Recommendations for a Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Recommendations for a Company - Case Study Example Your firm is rather new in the market. Still, it should be carefully structured and monitored so that failures are identified early and appropriate solutions are given. Most important, the time spent on recovering from failures should be minimized otherwise there would be no time left for focusing on the firm’s expansion, a problem that you have already faced. As a leader, you have to emphasize on keeping the firm’s productivity at high levels (Schermerhorn 2011). You also have to ensure that the resources available are used appropriately so that organizational performance is high as possible (Schermerhorn 2011). In general, the management of organizations is based on four, key, functions: ‘a) planning, b) organizing, c) leading and d) controlling’ (Daft & Marcic 2012, p.9). This means that the leader who aims to secure the success of his business has to be able to respond to the demands of all the above management functions. Apart from the above functions, of particular importance for modern organizations is ‘the achievement of organizational goals’ (Dyck & Neubert 2008, p.7). ... In this way, the mistakes made will be identified and measures can be proposed for avoiding similar problems in the future. In regard to the mission statement of the organization the following comments could be made: a) although the mission statement responds to a basic need of the local market, i.e. the need for convenient accounting services, it seems to suffer at the following point: it does not refer, either directly or indirectly, to credibility, as a criterion of the services provided by the organization. In the specific sector, credibility is quite important at the level that any failure could lead to high penalties for the customer/ taxpayer. Therefore, the firm’s mission statement could be possible alternated. The phrase: ‘Credible management of your finances’ could be possible preferred instead of the firm’s existing mission statement: ‘Have laptop, will travel’; b) in its current form, the firm’s mission statement is related t o another problem: the mission statement is not supported by appropriate strategies, so that the statement’s enforcement becomes problematic. As noted above, planning is one of the key management functions (Daft & Marcic 2012). This means that each firm’s leader has the responsibility for the identification and the promotion of the firm’s mission statement, as also of the firm’s strategies and ethical rules. This means that you have to take measures for ensuring that the mission statement reflects the organization’s capabilities, as revealed through the firm’s performance. At the same time, you need to ensure that the firm is able to respond to the challenges that the above mission statement sets, i.e. the provision

The Rwandan genocide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Rwandan genocide - Essay Example The Rwanda civil war was fought between the Hutu regimes. The Francophone nations of Africa and France also supported the regime. The Rwandan Patriotic Front, took the support of Uganda and created a lot of chaos and tension within the country which eventually led to the rise of Hutu Power. Hutu Power believed in an ideology. They claimed that the Tutsi wanted to enslave Hutus and should be restrained from at any cost. Irrespective of the concurrent ethnic turmoil, inclusive of the displacement of Hutus in huge in the north at the hands of the rebels, the pressure on the government of Juvenal Habyarimana continued to mount up. It paved way for a ceasefire in 1993 and a pre-mature implementation of the Arshua Accords. Habyarimana’s assassination took place in April 1994. It was the closest and biggest reason behind the killings of Tutsis and proponents of a peaceful Hutus. The mass genocide took place primarily due to two Hutu militias who were associated with political parties i.e. the Interhamwe and the Impuzamugambi. The genocide was carried out by a Hutu power group popularly known as the Akazu all over. The massive killing sprouted the demise of the peace agreement for the war end. Tutsi RPF on the other hand, relaunched their offensive and eventually defeated the army while seizing complete control of the country. Ethnic tensions in Rwanda are no new phenomenon. Disagreements had always been there between the majorities, the Hutus against the minority Tutsis. However, the bitterness grew even further during the colonial period. On the exterior, the two ethnic groups resemble a lot in their mannerism. The language they speak is the same; they pursue the same traditions and culture and have inhabited the same areas. However their difference lies in their appearance. Tutsis are taller and thinner than the Hutus. Many claim that the origin of the Tutsis, traces all the way back to Ethiopia.

Communication in nursing and a clinical example

Communication in nursing and a clinical example This assignment is a reflective account of my relationship and communication with a certain patient during my first clinical placement in a nursing home. All names in this text have been changed, to respect the confidentiality of the patient and other healthcare professionals (NMC 2002). Introduction Most people have felt anger and helplessness at not being listened to when saying something important. Also the intense frustration of being misunderstood Ellis, RB. (2003). Defining Communication. In: Ellis, RB, Gates, B, Kenworthy, N Interpersonal Communication in Nursing. 2nd ed. London: Churchill Livingstone. p3. I have recently been on 7 week placement in a nursing home for the elderly. It was a residential home but also had a small dementia unit in which patients with mental health problems were taken care of. This experience has taught me that communicating with elderly patients both with and without dementia can be extremely difficult. In certain circumstances I found it hard to understand what some residents wanted due to these communication barriers. In my essay I will be describing to the reader, what dementia is, what communication is and how important verbal and non verbal communication is to sufferers of dementia. What is Dementia? Dementia is a common condition. In England alone, there are currently 570,000 people living with dementia. That number is expected to double over the next 30 years. Dementia. Available://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/Pages/Introduction.aspx. Last accessed 20 Dec 2009. Dementia is a condition that is connected with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities. It is generally caused by damage to the structure of the brain and is most common in people over the age of 65. Thinking, language, memory, understanding, and judgement are all affected in someone who has Dementia. Sufferers may also have problems in controlling their emotions and behaviour when in social situations. Due to this their personalities may appear to change. There are 4 kinds of dementia. Alzheimers disease, Vascular dementia, Dementia with Lewy bodies, where and Frontotemporal dementia. These 4 kinds were all present in patients in the dementia unit, where I spent 7 weeks; however I will be concentrating on Alzheimers. ALZHEIMERS IS What is communication? Communication is essential for human interaction; it is the process of passing on information form one person to another. Both verbal and non verbal communication is used by a healthcare worker however for a dementia sufferer non verbal communication is essential. (Argyle, 1978) believes that non verbal communication can have five times as much effect on a persons understanding of a message compared to the verbal communication at the time. Chomsky calls the act of speech (verbal communication) performance and the knowledge of the language competence. People perform the complexity of speech daily but have no real knowledge of why or how they came to be able to. Speech allows us to hold conversations, ask question, give instructions, hide the truth, build routines and most importantly talk about interactions in which we are involved (Argyle, 1978). Why is communication important? Communication is extremely important in the healthcare industry. In order (as a healthcare worker) to understand your patient and vice versa, there must be good, clear communication. This will help the patient receive better care. If a patient cannot be understood properly it would be very hard to give appropriate care. If there is good communication between a patient and healthcare worker, it will ease the patients anxiety Patients are at risk for high Levels of anxiety and frustration if communicative attempts are unsuccessful. (Finkee, Erin HMS 2008). Communication helps the carer and patient get to know each other better, it helps them to bond and learn what makes the patient happy or upset, what foods they like and more importantly when theres a problem the patient is more likely to turn to the carer if there is a good bond there. A good bond can be hard to achieve with a patient with dementia as short term memory is often lacking so previous conv ersations can be forgotten. Approach towards patients with dementia is very important, facial expressions, tone of voice, uniform and how we present ourselves can say a lot about us. When communicating with the elderly residents if I were to raise my voice in an aggressive way they may feel threatened and scared by me, but if I speak to them in a pleasant tone of voice the then the resident is more likely to feel at ease around me. I can then start gaining trust and understanding between myself and the resident. When a patient has dementia they cant speak by the final stage. Closed questions must be used by this stage. There are 2 types of questions, open and closed. Open questions leave the answer open to respond with alot of information or a little. Closed questions are those that a patient has nod or shake their head to or use other body parts such as thumbs up or down. This style of questioning is appropriate to use on someone in the final stage of dementia. Closed questions are such like Are you okay?, Are you hungry?. This allows the patient to communicate with us without actually saying anything. These types of closed questions are a type of non verbal com munication. As I have mentioned earlier there are two types of communication, verbal and non-verbal. Verbal Communication talking to the patient and them responding with speech. It can really be very difficult to use verbal communication with Alzheimers patients because there short term memory is limited to they forget easily whats been said. According to Argyle (1990) in a conversation, words make up only 7% of a message; tone, tempo and syntax make up to 38% and body language makes up to 35%. Non verbal communication can be expressed by our facial movements, gaze and eye contact, gesture and body movement, body posture and body contact, use of space and time and how we dress. (Henley 1977) states that how powerful we feel in an interaction can be expressed non- verbally. Our unspoken communication can be shown through our body language. Touching patients can be an essential tool for a nurse. It can offer support and understanding, comfort and security. It adds extra meaning to the spoken word. Macleod and Clark (1991) suggest that most touch between nurses and elderly patients is related to practical procedures, fulfilling a practical rather than an emotional purpose. Facial expressions and tone of voice can match what youre trying to say. If youre frowning or looking sad, this can cause patients to get angry and upset, but if youre smiling at patients, this can raise their mood. Listening and attending are both also very important aspects of communication. Patients who can speak freely about their ideas and feelings need a little encouragement so that they can explore these ideas a little further, such as saying Mmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  or Ahaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . In the mental health hospital that I was on placement at, most of the clients had Alzheimers disease, so it was very difficult to communicate with all of them as the majority of them couldnt found it difficult to communicate certain issues at some times. It was hard for me to know their needs as they couldnt tell me what they wanted, the only way I could help them was if I asked them closed questions like Do you want something to eat?â‚ ¬Ã‚ , or do you need to go to the toilet? . This gave the patients the opportunity to give me a yes or no nod or use their eyes to tell me what they wanted. Another way I noticed if patients were agitated was if they were walking around fiddling with everything and trying to get out of the hospital , I knew something was wrong, usually it was because they were constipated or needed the toilet, other times was because they were thirsty and needed a drink. If I was feeding the patients and they wouldnt open their mouth to eat the food or push against the spoon I would know that they werent hungry. Sometimes patients would spit their tea out, this was usually because it was too hot. Barriers to communicating and how to overcome them the biggest barrier to communicating with a patient with Alzheimers disease is the fact that some of them cannot speak. But when we speak to them, there can be barriers so that patients cant hear or understand us, these include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Background noises, e.g. the radio playing loudly, or the television too loud, people around talking as well as us, this can confuse patients even more. Turning the television down whilst having a conversation with a patient can help. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The way we speak, if we are mumbling they wont be able to understand us, or if we have an unfamiliar accent that they dont recognise or understand they wont be able to respond to us. Speaking clearly and giving simple instructions helps patients understand us better. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ If we are feeding patients and talking to them at the same time, clients will get all confused and frustrated. Or if we are eating or chewing something ourselves whilst talking to a patient, this can affect our speech and make it difficult for the patient to understand what were saying. Taking time to concentrate on one task at a time avoids confusion. Calling clients by their name can draw their attention better rather than just talking to them right away, because otherwise they might ignore us because they dont know that were talking to them. Providing the patients with the words they might want to say can help us meet their needs because perhaps they might begin something but then start mumbling, listening carefully to them will make things much easier for us to respond and help them. Conclusion Before going on placement, I felt very nervous and anxious on what it was going to be like working with patients who I knew couldnt communicate with me. I kept thinking about how hard it was going to be to know how to take care of them and try to reach their needs in the best possible way, the only thing that helped me through the experience was the fact that I had a great deal of empathy and patience which helped me communicate better with the patients so I didnt get frustrated or angry when they couldnt respond to me . Before I went to work on the ward, I had read up and researched Alzheimers disease, to have a greater understanding on what to expect, and to be able to deal with the environment in a more professional manner. I used verbal and non-verbal communication and body language e.g. touching, feeling, smiling and speaking clearly. This helped me communicate much better with the patients as a majority of them couldnt reply to me verbally, so they used eye contact and touch to help me know what they wanted or needed, e.g. if a patient took my hand and lead me to the direction of the toilets, I knew they needed the toilet. Mr. Jones was brought to the nursing home in the Flintshire area by his son. He is 88 and has suffered from dementia for a number of years but in the past year Alzheimers has progressed fairly quickly leaving his son unable to care for him. Mr Joness symptoms include major confusion, withdrawn from society, delusions and extreme mood swings, he often gets extremely angry. He needs carers for certain normal activities essential for daily living such as finding the toilet, helping him on with his clothes and generally watching over his throughout the day. Some of his needs may also be due to his age; he has problems with his mobility so needs a carer for that not just due to the Alzheimers. My mentor asked me to spend some time with Mr Jones, talk to him and build up a rapport with him. The day before my mentor had given me some leaflets on the subject of dementia and Alzheimers to prepare me and give me a better understanding. When I first sat down with Mr Jones he just seemed like a normal elderly gentleman of fine health for his age, however as I began speaking to him I found quickly how advanced his Alzheimers was. It was quite upsetting for me as I had never been in that situation before. Within the first 20 minutes of speaking to Mr. Jones he had asked me the same question and we had the same conversation around 5 times. I found this rather awkward as I was unsure whether to continue with the repetitive conversation, create a new one or whether if I did so it would end in the same way. Mr Jones also mentioned to me that he was the homes Gardener. Confused by this I went to my mentor who assured me that this was a delusion he had thought was real since his son moved him into the home and to just leave him to it. I found that after the first week of me working there Mr Jones recognised my face, he still continued to ask me the same questions such as where do you live?, do you know my son? and tell me about his gardening job but he would remember by name. So knowing my name had clearly gone into his long term memory. The thing that worried me the most however was that Mr Jones would ask me when he was going to get his pay cheque. The other staff told me to tell him next week. I found this shocking and an insufficient answer. I felt that if I did as the other staff told me this would just reinforce the delusion and so I when he asked me the next time I told him the truth. This however made him very distressed and upset. The NMC (2002) outlines that we must not add extra stress or discomfort to a patient by our actions. This has proved to be a hard role to follow as either choice would have added discomfort to him. This experience left me feeling very uncomfortable and inadequate in my role. I tried to understand why he had manifested this delusion and came to the answer that perhaps it was a coping technique at the thought of being put into a home. I felt anger and frustration and helplessness that there was nothing I could think to do to help this delusion fade away. Although this experience was very frustrating for me and probably the patient, it has highlighted the need for me to improve my communication skills. It appeared to me that Mr. Jones delusion was not only a psychological disorder caused by his condition, but a way for him to put his mind at ease. Critical analysis of this experience has pointed to the fact that I have inadequacies in my skills; I had focussed too much on my morals and worry that I was being untruthful with him when perhaps reinforcing his view would have caused him less displeasure. I had not considered his other needs like his wishes or desires and I had not gathered enough personal information about him beforehand to know this maybe he liked gardening. I had been unsure about what to say or do to ease Mr. . apparent anxieties and had adopted what Watson Wilkinson (2001) describe as the blocking technique. By continuing my actions to carry on with the meal, I was cutting short the patients need to communicate a problem. I was influenced in this decision because I felt obliged to be seen to reduce his anxieties, knowing my actions would be judged by an audience of other care workers and patients on the ward. I did not respond efficiently to reduce his distress and this pressure led me to deal with the situation inadequately and for that I felt guilty (Nichols 1993). I should have allowed more time to understand what Mr. Jones was thinking and feeling by maybe asking him calm questions such as do you know where you are, how long have you been here? And perhaps he would have come to a gradual realisation by himself. I could have shown more empathy in the form of my own body language to promote active listening (Egan 2002) instead of just worrying about his mind wandering to an untruth. Gould (1990) cited by Chatham Long (2000) have suggested that  ¿Ã‚ ½many of the non verbal behaviours we use to reassure patients, such as close proximity, prolonged eye contact, clarification, validation, touch, a calm and soothing voice, the effective use of questions, paraphrasing and reflecting thoughts and feelings and summarising are all sub skills with the totality of empathy ¿Ã‚ ½. There is an abundance of information about communication, especially for nurses because it is considered by many as the core component to all nursing actions and interventions. Lack of effective communication is a problem that still exists because the learning process that leads to a skilled level of ability may take years of experience to develop (Watson and Wilkinson 2001). It has been quite difficult for me to admit my inadequacies in communication, but Rowe (1999) explains that a person must identify their weaknesses as an initiative for becoming self-aware. Only with acceptance of ones self, can a person begin to acknowledge another persons uniqueness and build upon this to provide holistic care. I know the knowledge I have gained through reflection of my experience will not always ensure that I will treat patients with unconditional positive regard, simply because of the diversity in the nature of us as individual human beings and the environment surrounding us. I have gained a new perspective on my practice which is to set myself personal goals in facilitating effective communication between the patient and myself, should the situation present itself again. BERLOS MODEL!

A Tale of Apocalypses, Men, Women, & Sports :: Movie Film Sports Essays

A Tale of Apocalypses, Men, Women, & Sports This movie is set in a post-apocalyptic society in the year 2010. After World War III broke out, the world was destroyed in the year 2008. The survivors have no memory of what their planet used to be like, or how they used to live. The earth is covered in layers of debris that archaeologists are sifting through to figure out how people lived before the world was destroyed. Along with the "death" of our modern world, women's rights also died, and men think they are far superior once more. Opening scenes (each is only a few seconds long): Close up of blade chopping vegetables, zoom out to see that blade is actually ice skate. Cut to: restaurant with people eating soup out of semi-deflated basketballs. Cut to: Opening credits with people playing in background: people are running around wearing helmets and throwing a hockey puck at each other's heads. Cut to: people on an archeological dig, sifting through the dirt with tennis rackets. Most of a track has been unearthed, and the archaeologists think it is called a "Coca-Cola" because of the large sign at one end of the field in the center of the track. One of our heroines is named Soleada Lluvia, and she has just unearthed a badminton birdie and is studying it. She is distracted when the archaeologists who have been uncovering the track announce that they have finished. She drops the birdie and joins the others as they stare at the track. They remember seeing people run in circles around such a thing from damaged movies they have uncovered on previous expeditions. The men immediately begin discussing how this must have been used as a sports arena for men. The women point out that they saw women running in the movies, too, but they men just laugh at them and say that women are too weak to do sports. The women become angry and start citing famous female athletes they read about in records they found. They mention Babe Didrickson, FloJo, Wilma Rudolph, and others. The men point out that that was before the world ended, and say that now women are weak again. The women assert that women never were weak, then or now, and challenge the men to a contest. They decide to hold their contest in one month - to give them time to train, and time to research more of the sports of the past.

Samsung Electronic Corporation: Governance of Chaebols

CASE: SAMSUNG ELECTRONIC CORPORATION: GOVERNANCE OF CHAEBOLS Copyright: Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Professor Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes and Rakhi Kumar, Yale MBA02 prepared this case as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate the effective or ineffective governance of an organization. Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes INTRODUCTION Case: Samsung Electronics Prior to the Asian currency crises, South Korea was an investment destination for several institutional investors and emerging market funds. Throughout the early nineties the country experienced an economic boom.South Korean conglomerates, locally know as chaebols, had diversified into various industries from cars to microchips. Samsung Electronics Corporation (Samsung Electronics), a rising star in the Samsung Chaebol was considered to be a high growth company. However, in 1997, the Asian currency crises magnified the problem of the Chaebol structure and highlighted the need for governance reforms. By 1999, a shareholder rights activist in South Korea – Prof. Hasung Jang had taken up the cause of minority shareholders of Samsung Electronics.With the help of foreign institutional investors, he planned to fight for governance reforms in South Korea. As a corporate governance specialist, Samuel Smith, had been contracted by a large foreign institutional investor to help reform Samsung Electronics. KOREAN CHAEBOLS: Establishment, growth and structure. In order to accelerate economic growth in the 1970’s, the Korean government formulated industrial policies that encouraged investment in heavy and chemical industry (HCI). Funded largely by government-controlled banks, affluent families took advantage of the liberal policies and set up ompanies in these industries. By the end of the 1970’s approximately 80 percent of fixed investment in the manufacturing sector was in HCI businesses. Between 1962 and 1982, annual growth averaged 8. 4%, although by the end of the 1970â€⠄¢s production efficiency in priority sectors was falling. As a result, there was excessive investment in the HCI industries and little allocation efficiency in the capital markets1. Due to over investment in the HCI industry and small domestic markets, companies began diversifying into unrelated businesses, giving birth to the Korean Chaebols.Government intervention in resource allocation proved to be very costly. Enterprises that had access to preferential policy loans or tax incentives tended to expand their businesses The Institute for International Economics – Financial Services Liberalization in the WTO: Case Study of South Korea 1 1 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Case: Samsung Electronics rapidly without careful appraisal of investment projects. Since the government largely made lending decisions, creditor banks had little incentive for credit evaluations or loan monitoring.As a result, firms were heavily leveraged and borrowed from informal credit markets as they we re usually pressed for working capital. This structural weakness put the economy on the verge of a financial crises in early the 1970s and then again in the 1980s2. However, public purse bailing out of large enterprises became the norm and people were made to believe that chaebols were too big to fail. When the government decided to open up the South Korean economy, many of the protective measures that local companies had enjoyed during the developmental era were removed.Companies that had expanded into unrelated businesses found that they no longer had access to government capital. Initially, banks were also not interested in financing these projects, nor did they have the expertise to evaluate these new high-risk businesses. Hence, business groups started creating their own group wide internal capital markets. Transfer pricing, cross-shareholdings and cross-guarantee of debts were some of the mechanisms employed by chaebols to fund expansion. They pooled any funds available to the subsidiaries to supplement outside funding of new projects.Operations of these internal finance markets were not necessarily based on efficiency in resource allocation but were often driven by the interests and concerns of the controlling families. 3 Many Chaebols invested overseas and ‘globalization’ was the new theme. However, the globalization strategy was not well planned. Chaebols held onto the management strategy that they had been practicing over the last thirty years: growth in size ignoring profitability; financial structure with high debt-to equity ratio and cross debt guarantee among affiliated companies. By 1997 there were over fifty chaebols in South Korea, each with a myriad of affiliated companies all linked to one another through a complex network of cross-holdings. Ownership and affiliation details of twenty chaebols are provided in Exhibit 1. Family-Based Business Groups: Degeneration of Quasi-Internal Organizations and Internal Markets in Korea by Sa ng-Woo Nam, December 2001. 3 Ibid. 4 Corporate Governance and Economic Development: The Korean Experience by Ha Sung Jang. 2 2 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes THE SAMSUNG GROUP: It is all in the family.Case: Samsung Electronics Founded in 1938 by Mr. Byung Chul Lee, Samsung Group’s original line of business was exporting dried fish, vegetables and fruits produced around Korea to Manchuria and Beijing in China. Within a few years of incorporation, the company expanded its operations to include manufacturing and sales when it set up a flourmill and bought confectionary machines. In the 1970’s it diversified into the petrochemical, electronics and heavy industries. By early 1990’s, the Samsung Group had grown into the fourteenth largest company in the world.It had diversified into four primary industries, and had over twentyfive affiliated companies. Like most Korean companies, the Samsung Group structure developed into a confusing maze of cross-ownership among af filiated companies. Exhibit 2 provides a list of affiliated companies in the Samsung Chaebol while Exhibit 3a and 3b shows the complex crossownership structure among the affiliated companies. For example, according to Exhibit 3a, affiliated companies owned 15. 83% of Samsung Electronics. Exhibit 3b provides the break up of ownership between affiliates.Therefore, Samsung Company owns 4. 45% of Samsung Electronics, Samsung Life Insurance owns 8. 16% and so on. By 1997, combined annual revenues of all the businesses in the group were close to USD 100 billion, with profits reaching USD 290 million. The Samsung Group constituted approximately 10% of the total market value of all companies listed on the Korean stock market. However, like all other chaebols, its debt-to-equity ratio hovered around 365%. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CORPORATION: Governance of Cheabols. Samsung Electronics was established in 1969.By the mid 1990’s, it had strategically invested in research and development of D RAM chips and had grown into a billion dollar company. Exhibit 4 shows the contribution made by Samsung Electronics to the overall revenues and profits of the Samsung Cheabol. By the late 1990’s, Samsung Electronics had 24 production subsidiaries, 35 sales subsidiaries and 20 branch offices around the world including North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, China and Latin America. It 3 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Case: Samsung Electronics managed four strategic businesses in the fields of Home, Mobile, Office Network and Core Components.However, in 1997, excess production capacity in the microchip industry lead to a downward spiral in chip prices. Profits at Samsung Electronics plunged to new lows. The Asian Currency crises compounded the problems facing the company. By late 1997, the company’s debt totaled 13 trillion won (approximately USD 9 billion) and more than 70 percent of it was in foreign currency loans5. The financial run on the economy by f oreign institutional investors saw the country’s currency tumble 10. 6 percent. Domestic interest rates on threeyear corporate bonds hit 30. 1 percent.The US rating agencies, in addition to downgrading the sovereign debt to â€Å"junk bond† status, also lowered the credit worthiness rating for several of the largest South Korean companies including Samsung Electronics6. The company’s share prices reflected the macro and micro economic turmoil faced by the company. Exhibit 5 provides daily share prices of the Samsung Electronics stock on the Korean stock exchange for a 15-month period starting September 1996. However, a liner trend line indicates that, by and large, the share price was declining marginally but was above the 50,000 won mark.After a period of negative results, minority shareholders started questioning governance practices of the company. They alleged that Samsung Electronics had neither internal or external corporate governance mechanism which acte d as checks and balances and that all management decisions were made taken by the Chairman. The internal mechanisms such as Board of Directors and Auditors, did not function properly at least when it came to monitoring the Chairman. For example they questioned the board’s decision of acquiring shares of a firm, Ichon Electric, whose financial stability was shaky.This acquisition cost Samsung Electronics 27. 6 billion won when the company went bankrupt a few years later. 7 When things starting going wrong, neither the Chairman nor the Board of Directors took any responsibility for failed investments or even for illegal activities. Instead the chaebol lobby issued a report attacking minority activism. They said, â€Å"Minority shareholders’ rights to demand compensation should be respected only in the event of embezzlement and other illIR on the net: How they did it at Samsung Electronics. http://www. ironthenet. com/feature. sp? current=1&articleID=2289 6 Washington Po st Foreign Service: South Korea Takes Three More Punches by Steven Mufson. 7 Korean IT News: Civic Group Challenges Samsung Chairman’s Alleged Mismanagement by Kim Deok-hyun. 5 4 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Case: Samsung Electronics intentioned behaviors. Managerial misjudgments should not be the subject of criminal liabilities. Activism can also harm the interests of majority shareholder and decision-making by management. † 8 In 1998, the Board of Directors of Samsung Electronics consisted of twenty-three members.This number had been trimmed from the previous year when the board comprised of fortythree directors. Exhibit 6 provides a profile of the directors on the board of Samsung Electronics. Some shareholders believed that accounting manipulation and improprieties had become standard practice and company funds had been used to make political contributions in the Chairman’s name. A minister in the Korean cabinet faced corruption allegation that he earned USD 1. 4 million when he was given an interest-free loan from Samsung Electronics and acquired the Company’s shares at a discount rate while he was an ‘outside’ director on the company board. External mechanism such as markets for corporate control also did not exist and legal protection of shareholder’s rights was limited. 10 Courts in Korea did not have experience of dealing with corporate governance cases and often their rulings seemed to go soft on the guilty. For example, the Suwon District Court ordered Samsung's Chairman Lee to return to the Samsung companies 7. 5 billion won in damages on charges of providing bribes to former president Roh Tae-woo. However, the court did not demand that Lee take legal responsibility for the two mismanagement cases of his group's ubsidiaries, saying he did not participate in the decision-making. 11 Samuel Smith wondered if the allegations of the minority shareholders held any merit. Internal and external economic fo rces had not changed much in the last decade, yet it was only after the Asian currency crisis that these allegations were being made. The Korean Herald: Chaebol face tough attacks from minor shareholders by Yoo Cheong-mo: February 25,1999. 9 AFX News Limited: South Korean education minister resigns amid corruption allegations; August 31, 2000. 10 Corporate Governance and Economic Development: The Korean Experience by Hasung Jang. 1 Korean IT News: Civic Group Challenges Samsung Chairman’s Alleged Mismanagement by Kim Deokhyun. 8 5 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes HASUNG JANG: The voice of minority shareholders. Case: Samsung Electronics Dr. Hasung Jang is a well know minority shareholder rights activist in South Korea. He received his MA in economics from the New York State University and a Ph. D. in finance from the Wharton School. On returning to South Korea, he joined the Korean University as a professor of finance and the director of the Center for Finance and Banking Res earch.As the Chair of the Participatory Economy Committee, a minority shareholder protection civil group, under the umbrella of the Peoples Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, Dr. Jang took up the cause of shareholder rights in Korea. He undertook investigations to evaluate the governance of chaebols and financial dealings among affiliated companies. Dr. Jang targeted Samsung Electronics and made allegations of self-dealing transactions. In particular he spoke about a transaction dated 24 March 1997, when Samsung Electronics made a private placement of unsecured convertible bonds worth 60 billion won (US $46. million). He was troubled by the fact that the bonds had been sold to company insiders. The Chairman’s son had purchased 45 billion won worth of bonds and another Samsung affiliate had purchased the remaining bonds worth 15 billion won12. Dr. Jang alleged that this issue was at unfavorable terms for the company and called into question the price of the bonds. On thei r part, company executives explained that Samsung Electronics was badly in need of fund and that international funding, which previously was the main source of capital had dried up after the Asian currency crises.Further, as the company was finding it extremely difficult to raise money from domestic financial institutions they had little choice but to privately place the bonds. Besides the amount raised was less than one percent of existing long term loans. Dr. Jang also alleged that Samsung Electronics had both directly and indirectly funded the Samsung Groups’ doomed venture into the car industry at the expense of minority shareholders. Samsung Electronics had acquired a 21. 1% stake in Samsung Motors at the acquisition cost of 170 billion won (USD 106 million).The indirect investment of Samsung Electronics into Samsung Motors was in the form of a joint investment agreement between 12 Nascent Stages of Corporate Governance in an Emerging Market: regulatory change, sharehold er activism and Samsung Electronics by Hasung Jang and Joongi Kim. Corporate Governance Volume 10 Number 2 April 2002. 6 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Case: Samsung Electronics an Ireland-based paper company called Pan-Pacific Industrial Investments (PP) and Samsung Electronics (and two of its affiliated companies). At first lance the PP agreement looked like a direct investment into Samsung Motors by a foreign entity (PP) in accordance with Korean laws regulating foreign exchange. However, under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Samsung Electronics had guaranteed PP a certain rate of return through put and call options within a specified redemption period, on Samsung Motor shares it (PP) owned. This arrangement was made in addition to bridge loans made by Samsung Group to PP. Dr. Jang alleged that that this transaction was not a clear direct investment and in fact violated legal requirements for other types of transactions.Samsung Electronics rebutted the allegations and explained that the put and call options were just clauses in the agreement put there to provide additional security for PP. The Company was more like a third party in the transaction and the agreement did not have any financial implications for the shareholders. SAMUEL SMITHS TASK 1997 had been a troubled period for Korean companies. The country had experienced a severe economic shock, which had practically destroyed the economic structure that had developed over the past four decades.It was confusing and upsetting times for companies and investors, all of whom has suffered tremendous loss. Sam had to objectively analyze the allegations made by the minority shareholders and check for fundamental problems at the company. Naturally, dealing with an emerging market came with its challenges. For one, economic data was scarce and very little corporate information was publicly available. As Sam sat down to prepare for his meeting with his client he made a list of questions he needed to a nswer. 1. What are the benefits and disadvantages of the Korean chaebol structure?In particular what governance issues can arise due to this structure? 2. Analyze the capital structure of Samsung Electronics. Compare it with the capital structure of a company in the similar line of business (primarily manufacture of chips) from another developed country and comment on the differences. 7 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Case: Samsung Electronics 3. If Samsung Motors makes an after tax profit of USD100 million, what share of that would go to the Lee family (owners)? What percentage of Samsung Motors do they directly own? Note: You do not have to provide the exact number. A good approximation will be adequate. ) 4. The client wants to recommend governance changes with special emphasis on the board of directors. Evaluate the current board of Samsung Electronics. What are the strengths and weaknesses in the current board composition? How many directors can be classified as non-executive? How many can be classified as independent? What are your criteria’s for assessing director independence? Do you think changes need to be made to the current board composition?If no – why not, if yes – what changes would you recommend? 5. Based on the company’s financials as of December 31, 1997 and publicly available information, investigate the allegations made by Dr. Jang. Do you think the convertible bond issue was a self-dealing transaction? How would you prove that claim? What evidence do you have on you claim? (Note: you are not expected to do a DCF. ) 6. Does the agreement with the Pan-Pacific Industrial Investment resemble a simple direct investment or something else? Why was the guarantee clause included in the contract? Does it change the instrument?If you were on the Audit committee of the company what questions would you ask about this transaction? 8 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Exhibit 1: Share Ownership and Affiliates of Chaebols Contro lling Family Ownership Ownership Affiliates No. of (%) (%) Affiliates 5. 00 20. 98 8. 50 36. 05 6. 49 6. 61 13. 88 6. 45 12. 62 27. 73 5. 72 4. 57 18. 56 23. 91 21. 22 16. 31 2. 48 15. 33 14. 36 5. 33 6. 38 11. 29 30. 20 28. 57 30. 11 35. 74 24. 35 29. 60 43. 19 35. 95 22. 94 20. 36 17. 07 37. 92 18. 64 28. 35 37. 70 14. 20 21. 29 25. 64 25. 52 29. 76 30. 09 43. 24 44 28 27 22 18 17 17 15 13 12 12 12 11 11 10 10 8 6 6 5 5 3Case: Samsung Electronics Cheabol LG Hyundae Sam-sung Lotte Dae-woo Han-Wha Doo-San Ssang-Yong SK Han-Jin Dae-Rim Kolon Hyo-Sung Han-il Dong-Kuk steel Kum-Ho Kia Sam-mi Dong-Bu Koryo textile Hai-Tai Kukdong Const No. of listed Affiliates 8 9 12 3 7 6 5 7 3 5 5 4 2 5 4 5 2 2 5 1 2 2 Notes: Data as of 1989 with the exception of LG (1992) Source: Business Groups in China Compared with Korean Chaebols by Keun Lee and Wing T. Woo 9 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Exhibit 2: Affiliated companies within the Samsung Group Industry Electronics Case: Samsung ElectronicsAff liated Companies Samsung Electronics Samsung Electro-Mechanics Samsung SDI Samsung Corning Samsung SDS Samsung Networks Samsung Corning Precisions Glass Samsung Heavy Industries Samsung Techwin Samsung General Chemicals Samsung Petrochemicals Samsung Fine Chemicals Samsung BP Chemicals Samsung Life Insurance Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Samsung Card Samsung Securities Samsung Capital Samsung Investment Trust Management Samsung Venture Investment Samsung Engineering Cheil Industries Samsung Everland Shilla Hotel & Resorts Cheil Communications SI Corporation Samsung Lions Samsung Medical CenterMachinery & Heavy Industries Chemicals Financial Services Miscellaneous Note: This table shows the most important affiliate companies within the Samsung Group for the period of interest. 10 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Case: Samsung Electronics Exhibit 3a: Ownership structure of Companies in the Samsung Chaebol. (all figures in %'s) No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 1 22 23 Name of Firms Samsung Electronics Samsung Display Devices Samsung Co.Samsung Motors Samsung Heavy Industries Samsung Electro-mechanics Samsung Life Insurance Samsung Aerospace Industries Cheil Wool Textile Samsung General Chemicals Samsung Precision Chemicals Samsung Corning Hotel Shilla Samsung Securites Samsung Engineering Samsung Winners Card SI Corporation Samsung Everland Samsung Factoring Financing The Joong-Ang Daily News Samsung Petro-Chemicals Samsung Commercial Motors Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Owner Family 5. 41 2. 32 Directors Non-profit & foundation Managers 0. 13 2. 44 0. 49 0. 02 0. 16 0. 19 0. 13 30. 60 0. 08 0. 46 25. 00 0. 05 0. 10 0. 74 0. 1 0. 64 6. 20 0. 06 SelfOwned 3. 52 2. 89 5. 17 Total of Affiliate Firms 15. 83 19. 77 19. 55 38. 36 27. 35 27. 54 2. 25 26. 47 2. 20 89. 39 39. 15 49. 36 12. 67 22. 33 16. 03 90. 27 22. 48 23. 99 100. 00 14. 92 36. 33 100. 00 13. 05 1. 42 0. 03 3. 00 15. 00 5. 00 3. 23 0. 85 0. 30 0. 84 31. 20 1. 35 0. 01 6. 23 67. 30 41. 80 0. 36 4. 50 0. 68 3. 98 Source: Business Group in China Compared with Korean Cheabols by Keun Lee and Wing T. Woo 11 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Case: Samsung Electronics Exhibit 3b: Detailed Break-up of Affiliate Shareholding Provided Above (all figures in %'s)Decomposition of shares by major affiliates No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Name of Firms Samsung Electronics Samsung Display Devices Samsung Co. Samsung Motors Samsung Heavy Industries Samsung Electro-mechanics Samsung Life Insurance Samsung Aerospace Industries Cheil Wool Textile Samsung General Chemicals Samsung Precision Chemicals Samsung Corning Hotel Shilla Samsung Securites Samsung Engineering Samsung Winners Card SI Corporation Samsung Everland Samsung Factoring Financing The Joong-Ang Daily News Samsung Petro-Chemicals Samsung Commercial Motors Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance 2 3 4. 45 5 6 7 8. 16 5. 39 6. 22 8 9 0. 61 0. 09 0. 07 0. 60 14 0. 01 0. 01 13. 24 18 0. 15 0. 28 1. 24 20 0. 45 23 2. 00 3. 19 10. 87 21. 11 18. 92 21. 92 8. 13 3. 82 9. 31 48. 36 5. 72 16. 03 54. 37 10. 40 12. 74 7. 45 0. 28 2. 48 6. 08 2. 56 4. 92 5. 59 7. 75 2. 20 0. 03 0. 12 25. 90 0. 90 3. 51 2. 25 0. 33 0. 30 3. 44 10. 14 37. 79 6. 20 10. 28 0. 29 0. 21 1. 47 14. 40 11. 39 1. 89 25. 00 3. 92 10. 00 21. 50 3. 45 1. 00 6. 95 10. 62 4. 75 5. 49 9. 95 5. 00 0. 25 2. 50 100. 00 11. 49 8. 50 16. 40 0. 13 17. 10 1. 01 4. 75 9. 93 1. 56 Source: Business Group in China Compared with Korean Cheabols by Keun Lee and Wing T. Woo 12 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Case: Samsung Electronics Exhibit 4a: Contribution of Samsung Electronics (parent company only) to Samsung Group. All figures in Billion Won Samsung Electronics (parent company) 1997 1998 20,084 313 20,776 13,806 6,970 1999 26,118 3,170 24,710 11,378 13,332 1997 Samsung Group Samsung Electronic (parent co. ) as a % of Samsung Group 1999 106,730 2,511 133,213 101,023 32,190 1997 11. % 25. 5% 12. 3% 10. 6% 22. 7% 1998 23. 4% 131. 5% 19. 1% 15. 4% 36. 3% 1999 24. 5% 126. 2% 18. 5% 11. 3% 41. 4% 1998 85,788 238 109,022 89,839 19,183 Sales Net Income Assets Liabilities Shareholders Equity Source: Samsung Website 18,465 124 23,066 17,236 5,830 161,448 487 187,824 162,120 25,704 Exhibit 4b: Contribution of Samsung Electronics (consolidated basis) to Samsung Group. All figures in Billion Won Samsung Electronics (consolidated) 1997 Sales Net Income Assets Liabilities Shareholders Equity Source: Samsung WebsiteSamsung Group Samsung Electronic (parent co. ) as a % of Samsung Group 1999 106,730 2,511 133,213 101,023 32,190 1997 14. 0% -125. 3% 17. 1% 16. 9% 18. 1% 1998 30. 0% -152. 1% 22. 1% 21. 2% 26. 5% 1999 30. 1% 126. 4% 21. 9% 15. 8% 40. 9% 1998 1999 32,088 3,175 29,178 16,004 13,174 1997 161,448 487 187,824 162,120 25,704 1998 85,788 238 109,022 89,839 19,183 22,682 25,772 (610) (362) 32,035 27,386 4,649 24,105 19,016 5,089 13 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Case: Samsung ElectronicsExhibit 5: Closing price of Samsung Electronic Shares and the Liner Trend of its Stock Price. Daily Closing Price of Samsung Electronics Shares September 1, 1996 to December 31, 1997 80,000. 0 Share Price in Korean Won 70,000. 0 60,000. 0 50,000. 0 40,000. 0 30,000. 0 20,000. 0 10,000. 0 1/1/97 2/1/97 3/1/97 4/1/97 5/1/97 6/1/97 7/1/97 8/1/97 10/1/96 11/1/96 12/1/96 9/1/97 10/1/97 11/1/97 12/1/97 Day Close Linear (Close) 14 Prof. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Case: Samsung Electronics Exhibit 6: Profile of Directors on the Samsung Electronics Board No.Name of Director 1 Kun-Hee Lee 2 Jong-Yong Yun 3 Hak-Soo Lee 4 Yoon-Woo Lee 5 Dae-Je Chin 6 Doh-Seok Choi 7 In-Joo Kim 8 Jing-Wan Kim 9 Sung Rai Choi 10 Soon-Taek Kim 11 Jin-Hoon Je 12 Joong-Koo Lee 13 Yang-Gyu Park 14 Hong-Sik Ko 15 Soo-Woong Park 16 Jae Yong Lee Designation Chairman & CEO, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman & CEO, Samsung Electronics President & CEO, Group Reformation Headquarters, Samsung Electronics President & CEO, Device Solutions Netw ork, Samsung Electronics President & CEO, Digital Media Network, Samsung Electronics President & CFO, Samsung Electronics Executive VP, Group Reformation Headquarters, Samsung Electronics President & CEO, Samsung Heavy Industries President & CEO, Samsung Petrochemicals Vice President & CEO, Samsung SDI Company Ltd. Vice President & CEO, Samsung Factor Financing President & CEO, Samsung Techwin Company Ltd. President & CEO, Samsung Networks President & CEO, Samsung General Chemicals Company Ltd. Vice President & CEO, Samsung Fine Chemicals Ltd. Family Relation None None None None None None None None None None None None None None None 7 Ra-Hee Hong Lee 18 Soo-Bin Lee 19 Hyeon-Gon Kim 20 Chong-Yeul Pae 21 Kap-Hyun Lee 22 Suk-Soo Kim 23 Tetsuo Iwasaki Owns 25. 1% of the shares of Samsung Everland, which Son of Kun-Hee controls Samsung Life, the holding company of Lee Samsung Group Director General, Samsung Museums. Wife of Kun-Hee Lee Chairman & CEO, Samsung Life Insurance Company None Vice President & CEO, Samsung BP Chemicals Company Ltd. CEO, Samsung Corporation Advisor, Boston Consulting Group President Law Office of Suk-Soo Kim None None None None Chairman/CEO/President Applied Komatsu None Technology Note: The information provided in this exhibit is for illustrative purposes only. It does not reflect the real board structure at the Samsung Electronic Corporation. 15

Banking Industry Meltdown Essay

Determine which moral philosophy (as discussed in chapter 6) is most applicable to an understanding of the banking industry meltdown Moral philosophy in business is hard to classify, especially in today’s economic times where there are government bailouts, loss of paying jobs, home foreclosures and the horrible real estate market. The banking industries near complete collapse can be closely linked to the mortgage crisis that has hit the United States but there are deeper issues that have lead to the banking industry meltdown. The banks acted with an egoism moral philosophy which has sometimes been described like a loan sharking operation, just legal. The banks pay very little interest to its depositing members for interest bearing accounts like 1% or even less than that while at the same time charging 15% to 35% on credit card balances. They do this because there is no limit placed on interest rates that a bank can charge by the federal government. The banks feel this is right or acceptable behavior in terms of their individual financial institutions maximizing their own interest. Due to these financial instruments put in place by the banks and not think about the possible consequences they presented if consumers defaulted on these loans. The downfall was never even examined by the banks or its investors, and it came to catch up with them in 2008-2009 with the economic downturn. No one cared to think ahead, thinking they had a fool proof plan that couldn’t fail because the insurance policy derivatives presented. Banks and investors carried themselves with Ego that displayed they couldn’t fail. However, as the case revealed in 2008-2009 the housing market tumbled due to consumers not being able to make payment on their variable rate mortgages leaving the real estate market overheated. Since banks and investors made decisions that seemed to maximize their own self-interest they acted in an egoism moral philosophy manner. Analyze the case study and discern if the â€Å"white collar† crimes committed differ in any  substantive manner from other more â€Å"blue collar† crimes White-collar crimes are mainly defined as illicit acts perpetuated by a person with a high and respectable social statu s in the course of his or her profession or occupation. This is basically related to the social idea relating the concept of white-collar jobs to professional fields In the modern criminology field, white-collar crimes is defined and identified based under two basis and reference namely by the type of offense and the type of offender. The first reference involves acts related to property issues, economic aspect, law violations and others are considered as white-collar crimes as these cases involve professional degree and culture. The second is based from the type of offender wherein the social class and personal stature of the criminal are considered. Some of the common manifestations of this form of crime are fraud, bribery, computer crime, forgery, insider trading embezzlement, and others. â€Å"Blue collar crimes are looked at in the more traditional manner as acts that are mostly offensive and violent in a physical nature such as theft, harassment, and murder. In this case derivatives were the main culprit that were used to commit the â€Å"white collar† crimes against its victims (stakeholders and customers). The crimes committed by the banks in my opinion were no different. Any crime is basically an illicit act that is illegal and forbidden by the law in which is punishable, â€Å"blue collar† or â€Å"white collar,† the crimes committed I feel are the same in any manner. Though the crimes were not of a physical nature they still caused harm to those who were affected by the crimes that were committed. For this reason I feel that the â€Å"white collar† crimes that were committed were no different in a substantive manner than â€Å"blue collar† crimes that are committed. Determine and discuss the role that corporate culture played in the banking industry scenario Corporate culture and social responsibility is good for business, as social, environmental, and ethical issues have been increasingly climbing up the list of priorities of business agendas and strategy. Culture makes every organization unique and bonds members of an organization together. The culture of the organization verifies what behaviors and ideas are acceptable and appropriate. Corporate culture is defined as a set of values, norms, and artifacts, including ways of solving problems that members (employees) of an organization share. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell 2011). The corporate culture could have  played a huge role in the banking industry scenario as ethics and social responsibility should be important to all businesses and business people. The banking industry had a decision to make and they chose to disregard their ethical responsibilities which helped contribute to the downfall of the banking industry in 2008-2009. If the banks had followed a more ethical corporate culture they would have been less likely to make the unethical decisions that they made. They should have adhered to the tradition and history of their respective financial institutions and considers their investors, stakeholders, and customers before making the decisions that they made. If they would have taken the time to do this they would have taken the time to further investigate and evaluate the possible ramifications of their actions and possibly look for alternatives that may have averted the banking industry meltdown that followed. Postulate how leaders within the banking industry could have used their influence to avert the industry meltdown A lack of business ethics is definitely partly to blame for the United States current financial woes, and it was the absence or complete disregard for them by the leaders in the banking industry that led to the banking industry meltdown. Self-regulation should not be underestimated, as from it you get a strong corporate culture that tells leaders what is right and wrong, leading to the consideration of not just themselves (the banking institution) but the investors, stakeholders, and customers. The egoism philosophy which I feel the banks adopted would have been replaced with more of a utilitarianism philosophy making decisions that would benefit the most persons involved. The leaders in the banking industry were just the opposite of what we are calling them â€Å"leaders,† because if they took the responsibility and truly led they could have used their stature to influence decisions that could have help avoid the banking industry meltdown. Follow the leader; is what I relate this particular situation to, as if banking industry leaders would have stood up and put their voice to doing the right ethical thing setting the standard for not only themselves and their bank but the others they could have adverted the banking meltdown. Follow the leader; is what I relate this particular situation to, as if banking industry leaders would have stood up and put their voice to doing the right ethical thing setting the standard for not only themselves and their bank(s), but the others they could have adverted the banking meltdown. The  leaders could have used the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to back their decision and should have taken a bigger stand. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is an accounting overseeing measure to ensure efficient corporate governance and maintaining the confidence of investors. It also requires that the businesses to assume responsibility for transparency in financial reporting. If the leaders would have taken this stand they could have set a standard and influenced the banking industry to make better decisions. If the leaders within the banking industry would have used their influence they could have possibly avert the industry meltdown. I will not say that these actions will have averted the meltdown as no one can predict the future as anything could happen, all we can do is to rationally and ethically evaluate all possible scenarios, develop and implement plans to try and prevent meltdowns like the one in 2008-2009. Bibliography http://www.hrmreport.com/article/Business-ethics-is-inextricably-linked-to-the-current-financial-meltdown/ Thomas, Huw November 29, 2012 Principles for enhancing corporate governance, October 2010, ISBN 92-9131-844-2 (print); http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs176.pdf Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2008). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases US: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Haig, M. (2005). http://www.frbsf.org/news/speeches/2009/0416.html, Conference on the State of the U.S. and World Economies—â€Å"Meeting the Challenges of the Financial Crisis† By Janet L. Yellen, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, April 16, 2009

Lightning Protection Essay Essays

Lightning Protection Essay Essays Lightning Protection Essay Essay Lightning Protection Essay Essay Did you know that last twelvemonth. in the United States. belongings loss due to lightning work stoppages exceeded one billion dollars? The mean homeowner’s insurance paid $ 4. 296 per lightning claim and an norm of two 100 50s thousand insurance claims were filed purely due to lightning. In January 2003. the American Meteorologist Society issued a bulletin backing the lightning protection demands embodied in the National Fire Protection Association Standard 780. Stating. â€Å"It is now good established that decently installed and maintained lightning rod based protection systems significantly decrease lightning harm. † The lone true manner to protect a construction from a direct lightning work stoppage is with a lightning protection system. A lightning protection system. with proper installing can salvage lives. protect constructions. and supply peace of head. To understand lightning protection. you foremost necessitate to understand lightning. Lightning. by definition. is the discharge of inactive electricity from cloud-to-ground. Lightning is the energy created by clash from the rise and autumn of hot and cold air multitudes in the clouds. This energy. which is merely seeable as lightning. retains a negative charge. To equalise. this negative charge must reach a positive charge. which is held by land. The positive charge and the negative charge seek the best path to run into and disperse ; intending that lightning is merely looking for a manner to obtain land. Lightning decides on a mark no more than 500 pess prior to striking and does non know apart on what it strikes. Lightning protection systems provide an efficient way for lightning to make the land safely. without destructing constructions. The system does non pull lightning. nor deter. but instead acts as a canopy of protection. Lightning protection systems are interconnected to organize a â€Å"cage† around the margin of the construction. Every component of the lightning protection system has to link to organize common foundation. There are five elements that make up a lightning protection system. The five elements are lightning rods. overseas telegram. land rods. adhering stuffs and rush protection. The lightning rods are positioned at the really top of the lightning protection system. Their map is to take the direct work stoppage of the lightning bolt. Lightning rods are constructed of Cu or aluminium to defy the electrical current as a consequence of a direct work stoppage. Depending on the specifications of the construction. the length of the lightning rods varies. nevertheless ; the breadth of the lightning rods is normally the same diameter of an ordinary pencil. The rods aren’t really large ; nevertheless. they can defy the power of a direct lightning work stoppage. The 2nd component of a lightning protection system is the overseas telegram. which is besides constructed of Cu or aluminium stuffs. The cable’s map is to â€Å"transport† the electrical current from the lightning rods to the land rods. The overseas telegram is routed around the margin of the construction with â€Å"downleads† happening at different points of the construction. depending on the specifications. â€Å"Downleads† are when the overseas telegram is run down the construction to the land rods. Land rods are the really underside of the lightning protection system. They take the electrical current of the lightning into the land to equalise or disperse. This means that the electrical current is now neutralised. Land rods are really similar to lightning rods. nevertheless. the land rods can be 10 pess long and are buried at least six pess below class. In bouldery dirt. installing can be a peculiarly difficult. Bonding of the lightning protection system refers to doing certain that all public-service corporation entrywaies are protected along with the construction. Gas lines. H2O lines. and electrical lines all have to be connected. Rush Protection is the last component of the lightning protection system. As lightning protection provides structural protection. rush protection protects sensitive electronics and other public-service corporation entrywaies. such as telephone. overseas telegram. and electrical mercantile establishments. Rush protection is an of import portion of the lightning protection system mystifier. Lightning protection systems are an indispensable component to protecting every construction. but are different for every construction ensuing in doing a lightning protection contractor a really specialised trade. Residential lightning protection is puting lightning protection on private places. A lightning protection system has two different types of residential systems ; concealed or exposed. Concealed system installings are included during the building of the place. The hidden system is designed to be hidden ; as the name implies. During different phases of building. the lightning protection installing technicians run the overseas telegram within the model of the place. Besides the overseas telegram is run up through the roof in particular constructed â€Å"thru-roof† merchandises. The lightning protection system works without being seen. Some persons wonder how lightning can run along the overseas telegram between the walls of a place without get downing a fire. The lightning is going so fast along the overseas telegram with no clash and doesn’t adequate clip for a fire to get down. Exposed lightning protection systems installings are completed after building. Cable is run on the exterior of the roof and walls. nevertheless ; you can paint the overseas telegram to fit the colour of the outside to do the overseas telegram blend for a more aesthetically delighting affect. The pigment will non impede the cable’s ability to transport the electrical current. Besides overseas telegram can be run down along the rain troughs for even more concealment Commercial lightning protection systems are similar to residential. they both have the same rules. but they are installed on commercial constructions. The lone difference is the tallness. which has different criterions from the normal residential places. There are two types of lightning protection systems. The first is a category I constructions have a tallness of 75 pess or below and merely necessitate a â€Å"standard† lightning protection system. The 2nd is a category II construction. normally known as high rises or sky scrapers. have a tallness of 75 pess or above. These edifices have to be specified with what is called an â€Å"Intermediate Loop. † An Intermediate Loop consists of a â€Å"standard† lightning protection system but has an extra cringle of overseas telegram tally around the center of the tallness of the edifice. The loop consisting of running overseas telegram around the edifice is connected to all the downleads. The cringle guarantees the lightning bolt a uninterrupted way without clash to acquire down to the land rods. Besides. some Class II edifices require a â€Å"Ground Loop. † This cringle is a mirror of the â€Å"Intermediate Loop. † but is buried below the class of the commercial edifice. This cringle is besides connected to all the land rods. but is non seeable because it is belowground. Merely as the intermediate cringle. this land loop provides more options for the lightning to disperse. As stated before. lightning is merely looking for a way to acquire to land and equalise. Lightning protection systems allow this to go on in a non-destructive mode without lay waste toing the edifice stuffs of commercial or residential constructions.

Gifts to boo radley Essays

Gifts to boo radley Essays Gifts to boo radley Paper Gifts to boo radley Paper At the end of the novel of Heaper Lees novel To Kill a Mockingbird, many things unravel. An adult Scout says, Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into that tree what we took out of it: we have given him nothing, and it made me sad. Scout is wrong. Scout, Gem, and Dill eave Boo Raddled various gifts as well he gave them. Throughout the novel, Scout gave Boo friendship, a connection to the outside world, and privacy. Although the gifts may not have been material, they are very meaningful to Boo. Nobody can deny that Scout and Boo Raddled had a special bond. Scout and Boo had secret friendship. Neither of them may have realized how much they cared for each other, but the readers they knew. Boo Raddled was a huge part in scouts childhood. In this hidden friendship, Boo had given scout material, and a slight interaction with her. : Scout, she gave Boo the opportunity for Macomb to not see him s the monster they think he is. She wanted to interact with him in more than the childish ways Gem and Dill and various other children were intending. She didnt Just want to go and touch the Raddled house, and at the time she didnt know she actually wanted to see more of Boo Raddled, she wanted to befriend him not Just be the cause of him bursting out of the front door in an annoyed tone for a 10 second glance. She also gave him the experience of watching her and Gem grow up from his own front porch. The chance to see a six year old girl and two ten year old boys fascinated bout his existence, reenacting his personal life, and as they slowly matured Into adulthood. These gifts may have seemed Like nothing to Scout but to a man who spent his life hiding they were his everyday life, his vague connection with the world. Nonetheless, Scout gave Boo a connection to the outside world. He spent all these years concealed in the security of his home. Undoubtedly, Boobs attempts in interacting with them, and watching them, he started to participate in outside world. His first act of participation took place when , Gem and Scout found the knothole in the tree. Boo had been placing these gifts there as an act of kindness, and friendship, proving that he isnt as strange as Macomb presents him as. The gifts were a major part of Scout and Seems day. They were delighted and intrigued by them, until Nathan Raddled filled the knothole with cement. Ending all communication with Boo and the children. Without a doubt Boo found other ways to communicate and show kindness towards the children. Such as wrapping a cold and shivering Scout In a blanket, as she and Gem watched Miss Muddies house being eaten In flames. In addition, Boo also gave Scout and Gem the gift of salvation. He cared enough to save Gem, as a pure act of kindness. Boo was no longer a stranger human being to them. But a friend, a friend who needed distance, a friend who needed privacy, but a friend. Moreover, as Boo was becoming a known person to Scout and Gem, he needed his distance. Even if he did save the childrens lives, he wanted privacy. Scout and Gem they gave him that, they did not tell a soul about what had happened. They kept being saved from Bob Lowell a secret. They kept Boo killing Bob Lowell a secret. If the people in Macomb had found out about how nice of a guy Boo actually was; the owns people would overwhelm with kindness and gifts. Which is why as soon as the danger of Bob Lowell was overcome he went back into his shell. He vanished from the childrens lives once again. As stated in the novel He gently released my hand, opened the door, went inside, and shut the door behind him. I never saw him again. Boo had done his part in having the children grow up. They didnt need him anymore. They had everything they had desired. In the long run, Scout may not have given Boo material gifts but she did give him psychological gifts. She gave him the gift of friendship, by showing him the world isnt as cruel as it seems, and interacting with him. She gifted him a slight connection with the world by exchanging kindness and curiosity. Nevertheless she gifted him the gift he was most pleased with and that was privacy. She never told a soul about him killing Bob Lowell. She left him alone, and he left her. Boo Raddled shaped Scouts childhood, and Scout she formed a smile on a Boo Readers face. A smile and happiness is the best gift anyone could give somebody. Scouts completely correct, she didnt give him a gift, she gave him the experience of a lifetime.

Tisiphone the Greek Goddess

Tisiphone the Greek Goddess Tisiphone is one of the Furies or Erinyes in Greek mythology. Tisiphone is the avenger of murder. Her name means voice of revenge. The Erinyes were formed when the blood of Uranus fell on Gaia when the son of Uranus, Cronus, killed him. The Furies pursued particularly heinous criminals and drove them mad. Their most famous victim was Orestes, whose crime was matricide. The names of the other Erinyes were Alecto and Megaera. Characteristics In the Eumenides, the tragedy by Aeschylus about the Erinyes and Orestes, the Erinyes are described as dark, not quite women, not quite Gorgons (Medusas), featherless, with rheumy eyes and partial to blood. (The Appearance of Aeschylus Erinyes, by P. G. Maxwell-Stuart. Greece Rome, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 81-84) Jane E. Harrison (September 9, 1850 - April 5, 1928) says the Erinyes at Delphi and elsewhere were ancestral ghosts, who later became detached ministers of divine vengeance. The Erinyes are the dark aspect of the benevolent Eumenides the angry ghosts. (Delphika.-(A) The Erinyes. (B) The Omphalos, by Jane E. Harrison. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 19, pp. 205-251) It is also claimed that Eumenides is a euphemism for the Erinyes.

The Civil War in England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Civil War in England - Essay Example This paper shall discuss the effects that the war had on the people of England and the different aspects of the nation then. Before the commencement of the war and even during it, the reins of the economy and the funds of the government rested with the Parliament that would then be in a position to dictate terms to the King (Bucholz and Key, 254). This marked a change in the way in which revenue was utilized during the Elizabethan age when the monarch had a far greater role to play in the handling of the nation’s funds that when the Stuart dynasty took over. The expenses of the monarch would have to be ratified by the Parliament and this was a great blow to James I. He however, managed to maintain a balance between the demands of the Parliament and the maintenance of his power. His son, Charles I, however, could not do so. Many attribute this failure to Charles’ belief in the divine rights that he believed kings to have (Trueman). According to this theory, kings were th e deputies of god on earth and this right of the king could not be taken away by the Parliament which according to him was merely a collection of mortals. This belief of Charles would be the reason that led to his ultimate execution. His failure to recognize the real aspirations of his people finally led to his downfall. Apart from this, one also needs to look at the flawed military strategies that were employed by the Royalists and the successful ones by the Parliamentarians. John Pym, according to Robert Bucholz and Newton Key, was instrumental in ensuring the victory of the Parliamentarian cause in many battles that occurred during the civil war (Bucholz and Key, 254). Religious reasons were very important in the civil war. It marked a transition to a phase in history where religion would be a major determinant in political affairs in an explicit manner. The puritans were responsible in a large way for the civil war. Oliver Cromwell himself was a puritan (Oliver Cromwell). These aspects along with the fact of the different sects that people in England, Ireland and Scotland were a part of, had led to tensions within the nation (Stoyle). A different form of politics too had taken shape, one that would thrive on the politics of identity. This was a change from earlier days. This change has survived to modern times when political parties survive on the identity of the community they represent. The major economic effect of the English Civil War was its detrimental impact on trade. Ben Coates in his work The Impact of the English Civil War on the Economy of London observes that the years spanning from 1648 to 1650 were marked by poor agricultural produce and naval and trade weakness. The recession of 1648-50, however, was a product of bad harvests and weakness on the seas. The Dutch regained their supremacy in the seas and thus undermined English trade and industries. It is noteworthy that the war weakened the erstwhile flourishing English foreign trade at the pr ecise point of time when the Dutch consolidated their commercial and naval power after the completion of the Thirty Years' War (1648) (Coates, 22). The importance of these developments needs to be analyzed in conjunction with the role that these changes enabled in the transition to modernity. Not only were the seeds of democracy sown

Text analysis Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Text analysis - Article Example Even though the writer knows that balancing the job requirements and family attention can be challenging, she instinctively insists upon going on with the dream of making a positive impact on the society as a whole. She even vows to be role model to her daughter and that explains how dedicated and passionate she is towards dream of making positive impact on people’s life. Although the writer is the central character in the story and we can learn more about her, the introduction of Lana (the patient) seems to gives much in depth information about the whole scenario (Ehrenhaft and George, 56). The writer gives a brief description about herself and that is critical in giving insight into her inspirations to become a nurse. The writer seems to be motivated more by the events that happen in her life. She quotes â€Å"That statement solidified my purpose of positively contributing to society, positively influencing people’s life, and being the best nurse I can be. I know that I need to take my career to the next level†.This essay is so appealing to the audience. The setting is such that it is easy to understand the main theme of the essay (Ehrenhaft and George, 78). From the essay, a person can be easily convinced that social responsibility is something that needs to be implemented for the wellbeing of the society. The transition from one point of argument to the other in the essay is splendid. The writer offers her argument in a more open and detailed manner. She first, describes herself then she talks about the family and finally she talks about her job and he r relationship with the patients. She also talks about how that relationship has helped her make a positive impact in somebody’s life. The most interesting part of the essay is the fact that the writer acknowledges that you can make an impact on somebody’s life despite your economic,

Racing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Racing - Essay Example Hence, only those with an unyielding attitude are found willing to accept struggles and unceasingly proceed with the race. Though it typically pertains to a sport in which racers compete for speed and strategizing at the maximum speed to emerge as the first on the finish line, people in general form varying connotations about ‘racing’. Often times, racing is valued for the idea that life is only lived once so one should seize every opportunity that comes his way. It becomes worthwhile as well to consider that racing may represent people who are optimistic enough to not lose heart with their depressed conditions and keep the race with life instead, positively hoping for recovery no matter what it takes. To others, racing is a means to demonstrate potentials of being tough amidst crises or in contending against an opponent who wishes to maintain a tight competition, hence, only those with an unyielding attitude are found willing to accept struggles and unceasingly proceed with the race.Perhaps it is through the ambiguity of the term ‘racing’ that the world has been led to further inclination and fondness of a racing sport in view of its associated principles which are applicable to a person’s life. As it turns out, the fascination to reach a goal or beat the rest who go after the same goal creates the basic idea about racing which eventually serves as a guide for a racer to live a life of purpose regardless of the type of field or endeavor chosen.

Cold War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cold War - Essay Example Soviet Union tried to empower communism all over the world while United States and its alliance supported many countries of the world to weaken the communism. After the end of World War II, the Soviet unions decided to spread communism all over the world. The United States determined to stop the spread of Soviet power and communism. For this purpose it provided much financial support to its alliance. The alliances were democracies that were not in favor of communists too. Though they were not able to stop the spread of communism in Eastern Europe, the U.S and Britain were determined to preserve Western Europe from the reach of communists. In the World War II Soviet Union has gained much popularity in the West Europe due to the resistance against the Nazi forces. So there was a chance of election of communist parties in France and Italy. Harry Trumann was the first US president started to fight the cold War. Britain was the first country that investigated for the nuclear weapons' development. In 1945, Britain was an activist world power. It possessed the second largest national navy, and its Empire-Commonwealth was genuinely global. The Dominions stretched from Canada to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; it had colonial possessions from the north to the south of the African continent, to the east of Suez, in south and south-east Asia, as well as many scattered, and often strategic, island outposts. India was proclaimed as the 'jewel in the crown' of the Empire. A major problem for the historians analyzing the impact of military expenditure on the usual working of the economy of a country just after the war is the fact ignored by the liberal economic theory. This theoretical shortfall reflects the fact that the mobilization for industrial warfare can only be achieved through suspending the normal economic operation. While accepting necessity to plan the wartime economy, most British economists considered that after the hostilities and War activities, the resources will be allocated to the market as usual. This is what the liberal economists oppose. As a part of conversion, the British policy makers faced crucial situation about scaling down the Britain's efforts with its diminished economy and military power in the post war world. Alec Ciancross accepts that the Britain's Defence efforts may have been extraordinarily large and says that the real problem for Britain was the role it was asked to play was beyond its strength. But the other historians criticize the leadership of Britain who did not face the fact that Britain would not be able to meet the global military commitments. The question arises here is this that did the excessive military costs were responsible for low investment leading to weak economy of Britain Usually it seems to be answered that the short term expenses of the war would not affect the long term economy policies. Defence economists analyze short term and even small changes in the economy and

Cold Weather Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cold Weather - Essay Example Many people believe that flu and colds are caused by cold weather. To some extent, this notion is true. In essence, flu and colds are caused by viruses. However, people tend to be as close to each other as possible during cold seasons in an effort to keep warm. Getting too close to an individual with a cold or flu elevates your chances of getting the flu. In this viewpoint, cold weather contributes to the spread of colds and flu. In the contemporary world, people are increasingly being affected by lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity due to sedentary lifestyles. One of the ways that such diseases could be avoided is through regular exercises and adopting healthier eating habits. During winter, people spend most of their time indoors and hence have little time to exercise outside their houses. Additionally, access to healthy foods is restricted during winter. For instance, it is difficult for an individual to walk to a supermarket selling fresh vegetables during cold seasons when fast foods can be brought into the house. In this regard, cold weather promotes unhealthy eating habits. People also react differently to changing climatic conditions. A switch from warm weather to winter could have psychological effects on individuals. During cold seasons, people are less likely to socialize and hence less likely to share their feelings and troubles with other individuals. Stress levels are more likely to be elevated when an individual is isolated from friends and family.

Importance Of Internal And External Communication Strategies Essay

Importance Of Internal And External Communication Strategies - Essay Example There are certain factors that help in determining the effectiveness of communication strategy a corporation implements. These factors include a number of employees the message is intended for, their relationship, nature of the message and channel and the effectiveness of the feedback system. An essential aspect of internal communication is it should be concentrated as well as coordinated so that the message is well communicated and different managers and employees can be reached through this. Moreover, it must be consequent in nature and continuously transmitted. Internal communication can be further classified as work, control, change, culture and news communication. This classification segregates the nature of information and makes it more defined. Together all these kind of communication creates an integrated system of internal communication (Kalla, 2005). The strategies that have been employed by multinationals to improve internal communication are electronic communication throu gh e-mail, integrated chat platform, video-conferencing and social networks. Employees of a multinational company are encouraged to be part of different network groups within the organization (Luo and Shenkar, 2006). This helps them in understanding culture aspects of their global counterparts, gaining insight of their professional achievements and learning through knowledge sharing and transfer (Phene and Almeida, 2008). The multinationals are also active in social media circles, where employees are encouraged to participate.

Cold Weather Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cold Weather - Essay Example Many people believe that flu and colds are caused by cold weather. To some extent, this notion is true. In essence, flu and colds are caused by viruses. However, people tend to be as close to each other as possible during cold seasons in an effort to keep warm. Getting too close to an individual with a cold or flu elevates your chances of getting the flu. In this viewpoint, cold weather contributes to the spread of colds and flu. In the contemporary world, people are increasingly being affected by lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity due to sedentary lifestyles. One of the ways that such diseases could be avoided is through regular exercises and adopting healthier eating habits. During winter, people spend most of their time indoors and hence have little time to exercise outside their houses. Additionally, access to healthy foods is restricted during winter. For instance, it is difficult for an individual to walk to a supermarket selling fresh vegetables during cold seasons when fast foods can be brought into the house. In this regard, cold weather promotes unhealthy eating habits. People also react differently to changing climatic conditions. A switch from warm weather to winter could have psychological effects on individuals. During cold seasons, people are less likely to socialize and hence less likely to share their feelings and troubles with other individuals. Stress levels are more likely to be elevated when an individual is isolated from friends and family.

Professional Communication at the Workplace Essay Example for Free

Professional Communication at the Workplace Essay Interpersonal communication is essentially the exchange of communication between one person(s) and another. Like any other form of communication, interpersonal communication involves the sender of the message and the recipient of the message. The message can only be passed correctly if both the sender and the recipient pass it correctly and understand each other. I work for a voluntary group at the University. This group aims at reaching out to the less fortunate both in the institution and the society generally. We do not offer financial help as such but instead focus on the abilities of the people we interact with and give them the necessary counsel and advice they need. In this way, we give them ideas on how they can actually help themselves out financially. This organization involves a lot of interaction, both within ourselves as the members of the organization and also between us and the people we interact with. As such there is a lot of interpersonal communication that goes on. The group consists of a total of ten members, and as they say, we are like our fingers; we come in different sizes and lengths, not literally but in terms of age, personalities, gender, culture, spiritual orientation and physical abilities and disabilities. This whole structure of diversity makes communication, particularly interpersonal communication, an issue worth debate. This is because the way we choose to communicate within ourselves and others is bound to affect our service delivery either positively or n egatively. The following part of the paper will critically analyze each of these factors mentioned above that makes us diverse in our communication, interpersonal communication.CITATION Joh12 p 56 l 1033 (Johnson, 2012, p. 56)Age The voluntary group I work for is extremely diversified when it comes to age, with members from the extreme sides of the age spectrum. The oldest member in the group is aged forty seven, while the youngest is seventeen. Most of the members, about seventy percent, are aged between seventeen and twenty five. The main reason behind this is the fact that the organization requires the participation of both the old and young. For instance, the young and vibrant group, which forms the majority of the group, is required to move up and down and interact with the people we look forward to offering our help to. The older group is mostly involved ion critically analyzing our case studies and give direction on the best way forward. It is therefore not easy to hold a conversation between these two groups that are different in terms of age. For instance, young people will always base their ideas on what social media says. They will go with current trends since that are what they are familiar with a nd immediately make a decision. The older group will look at trends on a more historical point of view and analyze historical events in relation to the topic of discussion before coming up with a remedy. The young members, moreover, communicate with a lot of slang because as much as this organization is based on official business, it is also a social and interactive group as well. This way, the message at times is not passed effectively from one person(s) to another. The consequence of this communication gap is that the goals of the organizations are not at all times met and therefore efficiency is not achieved as well.CITATION Ric01 p 76 l 1033 (Pircadi, 2001, p. 76)Perceived Emotions, Relationships and Personality Our personalities define us. We have different personalities just as we are different in other aspects of our lives. The personality of a person is one thing that psychologists have proved beyond reasonable doubt that is very difficult to change. The personalities of a person will most of the time dictate the way in which they communicate. Some people are introverts and as such they tend to keep to themselves. They listen more than they speak. They think more and learn more from their surrounding and the people around them. Others are outspoken and will speak more. They express themselves through speech. The relationship between or among people also influences communication. CITATION Joh12 l 1033 (Johnson, 2012)This I have witnessed in my voluntary work group. People tend to open up to those they are close with and give less details to the people they are not that close to. One’s family tends to know them better because of the blood relationship that exists as compared to outs iders. Finally, people perceive and express their emotions very differently. Jerry, a member of my voluntary group tends to hide his low moments in smiles. It is therefore not easy to tell what he is going through. I, on the other hand will always show it. I have no way to hide and it is communicated through my emotions. The way we react to how we feel will determine the way we communicate. There are those of us like Jerry who will drown our sorrows in smiles and those like me who will communicate it just as it is. It is therefore very clear that we communicate our emotions very differently and this goes way back to our personalities.CITATION Joh02 p 94 l 1033 (Gray, 2002, p. 94)Spiritual Orientation The world is composed of people with very diverse spiritual backgrounds. Spiritual background forms the foundation of the life of a person. More often than not, the behavior of a person is well explained by their religious beliefs. This is also the case with communication most of the time. Spiritual diversity will create diversity in speech and in communication generally. For instance, Moslems do not shake hands as a sign of greeting. Their greetings are always in form of speech. This is unlike other religions where people are allowed to shake hands casually and even hug. People from strong religious backgrounds and those with high faith are also very cautious with their speech. They tend to taste their words before they spit them out, that is, they are sensitive in their speech so as not to hurt others. The voluntary group that I work with, or rather that I work for has all Christians but one Moslem, Rahima Nassir. She, in one way or another, communicates in a different way from the rest. Most of the time, she refers to the Allah, who is the Supreme Being according to her religion. This happens especially in cases where she tries to sound optimistic and give a hopeless situation hope. The voluntary group involves a lot of interaction and therefore we have to be warm as we interact with others. This is at times not very easy to achieve owing to the fact that some religious beliefs have certain strains. Rahima is not the only one that faces such challenges. Even along the Christian front, there are various denominations which uphold different values. These values make the approach to various situations very differently. CITATION Gai10 p 104 l 1033 (Forey, 2010, p. 104)Gender The gender of a person also affects communication, particularly interpersonal communication. The female species has a different way of passing a message from the male species. One thing I love the most about my voluntary group is that we are balanced when it comes to gender. Out of a group of ten, we have five ladies and five gentlemen. This gives a ratio of one to one. However, this gender difference can at timers be a major setback in terms of communication. The Ladies, for instance would like to be addressed in a more soft way even when it comes to simple aspects such as greetings. Important to note is that communication does not involve only speech, there is verbal and non-verbal communication, all of which should be considered. Throughout the time that I spend with members of my organization, I have observed that men and women have very different modes and methods of communication. Most of the time, male members are very radical in their speech as well as their illustrations. La dies have a different approach. They, more often than not, are very soft both in their speech and illustrations. It is for this reason that they (ladies) are extremely cautious in their speech. I also noted that the men speak fewer words as compared to the ladies. Ladies speak more, except in a few instances.CITATION Mar09 p 85 l 1033 (Gufey, 2009, p. 85)Person with Disability They say disability is not inability. However, this part of the paper will view disability as a hindrance to communication to an extent. People with disabilities, physical disabilities for that matter, face a lot of challenges when it comes to passing a message effectively. This bottleneck is faced by not only the sender of the message but the recipient as well. The voluntary group that I work for or rather the members of the group that I work with experiences such challenges. In the group, there are two people with physical disabilities. Jerry is a deaf while Geoffrey is visually impaired. Of the two, I think Geoffrey has the most difficult time when it comes to communication. For one reason or the other, Geoffrey happened to be the secretary of the organization at some point in time. He therefore took minutes during meetings and did all the secretarial work. This position, I can say he deserved. Geoffrey is very brilliant besides being very diligent in his work. The main challenge that group faced was the translation of the brail recorded minutes. No one in the group understood brail language apart from Geoffrey himself. He was the only one that could read and understand the minutes. Consequently, he had to step down as secretary after a fortnight of good leadership. Jerry on the other hand, cannot communicate easily and effectively. As a matter of facts, he is most of the time misunderstood and the group experiences a lot of instances with miscommunication. Sign language is not that easy to understand. This impacts negatively on the communication in the organization. Both Jerry and the rest of the members have a hard time in communicating. The importance of both Geoffrey and Jerry in the group can never be underestimated but then at times the challenges effective communication a tall order.CITATION Per08 p 119 l 1033 (Mcintosh, 2008, p. 119)Culture Culture is a very important aspect that should be put into consideration when it comes to effective communication. The culture of a member or members of a group determines how the message is conveyed and it also determines how the message is perceived. Culture affects communication to a very great extent simply because the culture of a person will dictate their style of communication. This means that the more diverse the cultures are, the more diverse their styles of communication. Though to a small extent, there is cultural diversity in our voluntary group. In essence we have people from diverse cultural group. For matters of convenience, I will describe the cultural diversity as high culture and low culture, not that any culture is more superior to another, but for explanatory purposes. For instance, Evelyn, the group’s organizing secretary, is from the high culture. This category mainly focuses their communication on arts and by arts I mean it is more of music, drama et cet era. This category will therefore involve people with a very high esteem since for one to be able to express themselves through arts; they have to be extremely bold, just typical of Evelyn. On the contrary, the low culture category involves large audiences. A good illustration of how culture can affect communication is that in some cultures for instance, it is very vital to maintain eye contact during communication while in others; eye contact can be seen as offensive and unacceptable. Barry, the chairman of our voluntary group and Miley, our secretary are most of the time caught up in such a situation due to their religious differences.CITATION Jos14 p 92 l 1033 (Chesobro, 2014, p. 92)Conclusion and Recommendations With over seven billion people in the world, it is expected that people will differ in relation to various aspects of life. Even people from the same family, people with the same cultures, same religious beliefs and people from the same age group will at one point or the other differ. Communication, on the other is also very important. Each and everything we do revolves around communication. No man is an island. This simply means we have to live harmoniously with each other. For this reason, communication is very important. This paper has not focused on intrapersonal communication but interpersonal communication since this is the way we interact with each other in our work places. Without effective interpersonal communication at our work places, it almost difficult to make any social and economic progress. However, I have learnt from my work experiences at my voluntary group that diversities will always be there, they are there to stay. These are some aspects of life that we should a ccept them just in the way they come. We can never be the same. It is therefore very important to understand and embrace each of our diversities, placing our differences aside. From my own case study it is clear that communication is very important. It is equally clear that challenges must arise due to the diversities in various life aspects. Therefore, from my own experience, I would recommend that we respect the fact that we are not and can never be the same but try as well to burn any bridges that might exist as a result of the differences amongst us. We are one and shall always be one, despite our differences. Let us let communication to make us and not break us. References 1033 Avery, C. (2001). The Flexible Workplace. New York: New York University Press. Chesobro, J. (2014). Professional Communication at the Workplace. New York: New York University Press. Eunson, B. (2009). Communication in the Workplace. New York: Edgeworth Publishers. Forey, G. (2010). Globalization, Communication in the Workplace. Oxford University Press. Gray, J. (2002). Mars and Venus in the Workplace. Oxford University Press. Gufey, M. E. (2009). Essentials of Business Communication. New York: New York University Press. Johnson, J. (2012). Solving Problems in Technical Communication. Oxford University Press. Mcintosh, P. (2008). Interpersonal Communication In The Workplace. New York : New York University Press. Muema, T. (2007). Effects of Poor Communication in the Workplace. Miley and Sons Publishers. Pircadi, R. (2001). Skills of Workplace Communication. New York: New York University Press. Source document