stakeholders, like the trainers of the courses, whose contribution to the success can be very important, but as they are interchangeable in the roles, their influence on the process can be categorised as moderate. Furthermore, there are some other subject matter experts (e.g. learning technology or global communication specialists), who will be involved during the design and communication phases, but their influence is rather small and their attitude is expected to be supportive. Management objectives To summarise the main objective, the goal is to implement in all business segments and units of Mars, Inc. a newly designed, globally aligned, efficient and engaging functional induction process with its supporting tools (guides and learning modules) for every new HR employees, which supports their development in the first 12 months after joining in their new role and covers the essential Mars specific knowledge and provides network needed for achieving high performance. The new process and tools should be used by mid of 2013 in all business units. Task 2 For a successful change project it’s not only important to see where we would like to go, but to be able to define how we will get there, we need a careful and detailed analysis on where we are at the moment. Besides a general process overview in the organisation (e.g. by the support of models like ‘McKinsey 7S’ (Waterman et al. 1980) or ‘Burke-Litwin Causal model’ (Burke Litwin, 1992)), we also need to understand why do we have the problem in our organisation. For this we may use problem analysis models, like the ‘Fishbone diagram’ or the ‘5 Whys?’ (Taiichi 1988) model. Input-Transformation-Output model To better understand the functional induction process, by the ‘Input-Transformation-Output model’ (RDI, 2012a) the main elements can be summarised visually: This model can support the planning process in several ways. It is easier for the change leaders to identify the key stakeholders (see the detailed stakeholder analysis above), to keep objectives always in mind and focus on the processes which need to be changed in order to be able to achieve the desired output. Furthermore, it gives a great overview about who shall be involved in reviewing and developing the process by providing feedback before, during and after the change. Nonetheless, it is essential to be clear on both the transformed and transforming resources required for the whole process to avoid disturbance due to the lack of them. Cause-and-Effect Analysis After having a broader overview of the issue, before taking any actions, a thorough problem analysis is a must. Even though having an initial idea about what can improve the current situation, in a complex organisation with a huge overall impact of the topic, the change leader need to ensure addressing the right issues and providing the right solutions based on that. In defining all the relevant causes of a problem can help the Cause-and-Effect Analysis (Ishikawa, 1968) or Fishbone diagram. In case of our described example, the model looks like this: After defining the list of important causes, the major ones to be selected by the analysing team then the potential actions can be planned. When it’s presented to the management team, their duty is then to decide on which topics to focus on the actions. In this example case, a globally aligned process with supporting tools and metrics are very much missing. When it’s designed and ready to be deployed, then these should be available to all HR managers to be able to drive the induction processes locally and measure their own efficiency. Plan the change After the green light of the management team concerning the project initiative, can start the proper, detailed planning: the development of the change strategy, in which the desired outcome, key actions, milestones, action owners and resources needs are defined. Winning the commitment of the key stakeholders also need to be carefully planned with a supporting communication plan. As unexpected situations are likely to disturb the planned flow of actions, to minimise the potential disturbance, a risk analysis in advance of doing actions can help the project management team to prepare for these scenarios or totally avoid them. Also, a continuous review of the change project is highly recommended to ensure the project execution is on track to achieve the project goal (see the 8 potential feedback sources in the Input-Output model) – this also can be part of the change strategy plan. The next step is then to execute the plan. When unexpected situations happen, continuous adjustments of the plan may be required to ensure proper improvement and keep the progress to achieve the final goal. After all planned actions are executed, the project leader should control that the project goal has been achieved as defined. If no, the project still continues. If yes, the project shall be formally closed with the involvement of the project sponsors and the success should be feed back to the key stakeholders. Task 3 Business Process Transformation Although Mars, Inc. in this situation chose to go on with a change project concentrating on only one function (HR) to improve its induction process, using the Business Process Transformation (BPT), i.e. Business Process Re-engineering model could have led to better results. By talking generally about the BPT model, one can say that improving the customer engagement and cutting the operational costs by improving and simplifying processes (cross-functional) within the company, is in the heart of this approach (Hammer 1990). Let use the definition of re-engineering by Hammer and Champy (1993) to show the key characteristics of this model: the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary modern measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed. This approach is one of the favourites currently in change management, as it promises â€Å"dramatic improvements† in business performance and customer satisfaction, even though it has its own challenges. The most important is that it requires a holistic view from the business leaders to face the issues within an organisation. It needs broad perspective to be able to come out of functional silos and to view the process as a whole, from the very beginning till the very end. If the change project happens only within a single function, there is high probability of missing some important opportunities of improvement. By using the example of Mars, a cross-functional approach could lead to a different, although very thorough solution – like implementing a standardised, world-class induction experience in every part of the company, during which the new employees can learn the most important functional and business knowledge to best support the customer focused processes. Based on its holistic view, the BPT approach requires more complexity from change management perspective as well as total alignment and drive from the top management team. The process improvement strategy should be aligned with the vision, mission and business strategy of the company, while the desired behaviours and key performance indicators should be also clearly defined and communicated to support the process and the measure of success (RDI 2012b). The process improvement initiative should start with a company-wide analysis of the current situation, keeping in mind not only how the processes can be simplified, but also what could be the benefits for the customers by the change initiative. The analysis then will be followed by the definition of the detailed plan: to where and how the company would like to get. To achieve great improvement in company results, increasing the amount of invested efforts and resources and high risk taking is unavoidable – although most probably in mid- and long-term the investment of these extra resources will pay. All these mentioned characteristics of the model lead to the fact that this model can’t be used without a heavy top down and centralised approach due to its holistic nature and complexity. Starting a process improvement initiative from any other level of the organisation without the full support and involvement of the company top leaders can lead to only a temporary and restricted (to a region or function) solution. Managing the implementation of the change at Mars, Inc. Although the change project defined by Mars also intends to improve the measures mentioned in the re-engineering definition, the main difference lies in the adjectives used by the authors: dramatic, fundamental and radical. So in this case we can’t really talk about BPT approach, as it would rather mean taking the whole on-boarding and induction process in all functions of the company and use that to work on, even though it could be very beneficial for the company. Also, without winning the top management support for a holistic change approach, the project leader of this initiative better use a general Change management (RDI 2012c), or preferably, the Total Quality Management (TQM) 2 methodology with using some holistic OD models – like the ‘Burke-Litwin model’ (Burke Litwin 1992) or the ‘McKinsey 7S model’ (Waterman et al. 1980) – for analysing the potential areas of change interventions. Definition of TQM by Kanji (1990): â€Å"TQM is the way of life of an organization committed to customer satisfaction through continuous improvement. This way of life varies from organisation to organisation and from one country to another but has certain principles which can be implemented to secure market share, increase profits and reduce costs.† The principles of the TQM approach fits well to the culture of Mars, Inc. by focusing on continuous improvement opportunities, on customer needs and motivating employees at all level of the organisation to take part of this and drive innovations. It also reflects in all of the 5 principles of the company3. The management style also resonates well with the principles of TQM, as it engages the collaborative company culture with empowering and motivating the employees to drive continuous improvement for achieving better quality in everything within the business. Although a lot of things fit well to use this model for the change case at Mars, to fully benefit of the TQM methodology, the project leader and the participants shall be skilled to use all its principles to achieve the best possible result, which is currently not yet the case. Task 4 Measure of Success – Processes There are certain elements of the change process, which we can check and measure during and after the project to evaluate the success. Firstly, it is inevitable to set with involvement and communicate to the key stakeholders a clear vision, a well defined ‘S.M.A.R.T. objective’ (Doran, 1981) and some key performance indicators regarding the desired end result of the change initiative. Additionally, it is also important element of the second success factor, which is the level of commitment to the change of the key stakeholders. During the implementation phase, the success of the process can be measured at the key milestones: whether they were achieved on time by providing good quality results within the allocated resource limits. In this phase, the ability of flexible to any disturbance and opportunities through the process is also essential, to keep or even improve the result quality of the change, or to use less resources to achieve the original goal. It may be measured by reaction the quickness of the response or the amount of extra resources needed to keep the good progress. In connection to this, reviewing the key challenges and capturing the lessons learnt for the future also shows the efficiency of the process. Last, but not least, a clear project closure can also indicate how well the project went. Measure of Success – Outcomes If we have a closer look on the change initiative of Mars, Inc., the desired outcome which we wish to measure lies in the main objective4. The company’s main goal is to improve the efficiency and Quality, Mutuality, Responsibility, Effectiveness and Freedom For details see the Management Objective paragraph performance of the new HR employees. As HR is a support department with less direct impact on financial results and the quality of end products than other areas in the business, measuring these goals may be difficult, especially if we need to focus on only the new employee. So it’s advised to define other measures, like the individual performance or future career potential of the new employee, which can be measured by the company globally standardized performance evaluation system. Although the improved employee performance is difficult to be described with exact figures, we can also use historical data to compare the past and the present, and measure factors which can influence performance (e.g. the Line Manager’s evaluation of the performance or the engagement level of the new associate). Besides the employee performance, the efficiency of the new process shall be measured as well (e.g. could we involve everybody we intended to use the new process). Furthermore, as in case of all change projects, defining the return on investment can show the level of success. For example the cost of resource investment of the change project may be compared with the amount of money were saved by better retention of the new associates. By measuring the outcome of a new process we also need to investigate the resource needs of sustaining the process efficiently on long term. 1References: Ackerman, L., 1997, Development, transition or transformation: the question of change in organisations. In: Van Eynde, D., Hoy, J and Van Eynde, D (eds) Organisation Development Classics. San Francisco, Jossey Bass. Buckingham, M. and Coffman, C., 2005. First, Break All The Rules: What the Worlds Great Managers Do Differently. Simon Schuster. Burke, W. W. and Litwin, G. H., 1992. A causal model of organizational performance and change. Journal of Management, 18 (3), 523-545. Doran, G. T., 1981. Theres a S.M.A.R.T. way to write managements goals and objectives. Management Review, Volume 70, Issue 11, pp. 35-36.

Depression: Neurobiological and Neuropsychological Models

Depression: Neurobiological and Neuropsychological Models A correlation of Neurobiological and Neuropsychological cognitive model toward Depression Abstract Depression is a chronic illness that has stirred centuries of debate regarding its mechanism. Notwithstanding the sharp contrast among theories that have been proposed to explain the underlying source of depression from different perspectives, all of them accept the fact that it affects body, mood and even thoughts of individuals and as World Health organization predicted, it is expected to be the second mental disorder by 2020. The most compelling models regarding the source of depression and its treatment in this realm are Monoamine model and cognitive model. Monoamine model claims that depression has a biological source and it is caused by neurochemical imbalance in individuals, whereas base on cognitive model impaired information processing and negative biases are the key factors in the development of depression. The present paper attempts to assert the missing point in each of these theories and propose an explanation about the mechanism and treatment from two similar perspectiv es: Cognitive Neurobiological and Cognitive Neuropsychological, which work as a combination of Monoamine and Cognitive model. Both of these models categorize biases based on two pathways: Bottom- Up and Top- Down processing. With the help of cognitive Neuropsychological model, it is shown how negative affective processing can be the main core of depression, while Neurobiological model will show how hyper activation and hypo activation in different brain regions can develop depression. Therefore, a correlation of both models can explain underlying source of depression and thus can be used for modifying depression symptoms. Definition: Depression is a universal mental disorder that has been growing at an alarming rate. It will be the second mental disorder by 2020; most people will be affected by depression in their lives either directly or indirectly, through a friend or family member. It is a severe and even painful disorder that will influence almost all aspects of sufferer’s life. Most people misdiagnose depression as feeling down, but depression is not a sign of weakness and is not the same as passing blue mood. According to UK medical reference, depression will be identified and categorized base on its symptoms, which is called ICD10 clinical criteria of depression and depends on the number of symptoms, types of depression, can be diagnosed. Symptoms are: Persistent sadness or low mood Loss of interests or pleasure Fatigue or low energy Disturbed sleep Poor concentration or indecisiveness Low self-confidence Poor or increased appetite Suicidal thoughts or acts Agitation or slowing of movements Guilt or self-blame If an individual suffer from 4 of these symptoms most of the time for at least 2 weeks, he/she will be diagnosed with mild depression, and with 5 to 6 of symptoms he/she suffer from moderate depression and in dangerous cases or severe depression, depressed person has more than 6 symptoms. Models of depression: A significant number of studies have been trying to reveal the mechanism of depression from different perspectives. Among the biologically based theories, the most reliable model that arguing reasonably about underlying source of depression and proposing acceptable treatment is Monoamine model. Monoamines are neurotransmitters and neuromodulators that include serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. The basic concept is that neurotransmitter imbalance within the brain is the main core of depression and neurotransmitters can be balanced again by using antidepressant medication. Type of antidepressant medication depends on severity of symptoms; for patients suffering from dysphoria (low mood) SSRIs or norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors can be used, while anhedonia patients (ones with the loss of energy and enjoyment of life) should be treated with norepinephrine and dopamine enhancing drugs (SNRIs). Despite their immediate effects at the synaptic level, in approximately 40 % of the cases, they are ineffective in the short time and 30% of patients will suffer from depression within 12 months after recovery. This result suggests that depression is not only the cause of chemical imbalance and psychological factors play an important role in its development. On the other hand, the most prominent and empirically based model of psychological factors of depression is cognitive model proposed by Aaron Beck in 1976. This model claims that negative affective biases, which are negative biases in perception, attention, emotional processing, thoughts and rumination and even memory, will affect individual’s information processing and lack of cognitive control over these negative biases are the main cores of depression. According to this model, depressed people are likely to experience different phenomena such as: negative cognitive triad, think negatively about themselves, their future and even the world; positive blockade, blocking positive information, inhi bitory deficits, inability to disengage from negative stimuli. The model defined depression like an infinite loop, which receive feedback from its components: Figure 1: cognitive model of depression Beck claimed that by the help of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and behavioral activation therapy (BA) negative biases and negative schemata of depressed people can be modified, however the reality was far from his thought and CBT and BA failed to cure depression, therefore scientists try to find a better explanation and treatment. Based on Beck’s cognitive model, two models have been proposed by researchers: Cognitive Neurobiological and Cognitive Neuropsychological model, which are built on the assumption that negative bottom-up and top-down biases are vital in development of depression. Cognitive neuropsychological model: This model was proposed in 2011 and is a combination of Monoamine model and Cognitive model. From neuropsychological perspective environmental factors, genetic factors and personality can change the function of monoamine neurotransmitters; this neurotransmitter imbalance causes negative affective processing biases, which is the impairment of information processing especially in emotional and reward processing and play the main role in development and treatment of depression; and finally the negative affective processing will cause negative schemata in depressed people. In comparison to healthy individuals, who process information in positive way, in depressed people the negative affective processing will change this automatic process more negatively. The difference between Neuropsychological model and cognitive model is in the formation of negative schemata; based on cognitive model negative schemata are a result of early hostile life experience and they influencing the information processing, while cognitive psychological model claims that negative schemata are not the direct result of life experience, instead they are caused by negative information processing biases. Neuropsychological model categorized negative biases proposed by cognitive model into two groups: Bottom- up biases and Top-down biases. Bottom-up biases: Negative biases that give rise to formation of negative schemata are called bottom-up biases and consist of perceptual biases especially negative emotional perception, negative thoughts and rumination and reward- punishment processing biases. Generally, healthy individual perceive positive information or less negative information from environment, while depression makes sufferers to perceive more negative information from a stimulus faster and filter out the positive information. In a study done by Persad and Polivy in 1993, they observed individuals with depression have difficulty when they were shown facial emotion; paucity in identification, perception and even sensation of facial emotion was common in these patients. A series of experiments were conducted as a support for this finding and in nearly all of them biases toward negative part of stimuli is reported. For example in another study, researchers found a reduced sensitivity toward happy faces, but an extreme sensitivity to sad faces. There is also neuroimaging evidence that support their result. There is a known pathway in perceiving information, which consists of Thalamus (responsible for the distribution of afferent signals), the Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (region that relays top-down cognitive control from the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex) and the Subgenual Cingulate Cortex (a region that integrates emotional feedback from the limbic system and projects to higher-order cognitive structures). Information from environment will pass through this pathway from Thalamus to Amygdala, which is responsible for detecting emotion and finally with the help of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Amygdala activity will be controlled in order to not to perceive only negative information. Depressed individuals seem to have a longer and more intense Thalamus and Amygdala activity as a response to negative stimuli. They also showed greater activity in Subgenual Cingulate Cortex, which is a region connecting limbi c activity to higher cortical level (Prefrontal Cortex), whereas regions that are responsible for cognitive control, Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Anterior Cingulate Cortex, showed a reduction in perceptional processing, which means less cognitive control over Amygdala and Thalamus, therefore more negative stimuli will be perceived. Figure 2: negative perceptional biases How we perceive emotion will determine how we think about our environmental events and ourselves. As currently said, depression will induce perception and as a result will alter individual’s thoughts in a negative way. Since Individuals are more likely to discern negative information, it is highly probable that their life events, especially ones that are related to their failure, determine their perspective toward themselves; they suffer from lack of self-steem, since they think they are useless, which gradually will cause more negative perception and more negative thoughts. This situation is like an infinite loop and is called rumination. Different brain regions involve in this process, which again prove lack of cognitive control in depression. As previously discussed, hyperactivity in the Amygdala and Hippocampus increase activity of Subgenual Cingulate Cortex (SCC), which is a connection between lower structural and cognitive part of brain and higher ones, therefore, Medial Prefrontal cortex (MPFC), a specific region that is in charge for internal representation of self, will be activated as a response negative information that is received from SCC. Beside the hyperactivation in these parts, there is hypoactivation in higher levels, especially in Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex, cognitive control regions; this reduction causes less control over Amygdala and Hippocampus and result in more negative perceptuational biases. Figure 3: negative thoughts and rumination After this finding researchers went further and tried to determine how depression affects the reward and punishment process. Interestingly they indicate an exaggeration in negative performance feedback, while a reduction in reward seeking behavior. Neuroimaging evidence revealed an increased activity in the Amygdala as a response to negative situation and decrease activation in the Amygdala, Striatal regions, prefrontal cortex, Nuscleus Accumbens and Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex as a response to reward. This evidence supports the claim that was made earlier with respect to impairment cognitive control in depressed individuals. Top-down biases: These types of biases are negative biases that bolster the existence of depressive state and are composed of emotional attention and emotional memory. Not all the information we perceive from environment will be processed; only those that are attended will be selected for further processing. This selecting process in healthy individual is more in favor of positive stimuli, which means greater Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) activity when they successfully inhibit attention to positive stimuli, while in depressed individual this area cannot be activated in response to positive stimuli and are unable them to disengage their attention from negative stimuli. Disengagement attention requires a top-down mediation from high-level cortical regions, which in depression these regions cannot work properly. Moreover, depressed individuals suffer from lack of selecting and guiding their attention toward positive information and as a result they attend to more negative stimuli. Neuroimagin g studies reveled 4 brain regions that are responsible for the whole process of attention: Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex (VLPFC; associated with control over stimulus selection), Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) and Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC; associated with disengagement functioning), Superior Parietal Cortex (SPC; associated with shifts in gaze). Depression will affect the activity in these regions: Prefrontal Cortex, especially Perigenual ACC, including Brodmann areas 24, 25, and 32, which will cause negative attentional biases; reduced activity in the right VLPFC, therefore they are less likely to guide their attention toward positive stimuli; decreased activity in right DLPFC and right SPC, which cause an impaired disengagement from negative stimuli; greater activation in ACC when successfully inhibiting attention to negative stimuli and less activity as a response to positive stimuli. Figure 4: negative attentional biases Various researchers claimed that depressed individuals prefer to remember their failure or negative events rather than their success. Their argument is base on the result of differnet tasks in which depressed individuals showed biases in remembering negative stimulus, not for positive materials. They suggest that since these patients are highly probable to perceive and attend negatively, they are more likely to encoding and recalling negative information. Thanks to neuroimaging studies, their claim was proved. As we might know hippocampus is an essential region for episodic memory and is connected to amygdala and as already discussed Amygdala’s activity is increased toward negative stimuli, which lead to increase activity in Hippocampus as well as Caudate and Putamen, regions for implicit memory and skill learning, in negative situation and as result will bolster the recall probability of negative information. Figure 5: negative memory biases According to cognitive model, negative schemata are the most responsible source for developing depression. Base on Neurobiological model, there is a circuit that involve in forming belief and representation of individual’s life, environment and even themselves. The elements of this circuit are: Medial Prefrontal Cortex that is a higher cortical level responsible for internal representation, Anterior Cingulate Cortex that is an intermediate level and a connector between limbic area and Prefrontal Cortex, and finally Amygdala, a lower structural level which detect and process emotion. The high activation in this circuit will cause the maintenance of depression state. Individuals at risk of depression According to cognitive neuropsychological model, we can predict the risk factors of depression and we might be able to prevent its development. The most important factors are: neuroticism, genetic factors and recovered depressed individuals. Neuroticism, which is a personality trait, characterized by anxiety, moodiness, worry, envy and jealousy, is most well-established risk factors for depression in non depressed people, however negative attentional biases are not found in them and it suggest that they only suffer form a bottom-up biases. Fortunately since they do not have the top down biases, their biases might be diminished by help of antidepressant drugs that influence bottom-up biases directly. As well as neurotic individuals, relative of depressed individual are in high risk of depression, since they tend to score higher on measures of neuroticism. Moreover, they show a greater activity in Amygdala as well as a reduced Ventral Striatal responsiveness to reward and less efficien t activation of Parietal and Temporal networks during working memory performance. All together prove the existence of risk of depression in these individuals. Last vulnerable individuals are those who recently recovered from depression. They have behavioral biases toward negative stimuli as well as abnormal activity in Amygdala. All of these vulnerable individuals exhibit bottom-up biases that are similar to depressed people. Conclusion Neuropsychological model and neurobiological model are proposed base on cognitive model and believe that different biases will cause and help the depression state in both depressed people and individuals at risk of depression. According to them, depression is a sequential process that is caused by two pathways: Bottom-up and Top-down biases. Bottom-up biases will influence the lower cognitive and structural level of brain and is the main cause of generating depression, while Top- down affect the higher level and is responsible for maintaining the depressed state. By help of antidepressed drugs, the bottom up biases (perceptional, toghts biases) of depression will be modified and by help of CBT and BT, the top down biases ( attentional and memory biases) will be remit gradually . Figures below are used to show development of depression base on two models. Figure 6: cognitive neurobiological model In this figure the whole process of depression is shown as a loop and as can be seen each step will get feedback to each other, even depressive symptoms will influence the Schema activation, which make the whole system stronger. The blue boxes are brain regions that are described as bottom-up biases, while gray boxes are more higher structural levels or top-down biases, which are responsible for cognitive control. Figure 7: cognitive neuropsychological model: As can be seen the environment event or genetic factors or personality will cause an imbalance in monoamine transmitters, this change cause negative affective biases (perceptual biases), bottom-up biases and lack of cognitive control over these biases, which is a result of environmental trigger as well as bottom-up biases will increase the chance of depression by generating dysfunctional negative schemata; dysfunctional negative schemata will causes more severe and higher level of biases (top-down biases). Green boxes are treatments that can be use for each step.

The History of Guns in America Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Pa

The History of Guns in America What is the importance of the gun? The gun is one of the most important tools in the defense of our nation. Guns are responsible for a lot of death and injuries, but these things were going on before the existence of the gun. Guns aren't the reason for the death and injuries, they are just a means to it. They are tools and an engineering marvel of our age. The gun has evolved from a simple weapon that caused limited destruction to the modern gun that is so fast and powerful it is capable of mass destruction. Through the evolution of the gun, it has become a political tool. The first guns used in America were a simple machine where the person did most of the work. The user measured and put the powder down the barrel of the gun. Next some shotgun pellets were put in the same way. This was then all compacted and the gun was ready to fire. This reloading took over a minute before each shot could be fired and the guns weren't very accurate by today's standards. If too much powder was used then the gun could explode or if the powder were wet then the gun wouldn't fire. One of inventions during the Revolutionary War was a way to reload faster. The powder was already pre-measured and kept in little sacks. This made reloading faster because the user no longer had to measure the powder between each reloading. These guns were crude but in that day was a powerful modern invention that was considered very useful. The American Revolution was a political war to obtain what the people of that era wanted. By today's standards the destruction of gun was minimal so war w as used to obtain political objectives. The next real step in the evolution of the gun came during the Civil War. Rifles were invented that ... ... capable of killing in small numbers. Now, however, they are able to destroy whole buildings. Politicians can and do use the power of the gun to force others to do what they want. Guns have become such an effective killing machine that they can kill anyone anywhere at anytime and, to fulfill any political cause. Â   Works Cited * Hogg, Ian. The Story of the Gun. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. * Lavarone, Mike. "Armory." http://www.worldwar1.com/arm005.htm. July 1997. * "New Guns and Gear for '98." American Rifleman. May 1998: 38-41 an 62-63. * Professional Web Designs. "Guns." http://www.usscod.org/gun.html. December 1997. * "Tank Weapons Gunnery Simulation System/Precision Gunnery System." http://www.stricom.army.mil/PRODUCTS/TWGSS-PGS. April 1998. * "WWII Battleship Gun Data." http://www.uss-salem.org/navhist/battleships/guns.html. April 1998.

The Persian Gulf War Was NOT Iraqs Fault :: essays research papers fc

At 2:00 A.M. (local time) on August second 1990, Saddam Hussein sent the Iraqi military across the border into Kuwait, and sparked a war whose repercussions are still being felt. Today what eventually became known as the Persian Gulf War, featured the largest air operation in history; and a senseless destruction paralleled only to Danzig or Hiroshima. Even though Saddam was the one who physically invaded Kuwait, is balking at United Nations resolutions, and is generally known as a tyrant. He should not be destroyed . The Gulf War was nothing more than the United States attempting to establish, as former President Bush so aptly termed, the â€Å"New Order†. The United States supported Saddam Hussein and the Ba’ath regime prior to the Kuwaiti invasion. They even gave Saddam a â€Å"Green Light† to go ahead and invade. If Saddam were to leave power Iraq would either be plunged into a Lebanon style civil war or face another ruler no better than Saddam himself. The United States is contemplating another invasion of Iraq, however it is having a difficult time of gaining support of the Arab countries. While many people in this country believe Saddam Hussein should be destroyed, that he is a totalitarian dictator and gross human rights violator. He is, in fact, a stabilizing force in his country and the Middle-East, standing up to the only remaining superpower. The consensus currently prevalent in this country is that Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq, is a totalitarian dictator, thirsty for blood and prestige, who seems dedicated to disobeying the United States. It would seem Iraq is intent on keeping United Nation inspectors out of its own country, although technically â€Å"Iraq barred only American members of the inspection teams from carrying on their work†(Nelan 54). The Iraqi â€Å"Dictator† seems to have decided he would rather be bombed than inspected. He apparently has no regard for the international community, and yet still wants them to lift sanctions. Also the Iraqi: â€Å"government stopped Ritter from investigating sensitive sites, calling him a spy and complaining that his team was too ‘Anglo-American’... the Iraqis also revealed Ritter was looking for evidence Iraq tested chemical and biological weapons on humans - charge Baghdad called ‘a shear lie’† (Watson 34). Those reports of human testing are obviously false. â€Å"[E]ven Saddams strongest foes, including the C.I.A. seems to doubt them(Watson 34)†. In fact, the only testing done by Iraq was on dogs. There were no inspectors around when the U.S. committed the crimes at Tuskegee, or when hundreds of servicemen were exposed to radiation during the atomic tests in the sixties. The Iraqi â€Å"dictator† has stayed in power for some 6 years since sanctions were imposed.

Autism :: essays research papers

Constructs: In my own research I will be measuring 3 variables as my constructs such as the following: 1) Verbal ability 2) Social interactions or the degree of participation in group work or plays 3) Gender Participants: 20 autistic children between the ages of 6 to 7 with identical IQ levels, both sexes, with equal number of participants- 10 to each Purpose: As researchers claim, autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls. According to this claim I would like to test whether gender is an effective or dominant factor in determining children’s progress both in verbal abilities and the kind of social interactions they encounter in the educational settings such as kindergartens or schools. Methodology: Instruments: CARS rating scale (childhood autism rating scale) developed by Eric schopler in the early 1970s, it is based on observed behavior, professionals evaluate a child’s relationship to people, body use, adaptation to change, listening response and verbal communication. AUTISM SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE: a 40 item screening scale that has been used with children 4 and older to help evaluate communication skills and social functioning. Plus observations with the help of a professional team including a speech therapist to assess the amount of progress in verbal abilities and interacting with the children’s care givers or parents during the research. Procedure: As far as I’m concerned, the nature of this research lends itself to both qualitative and quantitative methods, in the sense that there needs to be a lot of close observations to assess the trend that the participants follow plus some numerical data which support the findings regarding verbal abilities. In assessing the degree of engagement or participation in groupwork there might be the use of some rein forcers such as toys or chocolates. Here the main emphasis revolves around gender. Therefore an attempt should be made to have exactly the same conditions for both sexes. Since assessing the constructs focus more on gender it could have been more reliable to have a larger sample to be able to generalize the results, but considering the fact that research on autism is a difficult task and requires the cooperation of a professional team, working on large samples may not be possible or easy to deal with. This could be mentioned in the limitation part. In this research 20

Audit Program Essay

The purpose of this part of the audit process for Apollo Shoes is to design tests of controls, substantive tests of transactions, and analytical procedures for the sales, collection, payroll, personnel, acquisition, and payment cycles. These test and procedures are with intent to attest operating effectiveness of internal controls of Apollo Shoes on the basis of documentation provided. It is with the understanding that with the performing of test and procedures an opinion can be formed but management of Apollo shoes is responsible for the maintenance and assessment internal controls of over financial reporting. The design of test of controls of the sales and collection cycle follows. Sales and Collection Cycle Tests of Controls Sales Cycle: The review of the revenue and collection cycle manual of Apollo Shoes provides the improper record keeping of sales orders and that sales orders are not numbered which may affect the accuracy of pricing on invoices so steps. The test of controls for sale cycle to determine accuracy will be: 1. Examine sample 1004345 for Anglonesia Rehabilitation and Reprogramming Institute invoice to review unit prices of merchandise listed. Compare unit prices on invoice for merchandise to these shoe types from inventory status report of 2007. 3. Verify unit prices on invoices are correct. Collection Cycle: A review of balance confirmation from customers provides a customer of Apollo Shoes Neutralizer’s account balance was understated by $ 1,388. 75, which prompts testing of existence of collections. With that information, the test of controls of existence of collections will be: 1. Determine if bank reconciliation has been performed. . Request bank deposit slips and for end of year for 2007 and bank statement with information for deposit for end of year 2007. 3. Review accounts receivable aged trial balance. 4. Compare deposit amount listed on bank statement to deposit slips. 5. Review balance on reconciliation. 6. Compare payments customers indicate on balance confirmations to those listed on deposit slips for end of year 2007 and payments indicated on accounts receivable aged trial balance. Verify the amounts of reconciliation, bank statement, deposit slips, and accounts receivable aged trial balance align. Substantive Tests of Transactions Sales Cycle: With the same rationale of attesting to accuracy of recorded sales with the test of controls notation of a customer indicating receipt of merchandise not requested, the steps of substantive test of transactions are: 1. Examine sample 1004345 for Anglonesia Rehabilitation Trace invoice back to shipping documents, sales and customer order. 2. Verify shipping amount is correct. . Verify if what is listed is sales order was shipped. 4. Verify if what listed on sales or is what Anglonesia Rehabilitation requested Collection Cycle: In regards to collections, the same rationale for test of controls proving existence with the basis of Neutralizer having an understated balance, the substantive test for collections would be: 1. Review cash receipts journal for the amount of the cash receipt indicated by customers. 2. Review bank s tatement for deposits indicated. 3. Review deposit slips for list of deposits. 4. Verify amount customers indicate they payment is listed on deposit slips and are included on deposits listed on bank statement. Analytical Procedures Sales Cycle: From the basis of negative press that Larry Lancaster addresses in the letter to shareholders the assumption is that sales will decrease. The analytical procedures to confirm expectations for the sales cycle will be: 1. Review the sales trial balances from end of year 2006 and 2007. 2. Divide the sales trial balances for 2007 by the 2006 trial balance. 3. Determine the percentage change and if it is positive to confirm expectation. Collection Cycle: From the same basis for the analytical procedure for the Sales cycle and questions of collectability from Mall-Wart, it is the expectation that AR will balance will be larger than last year so the analytical procedure will be: 1. Review audited balance of AR for 2006 and the unaudited balance of 2007. 2. Determine if the AR balance has increase as expected. Payroll and Personnel Cycle The payroll and personnel cycle have a high level of internal control to ensure that employees are paid accurately and on time. This also ensures that the company files accurate and timely payroll returns with the government. Tests of Controls 1. Review time cards for hourly employees to ensure that the time clock was used to record all hours worked. 2. Review time cards for hourly employees to confirm that the supervisor has approved them. 3. Examine the last payroll or employees listing which supervisors checked and compare it with personnel files to confirm that all paid employees are current employees. Review personnel files to confirm that all current pay rates have been properly authorized by supervisors and properly documented. . Review personnel files to confirm authorized pay rates match the paychecks from the last pay cycle. 6. Review personnel files for current and updated W-4 and I-9 forms. 7. Observe the segregation of duties in the payroll department and confirm that payroll forms are reviewed before checks are issued. 8. Confirm that the correct payroll forms are sent to accounts payable. 9. Confirm that there is a segregation of duties in the treasurer’s office. 10. Confirm with supervisors that all paychecks are distributed or turned back in to the treasurer’s office. Verify that all paychecks are signed for when picked up or dispersed. 12. Confirm that all payroll checks are numbered and accounted for. 13. Review payroll tax liability accounts and ensure they are properly recorded. 14. Review payroll tax expense and tax liability accounts and confirm amounts against the quarterly payroll tax returns. 15. Review the bank statements for the payroll account to verify that deposits are transferred every two weeks and payroll checks are the only withdrawals. Substantive Tests of Transactions 1. Review the payroll journal for adjusting entries or unusual entries. . Compare cancelled checks against payroll journal and verify that the information matches and is correct. Examine the endorsement on the cancelled checks to ensure that they were endorsed correctly. 4. Compare cancelled checks against the list of current employees. 5. Reconcile the distributions in the payroll journal with the checks cleared on the bank statement. 6. Confirm and review bank reconciliations for the payroll account. 7. Select 100 hourly employees and recomputed their hours worked from the time cards for three separate pay cycles. Select 100 hourly employees and recomputed their gross pay based on their time cards for three separate pay cycles. 9. Select 200 employees and confirm that withholding amounts are accurate based on W-4 and current tax tables. 10. Use the same 200 employees in the previous test and recalculate net pay based on verified gross pay and withholding calculations. 11. Examine the payroll transactions to ensure that expenses are being allocated to the correct expense account. 12. Examine cleared check dates and compare them with the pay cycle pay dates. Compare the payroll expense account balances with the previous year payroll expense account balance (adjust for increases in pay or new hires). 2. Compare direct labor costs as a percentage of sales and compare with prior years’ percentage. 3. Compare payroll tax expense as a percentage of salaries and wages with prior years’ percentage (adjust for increases in tax rates). 4. Compare accrued payroll tax accounts with prior years. 5. Compare accrued vacation, sick pay, and other benefits as a percentage of salaries and wages with prior years’ percentage (adjust for any policy changes and new hires). 6. Verify accrued payroll taxes with the subsequent period’s payroll tax returns to determine the amount of the liability at the balance sheet date. Acquisition and Payment Cycle The acquisition of goods and services is important to ensure proper internal controls are in place and being followed because these include purchases of raw materials, equipment, supplies, maintenance, and research and development. In reviewing Apollo Shoes acquisition and payment cycles, and developing the audit plan, tests of controls must be reviewed, followed by substantive tests of transactions, and finally analytical procedures. Tests of Controls 1. Complete a walk-through of five judgmentally selected receipts of inventory. a. Verify the procedures in the client’s memo by interviewing the workers. b. Is the segregation of duties still being observed? 2. Complete a walk-thorough of five judgmentally selected payments. c. Verify the procedures in the client’s memo by interviewing the workers. d. Is the segregation of duties still being observed? 3. In order to test if the process for authorizing payments is working, judgmentally select ten payments and check each for: e. Is it canceled? f. Is the purchase requisition attached? g. Is the receiving report attached and showing the same quantity invoiced and ordered? h. Is the receiving report signed by the receiving clerk? i. Does the quantity paid and the price paid, match the invoice and the purchase requisition and purchase order? j. Did the vendor offer a cash discount? If so, was the discount taken? k. Was the invoice paid on time? 4. In order to test if the process for receiving goods is working, judgmentally select ten receipts from last month and check each for: l. Was it supported by a valid purchase requisition and purchase order? m. Was the receipt signed by the receiving clerk? n. Was the quantity received the same as the quantity ordered? o. Was the shipment paid in the right quantity and prices (as ordered)? 5. In order to test if the process for purchasing capital assets is working, judgmentally select two capitalized assets from the general ledger and check each for: p. Was it authorized? q. Is the depreciation taken correct each month and started with asset being put into service? r. Observe the asset. 6. Review any old receiving, requisition, or purchase orders that are not matched. Review any old invoices that are not matched. Inquire about their status. Substantive Tests of Transactions 1. Observe the client’s year-end inventory count. a. Judgmentally select ten count tags and make copy. b. Note any slow moving or damaged items. c. Resolve any differences between inventory records and counts. d. Get copy of full count when complete. 2. Verify count is recorded in the GL (and subsidiary ledger agrees with GL): e. Trace selected items from inventory count into general ledger detail. Select several items from GL and trace to count sheet. g. Verify that slow-moving and damage inventory is valued at salvage estimates (odd sized shoes). h. Test foot (verify math) of inventory valuation. i. Test pricing of inventory by tracing to purchase invoice. j. Test cut-off by reviewing receipts two weeks before and after year-end and determine that they were recorded in the correct period and counted or excluded from inventory as appropriate. k. Review inventory adjustment for reasonableness based on differences found during count. Review costing method (LIFO/FIFO) journal entries. l. Review reserves for obsolescence. 4. Review payments since year end that are over 10% of materiality. Verify that if they were incurred prior to year end that they are accrued in year-end payables. 5. Obtain a letter from legal counsel about contingent liabilities. 6. Read minutes of the board of directors for contingent liabilities or subsequent events. 7. Ask management about any incurred but not paid amounts. m. Review any old receiving, requisition, or purchase orders that are not matched with invoices. Review any old invoices that are not matched with purchasing documentation. 8. Inquire about the status of the large shipment of odd sized shoes at year end. Was this paid? Analytical Procedures 1. Compare current transactions with previous year’s statements. a. Similar expenses should not have significant variances period to period. b. Any significant variances should be examined to determine the reason. 2. Accounts payable transactions should be reviewed to ensure no unusual vendors or companies received payment when they shouldn’t have. Ratios should be calculated and compared from period to period. Any significant variances should be examined to determine the reason. c. Average Accounts Payable Trade Balance d. Accounts Payable Turnover e. Days in Accounts Payable 4. Compute inventory turnover and compare to prior years to see if trend is reasonable. 5. Compute a three year trend for inventory, payables, cost of goods sold, and operating expenses. 6. Calculate inventory and payables as a percent of assets and expenses as a percent of sales. f. Ask the client to explain fluctuations that are large or unusual.