Gas prices - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 14 Words: 4251 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Gas prices are going up. We realize this is an obvious statement because you buy gas and you pay attention. But maybe you arent paying as much attention as you thought you were. Did you realize that gas prices have gone up 46% in the last year? A year ago, gas prices were at $1.96 on average, nationwide. A year later, prices sit at $2.86 per gallon. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Gas prices" essay for you Create order The problem is, weve become so used to gas prices in the $3/gallon neighborhood and were beaten down when gas prices hit $4/gallon over the summer that a year passes and we are OK with prices regularly being in this range. Were immune to it. Well, your friends at TrueCar have found a way to help you fight back. We dug into our vast collection of data and pulled out a real series of gems for you. We assembled a list of the Top 10 2009 and 2010 hybrid vehicles. But, we havent ranked them by which hybrids have the coolest navigation system or the best ad campaign. Nopewe ranked them by which Hybrid is going to get you the most smoking hot discount. These are the hybrids that dealers are right now discounting the most. These deals include all of the incentive money currently being offered, including manufacturer and dealer incentives and federal tax credits. Deals are ranked by the final selling price, or the average discount dealers deduct from sticker price. The majority of European countries give tax rebated to hybrid cars buyers in an effort to stimulate hybrid car sales, or even VAT breaks, owners paying only 50% of the cars price or even a bonus of up to 6,400 euros, while in Netherlands, hybrid car drivers pay half of all road taxes. Benefits of buying a hybrid car in EuropeSend Wave Send Trimite prin Twitter Share Y!M Salveaza ca PDF FontMareste dimensiune fontMicsoreaza dimensiune font PUBLICITATE: In Switzerland, fuel-efficient car buyers benefit of various types of discounts, depending on the hybrid car they purchase. For Type A hybrids, buyers pay a 50% lower VAT of the cars value, while for Type B they are given a 5,000 Swiss francs discount, and for Type C, the discount is of 1,000 CHF (650 euros). Italy offers a 2,800 euro rebate to buyers of eco-friendly cars. Spain is being divided in two regions, Andalusia and Castilla Leon, the discounts being 2,000 euros and 1,890 euros respectively. In Belgium, the tax rebates for fuel-efficient cars depend on the CO2 emissions level, below 105g/km or below 115g/km, the rebates ranging between 15% and 3%. In Greece, no taxes are levied for hybrid cars, while in Slovenia, the buyers pay taxes only for cars with CO2 emissions below 110g/km. In France, the hybrid car owners benefit of 2,000 euro discount of the car price in case of natural persons, or 700 euros in case of companies. In Portugal, all taxes incurred when purchasing a new vehicle are cut to half in case of hybrid cars. Netherlands offers a 6,400 bonus depending on the performances of the hybrid car. Hybrid car owners pay half of all road taxes. In Luxemburg, for a hybrid with CO2 emissions below 120g/km the owner benefits of a 750-euro discount. Sweden offers discounts of up to 1,000 euros to natural persons when purchasing a hybrid car with CO2 emissions below 120 g/km, and offers a 40% tax rebate to companies. In Austria, under a bonus-malus system, cars emitting less than 120g/km and running more than 1km on electric engine mode receive a maximum bonus of 500euros. Cars emitting emitting less than 120g/km attract a bonus of 300 euros. German citizens are tax exempted for two years, if they own a Euro5 hybrid car or for one year if they own a Euro4 car. In Romania, not taxes are charged when purchasing a hybrid, electric or Euro-5 vehicle. 2011 Chevrolet Volt First Li-Ion pack off the assembly line OEM cost is unknown at this time. A study released by the Boston Consulting Group revealed that even though BEV battery costs are expected to fall sharply over the coming decade, they are unlikely to drop enough to spark widespread adoption of fully electric vehicles without a major breakthrough in battery technology. The study concludes that the long-term cost target used by many carmakers in planning their future fleets of electric cars ($250/kWh) is unlikely to be achieved unless there is a major breakthrough in battery chemistry that substantially increases the energy density without significantly increasing the cost of either battery materials or the manufacturing process. Given current technology options, we see substantial challenges to achieving this goal by 2020, said Xavier Mosquet, Detroit-based leader of BCGs global automotive practice and a coauthor of the study. For years, people have been saying that one of the keys to reducing our dependency on fossil fuels is the electrification of the vehicle fleet. The reality is, electric-car batteries are both too expensive and too technologically limited for this to happen in the foreseeable future. Most electric cars in the new decade will use Li-Ion batteries citing the current cost of similar Li-Ion batteries used in consumer electronics (about $250 to $400 per kWh). Many OEMs have projected the cost of an automotive Li-Ion battery pack will fall from its current price of between $1,000 and $1,200/kWh to between $250 and $500 per kWh once manufacturing economies of scale are achieved. BCG, however, points out that consumer batteries are simpler than car batteries and must meet significantly less demanding requirements, especially regarding safety and life span. So actual battery costs will likely be higher than what carmakers predict. Despite this cost challenge, the report projects steady growth for HEVs, PHEVs and BEVs and the batteries that power them. Under the most likely scenario, BCG estimates that 26 percent of the new cars sold in 2020 in the major developed markets (China, Japan, the United States, and Western Europe) will have all-electric or hybrid power trains. That same year, the market for electric-car batteries in those regions will reach $25 billion. This burgeoning market will be about triple the size of todays entire lithium-ion-battery market for consumer applications such as laptop computers and cell phones, said Mosquet, noting that the forecast applies to all the components sold to OEMs for battery packs. To show how battery costs will decline, BCG uses the example of a typical supplier of Li-NI-CO-AL (NCA) batteries-one of the most prominent technologies for automotive applications. BCGs analysis suggests that by 2020, the price that OEMs pay for NCA batteries will decrease by 60 to 65 percent, from current levels of $990-$1,220 per kWh to $360-$440 per kWh. So the cost for a 15-kWh NCA pack would fall from around $16,000 to about $6,000. The price to consumers will similarly fall, from $1,400-$1,800 per kWh to $570-$700 per kWh-or $8,000-$10,000 for the same pack. Even in 2020, consumers will find this price of $8,000 to $10,000 to be a significant part of the vehicles overall cost. They will carefully evaluate the cost savings of driving an electric car versus an ICE-based car against the higher up-front cost, explained Massimo Russo, a Boston-based partner and coauthor of the report. It will be a complex purchase decision involving an evaluation of operating costs, carbon benefits, and potential range limitations, as well as product features. Beyond costs, other key challenges facing BEV/PHEV/HEV battery market are energy storage capacity, charging time, and infrastructure needs. BCG believes that pending a major breakthrough, batteries will continue to limit the driving range of fully electric vehicles to 160-190 miles between charges. As a result, fully electric vehicles that are as convenient as ICE-based cars-meaning that they can travel 300 + miles on a single charge and can recharge in a matter of minutes-are unlikely to be available for the mass market by 2020. In view of the need for a pervasive infrastructure for charging or swapping batteries, the adoption of fully electric vehicles in 2020 may be limited to specific applications, such as commercial fleets, commuter cars, and cars that are confined to a prescribed range of use, the report concludes. The report, titled Batteries for Electric Cars: Challenges, Opportunities and the Outlook to 2020, is a companion piece to a report BCG published in January 2009 on the future of alternative power-train technologies (The Comeback of the Electric Car? How Real, How Soon, and What Must Happen Next). The new reports findings are based on a detailed analysis of existing e-car battery research and interviews with more than 50 battery suppliers, auto OEMs, university researchers, start-up battery-technology companies, and government agencies across Asia, the United States, and Western Europe. The report also draws on the firms extensive work with auto OEMs and suppliers worldwide. What did the BCG group miss? Currently, Chinese sourced 2.3 kWh Li-PO packs are available retail for $1,036 or $450/kWh today through Enginer. These are not yet OEM quality chemistry but they are OEM capable and if these can be manufactured for this price retail, wholesale to an OEM is going to be just 1/2 to 1/3 of this. BATTERIES: The function of the battery in a HEV may be varied. The battery may be a major power source, or may be used in conjuction with the primary power source(s) to level out the supply of power to the drivetrain. As a consequence, the amount of battery power aboard a HEV may vary between a single battery to a pack of many batteries connected together. When using batteries as a primary source of power, the HEV designer becomes concerned with the mass and volume of the battery pack required to meet the power and energy needs of the vehicle. The drive to achieve high power and energy densities have led the HEV community to investigate many types of batteries. These new battery types also promise greater cycle depth, power and energy capacity. BATTERY RATINGS AND CHARACTERISTICS: The decision as to which battery type to use in a HEV application depends on how well the characteristics of that battery match the needs of the HEV design. The battery characteristics of most concern to the HEV designer are: CAPACITY: The battery capacity is a measure of how much energy the battery can store. Batteries do not simply serve as a bucket into which one dumps electricity and later extracts it. The amount of energy that can be extracted from a fully charged battery, for instance, depends on temperature, the rate of discharge, battery age, and battery type. Consequently it is difficult to specify a batterys capacity with a single number. There are primarily three ratings that are used to specify the capacity of a battery: Ampere-hour: The Amphere-hour (Ah) denotes the current at which a battery can discharge at a constant rate over a specified length of time. For SLI (starting-lighting-ignition) batteries that are commonly used in cars, the standard is to specify Ampere-hours for a 20 hours discharge. This standard is denoted by the nomenclature of C/20. A 60 Ah C/20 battery will produce 60 Ah for a 20 hour discharge. This means that the new and fully charged battery will produce 3 Amps for 20 hours it does not mean that the battery can produce 6 Amps for 10 hours (that would be signified by a C/10 60 Ah rating). Reserve Capacity:The reserve capacity denotes the length of time, in minutes, that a battery can produce a specified level of discharge. A value of 35 minutes at 25 Amps for the reserve capacity for a battery means that the fully charged battery can produce 25 Amps for 35 minutes. kWh Capacity: The kWh capacity metric is a measure of the energy (Volt * Amps * Time) required to fully charge a depleted battery. A depleted battery is usually not a fully discharged battery; a 12 V car battery is considered depleted when its voltage drops to 10.5 V. Similarly, a 6V battery is usually considered depleted when its voltage drops to 5.25 V. None of these capacity ratings completely describe the capacity of a battery. Each one is a measure of the capacity under specific conditions. The performance of a battery in an actual application may vary substantially due to different discharge/recharge rates, battery age, cycle history, and/or temperature. VOLTAGE: By definition a battery consists of two or more cells wired together. A lead-acid type cell produces approximately 2.1 Volts. A three cell lead-acid battery thus produces 6.3 V (6.3 = 2.1 * 3) and a six cell lead-acid battery produces 12.6 V. For a battery with fill caps, the number of cells can be determined by counting the number of fill caps. The voltage rating is that of a fully charged battery; its voltage will decrease as the battery is discharged. CYCLE DEPTH: Fully discharging a battery often destroys the battery or, at a minimum, dramatically shortens its life. Deep-cycle lead-acid batteries can be routinely discharged down to 15-20% of its capacity this represents a depth of discharge (DOD) of 85 to 80%. These deep-cycle batteries are constructed with thick plates for the cathodes and anodes in order to resist warping whereas in a conventional lead-acid batteries the plates are paper-thin. Regardless of whether or not the battery is deep-cycle or not, deep discharges shorten the life of a battery. A deep-cycle battery that can last 300 discharge-recharge cycles of 80% DOD (depth of discharge) may last 600 cycles at 50% DOD. WEIGHT/VOLUME: The designer must consider the weight and volume of the battery pack during the vehicle design process. Different battery types will provide the designer with different energy and power capacities per a given weight or volume. The key ratings to consider are the Specific Power/Energy and the Power/Energy densities. These ratings reveal how much power or energy the battery will provide per given weight or volume. ENERGY DENSITY/SPECIFIC ENERGY: Energy density is a measure of how much energy can be extracted from a battery per unit of battery weight or volume. By default, deep-cycle batteries provide the potential for higher energy densities than non-deep-cycle varieties since more of the energy in the battery can be extracted (e.g. larger acceptable DOD). POWER DENSITY/SPECIFIC POWER: Power density is a measure of how much power can be extracted from a battery per unit of battery weight or volume. In an analogy to a cars fuel system, the energy density is analogous to the size of the fuel tank and the power density is analogous to the octane of the fuel. OPERATING TEMPERATURE: Batteries work best within a limited temperature range. Most wet-cell lead-acid batteries perform best around 85 to 95 F. At temperatures above 125 F, lead-acid batteries will be damaged and, consequently, their life shortened. Performance of lead-acid batteries suffers at temperatures below 72 F; the colder it is the greater the degradation in performance. As the temperature falls below freezing (32 F), lead-acid batteries will act sluggish the battery has not lost its energy; its chemistry restrains it from delivering the energy. Batteries can also freeze. A fully charged lead-acid battery can survive 40 to 50 degrees below freezing, but a battery with a low state of charge (SOC) can freeze at temperatures as high as 30 F. When the water in a battery freezes it expands and can cause unrepairable damage to the cells. SULFATION: A low state of charge (SOC) in a lead acid battery can lead to sulfation that can seriously damage the battery. In a low SOC state, lead crystals that are formed during discharge can become so large that they resist being dissolved during the recharge process. This prevents the battery from being recharged. Sulfation can occur when the battery is left at a low SOC for a long period of time. SELF-DISCHARGE: A battery that is left alone will eventually discharge itself. This is particularly true of secondary (rechargeable) batteries as opposed to primary (non-rechargeable) batteries. BATTERY TYPES: There are many types of batteries that are currently being used or being developed for use in HEVs. The following table lists these types along with their common characteristics. The types are listed in descending order of popularity for use in HEVs, with the most popular choices at the top of the table. Typically the Energy Density, sometimes called Specific Energy, is rated at the C/3 rate (i.e. 3 hour discharge). Typical conditions for the Power Density or Specific Power rating is a 20 second discharge to 80% DOD. Cycle life is usually measured at 80% DOD. A brief description of each battery type follows: Lead Acid: Low cost and available now vs low energy density and only fair cycle life. The lead acid battery is composed of lead plates of grids suspended in an electrolyte solution of sulfuric acid and water. These batteries can be ruined by completely discharging them. Advanced Lead Acid: Available now. Longer cycle life than conventional lead acid. Valve regulated lead/acid (VLRA) batteries are showing great promise. Nickel-Cadmium: Higher energy density than lead acid and available now vs cost. memory effect and toxicity. The nickel-cadmium battery is composed of a nickel hydroxide cathode and a cadmium anode in an alkaline electrolyte solution. If these batteries are discharged only partially before recharging, the cells have a tendency to act as if they have a lower storage capacity than they actually designed for; this is the memory effect. Nickel-cadmium batteries can often be restored to full potential (i.e. full memory) with a few cycles of discharge and recharge. These batteries are often used to power small appliances, garden tools, and cellular telephones. Batteries made from Ni-Cd cells offer high currents at relatively constant voltage and they are tolerant of physical abuse. Nickel-Metal Hydride: High efficiency and environmentally friendly. The nickel-metal hydride battery is composed of a hydrogen storage metal alloy, a nickel oxide cathode, and a potassium hydroxide electrolyte. These batteries can be quickly recharged. They have been used for a long time to power flashlights, lap-top computers, and cellular telephones. Lithium-Ion: Lithium seems an ideal material for a battery: it is the lightest metal in addition to having the highest electric potential of all metals. Unfortunately, lithium is an unstable metal, so batteries that use lithium must be made using lithium ions (such as lithium-thionyl chloride). Even so, dangers persist with lithium-ion batteries. Many of the inorganic components of the battery and its casing are destroyed by the lithium ions and, on contact with water, lithium will react to create hydrogen which can ignite or can create excess pressure in the cell. If the lithium melts (melting point is 180 C), it may come into direct contact with the cathode, causing violent chemical reactions. As a consequence, lithium batteries are often limited to small sizes. Portable devices, such as notebook computers, smart cards, and cellular telephones, are often powered by lithium ion batteries. These batteries have no memory effect and do not use poisonous metals, such as lead, mercury or cadmium. Zinc-Bromide: High energy density and long cycle life vs complex and toxicity. Zinc-bromine batteries pass two oppositely charged liquids through an ion-exchange membrane to produce electricity. The electrolyte is usually a zinc bromide-potassium chloride solution. Bromine, in both liquid and vapor form, is toxic and a strong irritant. The required pumping system makes the system complexity. Lithium Polymer: Lithium-polymer cells have shown great promise, at the laboratory scale, for fulfilling the need for a battery of high specific power and energy in electric vehicle applications. A major uncertainty is whether heat generated in Li-polymer batteries during discharge at high power can be transported to the outside without excessive internal temperatures occurring. A second concern is whether lithium-polymer batteries can be brought up to operating temperatures in times acceptable to consumers. Sodium Nickel Chloride: In the charged state, the cell consists of a negative liquid sodium electrode and a solid positive electrode containing nickel chloride and nickel. The electrodes and electrolyte are encapsulated in a steel cell case which simultaneously functions as the negative pole of the cell. Zinc-air: High energy density vs short cycle life, low power density and low efficiency. The cathode of this battery is made of porous carbon which absorbs oxygen from the air. The zinc-air battery uses a zinc anode and the electrolyte is a base (rather than an acid), typically potassium hydroxide. Zinc-air batteries have been used in hearing aids for many years. Vanadium Redox: High efficiency and can be completely discharged without damage vs high cost. The term redox is an abbreviation of reduction oxidation. This battery, along with the Iron Redox battery, obtain their power when one the chemicals is reduced (i.e. gains electrons) while the other is oxidized (i.e. loses electrons). This battery is still very much in the development stages but shows great promise for EV use. There are several other battery types that researchers have considered for HEVs, but their use are not common. These include, listed with their major strengths and weaknesses: Aluminum-air: Long shelf-life and high energy density vs complex and low efficiency. Aluminum-air batteries obtain their energy from the interaction of aluminum with air. The incoming air must be filtered, scrubbed of CO2, and dehumidified; the water and electrolyte must be pumped and maintained within a narrow temperature range hence the complexity of the battery. The batteries are not electrically recharged but are refueled by replacing the aluminum anodes and the water supply. Iron-air: High energy density vs complex, short cycle life, and high self-discharge rate. The iron-air battery uses electrodes made of iron and carbon. The carbon electrode provides oxygen for the electrochemical reaction. These batteries can be electrically recharged. Iron-air batteries are significantly effected by temperature; they perform poorly below 0 C. Lithium-iron sulfide: High energy density vs high operating temperature. The lithium-iron sulfide battery is composed of a lithium alloy anode and an iron sulfide cathode suspended in an electrolyte molten salt solution. A variation of this battery system uses a cathode made of lithium-iron sulfide. Nickel-iron: High energy density and long life vs high cost and high self-discharge rate. Nickel-iron batteries employ cathodes of nickel-oxide and anodes of iron in a potassium hydroxide solution. Nickel-iron batteries have long been used in European mining operations because of their ability to withstand vibrations, high temperatures and other physical stress. Also known as the Edison battery (invented by Thomas Edison in 1901). Nickel-zinc: High power density vs short cycle life. The nickel-zinc battery is composed of a nickel oxide cathode and a zinc anode in a small amount of potassium hydroxide electrolyte. Recharging can be tricky in that zinc can be redeposited in areas where it is not desired, leading to the physical weakening and eventual failure of the electrode.. Silver-zinc: High energy density vs high cost and short cycle life. The cathode in a silver-zinc battery is a silver screen pasted with silver oxide. The anode is a porous plate of zinc, and the electrolyte is a solution of potassium hydroxide saturated with zinc hydroxide. Their high cost results from the amount of silver needed for the construction of these batteries. Sodium-sulfur: High energy density and high efficiency vs high operating temperature. Used in Ford Ecostar van. The Ford Motor Company patented the sodium-sulfur battery in 1965. The battery, unlike most other batteries, uses a solid electrolyte (beta aluminum) and liquid electrodes (molten sulfur and sodium). These batteries require to be heated to around 325 C in order to operate because it is at these temperatures that sulfur and sodium will melt (i.e. be liquid). Zinc-chlorine: High energy density and long cycle life vs complex, requires refrigeration, and toxicity. Similar to the zinc-bromide battery (bromine and chlorine are both halogens), the zinc-chlorine battery is even more complex since it requires refrigeration during the recharging process to remove heat.Chlorine gas is highly lethal. Zinc-Manganese: Low peak power output and short cycle life. Zinc-Manganese Dioxide Alkaline Cells: When an alkaline electrolyteinstead of the mildly acidic electrolyteis used in a regular zinc-carbon battery, it is called an alkaline battery. FACTORS AFFECTING BATTERY PERFORMANCE: TEMPERATURE: Battery performance is highly dependent on temperature. Each type of battery works best within a limited range of temperatures. Concerns related to battery temperature include: Poor energy and power extraction performance for temperatures outside of operating temperature range. Thermal runaway-during high power extraction the temperature of the battery increases which makes further power extraction more difficult which causes subsequent increases in temperature, and so on long heat up times before battery reaches operating temperature-this is a concern for ambient temperature batteries such as lead-acid in cold environments and also for batteries such as lithium/polymer-electrolyte which requires an operating temperature that is elevated above ambient the battery temperature can change with changing current flowing through the internal resistance of the battery. The internal resistance can vary with the changing state of charge (SOC) of the battery. The temperature of battery can also be quite different between different cells since the cells in the center are more insulated from outside convective cooling than the cells at the ends/edges. Consequently, the cells in the center may see a higher temperature rise than the ones near the outer boundaries of the battery package. The impact that temperature exerts on battery capacity can be explained with a simple model of the battery electrochemistry. As the temperature increase towards the peak-performance-operating temperature the electrolyte viscosity decreases, thus allowing for increased diffusion of ions and hence increased battery performance. As the temperature increases past this peak point, the battery electrodes begin to corrode thus leading to a reduced active electrode area and thus to fewer electrode reactions and reduced battery capacity. BATTERY AGE/SHELF LIFE: Corrosion is the main component behind decreased performance in lead acid type batteries by age. DEPTH OF DISCHARGE: Batteries are able to maintain their performance longer when they are not deeply discharged regularly.

Americas Search for a Cultural Center Essays - 2222 Words

Americas Search for a Cultural Center The average American child can not even comprehend what institutions provide cultural enhancement. Is that too bold a statement? I dont think so. Primarily because American culture probably doesnt exist in any real form. The closest we get to art is in our cinema. Art as a practiced form is lost. Literacy rates are abominable, museums are underfunded in response to the lack of public interest in viewing their wares, and art classes are practically non-existent as more and more schools have cut those programs in response to budgetary concerns. Art is a learned appreciation. And we are not teaching it. But good cinema can incite conversation, can entertain, and can act as an artistic base for†¦show more content†¦The bifurcation was reinforced by a corresponding appropriation of different parts of the city. San Joses redevelopment agency has faced the same prospects in their attempts to create a beautiful downtown area that would attract the business community. But even as the y put up buildings for high tech companies on newly appropriated redevelopment turf the dickering continues over what to do with the lingering abandoned landmarks. Culture and business are often at the core of any downtown. Rich cultural venues, like theater, cinema, and art galleries attract those people who would be patrons. But the proximity of business anchors them to the area. And that is one of the functions the Camera Cinemas initially provided to a struggling downtown San Jose. In the early years of redevelopment, the downtown had no soul. Any draw it did have amidst the closed shops and construction came from the enterprising theaters that brought variety to the cultural film life of the growing community. 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Climate Change Debate Guidance

Question: Discuss about contribution on the assigned reading and contribution of somebody else. Answer: Contribution on the Assigned Reading All the forests throughout the world have significant impacts on the overall global climate. During the last few decades, most of the forests were destructed due to various reasons such as industrialization. As a result, the global climate is changing drastically and such change is creating various issues such as global warming. Physical, chemical, and biological processes are followed by the forests throughout the world to influence world climate. Such processes also affect the atmospheric composition, the hydrologic cycle and the planetary energetic (Bonan 2008). Most of the Tropical forests are sophisticated for minimizing global warming. However, negative climate forcing is either enhanced or diminished by the Biogeophysical feedbacks (Bonan 2008). Most of the forests now have to face massive pressure from the global climate change. Greater changes in carbon cycle dynamics and in vegetation are experienced by the northern ecosystems (Forkel et al. 2016). Photosynthetic carbon upt ake has been reacting strongly towards global warming than the processes related to carbon release, during the last few decades. Human-made greenhouse gases are the direct causes behind the Climate Change and global warming. One-sixth of global carbon emissions are contributed by the forests. Most of the forests have the tendency to react perceptively towards changing climate (Hansen et al. 2008). They can be utilized as the wood fuels, as an alternative to fossil fuels. In addition, the forests have the prospective to take in about one-tenth of carbon emissions globally (Forkel et al. 2016). Contribution of Somebody Else The other contributor is right about the role of forests, as Bonan (2008) confirmed that the forests have significant impacts on the overall global climate. The other contributor stated that carbon farming should be encouraged. Carbon Farming is the sophisticated way of farming, which minimizes Greenhouse Gas emissions and also holds carbon in vegetation and soils (Carbonfarmersofaustralia.com.au 2015). It also stated that importing food is cheaper and beneficial, in terms of world trade advancements. The statement is appropriate and is supported by Sirieix, Kledal and Sulitang (2011). According to Hansen et al. (2008), the atmospheric composition of the earth has been altered by the human activities and the other contributor suggested that the farmers should volunteer carbon-farming schemes. It is essential for the farmers to volunteer such schemes, especially when the importance of carbon farming dividends is unrealised (Tang, Kragt, Hailu and Ma 2016). Reference List Bonan, G.B., 2008. Forests and climate change: forcings, feedbacks, and the climate benefits of forests.science,320(5882), pp.1444-1449. Forkel, M., Carvalhais, N., Rdenbeck, C., Keeling, R., Heimann, M., Thonicke, K., Zaehle, S. and Reichstein, M., 2016. Enhanced seasonal CO2 exchange caused by amplified plant productivity in northern ecosystems.Science, p.aac4971. Hansen, J., Sato, M., Kharecha, P., Beerling, D., Berner, R., Masson-Delmotte, V., Pagani, M., Raymo, M., Royer, D.L. and Zachos, J.C., 2008. Target atmospheric CO2: Where should humanity aim?.arXiv preprint arXiv:0804.1126. Carbonfarmersofaustralia.com.au. 2015. What is Carbon Farming. [online] Available at: https://www.carbonfarmersofaustralia.com.au/About/what-is-carbon-farming [Accessed 11 Mar. 2016]. Sirieix, L., Kledal, P.R. and Sulitang, T., 2011. Organic food consumers' tradeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ offs between local or imported, conventional or organic products: a qualitative study in Shanghai.International Journal of Consumer Studies,35(6), pp.670-678. Tang, K., Kragt, M.E., Hailu, A. and Ma, C., 2016. Carbon farming economics: What have we learned?Journal of environmental management,172, pp. 49-57.

Management Work and Life Issues an Example by

Management: Work and Life Issues The total character value of a laborers welfare may sometimes provoke unexpected effects to an organization where he belongs. In most cases, personal and work related issues can induce positive or negative results to the companys normal business processes. In such a case, it is important to evaluate the degree of influence of these factors to any types of company procedures. I f a company wishes to be competitive, then work and life related issues must be addressed (Kutilek et al, 2002). Need essay sample on "Management: Work and Life Issues" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Using a personal experience, the company Ingram Micro provides some of the best approaches in dealing with work or personal life related issues of its employees. The company has a complete instructional method which was primarily implemented by the Human Resources department together with the help of the supervisors in order to combat issues related to workforce performance. One of the strategies that the company employs to address work related issues is to implement a weekly feedback from the sales agents. This is with regards to how they have handled an entire weeks business. For the sales team, each one of the agents are required to submit a mini report which highlights the total sales and the total number of orders per item covering a specific week. This enables the company to address the issues related to inventory and possible price discount offerings for the clients. There have been times when customers tend to complain about changing prices and non-availability of items so having a report like that can help Ingram address the problem. In terms of personal life issues, the company implements a program in which a monthly consultation with the HR department is conducted. This intends to capture each employees dilemmas on a personal perspective. The details about the report are confidential and only the HR team and the employee are aware of the problem. This may include personal financial problems or family concerns. Counseling is provided to employees who face such personal issues so that they can recover from depression and frustrations and would be able to continue providing quality performance for the organization. Apparently, allowing laborers to attend to personal family matters can equate to productivity for the business (Business Intelligence, 2007). Using a personal previous dilemma, the companys strategy towards the employees life issues worked out effectively. I had an issue regarding balancing my time and effort in school and at work. Because of such concern, there was a time when my performance at work was affected due to the hectic schedules patterns in school. This resulted to a low performance rate in terms of sales which covered at least three months. With such an issue, the HR team and my immediate superior had a discussion with me in which I provided the details of my problem. After that small meeting, my supervisor suggested to allocate a different time frame for my work in which the HR positively agreed with. Since I had a very good record in terms of sales, both parties provided me a very lenient schedule which paved the way for me to effectively attend to school while maintaining my good performance at work. This is one true evidence that Ingram Micro has a very good approach in maintaining employees without compromising the resolution value for work or life related issues. Taking care of the work and life related issues of employees can spell greater returns for a business. A small personal assistance or counseling should be enough for the laborers to feel that the company cares for their welfare. With such atmosphere in the workforce, it is not very hard to imagine that the business will be productive for a long time. Anything that is good for employees is directly good for business (Simpson, 2003). References Business Intelligence Lowdown. 2007. How to Be a Manager that Your Employees Respect: 73 Surefire Tips. Kutilek, L., Conklin, N., Gunderson, G. 2002. Investing in the Future: Addressing Work/Life Issues of Employees. Extension Journal Inc. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from https://www.joe.org/joe/2002february/a6.php. Simpson, S. 2003. Good for Employees, Good for Business. Media Inc.

Soccer Essays - Laws Of Association Football,

Soccer Soccer is a popular sport played all over the world. Even though it has only been popular in North America for the past 30 years, soccer has been a long time favorite most everywhere else. It is the national sport of most European and Latin-American countries, and of many other nations. Millions of people in more than 140 countries play soccer. The sport dates back to the Egyptians, who played games involving the kicking of a ball. Now, the sport has grown to a global pastime, including men's and women's teams, and the World Cup (which is played every four years). History and Origins Games similar to soccer were played in China as early as 400 BC. In about 200 AD the Romans played a game in which two teams tried to score by advancing a ball across a line on the field. The Romans passed the ball to one another but they never kicked it. London children in about 1100 played a form of soccer in the streets. During the 1800's the people of England played a game similar to soccer. Many rules changed and each person interpreted the rules differently. The modern version came about in the early nineteenth century, in England. It started as a game involving kicking and handing, but later this branched off into two separate sports: rugby and football (which is what the English call soccer). In 1848 a group of school representatives met at Trinity College in Cambridge and drew up the first of soccer rules. In 1863 English soccer clubs founded the Football Association. By the late 1800's soccer began to spread to the rest of the world. The Canadian Soccer Association was established in 1912 while the United States Soccer Federation was set up in 1913. The first World Cup Championship was in Montevideo, Uruguay. Since then it has been played every four years except during WWII. The North American Soccer League (NASL) was formed in 1968 and the sport began to gain popularity in the 1970's. Modern Game and Rules The modern game of soccer has a simple goal: kick or head the ball in to the goal of your opponent's team. Basically, there is also one simple rule: No one except the goalkeeper may use they're hands to play the ball. Soccer is a simplistic sport. Eleven members of each team defend their side of the field to prevent the ball from being forced into their goal, which results in a point scored by the team kicking the ball. There are only three officials involved during play: The referee, and two linesmen. The equipment used in soccer is also very simple. In addition to the field itself, all that is needed for a game is two goals (eight feet high and eight yards apart) and a ball. Each player wears hard plastic or padded shin guard, covered by long socks, for protection during play. Cleats are also worn for traction on the field. A goalie may also wear a special padded shirt, and gloves to protect his or her hands. A standard field, as regulated by the Federation International de Football Association (or FIFA), has a length between 100 and 130 yards, and a width of between 50 and 100 yards. The rules of play for soccer have deliberately been kept simple (see rules as appendix). The referee makes most of the decisions, and attempts to encourage fair play. A soccer game begins with a kickoff in the center of the field. A coin is flipped to decide which team will kickoff. The other team kicks off at the start of the second half when the teams switch sides or nets. After a team scores the other team gets to kickoff to begin again. The kickoff takes place in the middle of the field. When the ball is kicked it must travel the circumference of the ball and touch another player before the kicker can touch the ball again. After the ball is in play it remains in play unless it crosses a goal line or a touchline. All players attempt to stop the ball from coming in their zone while at the same time trying to score a goal. A player may kick the ball into the net with any part of the body except the hands and arms. If the ball goes out of bounds the play is restarted with a corner kick, a goal kick, or a throw-in. The referee decides what type to use. If the ball crosses

General Will in Rousseau essays

General Will in Rousseau essays The Social Contract Rousseau puts forth the structure of an ideal political society, the legislature and laws of which revolve around a notion he terms the general will. In his view, the general will is the solution to the fundamental problem of politics: that of having citizens equate their wants with what is best for the society as a whole. Therefore, the general will is not the will of all citizens but the ideal will of all citizens who are ideally committed, peaceful and endowed with civic virtue. A public whose passions have been channelled into patriotism and social motivation will theoretically act for the good of the society as a whole even if they are acting only on behalf of themselves. The introduction of a legislating body that actively involves all citizens and acts on the grounds of the general will ensures peace, the protection of the community and effectively ends rule by brute force that is present in pre-political and corrupt society. The general will can only exist in a community that has a common social interest. In order to generate such a society Rousseau lays down certain starting conditions in The Social Contract that he believes will encourage unity and check any emerging social inequality. To begin with the society must not be so large as would make it hard to control without the use of an extensive and confusing bureaucracy. All citizens must be in the possession of private property so that they are actively sharing in the wealth (and therefore the fate) of the state. Citizens should be roughly equal in terms of wealth and possessions. Sectional interest groups are not allowed to form as Rousseau sees their existence as a breeding ground for dissenters. After these general guidelines are in place Rousseau introduces a state education and a state religion that will serve to maintain the cohesiveness established by the institution of the preceding conditions. These conditions create common int...

Explain in your own words what you understand either by the term Essay - 1

Explain in your own words what you understand either by the term 'hegemony' - Essay Example Because of the use of hegemony in a variety of contexts, it extends to other disciplinary, as cultural hegemony that discusses about philosophic and sociological concept, originated by the Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci, that a culturally diverse society can be ruled or dominated by one of its social classes. It is the dominance of one social group over another, e.g. the ruling class over all other classes. The theory claims that the ideas of the ruling class come to be seen as the norm; they are seen as universal ideologies, perceived to benefit everyone whilst really benefiting only the ruling class. For Gramsci as a cultural hegemonist, he posits a strategic distinction, between a War of Position and a War of Maneuver. The war of position is intellectual, a culture war in which the anti-capitalist educators, agitators and organizers seek to have the dominant voice in the mass media, other mass organizations, and the schools (and actively conduct ideological subversion). Once achieved, this position will be used to increase class-consciousness each revolutionary theory and analysis, and to inspire revolutionary organization. On winning the intellectual war of position, socialist leaders would then have the necessary political power and popular support to begin the war of maneuver - the armed insurrection against capitalism (Ratna) For Imperialist, Hegemony has its own specific concept that is called as cultural imperialism  that is the domination of one culture over another by a deliberate policy or by economic or technological superiority. Cultural imperialism  can take the form of an active, formal policy or a general attitude. A metaphor of  colonialism  is employed: the cultural products of the  first world  "invade" the  third world  and "conquer" local culture. In the stronger variants of the term,  world domination  (in a cultural sense) is the explicit goal of the  nation-states  or  multinational corporations  that ex port the culture.  The term is usually used in a pejorative sense, often in conjunction with a call to reject such influence. A Perspective of Hegemony in Contemporary Power Power as one of political imperialist’s instruments has created new dynamic purposes and targets to legalize the x-interest. Here, x-interest is something hidden and can be only defined by one person who wants his or her power runs well. X-interest, which is not specifically designed under the social norms, has changed into general social norms, which is legalized by society under pressure and forces. Here, strategically mission is directed to the x-interest. Therefore, imperialist requires more than sacrifice to achieve the target. When the power has been a huge formation, it extends to other that we call as cultural imperialism. This affects all aspects in social life including way of life, ideology and life tendencies. Mr. Muammar Qadaffi, the president of Libya is one of the examples that can be fou nd in TV and becomes hot issues. To run his power, he uses many factors what I call â€Å"Regional Nationalism†. It talks about brute nationalist who defends his country from other states invasion. For years, stability had become the evidence that he can lead Libya well without any rebellion, protests or new revolutionists (Suhady). Based on the issue, the concept of hegemony, in this case, directs to the strategically mis

Compare and contrast the lives of Plato and Malcom X Essay

Compare and contrast the lives of Plato and Malcom X - Essay Example This according to Plato is very essential because it will make them experts in that particular field, which would indeed benefit the society. (www.infed.org ) Malcolm X was a great political figure in America and was an advocate for voicing the concerns of the Black American’s. According to Malcolm X he felt that, education is the most primary requirement for any individual without which, they would not be able to make any progress in the world. Indeed he felt that, educated individuals can take themselves into the future with greater confidence. Learning according to Plato and Malcolm X As per Plato he felt that learning is only a form of recollection. Plato was of the view that, the human soul is well aware of all universal facts and that for any person seeking knowledge, they only need to do a form of recollection. Indeed Plato felt the real need for people to reason out the things that they come across in day today life. This was because he felt that the majority of humans were leading a life that was totally closed and chained, which could not reveal the truth that existed in the world. This message is being beautifully passed onto the readers by Plato who asks the people to search for this truth, which is hidden in the universe. (www.infed.org ) Malcolm X on the other hand never wanted to stop learning all through his life. He felt that learning is a continuous process and that each person had to have a good primary education and should always go in for higher studies if they get a chance to do so. He himself felt very unhappy for having had to stop his school education and all through his life had an urge to continue with his education. He started life as one being at the bottom of the society, which was much dominated by the American whites. But Malcolm X through his ability grew from a troubled initial childhood to become one of America’s topmost political figures. (www.leader-values.com) Influence of Socrates on Plato Socrates had a prof ound influence on Plato. Plato had become one of the most important students of Socrates and it is only through Plato’s writings that, much of Socrates teachings about philosophy come to light. It was Plato who recorded most of Socrates conversations with others and presented it before the world, to show the wisdom of his beloved teacher. Indeed Socrates death brought so much of grief to Plato, that he devoted his entire life for the teaching of philosophy and to spread Socrates teachings. Thus Plato started his own school for philosophical teachings for the young men, which was named as The Academy that became the most important centre for Greek learning. (www.infed.org ) Influence of Bimbi on Malcolm X Malcolm X got much of his inspiration from a prison mate by name Bimbi. Malcolm X was so much attracted and influenced by Bimbi, since the latter had a wonderful ability to dominate any form of discussion through his speech as well as by means of his ideas. Indeed this had be come one of the turning points in Malcolm’s life and the inspiration that he acquired from Bimbi, turned to a great motivating force which made him a very powerful political figure in America. (www.allisonj.org ) Leadership Skills of Plato and Malcolm X Plato was a great leader and had many followers. He inspired many of his later students by his leadership skills whom he taught in The Academy. Among them Aristotle became one of the students who became greatly influenced by Plato’

Psle in Singapore Debate Essay Example for Free

Psle in Singapore Debate Essay In this commentary, I chose my artefact as a newspaper article on PSLE stress because of many reasons. 1) I had always harbored a strong interest on what everyone is saying about this hot topic and it seemed very interesting, stating just one problem that Singapore currently face. 2) Other than that, it is a topic that is easy to research, unlike some historic things which are little-mentioned (e.g. the banana note, the merdeka talks,etc) 3) Last but not least,it is a topic that is widely discussed on and more sources can be found My view on the issue of PSLE Singaporeans have long since been debating whether to remove PSLE. I personally do not think that PSLE should be removed. On the issue of abolishing PSLE, my concern is if we do not have the PSLE, when it comes to the entrance to secondary schools, how do you decide who goes to which school? I sometimes wish we were a bit like Hogwarts in Harry Potter, where you have the sorting hat that decides which house you go to. But in reality, we do not have a sorting hat and how do we decide who goes to which school? If you did not do it according to grades and scores, how would you do it? Another way would be to do it geographically, where you go into the secondary school nearest to your home, but if you did that, everybody will be fighting to be in the primary school near the secondary school you want to be in. PSLE assess how much you have learnt over the six years in primary school and then allocates you to a secondary school according to your abilities and/or choice. If you remove it, you might as well say to remove all exams. On abolishing PSLE, lets presume we do away with it, then how do we decide who goes to which school? If which school you are going is decided on does the Principal know your father or your mother? then its not a very meritocratic system nor is it acceptable. It is totally, I think, against Singapore’s system. If it is to be decided by the distance and you live very near a very good school, can you imagine the pressure to enter a primary school that is near the secondary school you want to go to. If a sudent had done very badly, but he or she stays very near a good secondary school, he would get in, but a person who did better and stays lets say 10km away would not be able to enter if according to that policy. Imagine how disappointed he or she will feel. One question, is that fair? No doubt many people would say it is not.There is a whole range of scenarios that will come up if Singapore removes PSLE as the sorting exam. The question is how will Singapore deal with it? The real angst about PSLE is the pressure, and the real reason why you have the pressure is that parents perceive that certain schools will give the advantage of getting into university. So, the answer would maybe be to try to make sure that across the board, every school is a good school and that society should change their mindset that a child needs to get into a good school in order to get into university ( which acoording to a survey, is a goalfor many paents. One of the goals of the Singapore government would be ( I think)to make sure that no matter which school students go to, you have a chance to get into a university and even if you do not get into a university, the other options are also pathways to success. I hope that under this system, each person can be the best he or she can be, whether or not that person has a university degree. Why is PSLE bad? 1)Poor education system However, just because I do not think PSLE should be removed doesn’t mean that I totally think it should remain the same. I think, PSLE should not have such a big effect on what type of school a secondary student goes to. In PSLE, the focus tends to be on the aggregate score, which reports each students overall performance in comparison with the entire cohort. Its called a T-score, or transformed score. Its derived through a certain computation and basically provides a ranking of the entire cohort.* The T-score itself doesnt actually tell the student how well he has performed in each subject or across all the subjects. In affect, it is a queue number. Thus, I think, to put the stress off the students shoulder a little. PSLE should form only about 35% of the final grades. This system also has its benefits as the students will not be so focused on the final examination. They might slack for five years and only start to really work when they are in primary 6. I have the same opinion on all the other major exams too. Also, more weight should be placed on continual assessments, conducted on every semester. Everything is more manageable when it is broken into small parts. This will reduce stress amongst students, and allow individual topics to get the attention deserved. Right now, PSLE encourages parents and students to â€Å"spot† possible exam questions, and prepare for those to the exclusion of all else. If every years mark have a large part in the final grade, the students will be more encouraged to work hard and it will be more competitive, resulting in better and smarter young Singaporeans, allowing the country to prosper more. This can happen if we followed the education system that I mentioned other than using other means like, tuition, etc 2)Encourages poor methods of studying Also, PSLE studying and actual learning have had a bad divorce. The methods common to passing PSLE are: †¢ Ask how, not why. †¢ Dont experiment or try to be original. Follow whats worked before, and just copy. †¢ Learn only exam topics. Treat everything else as unimportant. †¢ Memorize model answers, as if theyre cheat codes for a video game. Teachers who try to stray from the path are hammered down. Theres no room for exploration, discourse, or general knowledge. Its not that students are unaware of this. They know these are bad teaching methods. But the importance of PSLE results overshadows their awareness. When an exam threatens to determine most of a childs future, fear drives the curriculum (this has happened to me before) On the topic of tuition Ideally, the aim of the education system is that you should be able to pass your exams without tuition. That said, many parents still think that it is necessary for children to have tuition in order for them to do better; not in all the schools but certainly in a percentage of them. My view is that it should not be the case that because you cannot afford tuition you should not be able to pass your exam, which is why MOE has introduced the Learning Support Programmes in schools, mentioned by Minister of education minister Heng at the last Committee Of Supply Debate. The schools are putting a lot more resources to help students who have difficulty with subjects to help them level up. People generally think that Singapore has a good education system and that we are not deprived of a good education. But I do get the sense that many people think that the learning field is not level. The running track (describing the field in which where Singaporeans learn) is the same for everybody. It is just that those from the less affluent backgrounds are coming on with the plain sneakers and the one from the better affluent ones are coming with the branded sneakers which give you more comfort and support. The idea is that, if the playing field is not equal because there are some students who come from families with better resources, then for those students who do not come from families with better resources, at least you help them to level up so that they get a chance to do well. How can Singaporeans adopt a less stressful approach to the PSLE? I like to make a distinction between status and stature. Status is about our relative importance or merit in comparison to other people, who might or might not be better than yourself; assessment sometimes will tell us about academic status. In contrast, stature is inherent, not comparative. Its about doing the best that you can, and recognising your intrinsic potential. Assessment should also help us develop our stature, and not our status. I know from my own experience how a drop of status badly affects my confidence. I hope this for every teacher and parent: To think and work hard about raising the stature of your children, and not just try to raise their status. Conclusion My conclusion for this is that the PSLE should not be scrapped but should be changed to a better and less stressful exam. So, the format should be changed to one more like the O levels. In the O levels, how well you do within a grade does not matter, just as long you get that particular grade. Once you score an A1, you will not be disadvantaged when compared to a student who has scored A1 with a higher score. I think this should be the model system for the PSLE. Thus , I end my commentary and hope (emphasis) you have enjoyed reading it.

Limitations Of Agency Theory Finance Essay

Limitations Of Agency Theory Finance Essay Irrespective of the recent well-deserved criticism of Agency Theory I believe it should still play an important role in managerial remuneration. Empirical evidence supports the theory that a conflict of interest exists between shareholders and management. Throughout recent years one of the more commonly discussed management topics has been executive compensation and in particular the size of bonuses awarded to CEOs and other senior management. Agency theory can be considered to be the most widely used theory to explain executive compensation. The focus of Agency theory is on ways to make the governance system of corporations more efficient so that shareholders interests and performance expectations are given every chance to be realised by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). An agency problem may arise between managers and shareholders because the principals (the shareholders) cannot adequately monitor the actions taken by the agent (the managers). Subsequently, the agent can have an incentive to pursue their own interests, rather than the bet interests of the principal. Given the body of evidence, it would be naÃÆ' ¯ve to claim that agency theory has not made a significant contribution to the principal-agent literature. However it does have its limitations and a new approach is needed to use the benefits of agency theory to its fullest. By realizing agency theorys limitations, we can add to its strength. Droege, Scott B A key issue facing agency theory is the reliance that stakeholders have on the board of directors. This has proven to be an unhealthy reliance and the level of independance of some board of direcors can be questioned. This is discussed by Band (xxxx) when he noted that while there is a common perception that the board is independent, this is often fake as noted by Pearce and Zahra who found that over 85% of Fortune 500 industrial companies had Chairmen who had also served as the corporations CEO. It is well documented that executive compensation packages should be designed to align the interests of senior management with those of the shareholders and thereby reduce the dysfunctional behaviour of managers; this is typically done by rewarding executives for taking decisions and actions that increase shareholder wealth ([26] Mortlock, 2009). Unfortunately, the shareholders (and directors) may have neither complete information about the actions of executives or the expertise to evaluate those actions, making it difficult to base compensation on actions alone. Instead, compensation in practice is often linked to measures that are positively correlated with managerial performance, for instance market share, share price or accounting profit. Additionally In recent years Boards have become weaker as more power has been distributed to senior management. This has resulted in the decline of the accountability of Directors and a resulting impact in the decline of the monitoring role of Boards. Corporate Governance David Band The board of directors is heavily reliant on the information provided by the CEO. The recent spate of failures among both financial and non-financial companies has been accompanied by a growing interest in and concern about the compensation of the CEOs of major U.S. corporations. This, in turn, has reignited interest among both academics and financial practitioners about agency theory issues, especially the question of whether or not the total compensation of CEOs is properly scaled in relation to the earnings they generate for the shareholders they serve. We find that the executive remuneration design derived from a single agency perspective is insufficient. Prospect theory, real option theory and managerial power approach all together would complement agency theory to bring the theory of executive remuneration closer to reality Adam Notes Agency Theory or Stewardship theory Limitations of Agency theory Irrespective of the recent well-deserved criticism of Agency Theory I believe it should still play an important role in managerial remuneration. Empirical evidence supports the theory that a conflict of interest exists between shareholders and management. The board still functions on information provided by the CEO. While there is a common perception that the board is independent, this is often fake as noted by Pearce and Zahra who found that over 85% of Fortune 500 industrial companies had Chairmen who had also served as the corporations CEO. In recent years Boards have become weaker as more power has been distributed to senior management. This has resulted in the decline of the accountability of Directors and a resulting impact in the decline of the monitoring role of Boards. Corporate Governance David Band The appropriate remedy for the problem of the potentially self-interested or incompetent managerial team is said to be the monitoring board. But frankly, no one really knows what is the optimal level of option grant: what level of stock option compensation will make an executive risk-neutral like the shareholders, or willing to bite the bullet on layoffs, or willing to accept a premium bid? Even if the stock price falls back, the well-timed executive option exercise is a life-changing experience. More formally, the Black-Scholes option pricing model instructs us that the value of the executives stock option will be increasing both in the value of the underlying security and the variance (since stock options are issued at the money). So managers with a rich load of options have incentives to get the stock price high by any means necessary, fraud included. In particular, they have incentives to increase the riskiness of the firm, including projects that offer lower expected returns but higher variance. This will reduce the value of the firm for risk-neutral shareholders but has the potential to increase the value of managers firm-related investments in cases where the gain in option holdings exceeds the loss to human capital. Managers become risk-preferring. Enron Jeffrey Gordon Prospect theory, real option theory and the managerial power approach all together would complement agency theory to bring the theory of executive remuneration closer to reality. On the other hand, theoretically, being the main stream theory of corporate governance, agency theory suggests effective executive remuneration should align managers interests with shareholders interests in order to minimize agency costs (Florackis, 2005; Bayless,2009). Most remuneration frameworks in the literature have been largely influenced by agency theory. However, notable divergences exist between thepredictions of agency theory and reality. There is a need to extend agency theory with some complementary theories to make executive compensation more realistic. We find that the executive remuneration design derived from a single agency perspective is insufficient. Prospect theory, real option theory and managerial power approach all together would complement agency theory to bring the theory of executive remuneration closer to reality. Che, Zhang,Xiao and Li Empirical support for agency theory has been demonstrated in numerous settings. For example, Eisenhardts (1988) studies of retail stores show support for agency theory in salaried and commissioned salespeople. Acquisitions and divestitures were the focus of a study by Argawal and Mandelker ( 1 987). Conlon and Parks ( 1 990) examined performance-contingent compensation as the dependent variable and found support for agency theory. Support has been found in interorganizational joint ventures (BalakrishnanandKoza, 1993) and franchising (e.g., Agrawal and LaI, 1995). Although not an exhaustive review, this brief list gives adequate evidence that agency theory has been empirically tested and supported in a variety of contexts from retail sales to manufacturing to joint ventures. Given this body of evidence, it would be naÃÆ' ¯ve to claim that agency theory has not made a contribution to the principal-agent literature. Indeed, it has made a significant contribution. Thus, it is not my intent to discredit agency theory. However, a rational course is to separate the premises and examine them in a new light. By realizing agency theorys limitations, we can add to its strength. Droege, Scott B Agency theory can be considered to be the most widely used theory to explain executive1 compensation. Agency theory, from economics, focuses on ways to make the governance system of a corporation more efficient so that shareholders interests and performance expectations are realized by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The failure to find a consistent link between executive compensation and a firms performance has motivated some authors to supplement agency theory with other theories originating in psychology and sociology (e.g., Ungson and Steers, 1984; Wiseman and Gomez-Mejia, 1998; Bainbridge, 2005; Gomez- Mejia et al., 2005; and Perkins, 2008). It should be explicitly mentioned here that it is not our objective to replace agency theory with other theories. Rather, we recommend adding other theoretical lenses, originating in other paradigms, to make our understanding of executive compensation more complete. While discussing each of the theories, it will become clear that rather than taking a single theory perspective, it is preferable to take a multi-theory approach to explain the complexities of executive compensation. This is also a logical consequence of the use of three paradigms. Under such an approach, different paradigms and theories together serve to explain executive compensation better and more completely than opting for a single theory or paradigm. Over the last decades, hundreds of studies have been published in the field of executive compensation. Agency theory was found to be the dominant framework. This theory puts forward the relationship between firm performance and executive compensation as one of the mechanisms to reduce agency costs. The inability to find a consistent relationship between performance and executive compensation, however, has given rise to the development of alternative theories. The most popular alternative theories include managerialism theory, institutional theory and contingency theory. Strong support was found for taking such a multi-theoretical and multi-disciplinary view of executive compensation. The control perspective (agency theory), which has historically been the main perspective, has to be enriched with behavioral, institutional and contingency factors. Baeten, Xavier; Balkin, David In the aftermath of the global financial crisis (GFC) governments lost confidence in market fundamentalism and realised the inadequacies of regulatory measures. The purpose of this paper is to outline the proximate causes of the financial crisis of 2007-2009 and to investigate the role of the shareholder wealth maximization (SWM) objective in the GFC. The case studies revealed that unethical behaviour, agency issues, CEO compensation, creative accounting and risk shifting are some of the side effects of SWM. These cases indicate that the assumptions on which SWM are based are questionable. Further, it can be argued that the root cause of the GFC is excessive greed and the single-minded pursuit of SWM. The global financial crisis (GFC), which had been threatening for some time, began to display its effects in the middle of 2007 and into 2008. Around the world, stock markets have fallen, large financial institutions have collapsed or been bought out, and governments in even the wealthiest nations have had to develop with rescue packages to bail out their financial systems. Had all boards of directors being successful in their assigned role of protecting all stakeholders of the firm, rather than just shareholders, then we believe that the GFC would have been avoided. Most business concern is focused on profit maximisation. However, profit maximisation fails for a number of well-known reasons; it ignores: the timing of returns; the cash flows available to shareholders; and risk. Without explicitly considering these factors, higher earnings alone do not necessarily translate into higher share prices. Damodaran (1999) explains that, in the real world, managers perform the decision-making function with four factors or linkages in mind: shareholders, bondholders, society and financial markets. Competitive market conditions place significant pressure on agents and managers who will be tempted to resort to unethical means to portray a positive picture. It is acknowledged that the wealth maximisation objective is not always compatible with a firms social obligations, and it usually involves an agency problem which arises when the managers fail to act in the best interests of the shareholders, preferring instead to benefit themselves ([20] Jensen and Meckling, 1976). Differences in the objectives of ownership and management lead to agency costs; if these are to be controlled, the shareholders must maintain a strict watch over the functioning of the company. The managers should be rewarded for acting in the interests of the shareholders and the managers should maintain a balance between the interests of the shareholders and other stakeholders. In this context, the GFC highlighted the important influence that incentive structures within financial institutions and other businesses can have on risk-taking and financial performance. In particular, it highlighted the dangers of badly designed remuneration incentive arrangements leading to excessive risk-taking, poor financial performance and a bias towards short-term results at the expense of longer-term financial soundness ([26] Mortlock, 2009). It is well documented that executive compensation packages should be designed to align the interests of senior management with those of the shareholders and thereby reduce the dysfunctional behaviour of managers; this is typically done by rewarding executives for taking decisions and actions that increase shareholder wealth ([26] Mortlock, 2009). Unfortunately, the shareholders (and directors) may have neither complete information about the actions of executives or the expertise to evaluate those actions, making it difficult to base compensation on actions alone. Instead, compensation in practice is often linked to measures that are positively correlated with managerial performance, for instance market share, share price or accounting profit. Stock options became an ever greater part of executives compensation, increasing from 27 per cent in 1992 to 60 per cent in 2000. Fixed salary will reduce the risk to the executives and guarantee a standard of living. On the other hand, it may not encourage them to improve their performance in order to maximise shareholder wealth. The use of golden handshake and golden parachute clauses in management contracts may also be driven by managers acting to further their own interests, rather than those of their shareholders. [25] Matsumura and Shin (2005) characterized conflicts of interest between shareholders and managers as usually arising in three broad areas. First, executives enjoy (as well as exploit) the perquisites provided to them. Second, executives are more risk averse in decision making and aim for better compensation as a trade-off. Lastly, executives are more interested in making decisions that have short-term impacts rather than taking a long-term perspective. By designing executive packages in a way that balances the interests of shareholders and executives, these conflicts can be reduced. The packages should be so designed to motivate the executives, whilst at the same time allowing management to control the amount spent on compensation, based on the performance of the CEOs themselves. [26] Mortlock (2009) notes that the major financial and corporate sector distress seen in the USA and Europe in recent times is partly attributable to poorly designed remuneration incentive arrangements. An examination of history reveals that a range of practices, unrelated to any major improvement in cash flows and/or profits, have been carried out with the intention of increasing wealth; for example: accounting manoeuvres with deceitful intention and accounting fraud (in the case of Xerox), improper accounting, deviation from accounting principles with deceitful intention, leveraging of shares to raise debt for expensive acquisitions (as in the case of WorldCom), stretching the limits of accounting by misusing its limitations, lack of transparency, intentional projection of a rosy picture of performance (in the cases of Enron and Arthur Anderson), massive fraud, accounting scandal (in the case of Peregrine Systems), aggressive acquisition strategies and accounting frauds (in the case of Tyco), diverting business cash into off-shore, family-owned entities, artificial support given to the stock of the company (in the case of Polly Peck), deceitful intention of elite and experienced h ands with sophisticated outlets (in the case of BCCI banks) and highly leveraged synthetic financial instruments (in the case of Goldman Sachs). Creative accounting is the manipulation of financial numbers, usually within the letter of the law and accounting standards, although its use can be unethical and does not provide the true and fair view of a company that accounts are supposed to provide ([45] Moneyterms, 2009). Common to all the cases mentioned above was managements single-minded focus on SWM. By attempting to grow the company at high speed and by using creative accounting techniques, managers had failed to foresee the detrimental affect these actions would have in the long term. It is clear that, in light of the side effects of SWM as discussed in Section 4 particularly their impact during the crisis the validity of the above assumptions has become questionable. In this regard, [19] Jenkins and Guerrera (2010) argue that the recent SEC attack on Goldman Sachs strikes at the heart of the business model, a model that, as [46] Friedman (1970) states, views the social responsibility of business being to increase its profits. However, as an agent, a manager is bound to act to maximise the wealth of shareholders, rather than to follow an agenda of social responsibility. It is clear that major issues like unethical behaviour, executive compensation, creative accounting and conflicts of interest, pushed the big entities towards major difficulties and, in many cases, collapse. Though a series of accounting regulations were designed and directed, many giant organisations found convenient loopholes to take advantage of or, if this was not possible, resorted to manipulative means, actions which ultimately contributed substantively to the financial crisis. Hull (2009) argues that the inappropriateness of extant incentive schemes led to a short-term focus in the managerial decision making. Given this situation, in February 2009, US President Barack Obama introduced new restrictions on executive compensation for institutions that receive financial assistance from the government, by limiting cash compensation to US$500,000; similarly, the USs Financial Stability Board released a set of principles aimed to ensuring effective governance of compensation and the effective alignment of compensation with prudent risk taking. These developments in turn suggest that the SWM objective is neither self-regulatory nor flawless in nature. As we have discussed in this paper, the reasons for the burst of this financial bubble are many. However, most of the factors are (directly or indirectly) linked to the pursuit of SWM. The above discussion has shown that each factor had in common the desire to increase the value of owners wealth. It appears reasonable to argue that, by forgetting the importance of ethics and deviating from accounting principles, the greed paid off. Risk shifting and dysfunctional behaviour are some of the side effects and flaws in an SWM-based system that is not self-regulatory. Because of a strong focus on profit maximisation or even SWM, the corporate decisions that led to the economic downturn were never balanced with any good citizen approach. But value maximisation alone is no longer sufficient in todays competitive global business environment; organisations need to focus on objectives that have long-term benefits rather than short-term value. By taking stakeholders and society into consideration a firm will truly begin to create sustainable wealth; while the corporate objective function is dominated by SWM this cannot take place. Yahanpath, Noel Supporters of agency theory underscore, among its positive features, the realism with which it describes relationships among individuals in a company(Eisenhardt, 1989). The firm is no longer considered as a single, monolithic actor but the complex set of interactions among several individuals. The firm is now presented as a nexus of contracts between principals and agents (Maitland, 1994; Shankman,1999). Typically, there are different goals and interests among individuals involved in an agency relationship. Agency theory presupposes that individuals are opportunistic, that is, they constantly aim to maximize their own interests (Bohren, 1998). Thus, there is no guarantee that agents will always act in the best interests of principals. Rather, there is a constant temptation for agents to maximize their own interests, even at the expense of principals. Under conditions of incomplete information and uncertainty prevalent in business settings two kinds of problems arise: adverse selection and moral hazard (Eisenhardt, 1989, p. 58). Adverse selection refers to the possibility of agents misrepresenting their ability to do the work agreed; in other words, agents may adopt decisions inconsistent with the contractual goals that embody their principals preferences. Moral hazard, on the other hand, refers to the danger of agents not putting forth their best efforts or shirking from their tasks. This divergence between the interests of the principal and the agent unavoidably generates costs. Agency costs are residual costs that result in a failure to maximize the principal_s wealth. These may be incurred by the principal through measures to control the agent_s behaviour or by the agent through efforts to demonstrate his commitment to the principal_s goals. The whole point behind agency theory is to come up with mechanisms that ensure an efficient alignment of interests between agent and principal, thereby reducing agency costs (Shankman, 1999, p.321). Principals are thus challenged to design contracts that protect their interests and maximize their utility in case of conflict. These contracts are based on several assumptions regarding agents (self-interest, limited rationality, risk aversion), organizations (goal conflict between members) and information (asymmetrical) (Shankman, 1999, p. 332). Supporters of agency theory underscore, among itspositive features, the realism with which it describes relationships among individuals in a company (Eisenhardt, 1989). The firm is no longer considered as a single, monolithic actor but the complex set of interactions among several individuals. Methodologically, agency theory subscribes to individualism: its basic unit of analysis is the human being fully constituted as an individual and bereft of any social dimension. In every endeavour individual agents seek above all their own utility (utilitarianism) or pleasure (hedonism), the satisfaction of their own desires. They form groups not to fulfil any requirement of their proper flourishing as human beings but only to further their particular interests (contractualism). Outside of this, agents do not subscribe to any moral imperative; they willingly engage in immoral conduct whenever convenient. Acting morally would be reasonable only if it presented a greater economic incentive in terms of utility and pleasure than the contrary (Bohren, 1998). Joan Fontrodona, Alejo Jose ´ G. Sison The recent spate of failures among both financial and non-financial companies has been accompanied by a growing interest in and concern about the compensation of the CEOs of major U.S. corporations. This, in turn, has reignited interest among both academics and financial practitioners about agency theory issues, especially the question of whether or not the total compensation of CEOs is properly scaled in relation to the earnings they generate for the shareholders they serve. Our null hypothesis, consistent with the popular assumption in the media, is that the secular growth of CEO compensation has become increasingly misaligned with the earnings results that CEOs have produced for shareholders. Surprisingly, our initial findings, drawing on secular trends among SP 500 firms, appear to show that our hypothesis does not hold, and that, over an extended period of time, CEOs have not received compensation that is out of line with the their companies earnings trends. Zhao, Kevin M; Baum, Charles L; Ford, William F 2.0 Diagnosis of Problems and Theoretical Analysis 2.1 Organisational Change 2.2 Conflict Cognitive Dissonance 2.3 Communication 2.4 Leadership 3.0 Recommendations 3.1 Organisational Change Management Recommendations 3.2. Conflict Management Recommendations 3.3. Communication Recommendations 4.0. Conclusion

“Examine the View That the Family Is Universal”

George Murdock examined the institution of the family in a wide range of society. Murdock took a sample of 250 societies of different cultures and discovered that there was some form of the nuclear family which existed in every society. Murdock then concluded that the family is universal and provides four function. Sexual(stable relationship for adults), reproduction(continuing to create more society members), economic (pools resources to provide for each other), socialisation (teaches norms and values of society).Kathleen Gough disagreed with Murdock statement that the family is universal since she investigated a society in India called the Nayar who were an exception to the family. For example sandbanham relationships were not lifelong unions, either party could terminate the relationship at any time, sunbanham husbands had no duty towards the offspring’s of their wives, husband and wives did not form an economic unit. Husbands were not expected to maintain their wives. This society was a matrilineal society. in terms of Murdock definition of the family, no family existed in the nayar society since those who maintained a sexually approved relationship did not live together and cooperate economically.Another type of family known as the martifocal familles are considered an expection to murdocks defintion of the family as some children are raised in a household that do not contain men and are headed by females. For example a significant proprtion of black familles in the island of the west indies(Guyana).female headed familles are oftern known as the matriarchal family.Another type of family which may go against murdock definition of the family is gay and lesbian families.murodck claimed the household will contain â€Å"two of both sexes† however lesbian and gay household contain a union from the same gender.In conclusion although the nuclear family, the ideal type of family from the new rights perspective is found in every society. Not all househ old consist of this particular family. Therefore the nuclear family in my opinion is not unversal since it is not found in every household.

Personal Theory Paper Essay

Throughout my experience my current course, Theories and Practices: Human Services in Criminal Justice, I have learned plenty of information about the various theories of psychotherapy in counseling. Some of these theories operate on the basis of recognizing errors in thinking and correcting those errors. Other theories operate on the basis of multiculturalism and the fact that all clients are unique and deserve to be treated as such. As a result of learning from my readings and of my discussions with class mates, I was able to create my own intervention theory for counseling. Explanation of Theory and why I believe in it Any student in a human service course should be able to develop his or her own intervention theory by the time the course ends. My personal theory will involve both cognitive and multicultural approaches to therapy. Cognitive approaches to therapy operate on the assumption that by correcting the clients’ faulty beliefs, they can learn to behave more appropriately, how to think differently, and how to act on these learnings (Jones-Smith, 2012). On the other hand, Multicultural approaches to therapy suggest that counseling theories represent various views of the world with their own values, biases, and assumptions about human behavior, and that all clients are unique in some way and that their individual differences must be both accepted and respected (Jones-Smith, 2012). I believe in combining these approaches to therapy for my theory for a few reasons. First, I have always thought that offenders within the criminal justice system need to recognize their errors in thinking before they will be able to change their behaviors to be in accordance with the law. Plus, as a future employee of the criminal justice system who will most likely be working in human services, I need to be able to work with clients from various cultural backgrounds and  to accept and recognized their differences. Combining these two theories is the best way for me to be able to help all of my future potential clients in the best way possible. Theories and Theorists I Relate the Most to and why After reading all of the material for this course, I found that I relate to a few of the theories and theorist better than I do others. For instance, I found that I can relate to Albert Ellis and his Rational Emotive Behavior Theory or REBT. One of the reasons that I can relate to this theory and theorist is because it is a cognitive approach to therapy, which I think is very important for offenders to take part in for the best chances of living a crime-free life. Plus, REBT is based on the belief that people are born with a potential for irrational or rational thinking (Jones-Smith, 2012). In addition, REBT maintains that people are born constructivists and have a great deal of resources for human growth (Jones-Smith, 2012). I have always made these assumptions about people, which is also why I can relate to this theory. I can also relate to Ho’s theory of internalized culture, which suggests that the formations of our worldviews are influenced by eternalized culture (Jones-Smith, 2012). In addition, the theory suggests that effective multicultural counseling is based on the counselor’s ability to go beyond the boundaries and limitations of his or her personal culture (Jones-Smith, 2012). I can relate to this because I think that it is necessary to be able to look past my personal beliefs and experiences to be able to help a wide range of clients. Relating to these theories and theorists has helped me to develop my own personal intervention theory that I will be able to use in my future career. What Surprised me most about the Theories and why Some of the theories and concepts from this course took me by surprise. For instance, it took me by surprise that there are theories and theorists created specifically for feminist and the LGBT communities. Although I realize that all types of people have issues that they need to address in therapy, I never thought that specific therapeutic techniques were developed for feminist and LGBT communities. However, it does make sense that the LGBT community would have certain issues that other people may not have to face. In addition, I was a bit surprised at the variety of theories and  approaches that are used for Asians, Muslims, and Arabs. What surprised me about these theories is that they were very different from many of the theories generally used by our culture. In addition, I did not fully understand how the differences in these cultures played such a large role in how to approach these populations with therapy. However, I did find them interesting, and considered many of the concepts for use in my personal intervention theory. Even though these theories took me by surprise, I recognize their importance in psychotherapy approaches to counseling. Conclusion All of the theories of psychotherapy discussed in this course are effective for specific people with specific needs. Despite the fact that some of the theories were surprising, they all have merit and can be effective with the right client. Even though I recognize the importance of all of the theories and theorists, I was able to relate to some more than others. After relating to certain theories and theorists, I was able to develop my own personal intervention theory based on cognitive and multicultural approaches to therapy. My personal intervention theory, along with the rest of the theories and concepts discussed in this course will guide me along my journey of employment as a juvenile probation officer in the future. References Jones-Smith, E. (2012). Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy: An Integrative Approach. Sage Publications.