Cipd

DEP F301A (L&D) CIPD Assessment Activity Template Title of unit/sDeveloping Yourself as an Effective Learning & Development Practitioner Unit No/s4DEP (L&D) LevelFoundation Credit value4 Assessment methodWritten, Discussion Learning outcomes: 1. Understand the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to be an effective L&D practitioner. 2. Know how to deliver timely and effective L&D services to meet users’ needs. 3. Be able to reflect on own practice and development needs and maintain a plan for personal development. All activities should be completedActivity 1 (Note: The CIPD Human Resources Profession Map (HRPM) can be accessed at: www. cipd. co. uk/cipd-hr-profession/hr-profession-map/explore-map. aspx ) Write a report in which you: †¢briefly summarise the HRPM (i. e. the 2 core professional areas, the remaining professional areas, the bands and the behaviours) †¢comment on the activities and knowledge specified within any 1 professional area, at either band 1 o r band 2, identifying those you consider most essential to your own (or other identified) L&D role. Activity 2With reference to your own (or other identified) role, outline how an L&D practitioner should ensure the services they provide are timely and effective. You should include: †¢understanding customer needs (include examples of 3 different customers and 1 need for each, and explain how you would prioritise conflicting needs) †¢effective communication (include examples of 3 different communication methods and the advantages and disadvantages of each) †¢effective service delivery (include: delivering service on time, delivering service on budget, dealing with difficult customers, handling and resolving complaints)Activity 3 (Note: The CIPD Associate Membership Criteria can be downloaded at www. cipd. co. uk/ Membership/transformingmembership/ New-membership-criteria/about-associate-member. htm ) †¢Undertake a self-assessment against the CIPD Associate Membersh ip criteria, identifying any areas you need to develop in order to meet them. †¢Using a template, such as www. cipd. co. uk/cpd/guidance/cpdrecordandplan, devise a plan to meet your development needs, including those identified above, and the achievement of your CIPD qualification.The plan should be for a minimum of 6 months. †¢Discuss your plan with (or provide a written note to) your tutor explaining why you believe CPD to be important and explaining at least 2 of the options you considered for meeting your development needs. Activity 4 †¢During the period of your studies, reflect on your performance against the plan, including learning gained from each unit of your qualification, and add reflective comments to the plan. As you progress, identify any further development needs and revise your plan accordingly.Assessment Criteria 1. 1 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 3. 2 3. 4 3. 1 3. 3 3. 5 Evidence to be produced Activities 1 & 2 Report of approximately 1500 words Activity 3 A Develo pment Plan/Record Tutor’s written confirmation that the Development Plan has been discussed (OR a written explanatory note from the learner). Activity 4 Written records of on-going reflection and, where appropriate, revision of the plan to include further development needs and solutions. NB: Activity 4 will therefore not be complete until the end of the programme. ) 4 DEP Assessment Guidance – Revised May 2012 AC 1. 1The explanation should refer to the HRPM, and include a summary of the HRPM (particularly the 2 core professional areas) and an explanation of the activities and knowledge, at either band 1 or 2, of any one of the professional areas. AC 2. 1Learners should identify 3 users of HR services and one need for each.They should also explain how conflicting needs would be identified and prioritised. AC 2. 2Learners should identify 3 methods and advantages and disadvantages of each. AC 2. 3The description should include: delivering service on time; delivering servi ce within budget; dealing with difficult customers; and handling and resolving complaints. AC 3. 1Learners should define and explain the importance of CPD. AC 3. 2Learners should self-assess against the CIPD Associate Membership requirements to identify development needs.AC 3. 3Learners should evaluate at least 2 options for meeting development needs. AC 3. 4The plan should be for a minimum of 6 months. A template is available at www. cipd. co. uk/cpd/guidance/cpdrecordandplan AC 3. 5Learners should provide a written reflection on their performance against the plan, including the learning gained from each unit of their qualification, and update the plan with any new development needs, as they are identified. CIPD Political discrepancy: as we are a company that has an agreement with Qatar government for the supply of natural gas, It Is Important to keep our good relation with the country to continue the business. New source of energy: Dolphin Energy is a company that supplies gas to the customers, in case of finding any applicable source of energy for gas that is less costly and has no impact to the environment, our company will shut down and loses its business. – Price changes: If the prices of the equipment used in the operation escalated, the price of our product will increase. – New competitor: another external factor that would affect the company is if there is a new company of gas Joining the market.Such competitors will affect our market price, It will have an effect on our manpower costs, people will compare the quality of the product produced, etc. 5- How the business is structured: Dolphin Energy has so many functions that plays Important role in the organization. Below , I will be explaining only four functions. Our company's structure Is considered functional structure because It has similar connected actively that are grouped together in departments.Function Discretion Corporate Communications Dolphin's corporate communications department handles all communication undertaken by the company to all its publics or stakeholders. Strategic and Corporate Planning It is responsible for all economic and corporate planning duties at Dolphin Energy. SHE It is responsible about the laity of the products, the health of the employees, the safety of the working area, and making sure they are taking good care for environmental issues.Human Resources They offer services to their employees in Talent Management, recruitment, policy, compensation, employee relation, training, and office management. O- Different functions working together: Dolphin Energy works with different departments very closely in order to make sure operation, the operation works closely with different departments to ensure they are meeting their objective. For example, operation works with human resources to circuit quality employees that have all the required qualifications skills that are needed for technical skills.Moreover, when an employee Joins the company, operation department will want their new Joiners to undertake some kind of trainings to enable them have the needed skills to operate in the field. Quality, health, safety and environment department as well works with other functions to reach their goals. SHE facilitates everything that is necessary in the operational area to ensure that the employees are working in a safe environment to minimize all the risks that might occur during the operation. SHE will also make sure that our equipments and machines do not harm the marine habitat and cause and eruption or pollution.Furthermore, SHE wants to educate the employees about some safety matters and they co pop with the training department to implement such traini ngs. 7- The culture of the organization and how it affects the operations: I believe Dolphin Energy has a mixture of task and power culture. It is considered a role culture because each employee is assigned to a particular role or Job; they have all their tasks and roles listed in their Job description. When we have everything pacified, it will help us know what each individual does and therefore no duplication in work.On the other hand, we can say that our organization is a task oriented culture as well. That is because Dolphin I-JAKE and Qatar work together in so many projects as a team to complete tasks for example, our training department in I-JAKE works with Star's to reach the department's goals and objective. The teams will be doing a specified task to complete it in a time and budget given. This mixed culture has a positive impact on the organization because it will get the most efficiency out of his effort through having everything with guidelines yet working in teams in co mmon projects and assignments.Activity B: 1- Organization Strategy: The company's strategy is to have an economic wealth as well as creating business prospects for I-JAKE nationals and ICC citizens for the future. Our company has clear vision and mission that is set which makes the employees well aware of where the company is heading and what is their future objective. Having the vision and mission clear will create order; therefore will help us in proportioning our tasks. 2- How does HER strategy supports the organization strategy?The HER does a lot of things that supports the organizations strategy. Starting from recruiting a competent employee to developing them. The HER work closely with other departments as one team to reach the organization's strategy. Below is a list of some the things the HER does to support Dolphin Energy Objectives: HER Strategy Supporting Organization's Objectives Recruitment HER uses the best ways to hire an employee. For example, we deal with hiring age nts that would get us the best people in the market.Moreover, we hire people through referral programs where an existing employee refers someone who is capable to take the Job. As well, HER have internal posting for the employees who would recommend themselves to undertake the posted position. We use technology for the hiring process; candidates can now view all the open posts on our website to compensation team participates in researches, surveys and benchmarking with companies who similar to us so we are updated with the latest paying trends and we are competing with similar industries in the market.When the company does such things, it will retain current employees specially the high potential and talented ones. Retain Talent Management One thing TM is responsible for is induction sessions which the new Joiners undertake to familiarize them with the company's departments and its work nature. This will help the employee adapt faster and work more effectively when working with diff erent divisions. Different development plans for fresh graduate students and existing employees.Offering scholarships and sponsorship to educate our employees and make them update their skills and knowledge to achieve the company's goals. Having high potential programs and succession planning which helps the employees get motivated and it will encourage them work harder to achieve the company's strategy. – How can HER/L&D professional support line managers and their staff? The HER and learning and Development support line managers in so many different ways. Some of these things are: – HER helps line managers in recruiting well qualified candidates to fill the vacant position.They do that through scanning C.V. and looking for candidates that has the skills required for the Job and then they do interviews and psychometric tests for them. When HER hires high talented people, it will help them accomplish work in efficient and effective way to meet the business goals. This way the HER will be eating the best talent out there in the market. – Learning and development helps the new Joiners have a brief orientation through all the departments in the company to give a good idea about the business and how each department operates.This will help the employees know everything about our business and help them work better with the division to achieve the goals of the company. – Having HER updates sessions that would help the HER employees and line managers know the latest updates that is happening in the HER which will help them understand how the process is and what HER services is offered. Offering best practices in Learning and development, which will encourage and motivate the employees to perform better. – Help line managers to achieve their KIP to achieve the organization objectives. Ensuring that the employees are working in a good working environment. 4- How does HER/L&D contribute in the successful of an organization? To define su ccess, first we need to know what things that makes the organization successful. Organizations have a lot of objectives each year, general objectives will be ambiguous, so one of the keys to success is to have a clear objectives. For example, avian clear mission, vision, strategy and goals clear and it should be known to everyone throughout the organization.Everything the organization does, for example, the policies and procedures that are written, he different types of programs we offer, the services we provide, etc are all clearly linked to the company's objectives for being successful. Lurch mentioned, there are four ways to a successful organization strong relation with their internal clients and they act as a focal point for certain divisions. This can be done by having good relation with the senior management in order to align the HER strategy with the business objectives. Change Agent: is the team that participates in changing the management team and then communicate internal ly to everyone to ensure smoothness of the process and then gain their trust. Change agent will ensure that the employees are adapting to new changes. – Administration Expert: it acts in a professional in the way that it executes its Job and uses the organization resources in an efficient manner. – Employee Champion: it plays as a core of the HER. HER should represent the employees, look for their best interest and make sure that strategic initiatives are balanced.

Tok Knowing a Friend and Swimmin

TOK 11 summative assessment quarter 2 Jacqueline Blok 21/11/11 Compare and contrast knowing a friend to knowing how to swim, knowing a scientific theory and knowing a historical period. What conclusions about nature of knowing can you reach? Thinking I knew how to swim I jumped into a pool and nearly drowned. The one friend who was always there for me, who I thought I knew, left me without a goodbye. Thinking that a light year was a measurement of time, until I had a physics class.I though Pearl Harbor was just a movie, until we were learning about World War 2 in humanities. With asking these questions, to be certain in the world we live in today might be a challenge. Knowing a friend would require a bond, which is created through experiences with each other, a perception of the feelings of that friend and thoughts that run in a deeper level. One might think he/she knows someone very well, because of a long-term close relationship or similar interests or tastes.However no one other t han himself or herself would understand their own way of thinking, the workings of their own mind, it is impossible to know why certain actions are performed by someone else. Only glimpses and insights may be picked up of the complexities of the mysterious mind and personality of oneself. My best friend dislikes exposing her legs, because she doesn’t feel confident enough to show them.This seems like a reasonable excuse, if she is uncomfortable with her body, it would be her choice to expose it or not, however deeper psychological factors are involved and countless other reasons which I would not be able to think of nor comprehend. The knowledge of another person would be mainly created out of language, perception and emotion. A knower’s perception of a friend’s action would be affected by emotions; hence the knowledge of a friend will be affected too.A perception of a friend may be altered when the emotions of a friend affects their actions in certain situation s. Language has complexities too, language can make an attempt at describing feelings, however this doesn’t provide a complete understanding of one and another. The best way to communicate feelings would be to let one experience another’s events and create their own feelings; an example would be the expression â€Å"you can’t possibly imagine what I have been through†, â€Å"Imagine yourself in some one else’s shoes†.Considering the history of one, would affect their ways of acting upon situations, all humans think and act differently according to personalities, which have been shaped by all sorts of experiences in their own past. Swimming is an action which requires a structured breathing pattern and a well timed combination of limb motions, allowing you to travel through water, the important key words here that I found through my observations are that knowing â€Å"how† is not the same as knowing â€Å"of† nor is it close to knowing â€Å"that†.Knowing how to swim is quite similar to knowing a friend. Because one cannot possibly learn how to swim by reading instructions, someone could read all the documents and articles available on how to swim, and jump into a pool and drown. For example at one particular time I developed liking in ‘parkour’ I watched all the youtube videos that I could find on ‘how to parkour, read many articles and tips and tricks. So one day I felt I gained enough knowledge about this acrobatic sport and decided to try it out. And what I learnt was that I could not even jump over a simple bench.I am able to read and apply concepts that I have gained through reading, however in this case I was not able to apply the information fast enough of â€Å"how† to parkour. Even though I had a sophisticated amount of knowledge on how to parkour, I was unable to convert this knowledge and understanding into reality. According to my research these two actions swi mming and parkouring require ‘bodily-kinesthetic intelligence’ which is the ability to control to control the movements of a body and skillfully interact with a variety of objects.Scientific theories have been made through observations of the world, creativity and of course imagination. They can be known through reason, language and perception. A scientist can propose a theory purely upon perception and reasoning and justify this theory with evidence that shows how this particular phenomenon follows the predicted theory. For example in chemistry we did a set of experiments on how different metals when heated in a flame would give out a color. A hypothesis was provided and from that I knew that the flames indeed would change color.I know for a fact that when Copper Chloride is heated it will give out a green color, I saw this through my own eyes and as the experiment was repeated several times with the same results. Seeing out of my own eyes is proof. Through being taugh t by my teacher means I am relying on a higher authority’s knowledge. Also the lack of a language can prove a theory, for example every one dies, this is a fact because by using deductive reasoning there is no one here to tell us otherwise.The problem with knowing a historical period is that it is in the past and we are in the present, the knowledge of a historical period is transferred from the past into the present through language and documentation. If we have not been informed about these periods, the present day people would never had known it existed. The knowing of a historical period is based upon accepting certain events through evidence from the past. It is unfortunate that historians cannot directly â€Å"test† the past whereas a scientific theory and swimming can be tested.This suggests that testing is thus an important factor in determining the nature of knowledge. The claim of knowing a historical period can be justified by looking at pictures or a docume ntary, technology over the years has improved significantly the knowledge we know today about the past. Unlike a scientific theory here we can rely on perception, observation and interpretations. To know a historical period we must have either been there or rely on a higher authority to inform us. I however ponder on the possibility of the authority being fooled by perception.This is where logic and reasoning comes in to decide whether or not something has happened. If something hadn’t happened, then why can we see evidence of the consequences, for example when I visited Cambodia the Angkor Wat temples I saw evidence of historical artifacts of the monks, and until the present monks still live among there. With this I can deduce that these temples must have come from somewhere, and it is definitely a sacred place. With this we are knowing â€Å"that† something happened instead of knowing â€Å"of† a friend.By identifying and considering the four concepts that wer e provided we can conclude that the main difference in the nature of the four knowledge claims are the way you know them; knowing â€Å"how to† and knowing â€Å"that something is† are completely different. A knower will never be able to know a friend than himself or herself, exact feelings and emotions cannot be communicated directly and as detailed through perception and language. Swimming can only be learnt through perception, this ability is not able to be transferred linguistically, but must be learnt first hand through training.A historical period in time can be known by a person who has lived through that time and has transferred the knowledge gained through linguistical means, however the knowledge could be misleading due to perception or the facts of the period are incomplete providing only one side of the story. A scientific theory may be discovered and proven through various tests and observations via perceptions and reason. However communication of this par ticular theory via language does not have the same effect as the perception of it.Emotions can affect perception language cannot transfer precise meanings and assumptions to generalize from specific points can be found through inception. Due to these ways of knowing being limited, complete knowledge is unable to be attained. Different claims requiring different ways of knowing to justify them, they have all have one thing in common; their nature: they are based on premises that we accept in every day life as being ‘true’ and therefore deduct that based on these premises, they are equally true. We know something as far as we are willing to accept it into our world.

Analysis of the smoking ban effect

Analysis of the smoking ban effect â€Å"On the 26th March 2006, smoking was banned in enclosed public places in Scotland.† This essay will consider different aspects of this ban, including a consideration of the extent to which the theory of externalities can be used to justify government legislating on smoking, an analysis and explanation of the short run impact of the smoking ban on market for alcohol sales in pubs and clubs, the market for cigarettes and the market for chewing gum and, finally, an explanation on whether the smoking ban would have any effect on the production possibility curve. All of this will create an economic insight into the effects of the 26th March 2006 smoking ban. Firstly, the theory of externalities will be considered as externalities are seen in almost every area of economic activity, therefore are also important to analyzing the effects of the smoking ban in enclosed public places. Garratt and Sloman (2010, p.517) define them as â€Å"costs or benefits of production or consumpt ion experienced by society but not by the producers or consumers themselves. Externalities are likely to cause market failure if the full social costs and social benefits of production and consumption are not taken into consideration. Social cost includes all the costs of production of the output of a particular good or service. We include the external costs arising, for example, from pollution of the atmosphere. It is therefore important to consider how this theory of externalities justifies the government legislating on smoking. Cigarettes in the UK have an enormous taxation rate – in 2009, 10.5 billion pounds were raised in tax revenue from tobacco for the UK government. People usually tend to smoke a lot when they are drinking so if they are not allowed to smoke inside the clubs and bars, there is not as big as a demand as if people were allowed to smoke in bars and clubs. This means that the government loses the money it could have raised from the tobacco taxation if the re was a bigger demand. The money that has been raised from putting taxation on tobacco is usually invested in healthcare as a public good so it can be perceived as an external benefit. However, government this way avoids the damage of issues that are caused by smoking, such as less productive workforce and the vast amount of money that has to be put into healthcare because of the health issues caused by smoking. Therefore it can be argued that the government loses money but at the same time invests in the long-run welfare and healthcare of the people who are living in Scotland. Some benefits might include women smoking less, therefore living longer or having healthier babies. These benefits of the government legislating on smoking might seem insignificant now because it could be argued that people who smoke, will find a way to smoke anyway, especially with bars and clubs investing in comfortable outdoor smoking areas, but the external benefits of the smoking ban are much more impor tant – the reduction of secondary smoking health costs (non-smokers now do not have to suffer from other people smoking indoors), especially when the smoke that accumulates indoors only contributes to damaging health to people who are inside enclosed places. Also, not being able to smoke inside discourages more people from smoking or they smoke less frequently because a lot of people just can’t be bothered to go outside. This is the case especially amongst young people where smoking is still considered a social activity so if they can’t smoke in bars and clubs – they won’t. Also people are discouraged from smoking in a way that doesn’t affect the black market which is good because then the government does not have to spend extra money on dealing with the black market while spending huge amounts of money improving the health of the people. Taking all these arguments into account, the theory of externalities can be used to justify government l egislation on smoking.

Museum Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Museum Paper - Essay Example A numbers of these European artists spent their entire lives in the United States. All the paintings on the museum walls were created by these great artists between 1799 to 1843. It is observed that a number of paintings in the gallery depicted outdoor sceneries and the sky. The West painting measuring 34 by 25.6 cm was properly displayed in order to demonstrate the rich experiences of these artists. My first encounter with the West’s paintings in the museum walls were first confusing to me to an extent that I did not even recognize Benjamin Franklin, probably because I had little experience owing to my Qatar native and only two years of living experience in the united states. My little stay within the United States meant that I had little understanding of the American history. According to my understanding on these types of painting, I imaged that the West’s painting with a pictorial painting of an old man surrounded by angels as a person seeking for God’s divine and mercy because the pictures are made facing the sky. I my little understanding of the West’s art work, I thought these paintings symbolized guidance as the wends created a strong illusion of the presence of God in me and I finally had to inflame it because I could not explain it owing to my little understanding of the American art works. The presence of light symbolized intervention and s atisfaction. My little interpretation was also influenced by spiritual upbringing that made me closer to fundamental beliefs of God. For sure, I was aware that my interpretation of these great artistic works was different from the American artists because they had a deeper understanding of their profession. King George III, born in 1738in the United States had great control of America before losing the colonial control. Although he had an English originality, his presence

Are traffic cameras an invasion of privacy Assignment

Are traffic cameras an invasion of privacy - Assignment Example Before they can drive they are required to have a driving license and by acquiring this document they are abiding by the traffic rules which state that an individual will not drive past a red light. The US circuit court of appeal ruled in a case in 2009 that ‘no one has a fundamental right to run a red light or avoid being seen by a camera on a public street’ (Parveen Idris v. City of Chicago Illinois, 2009). In the event that a driver does this the camera is part of the traffic surveillance system and thus is programmed to capture the image of the offender. The driver will have broken traffic rules. According to the Insurance Institute for highway safety driving is regulated by law and the cameras only capture the people on the wrong side of the traffic rules. They capture the license plate of the vehicle or in other cases as permitted by the law they may be allowed to capture the image of the driver (IIHS, 2011). The law also states that it will be considered an intrusion of privacy if any individual is captured without them knowing (BBB Inc, 2010). In this instance the drivers are always aware that there are cameras installed on highway intersections and in case they cross under a red light they will be captured by the camera. Because they understand the existence of the camera and why it is placed there this cannot be considered an intrusion of privacy unless the camera has been placed there to monitor their activities in the vehicle which is not the case. In many public places there are cameras placed for security purposes, they record people and activities but this is done when the people are aware they are being recorded. In Canada for example the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents act states that unless in very extreme circumstances such surveillance is considered legal when the people who are being monitored are aware that

Property law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Property law - Case Study Example The main disadvantages include sharing of profits among partners, has unlimited liabilities, long process of decision making due to disagreements ,and may have limited life and may end upon death or withdrawal of one of the partners(Miller,Ragazzo,& Hamilton,2011). Corporations If Betty opts for corporation as her form of business organization, the advantages she is likely to get are limited liability to debts and other obligations, it is easier to collect funds for capital and expenses, have continuous life, and easy transfer of corporate ownership. The main disadvantages include many legal and formalities procedures that may be costly and take long to complete, requires relatively large amount of capital to start, and long decision making process because it involves many people resulting in possibilities of disagreements (Dore?,2003). Franchise Setting a business as a franchise offers the benefit of operating it under the banner of an established entity hence enhanced security and support systems, working with a known branch hence less cost involved in brand creation, and establishing good business relationships especially with suppliers and creditors. The disadvantages of franchise include limited control of the business and how it is run because the owners of the brand set out the processes and rules regarding the operations of the franchise, tied to suppliers as one will be required to use the franchise supplier network, increased risk of damaging the reputation of the business if other franchise mess with the brand and reduced profits as one will be required to pay the owners of the franchise for using their brand(Miller,Ragazzo,& Hamilton,2011). Limited liability Company The advantages include limited liabilities to obligations and debts, flexible distribution of profit, and flexibility in management and decision making process. The disadvantages include limited life and hectic processes of legal and formality procedures (Dore?, 2003). Joint venture The advantage of Betty forming a joint venture include sharing of cost, access to relevant expertise, gain from innovative managerial skills and practices, spreading of risks and a large pool of capital. The disadvantages include extensive efforts and time to create the right relationship for partnership, imbalance in the levels of investment, expertise and assets invested by partners, and differences in business objectives that may hinder cooperation and integration (Miller,Ragazzo,& Hamilton,2011). In my opinion, sole- proprietorship is the best option that Betty should consider when establishing her business. Since she has a potential customer base of Christians in her area and a source of capital from her husband, she should set up a sole proprietorship business because it is easy to start, she will be the sole manager of her business and so she can apply her Christian values when running the business without interference from anyone, and since she is a mature Christian, she can eas ily attract her fellow Christians to be her loyal customers and enjoy all the profits alone (Jessup &Chipps, 1991). In case Betty opts for

Follow the details Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Follow the details - Essay Example Like many photographs, this one is one in which my entire family is gathered about the time when I was celebrating my 10th birthday. One of the reasons that the photograph bears so much importance to me is that it has both sets of my grandparents as well as my mother and father in it. Only a few years after the photo was taken, three of my four grandparents had passed away. In this way, the photo itself is a way to remember the happiest memories of my childhood. The second object is one that I have brought with me in my travels abroad; a leather bound copy of the Holy Koran. The book belonged to my father and my grandfather before him. It was always something that was unique and holy within our household and I remember being fascinated by it since I was very young. This fascination was due in part to the fact that it was physically different than all other books that we had in our house. The leather engraving on the cover and on the back was exquisite and the Arabic calligraphy that covered it had always sparked my imagination. In this way, when my father learned that I would be going overseas to study, he entrusted me with this family treasure. This was done not as a way to keep me safe or as a good luck charm but to remind me of my culture and of the importance of my upbringing even though I would be far away in the land of different customs and interpretations of right and wrong. This type of moral compass and guiding principle of my fai th and of my ethnicity was and is something that I keep close to my heart and treasure to this very day. The final article that this brief essay will discuss is that of my high school graduation diploma. Although having a high school graduation diploma in and of itself signifies little within the current era, it is not the receipt of the diploma itself that is of the most importance. Rather, it is the strong memories that are associated with it, the friendships I made, the times I spent, and the

Cyber Security Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Cyber Security - Term Paper Example With the development of science and technology, the possibility of cyber threat increases. Cyber criminals vary from organized group of hackers supported by various kinds of political, ethical or retaliatory motives to virtual robbery activities, inspired by financial gain. It is vital for organizations to understand the profile and mode of operations of targeted areas. According to Martin (2013), â€Å"Targeted, organized and long-term threats categorized as â€Å"advanced persistent threats† can be a significant problem due to sophisticated technology, expert attackers and potentially Nation State sponsorship† (p.1). The main objective of this paper is to analyze the concept of cyber security in association with a recent international event. It analyses the possible threats that people may face in cyberspace. The paper seeks to answer questions related to cyber security such as: who is been harmed and by whom, what is the harm/causation, what is the broader implication of the harm and what is the major moral issue on hand. Most importantly, it will discuss how companies use such as rights theory, justice theory, an ethics of character, and an ethics of care while relating the same about the particular incident. The concept of cyber security in modern world is important to understand cyber threat. Cyber security is developed to protect the individual users as well as companies. The term cyber threat can be defined as an outsiders attempt to hamper the normal operation of any particular system which is designed to help the normal activities of the people in a society. Cyber threats can be a great danger for the financial sector, government, and the army. In countries such as USA, the statistics associated with the cyber-crime is increasing rapidly. With the situation so alarming, the President of USA, Barack Obama forced to declare the month of

Bullied Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bullied - Essay Example Many innocent lives have been lost owing to this problem of bullying and these precious lives could have been saved if proper intervention and help was provided for these issues. Bullying can be defined as acts of aggression which tend to humiliate the victim through every possible mean. According to Olweus, ‘A student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other students’ (Olweus 2001 p 5-6). Thus, bullying is basically a means of degrading a person to an extent that he may lose his confidence and morale and tend to consider options like suicide as the only solution. Different incidents have marked the severity of this act of bullying. Innocent young teenagers have died due to being the victims of humiliation. The examples of Tylor Cementi who was an 18 year old boy and Phoebe Prince who was a 15 year old girl serve as eye openers to highlight the issue of bullying. Tylor Cementi was a bright and intelligent boy who enrolled new in his university. Cementi was a homosexual and his sexual orientation was used as a point to bully him. His colleagues plotted against him and made a video of his private encounter with his homosexual partner. They then posted it on the internet which served to publicize a private encounter of Clementi.

Change Speech -Kite Runner, Poem, Article Essay Example for Free

Change Speech -Kite Runner, Poem, Article Essay One can perceive change within themselves in various ways and through various mediums. Today I stand before you, ladies and gentleman to discuss with you three significant Changing Self texts I believe, strongly connect in their own ways with the Representations of Changing Self expo. Change can be an immediate process or it can be a series of events over a prolonged period of time like it is in Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, published in 2003. However, using different texts The Kite Runner and perhaps a poem, like The Door, by Miroslar Holub for example, can represent change of self not only in a different format, but also connecting ideas that change can be triggered by a certain event or experience in history which can leave a lasting impact on the present and future. At times we need to be coached or pushed into change, however in other instances we are called to embrace the opportunity as it arises. Sometimes we come across change unknowingly, by innocence or fear of circumstances as of a true story of an Indian boy named Saroo who unknowingly was driven through the process of change. Changing Self can be a very difficult process to acknowledge and to accept. This idea is significant in The Kite Runner; a ‘deeply moving’ novel demonstrates how a horrific experience of one unforeseen event can change the present and future of a young life. Amir slowly develops realisation with age that another change is required to bring about a new beginning or ‘a way to be good again’, as Rahim Khan said presented as a ‘one time’ opportunity . As discussed in the beginning of the novel we are revealed with a component of the past which reflects the choice of future Amir is faced with. The result of Amir’s dreadful experience of watching his servant friend, or not-so-much friend, Hassan being raped and the fact that he didn’t do anything about it, or step in and fight Asef before any commotion began fills Amir with unsound guilt and remorse which he proved unable to hide away from, ‘it was my past of untatoned sins† as quoted. This guilt is too powerful for him to acknowledge, so much so that he takes the course of trying to change the way things ran around his home, by getting rid of Hassan from his life. Amir runs away, metaphorically and literally from the environment and surrounds in hope to seek a better mind and reality. Using the literal ‘running’ from Afghanistan to America to seek safety, he does this metaphorically as he tries to run away from the guilt he cannot let go of. The symbolic use of the cleft lip is a significant detail in the novel used to classify that a person can be identified through specific events and choices, positive or negative. By this whereas Hassan had a cleft lip as a child, this same scenario is changed around as Amir embraces the opportunity to ‘become good again’ and save Sohrab, Hassan’s son, and Amir’s own nephew, from Asef. Amir changes his old cowardice to courage, stepping fourth to fight a losing battle with Asef, a noted, ‘cathartic’ experience, relieving himself from pain, with pain from the blows of Asef, leaving Amir with a cleft lip also. Only to be saved by Sohrab with the repeated symbolic use of the slingshot, this was also used to save Amir from Asef by Hassan years before. Amir feels as though he has positively changed for the better by embracing opportunity and new attribute of courage, filling in the gaps of his stained past. Changing self may be presented as a door of opportunity or experience we may be called to open. The Door, an influential, yet daring poem by Miroslar Holub emphasises in an imperative tone of urgency and pushiness that any change is better than no change at all. Therefore, one must embrace any change as the opportunity presents itself. The symbol of the door is an indicator of opportunities, and the need for them to be open, just as Rahim Khan was a door of opportunity for Amir to open and experience the ‘drought’ or movement of change willing to take place, good or bad. The words, ‘if there is a fog, it will clear’ demonstrates how this presented opportunity for Amir to relieve his life of guilt with be finally removed with action of ‘opening the door.’ The repetition of ‘go and open the door’ is not only encouraging but coaching and emphasising that if all doors are opened and even if so many are negative, there will still be a positive movement because the door was opened and ‘at least there will be a draught,’ or rather, at least you will have tried to do something about an awful event or experience with an unseen future and not remain in the same position, dealing with the guilt and regret, which cannot escape. As long as the door remains shut, the air will remain stuffy and uncomfortable to breathe in, so coming fourth and opening the door will let fresh air and new opportunities to evolve. The writer explains the positives of change which is used to entice or urge the reader to want to experience a new change of air. Changing circumstances in one’s life can erratically change and impact one’s life within a series of events contained by a short span of time. This concept is represented in the deeply touching true story of an Indian boy, named Saroo which was published in the Sydney Morning Herald back in March this year. Throughout 25 years, young Saroo went through an array of unforseen events which lead him away from lifelong poverty and his mother to where he is today, amongst the rich living in Australia. Just as the Herald Sun writes, ‘Australia’s very own, slum dog millionaire!’ Why was this so? Many say it occurred because of fate. When Saroo, whom at the time was only five years old- awoke alone and very frightened at one of India’s very many train stations very late in the evening after he had fallen asleep waiting for h is brother to return. At this part of Saroo’s life, he had very little and was uneducated. Was it fear or was it God or a mixture of the both who persuaded young Saroo to pursue looking for his brother in the closest train simply because, ‘he might be in there.’ This simple child’s thought shunted and altered his life away from anything he ever knew one unforseen event, encouraged by fear, taking the opportunity to open the doors which lead to a train, almost leaving to go to Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald describes this event as ‘the night his young life’s course was altered forever.’ This change of self is represented by the innocence of a young boy. This concept is characterised by Saroo explaining how the reality of trying to get home became a dead end, just like, all the trains he road, to try and reach home, only to meet with another dead end. Various aspects of Saroo’s life were in fact ‘dead ends’ but when it came to his life depending on it, just as Amir depended on the opportunity from Rahim Khan, as unforseen at the time as it was both boys embraced their opportunities to find something, whether a brother or second chance. They opened the door. Saroo’s door opened eventually to a family from Australia whom adopted him, suddenly and strangely out of his life course, he landed himself in Hobart. In conclusion, we can gather that changing self can be a difficult process, yet also an unforseen process which may take place over a series of events. These three researched texts have shown connecting and similar views that we must make use of experience and opportunity of change as it arises. Through these views, we are challenged that ultimately it is up to ourselves via thoughts or actions or a mixture of both to decide the course of change we are willing to take. In the Kite Runner, it is up to Amir to choose to put himself in danger to make up for his guilty past, The Door commands us to take opportunities, and yet in the Sydney Morning Herald’s feature Story illustrates that with physical experience change is forever impacting. Each of these demonstrates in their own way how change can somewhat be forced upon a person and ultimately deliver them into a new direction.

The factors that influence dividend policy

The factors that influence dividend policy According to Maury and Pajuste (2002) this kind of factor is important that may affect companys dividend policy. Each company big or small has different structure of owners who have different preference of dividends. The relationship between managers and stockholders in family companies is monitored by agency theory. As there is no separation between ownership and control, the agency problems will be reduced in family companies according the paper of Yoshikawa and Rasheed (2010). But, in big companies which have a huge government ownership will affect by agency problem. This may happen in corporations because of a double principal-agent problem as Gugler (2003) pointed out. For these companies there a solution to mitigate the agency problems which is by paying dividends. There is a huge separation between ownership and management in new companies. This may make inconsistent relation between managers and the owners of the company. Jensen and Meckling (1976) pointed out this problem in their research paper. If the managers have the decision in their hand, they will make it for their interest rather than of the company. This issue was discussed by La Porta et al. (2000). They argue that managers who have the authority on the company may advantage themselves in the form of stealing, increasing the salaries for themselves or selling the assets of the firm. In Oman, there is no big difference in the ownership structure of listed firms. Although the government in Oman is not an active investor in the Muscat Securities Market, it holds a large amount of shares in Oman Telecommunication Company which is about 70% of the shares. In the other hand, Omani government holds a little amount of shares in some large listed companies. There are a number of papers examined the relationship between ownership structure and dividend policy such as Desmetz, (1983); Desmetz and Lehn, (1985); Shleifer and Vishny, (1986); Morck et al., (1988); Schooley and Barney,(1994). They found that the ownership structure in large firms could affect dividend policy. In a recent study in emerging markets, Jayesh Kumar (2003) found that ownership structure does not influence dividend pay out policy uniformally. Ramli in his study of Malaysia suggests that controlling shareholders does influence the dividend policy of Malaysian listed companies. He also found that large shareholders have effects on Malaysian dividend policy. Mondher Kouki (2009) examined the Tunisian firms and found that the ownership structure is affected by institutional investors. They suggest that ownership structure approach is highly relevant to an understanding of corporate dividends policy in Tunisia. Al-Yahyaee (2008) in his study of dividend policy of Omani firms found that government which controls the company tends to have large payout ratios. In addition, Al-Kuwari (2009) pointed out that companies which the government owed a proportion of shares pay dividend more than companies owned by private sector. . Al-Yahyaee results also shows that there is a positive association between dividend yield and government ownership. This finding is in consistent with the results suggested by Gugler (2003). According to Al-Yahyaee (2008), Government ownership has a strong influence on the dividend policy of the non financial firms. Company Size: Firm Size is considered as one of the variables that have the ability to affect the dividend policy of the company. Lloyd et al. (1985) in their study to examine the influence of the firm size on the dividend policy add firm size as an important variable of dividend behaviour. Aivazian, and Booth (2003) found in their study about dividend policy in both US companies and emerging markets companies that there is evidence that firm size influence dividends. There are two types of companies, large and small. Many researchers such as Jensen et al. (1992), Fama and French (2000) on their study about dividend policy found that big firms pay high dividend to their shareholder than small firms. This occurs because of the fact that small firms have high chance of bankruptcy than large firms. Moreover, the research paper of Lloyd, Jahera, and Page (1985) argued that the variable firm size can be used to illustrate the dividend pay ratio of the company. Their findings discussed that big companie s are more mature than small firms. This feature makes them enter the capital market easily and let to pay higher dividends. According to Marsh, (1982); Baskin, (1989), Chang and Rhee, (1990); Bennets and Donnelly, (1993); Charitou and Vafeas, (1998), big companies have better evaluation debt. The size of the company has a positive correlation with dividend payment. This positive relationship is studied by a lot of financial economists for example, Lloyd and Jahera (1985), Rhee (1990), Smith and Watts (1992), Gaver and Gaver (1993), Vogt (1994), Redding (1997), Adedeji (1998), Bradley, Capozza, and Seguin (1998), Holder et al. (1998), Fama and French (2001). Ho, H. (2003) study the dividend policy of Japan firms and Australia firms. Their result show that the firms size have a positive sign with dividend policy in Australia and liquidity has a positive sign with dividend policy in Japan. Recently, there are some papers in emerging markets investigate the factors affecting dividend policy. For instance, Al-Kuwari study the determinant of dividend policy in GCC, and his result reveal that companies pay more dividends when firma size is high. On the other hand, Naceur, Goaied, and Belanes (2006) in their study of study the dividend policy of 48 firms listed on the Tunisian Stock Exchange found that the firm size has a negative sign with dividend policy, Business risk: Business risk is a risk that affects the company when it has no enough cash flow to cover its obligations such as operating expenses. It is considered as one of the determinant of companies dividend policy and can play an important role to influence dividend payment. According to the results of Pruitt and Gitman (1991) risk is one of the factors that determine the dividend policy of the company. Furthermore, there is evidence of that risk can impact the dividend policy of the firms. This is provided by the study of Lintner (1956), Brav et al. (2005). When the business risk is high, the relationship between current and expected future profit will be uncertain. As a result, firms will avoid the obligation to pay high dividend. There are many studies reveal that companies which have high risk will pay low dividends to their shareholders because of the volatility of earnings. Some of these studies are conducted by Rozeff (1982), Lloyd et. al. (1985), 1993; Mohd et al., 1995, and Colins et. al. (1996). They apply in their study beta value of the firm as a proxy of the company business risk. This beta is expected to be negative with dividend payment. DSouza (1999) argues that there is a negative relationship between beta and dividend policy. In recent studies, Ling, Mutalip, Shahrin, and Othman (2007) test the dividend policy of Malaysian companies and they found that business risk has negative relationship with dividend yield and dividend payout ratio. Their result also show that firm risk influence the dividend policy of the firms. Al-Kuwari in his study of non financial firms of GCC argues that business risk is insignificant variable. In the case of Oman, Al-Yahyaee (2008) gave the same results as the above discussions and his result reveal that there is negative relationship between dividend payout and business risk. Profitability: This kind of variables that can affect dividend policy of the firm is considered as a primary factor of dividend payment because when firms have high profits, they tend to pay high dividend to their shareholder. Many financial economists such as Lintner (1956),Jensen et al (1992); Han et al (1999), Fama and French (2000), Adaoglu (2000), Pandey (2003) suggest that the companys profitability is an important indicator that affect dividend policy of the firm. Some of these papers argue that there is a positive relationship between profitability of the company and the dividend policy. This positive relationship is considered as an important prediction of the signaling theory of dividend policy. The positive sign means firms which have profits will pay dividend. In addition, Fama and French (2001) in his research pointed out that the positive relationship between the firms profitability and dividend payment is consistent with the pecking order theory. There are many studies reveal that in emerging market, the dividend payment is higher than that in developed markets. For example, the results of Glen et al. (1995) reveal that dividend payment is higher in developing countries. Furthermore, Aivazian, booth, and cleary (2003) found that in their study about emerging market and US firms, profitability in emerging markets has higher influence on dividend payout than in US companies. As discussed above similar findings were reported by Al-Kuwari (2007) for GCC firms, Al-Yahyaee (2008) for Omani firms, and Al- Najjar (2009) for Jordanian firms. To test the profitability of the dividend policy of the firm, the (ROE) measure was used. According to the above results, I expect to find a positive sign for the relationship between dividend payment and profitability. Leverage: Financial leverage is one of the main explanatory variables of firms dividend policy. The definition of this variable is that the long term debt to total asset. Firms that are highly leveraged and cannot make a payment on their debt will be faced risk of bankrupt. This fact may explain that firms with high debt may pay low dividend to their shareholders because they need to utilize their cash flow to pay their obligations. . On the other hand, Aivazian et al (2003) said that companies with low debt can pay and maintain their dividends. Financial leverage has a negative relationship with dividend payment. There are many studies appear to support this negative relationship. Rozeff (1982) results revealed that companies with high leverage prefer to pay low amount of dividends. Moreover, Crutchley and Hansen (1989) Jensen et al. (1992), Bradley et al. (1998), Faccio, Lang, and Young (2001) pointed out that financial leverage influence dividend payment in negative way. The recent studies also are in line with these findings. For instance, Kouki, Guizani (2009) in their study of the dividend policy of the Tunisian firms found that firms with high debt prefer to pay a little amount of dividend. the results of Al-Najjar (2009) shows that there is a negative relationship between leverage and dividend policy. Growth opportunities: The growth opportunity of the company is an important indicator that influences the operation of the distribution of dividends. When firms expect to have huge growth opportunities in their business, they will utilize the firms funds to finance the expansion. This may make the firms to pay lower amount of dividend to the shareholders. On the other hand, if companies know that the growth opportunities are low and the projects investment is small, they will distribute high cash dividend. These analyses propose that growth opportunities have a negative relationship with dividend payout. a lot of studies appeared to support this negative relationship such as, Higgins (1972), Rozeff(1982), Lloyd et al.(1985) and Collins et al (1996), Fama and French (2001), Ho, Lam, and Sami (2004), and Aivazian et al. (2006). They argue that firms with high growth opportunities are more likely to pay low dividends. However, LaPorta et al. (2000) show different results. He found that there is a positive relationship between growth opportunities and dividend payment in countries that have high shareholder protection, but negative relationship in countries that have low shareholder protection. Based on the above assumptions I expect to find a negative association between dividends growth opportunities. Sample Description and Data: The sample data of this dissertation includes 5 large non financial companies listed in the Muscat Securities Market. The annual reports of the firms were taken also from the website of the Muscat Securities Market to get information about shareholders. There are 125 listed companies in Muscat Securities Market as at 31 September 2010. The main listed companies in MSM are banking and investment, services and insurance, and industry. The sample in this research come from industry and service sectors such as telecommunications, oil, and manufacturing companies. The data is obtained by Share-Holding Guide of Muscat Securities Market companies. The data are cross sectional and time series which are collected from 2005 to 2009. As discussed in the previous section, the dividend payout ratio is the model of the dependent variable of the dividend policy. the explanatory variables of the suggested dividend policy are ownership structure, firm size, profitability, business risk, leverage, and growth opportunities. The primary idea was to test the dividend policy and the six hypotheses related to dividend policy of the 6 companies listed on Muscat Securities Market. I chose to use non financial firms rather than financial because the information is limited and the data is missed on financial firms. The dividend paying firms are those companies that paid dividend at least one time over the five years period of the study 2005 to 2009. This means that all the five companies I selected are dividend payment firms. Measurement of Variables: This section is based on the previous discussions to test the six hypotheses on dividend payout ratios of Omani firms. The study of the variables is based on average for the 2005 to 2009 periods to examine the influence on companys dividend policy. Moreover, the predicted sign for the variables are positive with dividend policy for ownership structure, profitability, and firms size, but negative for business risk, leverage, and growth opportunities. The estimations of the models are as follows: DIV = f (GOV, SIZE, GROW, LEV, BETA, PROF) Where DIV is the dividend payout ratio which is measured by: Dividends per Share / EPS. The dividend payout ratio show the percentage amount of dividend the company will tend to distribute to their shareholders. This ratio indicates that the earnings of the company support the dividend payout. If the dividend payout is high, the share will be attractive to the shareholders. It differs among firms and the fact that the majority of mature firms have higher dividend payout ratio. The model utilizes the percentage number of shares that owned by corporations investors especially the proportion of the government shares (GOV) in the firm to test the ownership structure to know if it can affect the dividend policy. This is used by many studies for example, Gugler (2003), and some recent studies like Al-Kuwari (2007) in her study about GCC countries. Profitability (PROF) ratio can be measured as return on asset and return on shareholder equity. Return on asset is calculated by net profit over total asset. PROF = net profit/total asset Return on equity (ROE) which I have used in this study is measured by net profit divided by shareholder equity. PROF = net profit/shareholder equity Many existing studies have used return on equity (ROE) as a proxy of profitability more than using return on asset. For example, Aivazian, booth, and cleary (2003), Al-Yahyaee (2008), and Al- Najjar (2009) utilize return on equity in their study about dividend policy. Firm size (SIZE) is measured by the natural log of the total assets. Total revenue is also used as a proxy of firm size for example, Holder et al. (1998) has been used the same proxy for this variable. The proxy of the business risk (BETA) is beta. This has been used by Rozeff (1982), Lloyd et. al. (1985), 1993; Mohd et al., 1995, Colins et. al. (1996), and DSouza (1999). Growth opportunities (GROW) is measured by market to book ratio. Market to book ratio is calculated by dividing book value over market value of the firm. This ratio is used to find identify the value of the firm. Market to book ratio = book value/ market value Leverage (LEV) ratio is defined as total debt over total equity. This ratio is used to test how can debt affect the dividend payment of the firm. LEV = total debt/ total equity The Tobit and random effects models: The liner regression model includes, fixed and random effect tobit model. It has been used by several studies to test dividend policy. It is a statistical technique that tries to determine the link between two or more variables: dependent and explanatory variables. The dependent variable selected is dividend payout ratio. The explanatory or independent variables that used in this research are ownership structure, profitability, firm size, leverage, business risk, and growth opportunities. In this study of Omani firms I have used tobit models to investigate the factors of the dividend paid. In addition, to get the results I utilize the random effect tobit model which is suitable for nonfinancial firms.