Inherent Difficulties in thePerformance Appraisal Process Essay Sample free essay sample

The public presentation direction rhythm begins with nonsubjective scene where the appraisee ought to be oriented about public presentation outlooks for the given public presentation period. Throughout the period. public presentation is measured officially through the public presentation assessment exercising. where the valuator is given the opportunity to give public presentation feedback through an interview. The public presentation direction system is meaningfully linked to wagess based on results or consequences. Following all these. alterations are implemented to aims and activities. including the drafting of an single development program for shuting competence spreads ( Clark. 1998 ) . Types of Performance Appraisal Systems Traditionally. employee public presentation has been evaluated entirely by supervisors. Recently. nevertheless. organisations have realized that supervisors see merely certain facets of an employee’s behaviour. For case. a director might see merely 30 % of his staff’s behaviour ; the remainder is observed by clients. equals. and support staff in other parts of the organisation. We will write a custom essay sample on Inherent Difficulties in thePerformance Appraisal Process Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Furthermore. the staff might act otherwise around her supervisor than around other people. Consequently. to obtain an accurate position of the staff’s public presentation. these other beginnings should supply feedback. The cant for utilizing multiple beginnings to measure public presentation is 360-degree feedback ( Gruner. 1997 ) . Beginnings of relevant information include supervisors. equals. subsidiaries. clients. and self-appraisal. Harmonizing to Conway and Huffcutt ( 1997 ) . there is frequently really small understanding in the manner that two supervisors evaluate an employee or that a supervisor and a equal might rate an employee. Interestingly. supervisors whose self-ratings agree with others’ evaluations tend to be better performing artists than supervisors whose evaluations are non consistent with others’ ( Witt. 1996 ) . Supervisor Appraisals By far. the most common type of public presentation assessment is the supervisor evaluation. In fact. Bernardin A ; Beatty ( 1984 ) estimated that over 90 % of all public presentation assessments are conducted utilizing supervisors’ evaluations of public presentation. Supervisors are best able to measure the extent to which an employee contributes to the overall success of the organisation. Through supervisors may non see every minute of an employee’s behaviour. they do see the terminal consequence. A superior may non really see a staff mark up clients but will reexamine the overall end product for the twenty-four hours. Peer Appraisals Whereas supervisors see the consequences of an employee’s attempts. equals frequently see the existent behaviour. Peer evaluations normally come from employees who work straight with an employee. An employee may be rated by those in the same degree or place. However. other employees in the organisation. those who frequently come in contact with the employee. can besides supply utile information. Research has shown that equal evaluations are reasonably dependable merely when the equals who make the evaluations are similar to and sell acquainted with the employees being rated ( Mumford. 1983 ) . Most of import. equal evaluations have been successful in foretelling the hereafter success of promoted employees as they correlate extremely with supervisor evaluations ( Cederbloom. 1989 ) . But even through equal evaluations appear promising. few organisations use them. One ground could be that peer evaluations are indulgent when used for rating intents bit non when they are used merely to supply feedback ( Farh. Cannella. A ; Bedeian. 1991 ) . Research suggests that certain employees are more indulgent in their equal evaluations than are other employees. Saavedra A ; Kwun ( 1993 ) found that high performing artists evaluate their equals more purely than make low performing artists. This difference in evaluations is likely because employees compare others to themselves. Therefore. the mean employee does non look impressive to a high performing artist but may to a less productive employee. Though equals may supply a alone position of public presentation. employees tend to respond worse to negative feedback from equals than they do to feedback from experts ( Albright A ; Levy. 1995 ) . Employees who score high in self-esteem. high in self-monitoring. and low in individuality react most favourably to peer evaluations ( Long. Long A ; Dobbins. 1998 ) . Subordinate Appraisals Subordinate feedback. besides called upward feedback is an of import constituent of 360-degree feedback. as subsidiaries can supply a really different position about a supervisor’s behaviour ( Whetstone. 1994 ) . However. with the exclusion of pupils evaluation instructors. formal methods are neither common nor good regarded by directors ( McEvoy. 1990 ) . Subordinate evaluations can be hard to obtain because employees fear a recoil if they unfavorably rate their supervisor. particularly when a supervisor has merely one or two subsidiaries. However. subordinates’ feedback can be encouraged if supervisors appear unfastened to employee remarks ( Baumgartner. 1994 ) and if the evaluations are made anonymously ( Antonioni. 1994 ) . Interestingly. subordinate evaluations correlate extremely with upper direction evaluations of supervisors’ public presentation ( Furnham A ; Stringfield. 1994 ) . Research indicates that low-level feedback can heighten managerial public presentation. particularly that of ill executing directors ( Walker. 1997 ) . This betterment in public presentation holds particularly for countries targeted for betterment ( Clarke. Rogers. A ; Miklos. 1996 ) . Customer Appraisals Though it would be improbable that an organisation would inquire clients to make full out a public presentation assessment instrument on an employee. organisations do value client feedback. Informally. clients provide feedback on employee public presentation by registering ailments or congratulating a director about one of his subsidiaries. Formally. clients provide feedback by finishing rating cards ( Farh. Canella. A ; Bedeian. 1991 ) . Self-appraisal Leting an employee to measure her ain behaviour and public presentation is a technique used by 12 % of a sample of organisations ( Laser A ; Wisdom. 1977 ) . Research on self-appraisal. nevertheless. has demonstrated that self-appraisals tend to endure from lenience ( Holdback. 1978 ; Meyer. 1980 ) and correlate reasonably ( r= . 29 ) with existent public presentation ( Maybe A ; West. 1982 ) and ill with low-level evaluations ( London A ; Wholes. 1991 ) . However. when ratings are made with clear evaluation criterions and societal comparing information. understanding is increased between self- and supervisor evaluations ( Keeping A ; Sulky. 1996 ) . The lenience found in the self-ratings of US workers may non generalise to other states. Farh. Dobbins. and Cheng ( 1991 ) found that the self-ratings of Chinese workers suffered from modestness instead than lenience However. Furnham A ; Stringfield ( 1994 ) and Yu and Murphy ( 1993 ) found lenience in the self-ratings of Mainland Chinese employees. Further research is still needed to look into possible cultural differences in Mainland Chinese evaluations. Self-appraisals of public presentation appear to be the most accurate when the intent of the self-appraisal is for either research or public presentation assessment review interviews instead than for such administrative intents as rises or publicities ( Williams A ; Levy. 1992 ) . and when employees believe that an nonsubjective record of their public presentation is available with which the supervisor can compare the self-appraisal ( Farh A ; Werbel. 1986 ) . Systems for Measuring Performance Trait-focused assessment systems. A trait-focused system dressed ores on employees’ properties such as their dependableness. assertiveness. and friendliness. Though normally used. trait focused public presentation assessment instruments are non a good thought because they provide hapless feedback and therefore will non ensue in employee development and growing ( Kingstrom A ; Bass. 1981 ) . For illustration. in a public presentation reappraisal meeting in which the supervisor tells an employee that she received low evaluations on duty and friendliness. the employee is likely to go defensive. Furthermore. the employee will desire specific examples the supervisor may non hold available ( Kingstrom A ; Bass. 1981 ) . Behavior-focused public presentation assessment systems. Behavior-focused instruments concentrate on what an employee does. Alternatively of evaluation them on personal traits. a behavior-focused instrument would rate him or her on specific behaviours. For illustration. in the instance of a bank Teller. some behaviours that may be rated on are as follows: â€Å"Knows customers’ names† . and â€Å"Thanks client after each dealing. † The obvious advantage to a behavior-focused system is the sum of specific feedback that can be given to each employee. Further. the focal point on behaviour instead than traits does non merely cut down employee defensiveness but reduces legal jobs ( Kingstrom A ; Bass. 1981 ) . There are assorted methods for evaluation behaviour. as follows: Graphic evaluation graduated tables. The most common evaluation graduated table is the in writing evaluation graduated table. Such graduated tables are simple. with 5 to 7 points accompanied by words such as good and hapless grounding the terminals of the graduated table. The obvious advantage to graphic evaluation graduated tables is their easiness of building and usage. but they have been criticized because of their susceptibleness to such evaluation mistakes as aura and lenience ( Kingstrom A ; Bass. 1981 ) Behaviorally anchored evaluation graduated tables. P. C. Smith and Kendall ( 1983 ) developed behaviorally anchored evaluation graduated tables ( BARSs ) . which use critical incidents ( samples of behaviour ) to supply significance to the Numberss on a evaluation graduated table. To utilize the graduated table when really evaluation public presentation. the supervisor compares the incidents she has recorded for each employee to the incidents on the graduated table. This can be done in one of two ways. The most accurate ( and clip devouring ) method compares each of the recorded incidents to the ground tackles and records the value of the incident on the graduated table that most closely resembles the recorded incident. The value for each incident is summed and divided by the entire figure of incidents recorded for that dimension ; this yields an mean incident value. which is the employee’s evaluation for that peculiar occupation dimension ( Smith A ; Kendall. 1983 ) . In the 2nd method. which is easier but is less accurate. all of the recorded incidents are read to obtain a general feeling of each employee. This general feeling is compared to the incidents that anchor each graduated table point. The scale point following to the incident that most closely resembles the general feeling gained from the incidents so becomes an employee’s mark for that dimension ( Smith A ; Kendall. 1983 ) . Evaluation of Performance Appraisal Methods We now come to the inquiry of measuring which assessment method is best. Research has shown that more complicated techniques such as BARS. forced-choice graduated tables. and assorted criterion graduated tables are merely on occasion superior to cheap and unsophisticated in writing evaluation graduated tables ( Giffin. 1989 ) . In fact. behavioural ground tackles sometimes bias supervisors’ evaluations by coercing them to concentrate on specific behaviours ( Murphy A ; Constans. 1987 ) . Yet in writing evaluation graduated tables are rarely superior to these more complicated evaluation methods. Although the more complicated techniques are merely more psychometrically sound. they still have some advantages over in writing evaluation graduated tables. Because employees are straight involved in making techniques such as BARS. they tend to see public presentation rating consequences as being more just. Furthermore. many supervisors who make such evaluations prefer many of the more complicated behavioural attacks. Finally feedback from BARS may take to greater additions in future public presentation than feedback from in writing evaluation graduated tables ( Hom. DeNisi. Kinicki. A ; Bannister. 1982 ) . Though many of the behavioural methods yield similar consequences. the same is non true when comparing subjective and nonsubjective evaluations. A meta-analysis by Bommer. Johnson. Rich. Podsakoff. and Mackenzie ( 1995 ) indicated that aim and subjective consequences are merely somewhat correlated ( r= . 39 ) . Interestingly. there was a stronger relationship between aim and subjective evaluations of measure ( r= . 38 ) than between nonsubjective and subjective evaluations of quality ( r= . 24 ) . From a legal position. tribunals are more interested in the due procedure afforded by a public presentation assessment system that in its proficient facets. After reexamining 295 circuit tribunal determination sing public presentation assessment. Werner A ; Bolino ( 1997 ) concluded that public presentation assessment systems are most likely to last a legal challenge if they are based on occupation analysis. if raters receive preparation and written instructions. if employees are allowed to reexamine consequences. and if evaluations from multiple raters are consistent. Rating Mistakes Some of the mistakes that may be committed in measuring public presentation are discussed below: Distribution mistakes. A common type of mistake in measuring employee public presentation involves the distribution of evaluations on a evaluation graduated table ; such mistakes are known as distribution mistakes. One sort of distribution mistake is called lenience mistake because certain raters tend to rate every employee at the upper terminal of the scale regardless of the existent public presentation of the employee. A related mistake is cardinal inclination mistake. which consequences in a supervisor’s evaluation every employee in the center of the graduated table. Still another mistake. strictness mistake. rates every employee at the lower terminal of the graduated table. These types of mistakes pose jobs for an organisation because two employees making equal work will have different evaluations if one employee is supervised by a indulgent rater and another by a rigorous rater. This job can be eliminated partially by holding several people rate each employee ( Kane A ; Lawler. 1979 ) . although this is non frequently executable. particularly in little trade name offices with merely one director or supervisor. Halo errrors.A aura mistake occurs when a rater allows either a individual property or an overall feeling of an single to impact evaluations that she makes on each relevant occupation dimension. Halo effects occur particularly when the rater has small cognition of the occupation and is less familiar with the individual being rated ( Kozlowski. Kirsh. A ; Chao. 1986 ) . Normally. halo mistake is statistically determined by correlating the evaluations for each dimension with those for the other dimensions. If there are extremely correlated. halo mistake is frequently said to hold occurred. However. some writers argue that many times consistent evaluations across several dimensions indicate non error but existent employee public presentation. Halo mistakes may or may non be a serious job. but they can be reduced by holding supervisors rated each trait at several times. That is. the supervisor might rate the employee on attending one twenty-four hours and so rate her on dependableness the following twenty-four hours ( Balzer A ; Sulzky. 1992 ) . Proximity mistakes. Proximity mistakes occur when a evaluation made on one dimension affects the evaluation on the dimension that instantly follows it on the evaluation graduated table. With propinquity mistake. merely the dimensions physically located nearest a peculiar dimension on the evaluation graduated table are affected ; the ground for the consequence. in fact. is the close physical propinquity of the dimension instead than the overall feeling ( Balzer A ; Sulzky. 1992 ) . Contrast mistakes.The public presentation evaluations one individual receives can be influenced by the public presentation of the antecedently evaluated individual. These mistakes can happen between separate public presentation ratings of the same individual. That is. the evaluations received by one individual on one public presentation assessment will impact the evaluations made on an appraisal six months subsequently ( Bravo A ; Kravitz. 1996 ) . Contrast effects occur merely when the individual doing the rating really sees the employee perform and rates the employee during both evaluation periods. Even if a new supervisor reads that an employee’s old ratings were first-class but observes hapless public presentation by the employee. she will likely go on to give first-class evaluations – even though the employee’s public presentation deteriorated. Smither et Al ( 1988 ) name this evaluation mistake assimilation. Sampling Problems Recency consequence. Performance assessments are typically conducted one time or twice a twelvemonth. The rating is designed to cover all of the behaviours that have taken topographic point during the old 6 months to a twelvemonth. Research has demonstrated. nevertheless. that recent behaviours are given more weight in the public presentation rating than behaviours that occurred during the first few months of the rating period. Such an consequence penalizes workers who performed good during most of the period but tailed off toward the terminal. and it rewards workers who save their best work until merely before the rating ( Bravo A ; Kravitz. 1996 ) . Infrequent observation.Another job that affects public presentation assessments is that many directors or supervisor do non hold the chance to detect a representative sample of employee behaviour. Infrequent observation occurs for two grounds. First. directors are frequently so busy with their ain work that they frequently have no clip to â€Å"walk the floor† and detect their employees’ behaviour. Alternatively. they make illations based on completed work or employee personality traits ( Conway A ; Huffcutt. 1997 ) . This job can be alleviated slightly by holding several raters evaluate the employee. Other raters can be other supervisors. equals. and even clients. A meta-analysis conducted by Conway and Huffcutt ( 1997 ) indicated that supervisor evaluations on the mean correlative. 34 with equal evaluations. Thus. even though the two groups tend to hold with one another. the understanding is surely non perfect. Cognitive Processing of Observed Behavior Observation of behaviour. Just because an employee’s behaviour is observed does non vouch that it will be decently remembered or recalled during the public presentation assessment. Cooper ( 1981 ) indicates that raters recall those behaviours that are consistent with the general feeling of an employee ( a aura ) . And the greater the clip interval between the existent behaviour and the public presentation evaluation. the greater the chance that aura and deformation mistakes occur. Furthermore. raters who are familiar with the occupation being evaluated callback more judgements about public presentation but fewer behaviours than do raters who are unfamiliar with the occupation ( Cooper. 1981 ) . But even though memory-based evaluations lead to more deformation. in many fortunes they are more accurate than evaluations made instantly after the behaviours occur ( Murphy A ; Blazer. 1986 ) . The ground for these additions in aura and truth is non clear. Supervisors possibly realize that it will be a long internal between observation of employee behaviour and the formal rating of that behaviour and that they will non be able to retrieve specific behaviours. Therefore. they form an overall feeling of the employee and an ideal and a hapless employee and measure the employee on the footing of comparing with the ideal ( Murphy A ; Blazer. 1986 ) . Emotional province. The sum of emphasis under which a supervisor operates besides affects her public presentation evaluations. Srinivas and Motowidlo ( 1987 ) found that raters who were placed in a nerve-racking state of affairs produced evaluations with more mistakes than did raters who were non under emphasis. This determination is of import because public presentation ratings are frequently conducted hastily as supervisors evaluated employee public presentation so that they can return to their â€Å"real† work. Raters who like the individual being rated may be more indulgent and less accurate in evaluation employees than are raters who neither like nor dislike their employees. But this does non intend that a individual who is liked will ever have higher evaluations than person who is disliked. The rater may cover in an attempt to be â€Å"fair† . The rater’s feelings or impact. toward an employee may interfere with the cognitive processing of existent public presentation information ( Srinivas and Motowidlo. 1987 ) . Research has besides indicated that racial prejudice exists in public presentation ratings. Kraiger and Ford ( 1985 ) conducted a meta-analysis of 74 surveies and found that White raters gave higher public presentation evaluations to White employees and that Black raters gave higher evaluations to Black employees. Interestingly. this prejudice occurred merely with surveies affecting existent organisations ; laboratory research seldom reveal racial prejudice in evaluation. Communicating Appraisal Results to Employees Possibly the most of import usage of public presentation rating informations is to supply feedback to the employee and measure his or her strengths and failings so that farther preparation can be implemented. Although this feedback and preparation should be an on-going procedure. the semi-annual rating might be the best clip to officially discourse employee public presentation. Furthermore. keeping a formal reappraisal interview places the organisation on better legal land in the event of a case ( Field A ; Holley. 1982 ) . Normally. in most organisations a supervisor spends a few proceedingss with employees every six months to state them about the tonss they received during the most recent public presentation rating period. This procedure is likely the norm because most directors do non like to judge others ; because of this disfavor. they try to finish the rating procedure every bit rapidly as possible ( Field A ; Holley. 1982 ) . Furthermore. seldom does measuring employees benefit the supervisor. The best scenario is to hear no ailments. and the worst scenario is a case. In fact. one survey demonstrated that dissatisfaction and a lessening in organisational committedness occurs even when an employee receives an rating that is â€Å"satisfactory† but non outstanding ( Pearce A ; Porter. 1986 ) . Finally. in the â€Å"tell and sell† attack to public presentation assessment interviews. a supervisor â€Å"tells† an employee everything she has done ill and so â€Å"sells† her on the ways in which she can better. This method. nevertheless. accomplishes small. There are certain techniques that will do the public presentation assessment interview more effectual. and these are discussed in the undermentioned subdivisions. Both the supervisor and the employee must hold clip to fix for the reappraisal interview. Both should be allowed at least 1 hr to fix before an interview and at least 1 hr before the interview itself ( Pearce A ; Porter. 1986 ) . The interview location should be a impersonal topographic point that ensures privateness and allows the supervisor and the employee to confront one another without a desk between them as a communicating barrier ( Rhoads. 1997 ) . Performance assessment reappraisal interviews should be scheduled at least one time every 6 months for most employees and more frequently for new employees. Review interviews are normally scheduled 6 months after an employee begins working for the organisation. It is of import to observe that while formal public presentation reappraisal interviews occur merely twice a twelvemonth. informal â€Å"progress checks† should be held throughout the twelvemonth to supply feedback ( Rhoads. 1997 ) . While fixing for the interview. the supervisor should reexamine the evaluations she has assigned to the employee and the grounds for those evaluations. This measure is of import because the quality of feedback given to employees will impact their satisfaction with the full public presentation assessment procedure ( King. 1984 ) . Meanwhile the employee should rate her ain public presentation. utilizing the same format as the supervisor. The employee besides should compose down specific grounds and illustrations that support the evaluations she gives herself ( King. 1984 ) . At the beginning of the interview. the supervisor should pass on the followers: 1 ) the function of the public presentation assessment – that doing determinations about salary additions and expirations is non its exclusive intent ; 2 ) how the public presentation assessment was conducted ; and 3 ) how the rating procedure was accomplished. It is advisable that the supervisor besides communicate her ain feelings about the public presentation assessment procedure ( Kelly. 1984 ) . The reappraisal procedure is likely best begun with the employee pass oning her ain evaluations and her justification for those evaluations. Research indicates that employees who are actively involved in the interview from the start will be more satisfied with the consequences. The supervisor so communicates his evaluations and his grounds for them ( King. 1984 ) . At the decision of the interview. ends should be reciprocally set for future public presentation and behaviour. and both supervisor and employee should understand how these ends are met ( Cederbloom. 1982 ) . On the whole. the public presentation assessment procedure. with its built-in troubles. may be leveraged on to better organisational productiveness. Proper direction of this procedure shall assist actuate employees. and finally. convey more to the enterprise’s caissons. Mentions Albright. M. A ; Levy. P. ( 1995 ) . The effects of beginning credibleness and public presentation disagreement on reactions to multiple raters.Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 25 ( 7 ) .537-548. Antonioni. D. ( 1994 ) . The effects of feedback answerability on upward assessment evaluations.Personnel Psychology. 47 ( 2 ) .349-356. Balzer. W. K. . A ; Sulzky. L. M. ( 1992 ) . Halo and public presentation assessment research: A critical scrutiny. Journal of Applied Psychology. 77 ( 6 ) . 971-986. 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US Budget Deficit History

US Budget Deficit History The budget deficit is the difference between the money federal government takes in, called receipts, and what it spends, called outlays  each year. The U.S. government has run a multibillion-dollar deficit almost every year in modern history, spending much more than it takes in. The opposite of a budget deficit, a budget surplus occurs when the government’s revenue exceeds current expenditures resulting in an excess of money that can be used as needed. In fact, the government has recorded budget  surpluses in only five years since 1969, most of them under Democratic President Bill Clinton.   In all-too-rare times when revenue equals spending, the budget is called â€Å"balanced.†Ã‚   [  Debt Ceiling History  ] Running a budget deficit adds to the national debt and, in the past, has forced Congress to increase the debt ceiling under numerous presidential administrations, both Republican and Democrat, to allow the government to meet its statutory obligations. Although federal deficits have shrunk markedly in recent years, the CBO projects that under current law increased spending for Social Security and major health care programs, like Medicare, along with increasing interest costs will cause the national debt to rise steadily over the long term. The larger deficits would cause federal debt to grow faster than the economy. By 2040, CBO projects, the national debt will be more than 100% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and continue on an upward path – â€Å"a trend that cannot be sustained indefinitely,† notes the CBO.   Notice particularly the sudden jump in the deficit from $162 billion in 2007, to $1.4 trillion in 2009. This increase was due primarily to spending for special, temporary government programs intended to re-stimulate the economy during the great recession of that period. Here is the actual and projected budget deficit or surplus by fiscal year, according to Congressional Budget Office data for modern history. 2021 -  $916 billion budget deficit (projected)2020 - $987  billion budget deficit (projected)2019 - $984  billion budget deficit (projected)2018 - $833  billion budget deficit (projected)2017 - $665  billion budget deficit2016 - $585  billion budget deficit2015 - $439  billion budget deficit2014 - $514 billion budget deficit2013 - $719 billion budget deficit 2012 - $1.1 trillion budget deficit 2011 - $1.3 trillion budget deficit 2010 - $1.3 trillion budget deficit 2009 - $1.4 trillion budget deficit 2008 - $455 billion budget deficit 2007 - $162 billion budget deficit 2006 - $248.2 billion budget deficit 2005 - $319 billion budget deficit 2004 - $412.7 billion budget deficit 2003 - $377.6 billion budget deficit 2002 - $157.8 billion budget deficit 2001 - $128.2 billion budget surplus 2000 - $236.2 billion budget surplus 1999 - $125.6 billion budget surplus 1998 - $69.3 billion budget surplus 1997 - $21.9 billion budget deficit 1996 - $107.4 billion budget deficit 1995 - $164 billion budget deficit 1994 - $203.2 billion budget deficit 1993 - $255.1 billion budget deficit 1992 - $290.3 billion budget deficit 1991 - $269.2 billion budget deficit 1990 - $221 billion budget deficit 1989 - $152.6 billion budget deficit 1988 - $155.2 billion budget deficit 1987 - $149.7 billion budget deficit 1986 - $221.2 billion budget deficit 1985 - $212.3 billion budget deficit 1984 - $185.4 billion budget deficit 1983 - $207.8 billion budget deficit 1982 - $128 billion budget deficit 1981 - $79 billion budget deficit 1980 - $73.8 billion budget deficit 1979 - $40.7 billion budget deficit 1978 - $59.2 billion budget deficit 1977 - $53.7 billion budget deficit 1976 - $73.7 billion budget deficit 1975 - $53.2 billion budget deficit 1974 - $6.1 billion budget deficit 1973 - $14.9 billion budget deficit 1972 - $23.4 billion budget deficit 1971 - $23 billion budget deficit 1970 - $2.8 billion budget deficit 1969 - $3.2 billion budget surplus Looking at the Deficit as a Percent of GDP In order to put the federal deficit into proper perspective, it must be viewed in terms of the government’s ability to pay it back. Economists do this by comparing the deficit to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)- the measure of the overall size and strength of the U.S. economy. This â€Å"debt-to-GDP ratio† is a ratio between the cumulative government debt and the GDP over time. A low debt-to-GDP ratio indicates that the nation’s economy is producing and selling enough goods and services to pay back the federal deficit without incurring further debt. In simple terms, a larger economy can sustain a larger budget, and thus a larger budget deficit. According to the Senate Budget Committee, in the fiscal year 2017, the federal deficit was 3.4% of GDP. For the fiscal year 2018, when the U.S. government operated under its largest budget in history, the deficit was estimated to be 4.2% of GDP.   Remember, the lower the debt-to-GDP percentage, the better. Clearly, the more you spend, the harder it is to pay back your debts.

Southeast Asia's cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Southeast Asia's cultures - Essay Example Akha: Akhas are mainly found in Northern Burma, North Western Laos and Northern Thailand. They are believed to have originated in Tibet and Southern China. Their headdress is the distinguishing symbol for their tribe. They rear livestock. Hmong: With male dominated families and with distinguished styles and colors of clothing, this community is found scattered around China, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. They wander and practice shifting cultivation. Rice, corn, and vegetables are cultivated. The Shaman and the priest are very important. Lisu: They come from Southern China. Their culture is closely related to that of China. They too believe in the spirits and celebrate New Year making offering to ancestor spirits and guardian spirits. Lahu: They are spread around Laos, Burma and Thailand. They have migrated from Tibet. They practice hunting and even the name means hunter. Their men disappear into the woods for days together to hunt. They are a common family taking into consideration all the villages together. If any person is not particularly pleased with the rules of one village he just moves to another. Yao: The Yao celebrate the New Year along with the Chinese. Their language is also Chinese. They speak the Mandarin language, and some are found in the Guanxi, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces of China. In the Southeast Asia, they are found in Laos, Vietnam, Burma and Thailand. Their women are skilled at needle work. The men are silversmiths. The main religions of the countries of Southeast Asia are Buddhism, Islam and Roman Catholic Christians. There are also other religions like Animism, Protestant Christianity and Taoism. Some sections of the countries are non-religious also. In countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam Buddhism and its other forms like Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism forms the majority. The different Muslim sects like the

International Investing Project Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Investing Project - Term Paper Example The stability of the market as a whole but that also means extremely low growth potential if ever there is any worth considering at all. The performance of Siemens AG also takes a positive trend as their USA stocks but had higher returns than other stocks under consideration due other factors than the market. This means that the stocks’ performance. The stock prices for both are also in the on the side. CHL is at least in the decent deviation of -0.252%. The stock prices alone are already telling the investor which one is a better pick. It does not mean however, that CHL is a good investment or bad because the change is negligible. This means that the stock was not influence by market changes. The main reason may because of majority of the business is also ultimately dependent on the oil industry. Which is being an affected changes being in Middle East. The implications of portfolio return and risk in connection with market points out the degree of volatility in the changes of the portfolio return. In this case, a positive portfolio return with a positive return of the market both generates positive returns. The major defect of this analysis in the first place is the computation of returns within two day only. The extreme swings of the market are simply too unpredictable to make a safe investment (Graham 2004). To start with, it is not a profitable investment already. The picture we have painted above will change drastically should we look at this situation using 5 or 10 yrs as range when computing for stock returns. Obviously, the short term investing style is not as easy or profitable as when you are investing for the long term and evaluating major trends on the stock, not just the daily fluctuations on the stock market. In terms of predictability, we will find it extremely hard to judge the profitability of the stock alone just by using beta since it is also a relative value computed within a chosen time

M&Ms Project Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

M&Ms Project Report - Assignment Example The results were that 51 bags were sampled( 17 students * 3 bags each=51) and the number of candies evaluated was 2872 which were of different colors. 2. Finding out the Standard Deviation and Mean The next phase was to identify the average number of candies/ bag. The statistical average of a sample is called mean . In our case it is 2872/51 which is equal to 56.3 candies/bag. This gives an idea whether the number of candies that was fixed to be in a bag before marketing was more or less than a predecided amount. This is an important aspect of quality check. Apart from mean the Standard Deviation which is the positive square root of mean of squared deviations of all scores from their mean was calculated. The SD thereby indicate the spread or scatter or deviations of scores around a central value(mean). It is expressed by s= square root(summation of deviations/sample size). In our case it is + 1.9234 candies which means in some bags the probability of more or less candies than the mea n(56.3) is 1.9 that is either it can be 58.2 or 54.4. 3. Confidence Interval and Its Importance The confidence interval of a parameter is the range of scores within which the parameter has a given probability of lying.This is called fiducial probability.The two scores forming the lower and upper limits are called confidence limits. The fiducial probability is called the confidence level and when expressed as a percentage gives the degree of confidence in expecting a parameter to lie the given confidence interval. It is thus an interval estimate of a parameter and is more dependable than a point estimate( like the mean). In our analysis for example if we want to evaluate the CI we can infer that the proportion of blue candies in lying between 0.2087 and 0.2391 is 95%. It can be calculated as follows: Upper Limit= Mean + Standard Score (z) at the level of alpha * Standard Error of mean Lower Limit= Mean - Standard Score (z) at the level of alpha * Standard Error of mean. Therefore 1-a lpha=0.95 or 95% fiducial probability. This means that higher the fiducial probability wider the confidence interval and greater the probability of population mean falling in that interval but the lower will be the precision of estimate for true value of population mean. In our case study from the confidence intervals of various candies it seems that the error of 0.11(upper limit-Mean or Mean- Lower Limit) is minimal with the yellow candies so the proportion of yellow candies can be truly estimated the most if we consider the whole population of candies/bag in the M& M industries. The number of candies with a confidence limit has a error of +0.5 4. Part 4- Testing of Hypothesis and Z test. In this portion we try to find out whether the proportions of candies which are estimated are true and there exists no whatsoever any statistical difference of significance of various candies in different bags. The minor difference what is seen is speculated to happened by chance due to sampling a nd there is no significant difference (null hypothesis retained). But if the difference is statistically significant it means certainly that the proportio

The Dutch Disease: Lessons from Norway

The Dutch Disease: Lessons from Norway Methodology This research has exploratory and its empirical object is the Dutch Disease healing process by other countries and through this information offer solutions for Nigeria. The methodology used is the case study and development analysis of the strategies used by other countries for the neutralization of the Dutch Disease. The study consists in a research approach method which is characterized by describing the case of an event and its implications. There are several types of case studies, but here is one exploratory case study in order to create a better conceptual definition and understanding of the cure of Dutch Disease. A literature search was performed from a review, using secondary data analysis. Studies on secondary sources involve bibliographic books and research already done on the subject under study. We selected some expert authors on the subject related to this step. We chose to work with significant authors on the subject for further study each of them. This analysis was organized into three chronological poles, as advocated by Bardin (2004): pre-analysis, material exploration and treatment of results, inference and interpretation. The first phase is characterized as the organizational phase and has three missions: the choice of documents to be submitted to analysis, the formulation of hypotheses and objectives and the development of indicators to substantiate the final interpretation. (Bardin, 2004 p.89). Finally, it was done the treatment and interpretation of the results obtained, in which the raw results are treated in order to be meaningful and valid. (Bardin, 2004, p.95). Thus found significant results that indicate how to neutralize the Dutch in Nigeria, as proposed for the work. Bardin (2004) points out, however, that the results obtained may have a different outcome to the goal initially presented, serving as a basis for further analysis arranged around new theoretical dimensions, or practiced thanks to different techniques. Finally, a conclusion is made about the Dutch Disease by the authors of this work, assessing all the information collected and selected. Norway Norway for decades was the poorest country of the Scandinavian region. However, in the recent economic history the country has been distinguished from the others presenting higher GDP growth compared to the rest of Europe and other developed countries such as United States, as presented in the graph below. This turn of events is conventionally attributed to Norway’s oil discovery in 1969 and subsequent extraction from 1971. In 2012, the petroleum sector represented more than 23 per cent of the country’s total value creation. The revenues from the petroleum sector constitute 30 percent of the state revenues. Today Norway is the 7th largest exporter of oil and the 3rd largest producer of gas in the world. With per capita GDP around $100,000, the Norwegian lifestyle has become such that the work week averages less than 33 hours, one of the lowest in the world, and while unemployment is low, there is large underemployment, made possible by benefits. GDP Growth Source: OECD (2015) However, it is insufficient in explaining the Norwegian economic growth pointing to oil revenues as it was previously explained in detail about the negative relationship between resource wealth and wealth caused by the economic illness of Dutch Disease. In fact, Norway have managed successfully its oil wealth and avoided falling into trap of natural curse. Larsen (2004) explains the change in the speed of growth in the decade after starting the exploration of oil was consistent with symptoms of Dutch Disease, however, continued growing over the two subsequent decades. This is an evidence of an escape from Resource Curse; thus, Norway did not experience retardation from mid-70s to mid-90s. Mehlum, Moene and Torvik (2006) pointed to Norway and other few countries as the only ones that were able to counteract the resource curse and the rent-seeking activities that are usually associated with it. Fosu (2012, pg. 45) argued that Norway escaped from Dutch Disease for several reasons: Norway has a history of natural resource management and integration with other industries through various linkages; The institutions already were developed to handle shocks to the economy such as large changes in terms of trades; The revenues from oil extraction were gradually separated from spending these rents by establishing a buffer fund that helped to stabilize the economy; According these rents from oil exportation became more significant, the buffer fund became larger and a new fiscal policy was implemented in 2001; This fund invested abroad and the returns are used to finance public expenditure with less deadweight loss. In 1996 the Norwegian government signed the Petroleum Act which constitutes the legal basis for the regulation of petroleum sector. In principle, it stated the rent from oil and gas belongs to the Norwegian people through their government. Gylfason (2001) describes that as the Norwegian government has high interest in controlling the oil sector, has decided to expropriate the oil and gas rent through taxes and fees. The State awards a small fee to domestic and foreign oil companies and receives roughly 40 percent of all produced through direct partnership with licensees, taxes and fees that corresponded to about 80 of the resource rent since 1980. Bresser-Pereira (2008) in its paper about a Ricardian approach of Dutch Disease describes that the severity of the natural curse varies according to the difference between the exchange rate equilibrium of the â€Å"market rate† and the â€Å"industrial rate†. The author points to the management of exchange rate through export tax on the commodities as the principal instrument for neutralization of Dutch Disease. Furthermore, the author argues that the resources from tax created to neutralize the natural curse should not be invested in the country but in international fund; therefore, the inflow of resources does not entail the revaluation of the local currency. Bresser-Pereira (2008) explains that Norway by imposing a tax on commodities adjusted the exchange rate equilibrium bringing it to the same level of tradable sector exchange rate equilibrium; thus, neutralizing the Dutch Disease. Moreover, the new â€Å"adjusted† exchange rate will be more beneficial than the previous one; thus, the country will have a structural current account surplus. Gylfason (2001) also describes the oil revenues are deposited in the Norwegian Petroleum Fund allowed to invest only in foreign securities for the benefit of the current and future Norwegians generations. Only the real rate return of these assets is transferred to the annual State budget, according to the fiscal guideline, the government deficit cannot exceed 4 percent of the assets. This is also important to shield the domestic economy from mismanagement, waste and overinvestment. Larsen (2004) defines this shield important because protects the economy from excessive demand and real appreciation when at full capacity, therefore, reduce loss of competitiveness. It is also beneficial when it is not at full capacity to allow some increases in aggregate demand. Fosu (2012) described the two functions of this fund. The first is to secure that oil windfall is not consumed, but converted into financial wealth. The second is to separate these revenues from the domestic spending that would not vary according to the oil price fluctuation (fiscal policy). The idea is to have a stable spending of the oil revenues without interfere in the industry sector structure. Additionally, it helps to shield the non-oil economy from shocks in the oil sector, which can put pressure on the exchange rate. Brahmbhatt, Canuto, and Vostroknutova (2010) discuss solutions for solving the natural resource issue. They argue that fiscal policy is the most important instrument because can make the increase in wealth permanent as the same time as it can constrain the spending effect to reduce volatility. Spending policies toward tradable sector (including imports) and general policies toward improving productivity of private firms help to reduce the negative impacts. Additionally, the government can encourage demand for imports to reduce demand pressure on the non-tradable sector while mitigates pressure on exchange rate appreciation and other adverse effects of natural resource windfall. In the case of Norway we can see in graph below the country has stimulated improvements in the manufacturing sector that has increased its participation in the economy by 5% of GDP while the energy sector has fallen about 10 percent and non-tradable sector remained stable. We can infer that has an effort from the government to push the manufacturing sector through investment in education, business regulations, or reducing trade barriers and bureaucracy. Brahmbhatt et al. (2010) describes that these reforms have the aim of promoting foreign direct investment and create conditions for learning by doing. The exchange rate is impacted by the size of the non-oil budget deficit, or spending revenues as illustrated by Aamodt (2014). In short term oil and gas companies purchases NOK and the Norges Bank’s exchange transactions have influence on the krone exchange rate. Conversely, in long term is the size of non-oil deficit that affects the Norway’s exchange rate. The revenues from oil do not have an impact by the fact that all government revenues from oil are accrued directly in foreign currency. But the government appreciates NOK when sells foreign currency to buy NOK in an amount equivalent to the budget deficit. In other words the breakdown of the government’s net cash flow from oil sector into foreign exchange revenues resulting from oil and gas companies has no influence on the krone exchange rate. With the Petroleum Fund the government isolates the effects of oil shocks and the oil price fluctuations on Norwegian economy because the entry of money into the economy is controlled and planned according to the need of the country. The State can make long term plan regarded to its domestic spending and; consequently; maintain the krone exchange rate and inflation stable even when the oil demand decreases. Other factors were important to neutralize the resource curse in Norway as stated by Gylfason (2001). The author explains that Norway has a centralized wage formation system to limit general wage increases at the magnitude of productivity increases in manufacturing sector. This is possible because the trade unions are large coalitions of employers and employees that are able to consider aggregate interests instead of special ones. Additionally, both parts use a neutral agency to compute productivity increases in the manufacturing sector, institutionalize this information as ceilings of general wage increases. Therefore; the country’s centralized wage negotiation system contributes to prevent fast appreciation of salaries in different sectors. Larsen (2004) argues that income coordination is important as the public sector limited wage increases to the productivity growth in the internationally competing industrial sector. In other words, this income coordination neutralized the impact of externality in the manufacturing sector avoiding high inequalities between tradable sector and resource sector. This is an important factor for the neutralization of Dutch Disease as reduces the labor shift between the two sectors. The graph below shows the wage evolution in Norway since 2002 in which we can see that gap between oil sector and the others never exceeded 2 per cent in this period. Institutional quality is considered by Mehlum et al. (2006) as an important element to reduce the effects of Dutch Disease as natural resource abundance stimulates the shift from production rent-seeking to the activities related to resource extraction. The authors associate the lack of natural curse with the existence of efficient, bureaucratic and transparent government. They presented a model in which shows the negative effect of resource abundance on growth vanishes in countries with high institutional quality like Norway. The quality of institutions is also related to the corruption perception index as a measure of rent-seeking. Gylfason (2001) found a relation between natural resources wealth and increase in corruption and; consequently; decrease the per capita growth. In Norway’s case, the author showed that since oil was discovered, the corruption has declined and country’s GDP growth was stable during the last three decades. The graphs below shows Norway keeps a high level of freedom of corruption placed between 10 less corrupted countries of the world while economic growth spurted since the oil descovery, especially after 2000. Finally, the public expenditure on education in Norway did not decrease after oil descovery. According to OECD, Norway has an incredible 100% literacy rate and is third country which invests more in education, what proves the government decisions are not oriented to favor natural resource extraction instead of other tradable goods production. Gylfason (2000, p. 4) in its studies about the correlation between natural resources, education and economic development showed that countries with natural resources wealth invest less in education and; consequently; has a poor economic performance. Nevertheless, the author mentions that Norway is one of the few exceptions: â€Å"The Norwegians show no signs of neglecting education, on the contrary, as the proportion of each cohort attending colleges and universities in Norway rose from 26 percent in 1980 to 62% in 1997†.

The Effects of Obesity Essay -- Health and Wellness

Obesity is a well documented problem in the United States. Every year, billions of dollars are spent on this epidemic and the plethora of diseases and issues it causes. This has been shown to be a problem at the state as well as the national level. In order to better understand the impact it has, we will discuss the issue of obesity as a whole, the problems associated with this disease, the costs of those problems, as well as possible solutions to this growing problem in our country. For the purposes of this paper, it is important to give reference points with regards to certain key definitions. The generally accepted way of defining obesity is in the National Institutes of Health Weight Classification system. This system relies on the use of BMI as computed using the weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters squared. The following cutoff points are given for the defined words: underweight- BMI 30.0 kg/m2. These benchmarks will be the defined values for the given words throughout this paper. According to a brief prepared by Dr. Eric Wright for the Indiana Center for Urban Policy and the Environment in May of 2006, nearly 97 million adults in the United States are obese or overweight. That number had doubled in the previous 30 years and is predicted to continue that upward trend. This means that nearly 2 out of every 3 adults in the US are obese or overweight. The surgeon general, Dr. Richard Carmona reported in 2003 that 1 out of every 8 deaths in the US is caused by an illness that is directly correlated to obesity. Obesity is caused by a number of different factors, the main ones being: inacti... ...s, Blacks Had 51% Higher and Hispanics Had 21% Higher Obesity Rates." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC. Web. 1 Jan. 2012. Finkelstein, Eric A., Ian C. Fiebelkorn, and Guijing Wang. "Obesity - State-Level Estimates of Annual Medical Expenditures Attributable to Obesity[ast][ast]." Nature Publishing Group : Science Journals, Jobs, and Information. Web. 1 Jan. 2012. Carmona, Richard H. "The Obesity Crisis in America." Office of the Surgeon General (OSG). Web. 1 Jan. 2012. Paddock, Ph.D, Catherine. "Medical News Today News Article." Medical News Today: Health News. Medical News Today. Web. 1 Jan. 2012.

Key learning point: Perception Essay

Perception refers to how a person connects to their environment. In order to respond appropriately, people interpret messages and events in their environment as they perceive them. However complexity of the environment may sometimes bring about perceptual errors as the individual tries to take short cuts to process all the information. Reason for Selection: Errors in perception may sabotage a great business prospect especially if the misconception is personal. Perceptual areas include stereotyping where an individual assigns to a person certain attributes just because he belongs to a particular class or group of people. A phenomenon called halo effect may also result from errors in perception. It involves generalizing a variety of individuals characteristics based on only knowledge of one attribute. An individual may also single out information that supports a particular belief while ignoring any contrasting information. This is referred to as selective perception. Other times one may find the need to protect their own self concept and assign to others characteristics or feelings they possess themselves. Application to a business or personal situation: While working in Kenya for a pharmaceutical company whose manufacturing plant is in India, I had to pick the Senior International Brands manager at the airport. Being his first time in Kenya his perception was Kenyans being Africans don’t have enough resources to own motor vehicles for personal transit and openly said so to a taxi driver, the driver stopped the car threw out our luggage and sped of angrily mumbling to himself and since it was raining and we were already a few kilometers off the airport we had to stay at the road for hours to get another cab. Action or steps taken to improve: Asking my clients in a friendly way how they do particular things appreciate and point out how wonderful it is to have diversity in our business world. Try to come up with ways you can make use of particular attributes that you possess in a positive way or try and change yourself. Whenever you are in doubt about any particular fact about your client to kindly ask for explanation from the client. References Squidoo (2010). A goldmine of journal Writing Prompts. Retrieved on 25th July, 2010, from http://www. squidoo. com/journalwritingprompts

Free Essays on The Case Of The Unpopular Pay Plans

The Case of the Unpopular Pay Plans Tom Ehrenfeld (HBR Jan- Feb 1992) Yogesh Yadav Roll no 451 GUDMS The command and control style of leadership is becoming redundant and the team-based approach to work is increasingly becoming popular. It is the most essential component of success as diversity of ideas and input helps a lot in making better decisions aligning teams toward a common objective and creating the same incentive system across the entire company would help direct everyone’s talent toward creating value for customers and shareholders. Teamwork plays an important role in the success of any organization. Teamwork characterizes values that encourage listening and responding constructively to others’ views, providing support, and recognizing the interests and achievements of others. These values ensure team performance, individual performance, and organizational performance. The new pay plan rolled out has all these features incorporated in it. Yet we see, not all employees are in the favor of the same. Then what should Sam Verde do before he rolls out a new plan for TopChem Before rolling out the compensation / pay system for TopChem, Sam Verde should ask himself â€Å" What does the compensation package want to convey to the employees?† Whether we realize it or not, it is says a lot. Childcare and health benefits say that you value family. Throwing a party at the end of your business's busy season lets the employees and their families know that you appreciate it when your people go the extra mile. That message is important. It is important, therefore, that he gives a lot of consideration to the compensation structure. After all, for employees, compensation is the equivalent not to how they are paid but, ultimately, to how they are valued. He should make some minor modification to the system as follows: 80 % of the former pay (base pay now) should be determined by internal equity so as to avoid... Free Essays on The Case Of The Unpopular Pay Plans Free Essays on The Case Of The Unpopular Pay Plans The Case of the Unpopular Pay Plans Tom Ehrenfeld (HBR Jan- Feb 1992) Yogesh Yadav Roll no 451 GUDMS The command and control style of leadership is becoming redundant and the team-based approach to work is increasingly becoming popular. It is the most essential component of success as diversity of ideas and input helps a lot in making better decisions aligning teams toward a common objective and creating the same incentive system across the entire company would help direct everyone’s talent toward creating value for customers and shareholders. Teamwork plays an important role in the success of any organization. Teamwork characterizes values that encourage listening and responding constructively to others’ views, providing support, and recognizing the interests and achievements of others. These values ensure team performance, individual performance, and organizational performance. The new pay plan rolled out has all these features incorporated in it. Yet we see, not all employees are in the favor of the same. Then what should Sam Verde do before he rolls out a new plan for TopChem Before rolling out the compensation / pay system for TopChem, Sam Verde should ask himself â€Å" What does the compensation package want to convey to the employees?† Whether we realize it or not, it is says a lot. Childcare and health benefits say that you value family. Throwing a party at the end of your business's busy season lets the employees and their families know that you appreciate it when your people go the extra mile. That message is important. It is important, therefore, that he gives a lot of consideration to the compensation structure. After all, for employees, compensation is the equivalent not to how they are paid but, ultimately, to how they are valued. He should make some minor modification to the system as follows: 80 % of the former pay (base pay now) should be determined by internal equity so as to avoid...

The course of true love never did run smooth. A Comparison of Romeo and Juliet A Midsummer Nights Dream (honors student)

The course of true love never did run smooth. A Comparison of Romeo and Juliet A Midsummer Nights Dream (honors student) A Midsummer Nights Dream can be compared with the play Romeo and Juliet. They both encompass many of the same themes of love. Love is prohibited, true, lustful, and desired. In A Midsummer Night's Dream Lysander demonstrated the overriding theme of both plays, "The path of love never did run smooth" (1.i.14). The two plots revolve around two couples that are in love with each other, yet cannot be joined together because of family members who prohibit the lover's love. The endings are very different, but with a few changes both could have resulted in a tragedy or comedy.True love is shown and prohibited in both plays. In a Midsummer Night's Dream Egeus, Hermia's father does not want her to marry Lysander, but Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander are in love, yet her father thinks she is just blinded. He forbids Hermia to marry Lysander and if she does she will be put to death or have to become a nun.English: "Midsummer Nights Dream Act IV Scene IA...Romeo and Juliet cannot be together becau se their families hate each and are feuding. Even though the couples are truly in love the authoritative figures cannot see this and think they are just love struck. The plays show that love is in the eye of the beholder and one cannot choose who they love.Love is very powerful and both plays depict this. The love that the lovers have will not just go away because it is not approved of. They are willing to do anything to be together because of the love they share. Romeo and Juliet marry secretly. Afterwards, Romeo is exiled from Verona and Juliet contemplates to commit suicide because she is not able to be with her love. Finally, with her father's command to wed Paris she decides to fake her death. Juliet would...

Human Resource management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Human Resource management - Assignment Example However, most companies used the common technique of terminating employment of a given number of individuals. When most organizations face weak economy and low profits, executives try to solve this through cost cutting. This includes conducting the downsizing process. Through this process most organizations are able to better their earnings for a shorter period as most of the organizations cannot sustain these gains. This happens as organizations reduce the labor costs by laying off employees. However the hidden costs of downsizing are unbearable to most organizations. This is because the workforce is eliminated from the organization but the work load remains intact. This can cripple organizations effectiveness. The resulting challenge which faces organization’s managers is that they will be forced to review their system and add costs by introduction of: overtime program, casual staff and even long working hours in order to recover what has been lost. On top of incurring high financial costs, emotional costs that are immeasurable can be experienced. For the surviving employees they w ill have no choice but to work harder than usual. Effectiveness and efficiency are major goals of organization’s retrenchment. Therefore, the business entities can retrench redundant workers to pave way for mechanized production process aimed at speeding up production and improving quality of products or services. Gandolfi (2006 p. 2), asserted that downsizing was used by organization in 1990s as a practical measure to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness. It is a strategic management tool that has affected thousands of organizations and lives of millions workers in the world. Companies experience conditions that compel them to retrench a portion of its work force. The circumstances that cause downsizing include market reduction, economic recession, loss

Film Critique on the movie August Rush Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Film Critique on the movie August Rush - Essay Example Film Critique on the movie August Rush Her father is a strict man. Each of them takes part performing in concerts. One day they meet in a party (Crowley, 2007). Soon after, they sleep together on a building rooftop. In the meantime, a man on the street below is playing a guitar. The following morning, Lyla returns to Chicago. Louis waits for her as they had agreed. However, she ignores him. Lyla later realizes that she is pregnant with Louis’ baby. She argues with her father upon giving him the news. They also argue about Lyla’s future career as a cellist. After the argument, she runs out onto the street and a car knocks her down. She prematurely gives birth due to trauma from the accident. Her conniving father secretly forges her signature on the documents and gives the baby up for adoption (Crowley, 2007). He then lies to her that she miscarried as a result of trauma effect from the accident. Her son, Evan Taylor, grow up and eleven years later, he is living in an orphanage for boys near New York City. Evan hears music everywhere he goes. He believes that the music will help him find his parents. He runs away to New York City where he meets Arthur. Louis gave up the band after Lyla’s accident. He now lives in San Fransisco. Lyla lives in Chicago and also quit performing. Just before dying, her father confesses that he gave up her baby for adoption. He tells her that the child is in New York City. Lyla rushes to New York to find her son (Crowley, 2007).