Monday, December 30, 2019

How to Earn an Online Degree by Examination

Several websites have popped up recently claiming that students can earn a degree by taking tests or get their bachelors  degree in less than a year. Is the information theyre selling a scam? Not necessarily.It is true that experienced students and good test-takers may be able to earn legitimate online degrees quickly and primarily through test-taking. However, it isnt easy and its not always the most fulfilling way to experience college. This information isnt a secret and you shouldnt feel obliged to take out your credit card for details that are publicly available from the colleges themselves. Heres what you need to know: How Can I Earn a Degree by Examination? In order to test your way to a degree, you cant just sign up for any program. When planning your next steps, you will need to be particularly cautious to avoid diploma mills with unethical practices - even listing a diploma mill degree on your resume is a crime in some states. There are several regionally accredited online colleges that are competency-based and offer flexible ways for students to earn credit. By enrolling in one of these legitimate online colleges, you may be able to earn the majority of your credits by proving your knowledge through taking tests rather than completing coursework. Why Should I Earn a Degree by Examination? Testing out of college is probably a better choice for experienced adult learners rather than incoming freshmen. It might be right for you if you have a lot of knowledge but are being held back in your career due to the lack of a degree. If you are coming right out of high school, this course may be particularly challenging as the tests tend to be difficult and do require a substantial amount of studying for students that are new to a topic. What Are the Drawbacks? Earning an online degree by taking tests has some major drawbacks. In particular, students miss out on what some consider are the most important aspects of the college experience. When you take a test instead of a class, you miss out on interacting with a professor, networking with your peers, and learning as a part of a community. Additionally, the required tests are challenging and the unstructured nature of studying alone can lead many students to simply give up. In order to be successful with this approach, students need to be particularly driven and disciplined. What Kinds of Tests Can I Take? The tests that you take will depend on your colleges requirements. You may end up taking university tests monitored online, university tests monitored at a designated testing location (such as a local library), or external tests. External tests such as the College-Level Exam Program (CLEP) can help you bypass courses in specialized subjects such as U.S. History, Marketing, or College Algebra. These tests can be taken with proctored supervision at a variety of locations. What Kinds of Colleges Accept Test Scores? Keep in mind that many earn a degree fast and test out of college advertisements are scams. When choosing to earn a degree primarily through examination, it is essential that you enroll in a legitimate, accredited online college. The widest form of accreditation is regional accreditation. Accreditation from the Distance Education Training Council (DETC) is also gaining traction. Regionally accredited programs that are well-known for awarding credit by exam include: Thomas Edison State College, Excelsior College, Charter Oak State College, and Western Governors University. Are Degrees-By-Examination Considered Legitimate? If you choose an accredited online college, your degree should be considered legitimate by employers and other educational institutions. There should be no difference between the degree you earn through proving your knowledge through test taking and the degree another online student earns through coursework.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Possibilities of Technological Influences on Evolution

Introduction In humanity, as in all of life, the most successful traits in producing offspring will also become the most prevalent. There is a belief that because we no longer fight for our survival, we will no longer evolve. Evolution, however, has no goal or foresight. Though we have seized the need to fight, and have triumphed to the top of the animal food chain, we continue to change and develop by whatever is most successful for production. This could be beneficial, but could also have detrimental effects. This paper will discuss these positive and negative possibilities, as well as how technology could greatly alter our evolutionary path. The Ideal of the Body The initial future envisioned by the author was admittedly an ideal one. It’s easy to imagine that without limit to food and shelter that would otherwise inhibit our potential, we may become taller. History shows that this has long been the trend and humanity could perhaps come to a 6’5† average, or even higher, but at this point much taller mates would likely cease to be attractive as we would be reaching our peak of structural stability. Humans much taller than this would be over encumbered by their own density, and have inhibited walking capabilities (Fowler, 2006). Because of this, the author predicted the possibility of an increasingly uniform height, as both very tall and shorter members of society are selected against. Large amounts of body hair also tend to be chosen against and humans would likelyShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Article Digibabble, Fairy Dust And The Human Anthill 994 Words   |  4 Pageschange needed to adapt to one s environment. He manages to connect each aspect of his essay with every idea that he presents, making his argument not only sound but valid as well. Wolfe uses evolution as a visual example of the continuous changes occurring in the world. It makes one think about what influences the changes in our world today. Not only does Wolfe use sound logic to make his argument strong, but he also invokes emotion to draw the reader hoping to open up their mind. Overall, Wolfe presentsRead MoreDarwin s Theory Of Evolution1519 Words   |  7 PagesDarwin’s natural selection and his theory of evolution. In which case, we would learn about his research in figuring out how life evolved; the vast amount of data he has collected based on his observation of plant life and animals, and even the â€Å"Origin of Species† published by Darwin himself in 1859, explained many possibilities of how evolution took place. So then why do Americans find evolution to be suspicious in terms of science? Darwin insist ed that â€Å"evolution is a theory that is based on facts gatheredRead MoreSignificant Health Care Event1225 Words   |  5 PagesHCS/531 February 18, 2013 Ann Gantzer Science and technology have always been joined at the hip. The evolution of health care services in the United States (U. S.) undoubtedly has been shaped at least in part by advancements in scientific research and knowledge, and technological innovation (Shi amp; Singh, 2012). The following exploration focuses on ways a specific scientific or technological event or innovation affected health care provision in the U. S. to date. Health care is dynamic. ScienceRead MoreA Writing Ecology Is A Dynamic, Interconnected System Of Communication906 Words   |  4 Pagestraditionally refers to the relationships between organisms in an environment, the ability to metaphorically link this to a concept of writing redefines the complexity of networked technologies and the influences of technological change. The ability to participate in a digitally evolving space opens up new possibilities and opportunities when accessing and expressing knowledge and information. Snowfall (Branch, 2016) is an exp licit example of this as it demonstrates key concepts through optimising its environmentRead MoreA Review of K W Lees Article Energizing the ESL/EFL Classroom through Internet Activities1140 Words   |  5 Pagesan environment for experiencing and creative work. After the analysis of its benefits and disadvantages, the author concludes that the Internet is part of the technological revolution and should therefore be considered in combining traditional teaching methods and new technological approaches in order to face the challenges that evolution has set forth for educators and the society. Winn, William. (2002). Current Trends in Educational Technology Research: The Study of Learning Environments. EducationalRead MoreThe Importance Of Academic Writing1024 Words   |  5 PagesIn this technological century, when text messages, emails, and documents are used and published widely for everyone, writing has become an essential way of communicating. Although, the effectiveness of academic writing is a discussion among scholars its relevance should not be neglected. For some educators, academic writing does not add practicality to the students future career communication; for others, college-level writing is an essential learning tool. Moreover, students are struggled in understandRead MoreSocietal Factors Of Scientific Research Essay1207 Words   |  5 Pagesinfluenced the larger society from both a social and technological standpoint. Climate change is a hotly debated issue in the current political arena due to the conclusions that climate scientists have drawn from data, and the modern ease of communication between people around different parts of the globe was made possible by applying scientific principles of electromagnetism and quantum mechanics. While science has undoubtedly changed society, the influence has gone in the other direction as well. ScienceRead More Basics of Quantum Computing Essay1116 Words   |  5 Pagesat the same time, allowing for massively parallel evaluations of all possible sequences at the same time. Of course in the end there can only be a single full set for the stable state, but information can be gathered from each of the possibilities by its influence upon the whole system during each step of the evaluation. History of Quantum Computers Initially the famous physicist Robert Feynman breached the subject of using quantum effects for computation in 1982, though his primaryRead MoreThe Media As A Valuable Outlet For Free Expression1665 Words   |  7 PagesThe social media as a valuable outlet for free expression Introduction The communications and media landscape is experiencing a profound and fast transformation. There is a possibility of describing the evolution and development of new technologies as enterprising and open. The internet comprises of the considered technological developments, which is the latest outlet that a considerable number of people in the world can access and use to communicate (Maras 3). Just as other technologies before itRead MoreHuman Intelligence And The Biomedical Engineering Field1384 Words   |  6 Pagesinevitable consequence of the humans natural competitiveness and the possibilities inherent in technology.† Technological singularity is on the verge of having a massive breakthrough but are we ready for what it brings? Raymond Kurzweil, an American author, believes that singularity will emerge in 2045. Technological singularity is an event in which artificial intelligent machines go beyond human intelligence and have the possibility to redesign themselves. Scienti fic development and enhancement is

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Elie Change Free Essays

Ms. GrimeseyLaftsis, Helena Ostrander9/6 English15. 11. We will write a custom essay sample on Elie Change or any similar topic only for you Order Now 12 How do Elie`s life experiences during WWII change him physically, mentally and emotionally? In Elie Wiesel `s book Night the author shows how he himself changed during WWII. In camps such as Birkenau, Buna and Auschwitz people change. They lose faith, hope, families and their physicality. Every day, we go through situations that affect us in some way. The more difficult situation is, the more of an effect it has on us. A few days it`s enough to change the personality of a Human and to start acting like hungry animals. Elie`s experiences during WWII change him change him a lot physically, mentally and emotionally. In Hitler`s concentration camps the Jews were abused, starved and freezing. People who had power in the camps were the strongest. They could beat whoever and whenever they wanted to. Once Elie cross the path of Idek while he was nervous and he started hitting him so hard, â€Å"He threw himself on me like a wild beast, beating me in the chest, on my head, throwing me to the ground and picking me up again, crushing me with ever more violent bows, until I was covered in blood† (Wiesel, 53). This quote shows us how unfair was life in those camps to the people that didn`t have power. The powerful ones were hitting the people so hard and they did not care about them. During the winter the Jews were freezing because they didn’t have such things as blankets, gloves and hats. While Elie was going to Buchenwald camp he said â€Å"We were nothing but frozen bodies† (Wiesel, 100). In this quote Elie Wiesel literally describes himself and his others fellows as nothing more but â€Å"frozen bodies†. They didn`t receive any food and ate only snow. During the night they were lying on top of each other just so they don`t freeze so fast. Another cause of a physical change is malnutrition. Their food was insufficient and all of the people lost a lot of weight. A few days after the liberation of Buchenwald Elie finally saw himself in the mirror, â€Å"From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me† (Wiesel, 115). Ellie describes his body as if he has the body of a dead person. He lost so much weight in the camp that he couldn`t even recognize himself. He last saw himself when he was still in the ghetto, now when he finally sees himself in the mirror he is shocked because of the change in his body. Elie has a physical change because life there was very hard. Unfortunately â€Å"physical change† wasn’t the only change that he experienced during the period when he was in the camps. Elie change emotionally soon after entering the camps. He becomes very close to his father in the camp, they are always helping and supporting each other during hard times. But during the years when he was in the camp he stopped caring about his family, friends and everything that he cared before. When they split his family he stayed with his father and only a few days was enough to change Elie`s personality, â€Å"My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked† (Wiesel, 39). This quotes shows us from its own words â€Å"I had not even blinked† how much has Elie change throughout the WWII. It also shows us how cruel and selfish he has become. He doesn’t even care for his father anymore. Another good example for an emotionally change is when Elie`s dad died, â€Å"I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep†¦at last† (Wiesel, 112). Even at his dad funeral he did not even cried. He tried to cry but he couldn`t. This shows us how much the camp changed him. The camp teaches them to live only for themselves and to not help anyone even their own fathers, â€Å"I knew he was running out of strength, close to death, and yet I had abandoned him (Wiesel, 10). This quote shows us that even though his dad was very sick and was close to death, Elie left him alone. Which mean that he doesn`t care for his dad anymore because if he cared he would do anything possible to help his dad. Elie changed from being a nice caring person to a heart-colded, selfish monster. In such camps people change a lot in their religious beliefs and learn that they only live for themselves. You shouldn`t help your fellows because in there your life is more important. In those camps there aren’t such things as brothers, sisters, fathers you should care only about yourself, â€Å"I gave him what was left of my soup. But my heart was heavy. † (Wiesel, 107). He gives his soup to his father but not willingly. He change a lot in the concentration camps. Elie also change his religious beliefs during this period when he was in the camps. At the beginning of the novel he was very religious but after the WWII he stopped believing in God,† Blessed be God`s name? Why, but why would I bless Him? † (Wiesel, 67). He doesn`t understand why he should bless God name if he permits to the Germans to manipulate them like this. He lost hope and faith in him, â€Å"Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes. † (Wiesel, 34) This quote shows us with its own word â€Å"murdered† that for him God is dead. Because of the camps he lost faith in God and turned his dreams into ashes. In those camps people stop having faith in God and understand that they should live for themselves; they should not care about the others. Before the war Elie was considered as a deeply religious young boy Elie but everything change since he arrived in the camps. He lost faith in god. In those camps Ellie and his fellows were like slaves; they were only working and almost didn`t had nothing to eat. The SS policemen were beating them whenever they wanted to without having pity for them. Only a few days were enough to change Elie mentally, emotionally and physically. How to cite Elie Change, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Concept of Organizational Change Management Free Essay Solution

Question: Why is resistance to change frequently demonised as a problem that must be managed.What are the ethical implications of this and how else can resistance be understood.You may use examples from your own organisation to illustrate your essay. Answer: Concept of Organizational Change Management (OCM) Organizational change management (OCM) concept refers to a vivid framework to manage the impact of business processes, various organizational changes like that in structure or culture internally. So, this concept deals with the addressing of human resource about change management. Often, organizational higher authority or corporate employers take up the decision of incorporating changes within the organization aiming at positive outcomes(Park, 2013). A systematic method of implementing organizational change management benefits the entire organization when it requires members to learn new skills as well as behaviors. With formal set up of expectations, employment of effective tools for improving communication along with proactively reducing any sort of misinformation internally may enable implementation of organizational change management (Saksvik Hetland, 2009). This systematic approach would also require stakeholders to coordinate in a mutual basis so as to lead to a successful imp lementation of desirable change without causing any sort of discomfort to the organizational members. A successful organizational change management strategy involves agreement of all organizational members towards any common goals or visions without any competing initiatives, strong leadership style for communicating those visions with selling of business case to lead to change, changing strategy for educating employees regarding regular work, and a definite plan for measuring whether a desired change is beneficial or not, and also follow up plans to measure their success or failure (Simha Cullen, 2012). Organizational change management also includes changes in the structure of social or monetary rewards which encourage members to adopt ownership of innovative roles and responsibilities. Forces in Organizational Change As per Lewins force-field analysis model, every organization is considered to be an open system. Changes can include basically two forces, one that pushes the organization towards a new direction, namely driving force, and another that prevents the organization from changes to occur, namely restraining force. When driving force is greater than restraining force, change is likely to occur. This leads to the organization to move towards a new direction. On the other hand, when restraining force is greater than the driving force, the organization is likely to stay at the location where it was initially. When the two forces are equal in strength, the organization will stay stable temporarily. When any organization is about to change, various forces prevent such change like that of restraining forces. These restraining forces may be categorized into three levels, organizational level, secondary level, and individual level. Some of the factors within the organizational level include struct ure of organization, system pressure, pressure from earlier reputation, and organizational culture. Factors from secondary level include interest conflict amidst departments or standpoint differences. Individual level factors include misunderstanding, personal benefit feeling, custom, lack of trust, uncertainty, etc. The ways to manage all the factors which may prevent successful changes of organization are to be introduced by the organizational management. The most efficient way is to gain support and trust or organizational members by means of training, participation, encouragement, effective communication, and active involvement. Other ways may be eliminating resistance of members by means of negotiation control, assistance, or coercion. These factors would vary depending upon the situation(ODonnell, 2007). It is an important aspect for management of almost all organizations of the current scenario to address and manage resistance towards organizational management. It is mainly because organizational changes are brought about for organizational gains and benefits in the long run. Management aims at introducing effective changes within organizational environment such as structure, culture, functions, behaviors, or the ways of business transactions. For this it is extremely important for the emp loyees of the organization to understand this. Management can make the employees aware of its mission and goals by means of effective communication with the members(Simha Cullen, 2012). Since it is a natural tendency of human beings to resist any sort of change, it is inevitable that such plans for organizational change would be resisted either by the employees. So, it is the responsibility of the higher authority of the organization to deal with such aspects in a cautious manner because it is often related to the sentiments of employees. Resistance to Organizational Change With respect to the given question as to why resistance to organizational change is deemed to be a problem and that must be managed, it is to be understood that organizational change is always for the betterment and improvement. Organizational heads or higher authority take up the decision of leading change within the organization when all situations and environment are feasible and that of favorable to lead to positive outcome(Oreg, 2006). Since management is always on the track to lead to something better and increasingly effective, this concept of organizational change is inevitable. On the other hand, organizational members who tend to resume their usual form of performing towards organizational production and stability are quite habituated and comfortable with the usual norm. Now, any sudden change or even the idea of organizational change leads to their mental commotion and gives them a feeling of insecurity. This feeling of insecurity results in the rise of resistance to organ izational change(Mushtaq, n.d.). This resistance from organizational members towards any organizational change can prove to be a major problem or hindrance in the path of organizational success. Hence, resistance to organizational change is considered to be a problem or threat and that it needs to be effectively managed or counteracted (Lines *, 2004). It is not that easy for organizations to avoid changes, since innovative ideas encourage growth and progress for them as well as their members. Changers are brought about due to several reasons like new roles of staff members, increment or decline in funding, new visions, missions and goals, new target groups, or even technological advancements. Changes often create opportunities, but these are often associated with strong criticism by the organizational members, individuals or groups. Managing Resistance to Change In the present business situations like that of today, it has become a normal matter to experience resistance every time an organization engages into change. In having a proper understanding of the existence or probable chances of resistance to any change would enable anticipating resistance, identifying the main sources and causes, and modifying individual and group efforts for managing the issues related to change for ensuring success of efforts (Downs, 2012). Resistance, if viewed effectively, is healthy to a great extent. Since the concept of organizational change is something that makes employees insecure about their current positions, they tend to resist the idea of organizational change(Downs, 2012). Thus, this resistance to organizational must be well-managed and controlled by the managerial heads or higher authority of an organization so that it does not affect the organization or the desired change to occur. Here, it demands a proper and effective management of such organiz ational changes. Resistance in the organizational context is quite a common phenomenon. This resistance needs proper management in effective manner so that organizational effectiveness is not hampered. The higher authority of management must be alert as well as careful towards introduction of change within the organization, since it involves a matter of lifetime, and that success of organizations depend greatly on the involvement of higher authority ('Special issue on Resistance to change: redefining and resituating its role in change management', 2010). It needs to introduce a strategic plan and once implemented successfully, it needs o be properly monitored so that change can be beneficial to organization. Resistance to organizational change occur due to various reasons like loss of job security, non-reinforcing reward system, fear of unknown, peer pressure, an organizational politics (Danman, 2010). These resistances act as driving forces for the organizational members. Also, employees are require d to be provided of adequate learning and training about the henceforth changes. This would keep them well-informed and aware of the overall organizational change process. Ethical Implications of Managing Change Innovation as well as change is quite inevitable process within the business world. Organizations are at constant strive to continue evolving as well as changing in response to the market trends. Ethical implications suggest that within an organizational dimension, employees, disruption, communication, and teamwork all are intricately related to the organizational change management (ODonnell, 2007). One of the most significant roles of incorporating change is to keep the employees in consideration while implementing changes. It is important to assess the relative impacts organizational change upon the employees every time a change is planned. Organizational change as well as innovation is quite disruptive in nature, not only for employees but every individual related to the business. The disruption needs that all business owners consider every individual engaged into the change process(Bergstrm, Styhre Thilander, 2014). Any disruption caused by innovation as well as change will have results which require adequate planning, and so the corporate owners must do every bit possible for preserving the rights as well s interests of members, instead of trampling to attain goals. Ethics play crucial role within the change and innovation process in context to the need for an effective communication system amidst employees and employers, and that amidst company and society (Szabla, 2007). The process of communication needs to be transparent in nature especially during the change process so as to continue the trust factor in the organization. Firms that are not inspired about change may lose trust of employees, and thus the entire community as well. Ethical behavior towards employees as well as the entire community enables the business to strengthen more. The sense of pride which employees take away from getting engaged into the change process imparts increased sense of ownership to the employees. The business owners have responsibilities to bring about innovation as well as change to benefit every individual and the entire organization (Battilana Casciaro, 2013). So, it is inferred that ethics play a crucial role in bringing about organizational change. When the stakeholders are bound together in an ethical manner, it becomes easier to achieve the desired goals of the organizations. When organizational authorities strive to bring about and attain significant positive changes within the organization, it is their responsibilities to consider the ethical aspects as well (van Dijk van Dick, 2009). Ethical behavior and practice within organizations enable successful change in the organizational environment as employees feel highly motivated to participate in the change process. Conclusion Employee resistance towards organizational change is quite a complex issue that management of present organization faces. The change process is ubiquitous, and so employee resistance has been identified as quite a critically significant contributor towards the failure of several well-planned efforts for initiating change in organizational environment. Often, huge amount of resources are being expended by organizations for adjusting employees to improved way of attaining desired goals (Battilana Casciaro, 2013). The very natural tendency of individuals to maintain the status quo imparts a set of challenges which management should overcome for bringing about a desired change. It is the responsibility of the management to take serious account as well as consideration of the problems which may occur if employees are not adequately responsive towards issues of resistance within the workplace. For enabling a smooth transition from old to newer approaches, firms should be competent enough in leading to effective management of change. This process of leading to change management includes involvement of all those individuals and their acceptance of relevant changes in a positive manner without much resistance (van Dijk van Dick, 2009). The process of communication needs to be transparent in nature especially during the change process so as to continue the trust factor in the organization. Firms that are not inspired about change may lose trust of employees, and thus the entire community as well. Ethical behavior towards employees as well as the entire community enables the business to strengthen more. The sense of pride which employees take away from getting engaged into the change process imparts increased sense of ownership to the employees. References Battilana, J., Casciaro, T. (2013). Overcoming Resistance to Organizational Change: Strong Ties and Affective Cooptation.Management Science,59(4), 819-836. doi:10.1287/mnsc.1120.1583 Bergstrm, O., Styhre, A., Thilander, P. (2014). Paradoxifying Organizational Change: Cynicism and Resistance in the Swedish Armed Forces.Journal Of Change Management,14(3), 384-404. doi:10.1080/14697017.2014.938096 Danman, A. (2010). Good intentions and failed implementations: Understanding culture-based resistance to organizational change.European Journal Of Work And Organizational Psychology,19(2), 200-220. doi:10.1080/13594320902850541 Downs, A. (2012). Resistance to change as a positive influencer: an introduction.Journal Of Orgchange Mgmt,25(6). doi:10.1108/jocm.2012.02325faa.001 Lines *, R. (2004). Influence of participation in strategic change: resistance, organizational commitment and change goal achievement.Journal Of Change Management,4(3), 193-215. doi:10.1080/1469701042000221696 Mushtaq, S. Resistance to Organizational Change: Successful Implementation of Change through Effective Communication.SSRN Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1759034 ODonnell, L. (2007). Ethical Dilemmas Among Nurses as They Transition to Hospital Case Management.Professional Case Management,12(4), 219-231. doi:10.1097/01.pcama.0000282909.36285.ba Oreg, S. (2006). Personality, context, and resistance to organizational change.European Journal Of Work And Organizational Psychology,15(1), 73-101. doi:10.1080/13594320500451247 Park, S. (2013). The Role of Change Information in Organizational Change : Interaction Effects Between Change Information and Procedural Justice on the Resistance to Organizational Change.Jss,24(4). doi:10.16881/jss.2013.10.24.4.427 Saksvik, I., Hetland, H. (2009). Exploring Dispositional Resistance to Change.Journal Of Leadership Organizational Studies,16(2), 175-183. doi:10.1177/1548051809335357 Simha, A., Cullen, J. (2012). Ethical Climates and Their Effects on Organizational Outcomes: Implications From the Past and Prophecies for the Future.Academy Of Management Perspectives,26(4), 20-34. doi:10.5465/amp.2011.0156 Special issue on Resistance to change: redefining and resituating its role in change management. (2010).Journal Of Orgchange Mgmt,23(6). doi:10.1108/jocm.2010.02323faa.001 Szabla, D. (2007). A multidimensional view of resistance to organizational change: Exploring cognitive, emotional, and intentional responses to planned change across perceived change leadership strategies.Human Resource Development Quarterly,18(4), 525-558. doi:10.1002/hrdq.1218 van Dijk, R., van Dick, R. (2009). Navigating Organizational Change: Change Leaders, Employee Resistance and Work-based Identities.Journal Of Change Management,9(2), 143-163. doi:10.1080/14697010902879087

Monday, November 25, 2019

How to write an office manager cover letter

How to write an office manager cover letter Are you looking to pursue a new job as an office manager? Perhaps you’re excited about making a career change into this challenging new field, or maybe you’re already an office manager but would like to transition to a new company.Whatever your reasons are for wanting to secure a new position as an office manager, the good news is that there are plenty of opportunities- most companies, both large and small and across industries, employ office managers. The not-so-good news is that you can expect to encounter some stiff competition from other job seekers who will undoubtedly possess a wide range of backgrounds and experience levels.So, what does this mean for you? Simple- if you want to be at the top of the competitive food chain when you’re applying for open office manager positions you’ll need to have a pitch-perfect resume and cover letter that will grab and hold the attention of hiring personnel and potential new employers.Your cover letter is going to serve as your first impression maker out in the job market, and you’re going to want to make it a good one. According to a recent article by CareerOne, when looking for a new job â€Å"many people believe that a strategically targeted cover letter is the most important weapon you need.† With all of this said, it’s clear that using a bland, lifeless, boilerplate cover letter just isn’t going to cut it. Let’s review some proven strategies for how to write an effective office manager cover letter.Make it clear you can deliver what the company wants and needs.The truth is, great office managers typically anticipate the needs of their offices and employers before they’re even asked. They just seem to have an almost psychic ability to know what’s needed before anyone else does. This is the same operating principle that you should use when crafting your cover letters (notice we didn’t say letter- every opportunity should get a customi zed letter!).Use the information in the job posting to help inform what should be included in your cover letter. If the posting includes detailed information regarding job responsibilities, make sure your cover letter addresses each of these responsibilities. Data-driven results are best. For example, if a position is looking for someone with shipping experience, make sure your cover letter demonstrates that you’re a shipping whiz with a proven track record. If you have any extra feathers in your shipping cap- perhaps you negotiated a great shipping rate for your office in a previous job- even better.Don’t overload your cover letter so it reads more like a novel, but do hit the highlights to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward. Remember, you can also include quantifiable results like cost-savings and process improvements in your resume.If the job posting is light on details, use your knowledge of typical responsibilities handled by office managers (a n Internet search can prove helpful here), and also be sure to do some research on the company you’re applying to. Get a sense of what they do and try and anticipate their needs in an office manager- and be sure that this factors into your cover letter.Highlight your skills and how they relate to the specific position.If you’re an experienced office manager, this will certainly be to your advantage- you likely have a good sense of what the position requires and how to be effective. Make sure your cover letter, in conjunction with your resume, highlights your past experience and key accomplishments, and hopefully they mesh with what your target company is looking for in their next office manager.If you’re new to the field, this just means that you’ll need to get a little more creative- after using the job posting and a search of what responsibilities office managers typically handle, try your best to translate how the skills and experience you do have can be utilized effectively in an office manger position. Do you have experiencing ordering and negotiating for example? If so, then great- most office managers need to be good at these tasks, so be sure to speak about this in your cover letter. Your cover letter should focus on transferable skills, those skills that you possess that effective office managers also have and use regularly.Paint yourself as the ideal office manager.Perhaps you’ve worked in offices that have had office managers in the past- if so, then use this to help guide your letter. What made them successful and what didn’t work so well? Do you have any friends, family, or trusted colleagues who work as office managers? If so, pick their brains and use this information to help you write a killer cover letter that will get you noticed.Here’s the bottom line- regardless of your background and experience, getting a job as an office manager might not be a cakewalk. You’ll need to use every resou rce at your disposal to get a leg up on the competition and succeed. Use the information and strategies here to write an effective office manager cover letter- your first step on the journey to your next great job.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Modern Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Modern Law - Essay Example This paper seeks to give a detailed analysis and criticism of criminal and civil law. Just like any organization having its challenges, civil law is not an exception. Civil law has challenges that need to be addressed as well as the good areas that need to be retained. It is in this regard that this part of the paper presents the dimensions of civil law that both need to be retained and changed. Ownership is one area that needs to be revised in order for civil disputes to be resolved efficiently. Ownership is one of the key and central concepts of civil law (Dorfman 408). Ownership largely outlines and ensures people respect boundaries for the peaceful coexistence of community members. In cases where people do not know the extent of their properties, conflicts are likely to arise between adjacent possessions. The entrepreneurial nature of people moves them to great length of wanting to amass more property for themselves. Each and every property has a spark that will always attract either a person or people with the intentions of owning it. Therefore, without clear boundaries on the ownership of property, conflict is bound to arise regarding the ownership. Therefore, ownership being a key concept of the civil law, there should be clear boundaries stating how far an individual or a person owns a given property (King 339). Further, each civil case in courts should be ruled in its merit. Let no other similar cases be used as a guideline in ruling a current case in court. On the other hand, the judges in American civil law remain disempowered as compared to the lawyers. The judges cannot proclaim common sense control over the cases, as they are ongoing. To a larger extent, the judge is reduced to a referee to oversee the contributions of the lawyers. In addition, judges in American civil cases do not know what they are to judge. The American civil case

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Textual Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Textual Analysis - Essay Example These myths are seen as the past of each gender, male and female. In her argument, she describes males as dominant over women. Men always try to be powerful than women by using some myths, while, in reality, this is not true. Beauvoir seeks to show that the myths that talk about women are indeed false and that in, reality, these women are different. These myths are developed because men are trying to be dominant over women, but in the modern world, this is not the case. Women are termed as equal to men. While the myths of men have indicated that males have control over females, this is not true today, and this is because things have changed and men no longer have control over women. Everything in today’s society is equal, and the myths that exist are no longer recognized, and they are far forgotten (Beauvoir 785). According to the version of Raines (72), men are powerful creatures in society, and they always see themselves as violent, virile and vital people. This is depicted in the character O’ Shaughnessy. This character sees him in front of a saloon with a gun, and as a frontier, he uses his skills of bullfighting to impress the blacks. In her argument, Raines says that the character is performing some rituals, by taking advantage of the blond Irish appearance. By so doing, he is revealing his strong place in society as that of a domineering male character. In the end, he is reduced to the status of a woman by his successful challenger who uses a knife to carve labium marjoram on his cheek. According to Raines the characters sex life has all the qualities of a fighter at war. This is further explained by the encounter O’ Shaughnessy has with Denise. The two are described as making love as fighters with physical violence and physical abuse. O’ Shaughnessy sees Denise as masculine in appearance and behavior. She is given the qualities of a kind lean force with muscles of a young boy who is aggressive (Raines 72). Raines further desc ribes the character as one who admires the qualities that Denise has like; pride, intelligence, one with the force of will and an independent individual. He further wishes to have these qualities because he believes by that he can acquire them by defeating Denise and turning her into a more passive and submissive woman. Raines further argues that O’Shaughnessy sees himself as a hero (73). He sees his sexual dominance as a force that is revitalizing and one which allows him to successfully, win in all the situations of life. He is seen quoting his penis as the avenger (73) because it serves as a symbol of weapon in the war. Raines continues her argument that, in a, sexiest society, the sexual power is the most valuable item in the social and cultural power. After the encounter with Denise, O’ Shaughnessy is portraying the quality of dominance. In that, he says he must make Denise dependent on him (73) by bringing her to her first orgasm. He believes this will make him s ure of victory at last. He is quite startled by Denise when she proves that she is a skillful opponent. Denise reveals to him that he has a feminine side that he does not know. This is because O’ Shaughnessy action in mouth love was passionate. He is wounded by these words, and he allows the female in him to betray his victory and finally Denise becomes a victor (Raines 73). However, O’Shaughnessy is quick to make excuses that would justify his failure to win. He states that Denise had won because she told the truth and

Monday, November 18, 2019

Comparison between Windows XP & the Linux operating system Essay

Comparison between Windows XP & the Linux operating system - Essay Example The world has been witnessing a revolution ever since the introduction of the windows operating system. This has been primarily due to the easy-to-use interface as also the user-friendly controls that it is equipped with. But, the advent of the 90s has seen the rise of another major operating system that was developed on a UNIX foundation. Linux, as this operating system is popularly known is a freely available version under the open source initiative. It was and continues to be a hit with hardcore software developers. Therefore, the present era is seeing a tug-of-war between the vendor-based Windows XP (the newest version of windows) and the Linux (open source) operating systems As such, the windows vs. Linux debate are a heated topic for discussion under the OS (operating systems) domain. As far as the current paper is concerned, the main aspects that will be discussed as part of the discussion include the following:The basic difference between Windows XP & Linux when it comes to t he issue of synchronization lies in the manner in which the different processes are related to the underlying kernel. 'Synchronization' is a term that is more often associated with an environment that comprises the execution of more than a single process concurrently. Under such situations, synchronization ensures that all the processes execute concurrently such that there is a sense of coordination between them for the purpose of getting a task to execute in perfect run-time order so as to prevent undesirable race conditions from occurring (A. Silberschatz, 2006). When it comes to the Linux operating system, there is a process scheduler that controls access to the processor. Therefore, the scheduler is assigned the task of governing the state of execution of the various processes present. The scheduler uses a set of timers to determine the various durations such as the amount of time that is supposed to be allocated to a particular process, the time for bringing out a process out o f the execution or waiting state etc. this governs the monitoring of the system for any occurrence of deadlocks that can be duly eliminated through efficient mechanisms (Gordon Fischer, Claudia Salzberg Rodriguez, Claudia Salzberg, Steven Smolski, 2005). As opposed to this, the various processes under Windows XP are directly attached to the kernel. This requires that the kernel (and thereby the scheduler as well) must keep track of all the various processes that are attached to the kernel, though they may not be in use. This increases the chances of a deadlock & in many cases there are serious aberrations in terms of proper execution sequence between the various processes that are connected to a particular task. This is the usual occurrence when one tries to open too many applications on a windows machine wherein the system fails to respond beyond a certain limit (system hang). Linux has been found to offer better performance in this regard, wherein a system hang-up occurs only when the system hardware can no longer maintain the pace. Process Management This is related to the synchronization problem in the sense that the discussion mainly revolves around the process. The process management deals with two aspects in particular. According to A. Tanenbaum (2001), the first case is the allocation of execution sate to various processes & the other one is the allocation of memory space to the programs (processes). While the first one is mainly concerned about deadlocks, the second one is aimed at the minimizing the time required to fetch a process from the memory to the waiting queue for the purpose of putting it under consideration for execution. Under Linux, very process is assigned a unique process number that is used to reference the particular process under all circumstances, be it to create child processes, execute it or for killing that particular

Friday, November 15, 2019

Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure on Toyota Motors

Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure on Toyota Motors The globalization phenomenon allows companies to internationally expand their sales and production activities. A consequence of this phenomenon, however, is the existence of foreign exchange rate exposure which can impact the companys profitability, net cash flow and market values. In the past years, several academic researches have been developed in order to explain and analyze how foreign exchange risk exposure fluctuations affect a multinational company or a purely domestic company value, and how this risk is influenced by the companys risk management strategy. Consequently, this dissertation aims to find some knowledge on these subjects for a specific company, Toyota Motor Corporation. By applying the capital market approach and analyzing three different periods, it is possible to conclude that Toyota Motor Corporation, in a crisis situation, was able to protect itself against some of the primary exchange rates fluctuations it is exposed to. Thus, the predictability of higher fluctuations allows the company to apply effective risk management strategies. Considering a ten year period, bilateral exchange rate fluctuations are more significant to the company stock returns than for other periods. However, being an exporting company, its coefficient for exposure is not consistent with the competitive advantage an exporter holds when its company home currency depreciates. It is consistent, however, when the broad currency index is considered. Additionally, the impact of foreign exchange risk fluctuations is small for company stock returns. This can thus indicate that exchange rate fluctuations dont have a significant impact on company stock price returns. INTRODUCTION The globalization phenomenon has allowed the integration of national economies into the international economy, giving them easier access to information, goods and services through trade and foreign direct investment around the world. This process has been encouraging an increasing number of companies to start operating on a global scale, expanding their networks worldwide. In recent years, the number of multinational companies has grown in order to respond to the competitiveness experienced in the domestic market and explore new markets to produce or sell new products and services. Multinational companies, or purely domestic companies with a broad network, are exposed to several risks. An important risk that has a significant impact on the management of a company is the foreign exchange risk, due to the fact that it may affect the companys cash flows, value and performance. Nevertheless, besides the foreign exchange risk, many other risks affect companies, such as the interest rate r isk. Several financial and operating instruments and techniques are being used and developed by multinational companies to handle these risks. However, in order to manage these risks, companies must know exactly what their risks are and how to measure them. With regard to foreign exchange rate exposure, several studies conducted in recent years have presented various risk management approaches in order to understand to what extent its fluctuations affect the companys value and performance. However, there is little consensus among the different studies, which indicates that exchange rates are complex and can affect and be affected by different factors. The most traditional approaches are the cash flow approach and the capital market approach. In this study, the capital market approach is used to assess, through quantitative methods, to what extent foreign exchange rate fluctuations affect the companys value. It is important to note that several studies using quantitative methods found no statistical significance when trying to understand the impacts of foreign exchange fluctuations on the companys value. Thus, an explanation given for this fact was that the company was able to protect itself against foreign exchange rate fluctuations by means of hedging instruments and techniques. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the foreign exchange risk exposure of a multinational company using the capital market approach, and also to what extent the various assumptions underlying this approach produce different results. The choice of the multinational company was based on the following requirements: it had to be a public company operating in a competitive industry and could not be the subject of any other study in the same area. Accordingly, the Toyota Motor Corporation was chosen. Its main plants are located in Japan; it operates in the Automotive Industry and was the worlds largest manufacturer in 2009. Furthermore, 61.4% of total sales to external costumers are overseas, which indicates that the company is likely to face considerable impacts from foreign exchange risk exposure. In order to achieve the main purpose of this study, Toyotas foreign operations are analyzed in a first phase to understand to what extent the company is internationalized. Moreover, this initial analysis also envisages the foreign exchange rate fluctuations against the companys stock price returns and their direct impact on its report accounts, as well as the hedging instruments used to handle the foreign exchange risk. In a second phase, the capital market approach is used to suggest that foreign exchange risk exposure could be measured as the sensitivity of stock price returns to exchange rate movements. This approach requires the implementation of statistical regressions. For this purpose, market, stock price and foreign exchange rate data were collected from 1999 to 2009. Considering the studies developed by different authors, regressions involve several hypotheses for the exchange rate variables, such as a Nominal Broad Index that is like a basket of currencies and several bilateral exchange rates, in order to understand which variables affect stock price returns. In this second phase, the quantitative method is applied to three different periods in order to compare how the company handles the foreign exchange risk. As this dissertation takes into account the investors point of view, it can help to understand how investors determine and quantify the exposure of their portfolio to the foreign ex change risk. Moreover, this approach allows comparing the companys exposure to foreign exchange rate fluctuations with that of competitors in order to understand the effectiveness of the hedging activities. To complement this study, this dissertation is organized under the following sections: The first section is a thorough review of the literature on this subject. It explains why it is important that companies know how to handle the foreign exchange risk and presents the findings of past research. In the second section, the traditional categories of foreign exchange risk exposure are described, the effects of hedging the foreign exchange risks are shown and the most used analysis methods are discussed. The third section provides an overview of Toyota and an analysis of its foreign operations. The main purpose of this section is to support the interpretations that emerge from the regression results and this information is used as the basis for selecting the variables for the regression model. In the fourth section, relevant analyses are provided about the variables that may be a source of risk for Toyota and which were chosen for the regression model. In addition to this, it presents the hedging programs undertaken, the designated and undesignated financial instruments used and the reasons why the company does not need to have financial instruments to hedge translation and economic exposure. The fifth section describes the methodology used. The reasoning, as well as the issues of each variable included in the model, is expressed in this section. It also presents the study time periods and data sources. In addition to this, it provides an analysis of the descriptive statistics for the data and different periods used in the model. The sixth section contains the regression results and provides an analysis and explanation of the findings. It also presents the limitations of the software used for the regressions and a brief analysis of the foreign exchange risk exposure of Honda and Nissan Motor Corporation. The seventh and last section summarizes the main conclusions of this study and presents some suggestions for further research. LITERATURE REVIEW The goal of creating a global business has, in the past years, been the fundamental reason behind the growth of multinational companies. Such an example is the registered growth in Japanese companies exports. In 2000 and 2009, exports from Japanese companies amounted to 0.8%  [1]  and 10.8%1 of the GDP, respectively. An annual growth of 32.9% in foreign activity, for a nine year period, is one of many advantages that companies can obtain by opening themselves in many ways. Other advantages include the opportunity to diversify labor force, to enter new markets and sell more, to reduce transport costs and to benefit from economies of scale. This, however, also creates new problems, challenges and demands. A multinational company is either a company with operating subsidiaries, branches or affiliates in more than one country, or a purely domestic company engaged in international activities (imports and exports). Some of the new problems and challenges these companies face include an increased exposure to foreign risks, such as exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices [Miller, 1998]. Moreover, the risks associated to exchange rates appear do to the contact with new currencies  [2]  . Exchange rates constitute one of the most important macroeconomic risks, which can potentially impact, positively or negatively, the companies profitability, cash-flows and market value, due to exchange rate fluctuations. Consequently, in order to handle exchange risk exposure, companies can adopt several hedging tools. In the past decades, thanks to the increasing number of international trade activities and multinational enterprises, as well as the large currency fluctuations registered, the volume of research that tries to measure and analyze the impact of exchange rate fluctuations in multinational companies and their vulnerability to it has grown. However, produced results/conclusions have a mixed nature due to the complexity of this subject. The main goal in this section is to understand, through previous researches, what types of companies are most affected by exchange risk exposure, the importance of hedging, several types of foreign exchange risk exposure, types of hedging activities depending on the foreign exchange risk exposure the company is facing and traditional approaches to measure exchange risk exposure. Exchange Risk Exposure of Multinational Companies vs. Domestic Companies Thanks to the phenomenon of globalization, as well as the increase in companies foreign activities, several researches have been developed in order to give some input on what type of companies show a higher exchange risk exposure: multinational or domestic companies. The results of previous empirical studies suggest that only certain industries and/or companies are exposed to foreign exchange risk  [5]  . In the other hand, even a purely domestic company with importing or exporting activities is impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates. This idea is connected with competitive advantage; for instance, the products an exporting company sells abroad can still affect the companys value due to the effect of exchange rate fluctuations in competitors, suppliers and in customers demands. Muller and Verschoor (2006) concluded in their study that a companys size is also an indicator of its foreign exposure. They found that a companys lower dividend payout ratio results in a stronger short-term liquidity position and, consequently, a smaller hedging motivation and a higher exchange risk exposure. Other authors however, such as Choi and Jiang (2009), defend that multinationality is important for a companys exchange exposure, but not in the popular notion that was mentioned. Some authors found evidences that foreign exchange risk exposure is actually higher and more significant in absolute magnitude for domestic companies, when compared to multinational companies. The existing explanation for this finding is the fact that multinational enterprises are more capable to effectively and easily use financial hedging and operational hedging in order to reduce their position against foreign exchange risk, and also to increase their stock returns. Additionally, these companies are more aware of foreign exchange risks. Dominguez and Tesar (2006) agree with this finding and they also found that small companies, rather than large and medium-sized companies, show a higher exposure due to the same reasons. As a result, companies that dont engage directly in international business but compet e against foreign companies can be affected by exchange rate fluctuations [Dominguez, Tesar, 2006]. Dominguez and Tesar (2006) also found that the industry level may influence exposure. They suggest that exposure increases in highly competitive industries. In more competitive industries, however, an almost perfect pass-through can be expected since they are more aware of their vulnerability and are consequently better motivated to hedge foreign exchange risks, when compared with less competitive industries  [6]  . Regarding purely domestic companies, Pritamani, Some and Singal (2005) found that importing companies are more affected by fluctuations in exchange rates than exporting companies. Therefore, companies with importing activities should have more reasons to hedge exchange risk exposure. The Importance of Hedging Exchange Risk Exposure Hedging means taking a position when acquiring a cash-flow, an asset or a contract in order to protect the owner from losses and to eliminate any gain in the position hedged. Several researches indicate that currency risk management is very important to manage earnings and unexpected losses. Consequently, this should be done in order to reduce any impacts on the stockholders equity and to prevent value declines for the equity holder due to cash flow changes and unfavorable exchange rate fluctuations, respectively. Hedging currency exposure can therefore reduce some of the expected fluctuations in future cash flows and increase their predictability [Smith and Stulz, 1985]. It is believed that foreign exchange rate fluctuations impact financial decision-making in production, marketing, planning and strategy [Moffett and Karlsen, 1994]. It is therefore necessary to make contingent investments or develop long-term strategic plans and management perspectives in order to understand the volatility of foreign exchange. Companies can implement hedging tools based on policies that define when and how to hedge against foreign exchange risks. Hedging tools are not static mechanisms, companies are able to dynamically adjust their behavior in response to foreign exchange risks; for instance, a company can decide to hedge only part of their foreign transactions. To undertake these policies, the company needs to determine its risk tolerance and needs to understand the direction that the currency to which it is exposed is likely to take. A value maximization corporation that hedges its exposure to exchange risks can reduce the costs connected to financial distresses and taxes, as well as agency problems existing between shareholders and bondholders [Martin and Mauer, 2005]  [7]  . A possible reduction of financial distress costs allows investors to require lower risk premiums. Consequently, the company value increases [Smith and Stulz, 1985]. Therefore, as mentioned by Smith and Stulz (1985), hedging is part of the overall corporate financing policy. Moreover, Dumas and Solnik (1995) concluded that part of the return rate of an assets price is influenced by the foreign exchange risk premium. Thus, when a company implements risk management activities that decrease its foreign exchange risk exposure, the cost of capital is reduced. Some authors sustain that exposure management may not reduce total risk. Copeland and Joshi (1996) argued that anticipating hedging strategies is difficult given that so many other economic factors change when foreign exchange rates fluctuate. This is confirmed by Moffett and Karlsen (1994), who argue that the uncertain nature of future cash-flows hinders the implementation of long-term strategic plans and better investment decisions. It is also argued that risks connected to an inefficient hedging activity can increase exposure [Hagelin and Pramborg, 2004]. Additionally, currency risk management usually consumes some of the companys resources, consequently lowering its expected cash-flow [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. Therefore, companies need to know whether their hedging strategies are successful or not, and if they are relevant to shareholders [Hagelin and Pramborg, 2004]. Findings regarding the Vulnerability of Multinational Companies to Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure Hedging tools that handle exposure to foreign exchange risks are not simple and they dont hold only a few complexities, since the companys exchange risk exposure correlates with its size, multinational status, foreign sales, international assets and competitiveness and trade at the industry [Dominguez, Tesar, 2006]. Adler and Dumas (1984) suggested that a companys foreign exchange risk exposure can be measured by the stock prices sensitivity to unexpected foreign exchange rate fluctuations. On the other hand, it could also be measured as the companys cash flows sensitivity to foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Considering that the main goal of this dissertation is to analyze economic exposure, it is important to note that several authors have developed researches that try to measure and analyze unexpected impacts of exchange rate fluctuations on companies performances, portfolios and Industries. Nevertheless, these researches have produced mixed empirical results. Jorion (1990) found that only 15 of 287 US multinational companies were statistically significant concerning the impacts of exchange rate fluctuations in companies stock returns. Additionally, the author detected that higher company foreign operations reflected higher exposure to exchange risks. Nevertheless, Bartov and Bodnar (1994) found that 208 of the companies with foreign operations that composed their sample were not statistically significant to the effect of US exchange rate fluctuations on companies stock price returns. Additionally, other researchers have reached mixed conclusions using different methodologies, samples and alternatives for the main variables. The inconsistency in these results, therefore, doesnt allow a sustainable conclusion on this subject. Recent studies, however, found evidences that exchange rate fluctuations do have an impact in companies performances. Such an example is the research developed by Dominguez and Teaser (2006), who found exposure to be statistically significant due to the effect of exchange rate movements on stock returns at Industry and country level. Some explanations have been pointed out by several authors for these mixed results. The registered contradiction can be explained by limitations concerning data, variables and methodologies used. Different researches develop different alternatives in order to determine foreign exchange risk factors and company values, which include different samples, the use of companies with less opened economies (USA) or more opened economies and different periods; all of these affect research. Bartram (2008) also explains that the use of stock returns to measure company value reflects the hedging position of companies, and the analysis is thus considering a lower level of risk exposure. Crabb (2002) also suggests that these mixed results can reflect different financial hedging strategies on data or simply reflect noisy data. Additionally, Bartram and Bodnar (2007) found that operational hedging activities help companies reduce their exposure and, consequently, have no statistical significance over the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on companies returns. Therefore, as suggested by Crabb (2002), a statistically non significant exposure to exchange rates can result from an efficient hedging strategy set in place by the company. Types of Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure The hedging decision depends essentially on the level of risk exposure, its magnitude and the magnitude of hedging that companies deem necessary. Companies should essentially hedge activities that put them in a position with a high level of uncertainty, i.e., risk exposure in the strategy field (competitive, input supply, market demand and technological risk) and fields of interest to finance and international business scholars (foreign exchange risk), [Miller, 1998]. Before initiating the hedging process, the company has to decide what exchange risk exposure to hedge and how. There are three traditional foreign exchange rate exposure categories  [8]  that impact companies and that have a specific managing method: the transaction exposure, the operating exposure and the translation exposure. Generally, these exchange risk exposures can be hedged through the use of derivatives and financial instruments, such as commodities, futures and forward contracts, options and swaps [Miller, 1998]. The main goal of this dissertation is to measure and to analyze how unexpected foreign exchange rate fluctuations affect a multinational company. Notwithstanding it is also important to understand how the other two types of exposure impact companies and the types of hedging mechanisms available to handle exposure, in order to reach a deeper analysis and optimal conclusions. Economic Exposure Economic exposure, also known as operating exposure, is an unexpected change in exchange rates that affects the present value of the company by changing future operating cash flows, arising from inter-company and intra-company activities [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. The unexpected exchange rate fluctuations affect the expected future operating cash-flows changing the volume, price and/or costs of future sales [Moffett and Karlsen, 1994]. Economic exposure approaches the impact of long-term currency exposure and analyzes the health of a companys business in the long run. The changes registered in the expected future cash flows depend of the change in the position the company holds in international competition  [10]  . Managing economic exposure involves all aspects of a company. Before establishing hedging policies, a company needs to measure its economic exposure. In order to do that a company should invest some resources in assessing its exposure, i.e., identifying the set of environmental contingencies affecting and relevant to the creation of shareholder value [Miller, 1998]. This identification allows the assessment of alternative environmental scenarios and consequent adoption of improved strategic decisions by the company. This is the reason why identifying and measuring economic exposure can be complex and difficult, bearing in mind that environmental contingencies vary across industries and across companies within those industries. Moreover, some authors mention economic exposure as being subjective, since it is based in estimates of future cash flows. Hedging Strategies The main goal of economic exposure management is to anticipate and influence unexpected and unpredictable effects in exchange rates. This can be accomplished if a company diversifies and changes its international operating and/or financing policies. This diversity allows the company to react in an active or passive way. The company can diversify operations through sales, location of production facilities and raw material sources or inputs [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. A company can expand its sales through subsidiaries distributed across different countries, bringing its products or services to new markets and taking advantage of economies of scale, being also capable of diversifying its exposure to foreign exchange risks. Flexible management policies allowing a faster sourcing of raw materials and components can easily mitigate this exposure if this adaptation considers the impact of exchange rate fluctuations in the company costs and revenues. Additionally, RD can also mitigate this exposure, allowing the cutting back of costs and enhancing productivity as well as product differentiation. Choi (1989)  [11]  pointed out that international investment is one of the major instruments in managing economic exposure. In the same line, Miller and Reuer (1998) developed a study that showed this exposure is considerably reduced with a higher and direct foreign investment by the company (foreign market entry mode). Additionally, Smith and Stulz (1985) found that mergers achieve results that are similar to hedging results. Consequently, a company may wish to diversify the location of its production facilities internationally in order to mitigate the effect of exchange rate movements. This mitigation is possible because the company measures its cash flows in different currencies. Thus, exchange rate fluctuations in all currencies the company is exposed to can be naturally offset as can, consequently, the gains or losses while the company still reacts competitively. Diversification in financing is achieved by raising funds in more than one capital market and in more than one currency  [12]  . This method allows the company to reduce future cash-flow variability, to increase capital availability and to reduce costs, as well several risks, such as political risks. Allayannis et. al. (2001) observed that companies with geographical dispersion are more likely to use financial hedging strategies to lower their foreign exchange risk exposure. Accordingly, the use of exclusively operational hedging does not increase the companys value. However, if companies combine operational and financial hedging they will improve their value and, consequently, reduce exposure to foreign exchange risks. Companies can also adopt proactive policies (including operating and financing policies) to offset anticipated foreign exchange risk exposures. These policies allow a partial management of this exposure. The most generally employed are  [13]  : matching currency cash flows, risk-sharing agreements, back-to-back loans, currency swaps, leads and lags and reinvoicing centers. [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett (2010)]. Transaction Exposure Transaction exposure measures gains or losses resulting from unexpected changes in future cash flows already contracted in a currency-denominated transaction [Martin and Mauer, 2005]. The uncertainty stems from the impact of exchange rate changes on the consolidated financial reports [Friberg and Ganslandt, 2007] and the fact that it is not anticipated in any line item of a financial statement [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. Thus, the uncertainty can be the specific quantity of foreign currency or the timing of cash-flow [Moffet and Karlsen, 1994]. Transaction exposure approaches foreign exchange risk exposure in the short-term. It is therefore easier to identify and to measure, allowing a greater effectiveness of hedging strategies to be expected. Hedging Strategies The exposure to foreign exchange transactions can be hedged by contractual, natural, operating and financial hedges. The company, however, needs to determine its own risk tolerance and its expectations concerning the direction the exchange rates will assume. Contractual techniques include hedges in forward  [17]  , policies that imply proportional hedging. A natural hedge is basically an unhedged position where the transaction is left uncovered. Crabb (2004) suggests that this is not a very good hedge because it doesnt control variation over time and, consequently, companies cannot perfectly hedge their exchange rate exposure. An operating hedge means that the company will simply create an off-setting operating cash-flow (account payables, for instance). This hedge can also be implemented through several techniques, such as invoice currency, leads and lags in payment terms and exposure netting [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. Hedging through invoice currency allows the company to shift its foreign exchange risk exposure, invoicing foreign sales in home currency, or share foreign exchange risk exposure  [18]  , pro-rating the invoice currency between foreign and home currencies. Additionally, a company can also diversify its exposure to foreign exchange risks by invoicing sales in a market basket index [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. By hedging with leads and lags companies can accelerate or decelerate the timing of payments (receipts) made (received) in foreign currencies. This hedging strategy is efficient if a currency is expected to appreciate or depreciate against another [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. Finally, the technique of exposure netting suggests that a multinational company should not consider its deals in isolation, focusing rather on hedging the company in a portfolio of currency positions. This means that companies should consider overall payments (receipts) that must be done (received) after taking in account the opposite operations that naturally hedge each other. To use this technique some companies have re-invoicing centers, separate corporate subsidiaries that serve the parent or related unit in one location and all foreign subsidiaries. The reinvoicing center receives the invoice between the subsidiaries, taking legal title of the good that manufacturing plants sells to distribution subsidiaries of the same company, managing all foreign exchange transaction exposure for intracompany sales [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. Additionally, the reinvoicing centers can guarantee the exchange rate for future orders  and also manage intra-subsidiary cash flows [Eitman, Stone hil and Moffett (2010)]. Financial hedging refers to the creation of an off-setting financial cash flow by either borrowing or lending in the currency the company is exposed to. The company can use some type of proactive policies such as back-to-back loans and currency swaps. A back-to-back loan occurs when two companies in different countries coordinate themselves to borrow each others currency for a specific period of time. They then return the borrowed currencies at an agreed terminal date. By hedging via currency swap, the company and a swap dealer agree to exchange an equivalent amount in two different currencies (for instance, a company enters a swap paying yens and receiving dollars) for a specified period of time. The swap dealer assumes the role of a middleman. A matching currency cash flow proactive policy can act like a financial hedge or an operational hedge. The first alternative to offset a long-anticipated and continuous exposure to a particular currency (i.e., the Japanese Yen) is to acquire debt in that currency (in Yens). Suppose the following exposure: A US Corporation exports goods to a Japanese corporation. The inflow of the Japanese Yen creates a foreign currency exposure. An hedging technique requires that the debt payments in Japanese Yens, which consist of the principal and the interests paid by the US Corporation

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Essay --

Have you ever seen commercials on television advertising allergy medications? The advertisement explains that taking the medication can cause abnormal sleep patterns, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, itching, watery eyes, rashes, and headaches. A conclusion could be made that the side effects of the product would be much worse than the allergy problem. However, people still buy the product. The lengths an average person will go in order to get a quick fix is amazing. It is this way of thinking that makes tanning beds so popular. Over the last decade, cancer causing tanning beds have given self-image issues to people across the world. For, example a self proclaimed â€Å"child of the 70’s†, Donna Moncivaiz soaked in the sun whenever possible. As an adult she graduated to tanning beds and allowed her teenaged children use them also. Two years ago 51 year old Donna was diagnosed with melanoma. She had lost her gallbladder. Her daughter has also been diagnosed with an early stag e of melanoma. Donna states â€Å"If I had known what I know now, it never would have happened.† Many people will do things that will make you think that tanning is something they need to survive like spending millions of dollars in a life time for tanning beds, ending up becoming addicted to it, as well as they could get many types of skin cancers later on in life. All these things just for something that can hurt you in your life time and can kill you as well. So why even start? So why do people go tanning? Many people go tanning to get the feeling of beauty. In society today, having a tan is thought to be one of the most attractive and appealing senses to the opposite sex. Unfortunately, tanning beds are used most frequently among teenagers. This is especially harmful bec... ... cause death to someone. Skin cancers are separated into two categories. First one is malignant melanomas and non melanoma. The first is basal cell carcinoma; basal cell carcinoma begins in the lowest layer of the epidermis, the basal cell layer. Basal cell cancer accounts for 75% of all skin cancers. This type of skin cancer tends to be slow growing and is usually is found in areas that are highly exposed to sunlight, such as the head or neck. People with lighter skin are more likely to get basal cell cancer than are dark skinned people. The second type is called squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 20% of all skin cancers, and penetrates the skin more than basal cell would, therefore, is considered to be more harmful. The growth of a squamous cell is more quicker than a basal cell. It can spread to the lymph nodes, arms, neck, and the head.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Art and Politics

Art and Politics have gone hand in hand since the first cave paintings had been drawn on cave walls. As the cavemen may have found out through other fellow cave wall artists as well as their respective audiences, art is not just restricted to those who fancy themselves as artists. The fact that artwork – regardless of intent and purpose – may be viewed in various manner is enough to permit even the most amateur of artists into creating an artwork that someone somewhere may really like.Hence the conclusion that art or visual aesthetics, more particularly in this case, is subjective, giving truth to the adage â€Å"beauty is in the eye of the beholder†. Popularity, however, and the power it holds over the masses, has a commanding way of dictating which the consumers â€Å"should† support. This control is then used for further manipulation of consumer-affective decisions of which the powers that be profit from. This is why there tends to be a trend of â€Å" Art politics† that seemingly commands the taste of people, resulting in the belief that great art comes from the production of the elite.One would be quick to dismiss Annie Leonard’s conclusion of American culture and practices affecting those of the cultures and practices of the southern hemisphere as ridiculous but there are certain points wherein there findings are seen to be true, most especially with the less than developed countries of which the United States of America hold key influential powers on consumption and culture. The other major players, on the other hand tend to have a rather stunted cultural and commercial development as the American trends continue to affect them.This however does not just hold true to the southern hemisphere, as the United States of America’s influence holds strong in many other countries north of the equator. Poet James Oppenheim’s composition Bread and Roses, for example, portrays the struggle for the ideal (roses) and the real (bread), of which the countries under the influence of the United States suffer from. Rather than pursuing the development of their culture, they are left to prioritize self-preservation.

Friday, November 8, 2019

ACT Score Decrease How Much Can It Drop and Why

ACT Score Decrease How Much Can It Drop and Why SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips How much can an ACT score drop by? How likely is it your ACT score will decrease if you retake the test? Or are you wondering why your ACT score went down on a recent retake? Find out how likely an ACT decrease is, how big that ACT score decrease could be, and how to make sure your score goes up, not down! Read on if you have a retake in store. How Likely Is an ACT Score Decrease? The ACT has provided some data about how likely score decreases are when you retake the test. Of the students who took the ACT more than once: 57% increased their Composite score 21% had no change in their Composite score 22% decreased their Composite score Stats via the ACT Student website. So the odds are your ACT score will go up, but that is far from a guarantee. In fact, the odds are roughly 55/45 between your score going up or your score staying the same or decreasing. So if you retake the ACT, it’s almost as likely your score will stay the same or decrease rather than increase. This means you absolutely can’t slack when studying for a retake! Reasons for an ACT Composite Score Decrease The reasons your ACT score could decrease will depend on how much it decreases by. There is, after all, a big difference between going from a 28 to a 27 than a 28 to a 23. We'll discuss the reasons behind different ACT score drops. Statistically Likely Drops (Up to 3 Composite Points Down) A small step down for your score, a giant step down for your ego. Although you’re probably eager to discover the reason your score went down on your retake, it may be that you got lucky the first time you took the ACT. Maybe the first test went especially well for you – you did better with timing than normal, picked up extra points with guesses, had a great test center, and felt pretty comfortable with all of the reading passages and questions. Your first ACT score might have actually been a bit higher than you actually should have scored, so the second test is just a correction of your first score. However, it's also quite possible to run into worse luck on your retake. Even slight score changes could cause your overall composite score to decrease. For example, even if you did slightly better on two sections of the ACT, if you ran into bad luck and struggled with the two other sections, your composite could decrease. As an example, check out the following two hypothetical ACT scores. Even though this student improved their English and Science scores, bigger drops in Reading and Math caused their overall composite score to decrease. Test 1: 26 English, 27 Math, 29 Reading, 27 Science (Composite: 27) Test 2: 27 English, 24 Math, 25 Reading, 28 Science (Composite: 26) It’s not unheard of at all to see drops like 27 to 24 Math or 29 to 25 Reading. By losing just 4 or 5 raw points on each section, you could see a decrease like that. And you could easily lose that many raw points if you lose track of timing, or run into a tough Reading passage you don’t gel with, or Math questions you find more challenging. In short, even small changes in luck could have a big effect on your score. Also, did you study enough? The less you study for your retake, the more susceptible you’ll be to bad luck, struggling with timing, or having a hard time with test questions. It may be you studied a bunch before you took the ACT for the first time, but underestimated the time you would need to spend for the retake, so your score decreased. And how did you study? Were you timing yourself carefully? Analyzing your mistakes? Focusing on weak spots? If you just lazily reviewed some concepts you missed the first time or went through practice sections without recreating test conditions, your studying might not have been effective enough to raise your score. Finally, think about outside factors: Was your test center significantly worse the second time around? Were there unclear instructions from the proctor? Was your test center too hot or cold? (Read more about bad test centers and what to do about them here). Or were you sick or otherwise unfocused on your retake day? (Remember to also consider the reverse: were conditions especially good on your first ACT date and just average on your second one?) Any one of these factors or a combination of them could easily be enough to cause a composite score to decrease by 1 to 3 points. Large Score Drops (More than 3, Less than 5 Composite Points) You dropped the ball. If your ACT composite falls by this much, you likely have a more serious issue that you need to identify. Maybe you’re using a new strategy that just isn’t working for you – like trying to read through the reading and science passages first before reading the questions or plugging in the answers instead of solving with algebra on the math section. If a strategy is causing you to lose more than 5 raw points on a section, that could bring down your score enough to make your composite fall by 3 to 5 points. It's possible you didn't study at all (or only studied a little) before your ACT retake, thinking you could wing it. This would leave you wide open to struggling with timing, unexpectedly tough questions, or other bad luck on test day. Or maybe you were particularly sick or unfocused on your second test day, or your test center had serious problems. Regardless, you need to figure out what went wrong before attempting another retake! Very Large Drops (More than 5 Composite Points) A very serious issue is occurring if your score drops by this much. Maybe something was egregiously wrong with your test center, you filled in answers one line off for a whole section, or you were particularly sick or unfocused. Okay, so a 7-point ACT score drop probably isn't quite as dramatic as the Hindenburg disaster, but it may feel that way to you! First of all, examine your composite and section scores to see where the drops were. This will help you figure out where the problem occurred. Compare these two hypothetical students to see what we mean: Student A Test 1: English 29, Math 26, Reading 32, Science 30 (Composite: 29) Test 2: English 25, Math 18, Reading 26, Science 24 (Composite: 23) This student experienced big point drops in every section, leading to a much lower final composite score. Due to the drops in all sections, something must have happened with overall test strategy, for instance struggling with pacing or using a bad guessing strategy. It's also possible the test center was particularly bad, or the student was feeling quick sick. In short, the student needs to figure out what it was that caused their overall performance to suffer so much. Student B Test 1: English 29, Math 30, Reading 31, Science 30 (Composite: 30) Test 2: English 28, Math 15, Reading 29, Science 28 (Composite: 25) This student had a super large drop on one section (Math 30 to Math 15) and smaller, statistically likely drops on other sections. This means that, obviously, something went way wrong on math – maybe on this section the student started bubbling their answers one line off, resulting in a slew of wrong answers. It’s also possible that maybe the student implemented a new strategy on Math that turned out to be disastrous. But in this case, since the other sections weren’t affected, it’s less likely the problem was due to the test center, a bad overall test-taking strategy, or illness. This student needs to figure out what went wrong in Math. Finally, if you experience a 5-point composite drop or larger, you should consider the possibility your test was mis-scored. If you can't figure out any other logical reason your score would have dropped by so much, you might consider ACT’s hand-scoring service to find out for sure. How to Prevent a Score Decrease Given that your ACT composite score could easily decrease or remain the same if you retake the test, how can you make sure your score goes up? Follow our advice to make sure you don't waste your ACT retake. 1. Focus on Your Weak Points When studying for your retake, spend plenty of time studying for the section (or sections) you got the lowest scores on the first time. You want to make sure you get the points you missed the first time around. For example, if your Math score was a 24 and all your other sections were between 28 and 30, you would definitely want to make sure to improve your Math score to improve your overall composite. If you can make sure you earn points you missed on your first test, you’re reducing the chances of a score decrease. Not sure where to start? Here are some resources to help tackle a weak subject area or two. English The Best Prep Books for ACT English The Top 9 ACT English Strategies You Should Use More guides from grammar rules to diction errors Math How to Stop Running Out of Time on ACT Math Plugging in Answers: A Crucial Strategy More guides on everything from fractions to statistics Reading The Best Way to Practice ACT Reading Questions The Four Types of ACT Reading Passages You Should Know How to Stop Running Out of Time on ACT Reading More fine-grained guides from comparison passages to author intent Science A Complete Guide to ACT Science 9 Reasons You're Missing ACT Science Questions ACT Science Strategies You Should Be Using 2. Don’t Neglect Your Strong Areas Even if you fix your weak spots, it’s not unlikely that your highest section could go down if you don't study for it. In other words, think of this as preserving the points you earned on your first round of the ACT. Even if you manage to raise the score on your weakest section, if your other section scores decrease – by even just a point or two! – your composite could decrease or stay the same. Check out the hypothetical ACT scores below to see what we mean: Test 1: English 28, Math 24, Reading 30, Science 29 (Composite: 28) Test 2: English 27, Math 27, Reading 28, Science 27 (Composite: 27) Even though this student brought up Math, their lowest section, from 24 to 27, the slight score decreases on other sections caused their composite score to fall. This means you need to be practicing for the entire test, even your strong sections, to guarantee a composite score increase. Being prepared for the test as a whole is the best way to shield yourself from ACT composite decreases. So how can you prepare for the ACT as a whole? Use complete practice tests, time yourself strictly, and understand how the test is scored. Also look into getting a strong overall ACT prep book to help you study. 3. Practice, Practice, Practice Even though you've taken the ACT once before, that doesn't mean you don't have to practice much before your retake. In fact, you may want to consider practicing even more than you did before your first ACT! The more consistent you can be, the better. Practice will reduce the score variation caused by harder/easier test questions or good/bad luck on test day. Think of it this way: any challenge you encounter in practice is one you will be prepared for on test day. Whether that’s an extra-hard math question, a tricky reading passage, or personal fatigue, learning how to deal with challenges in practice can help you achieve your target score on test day. Use strict timing whenever you study, and aim to consistently hit your target score on each section. Also, be ruthless about analyzing your mistakes – don’t just note your wrong answers, figure out why you got them wrong and how to make sure you won’t ever make the same mistake again. (Read more about how you should be analyzing your mistakes.) 4. Logistics In addition to adopting a smart study plan, you also want to make sure outside factors don’t mess with your ACT retake score. Make sure you’re using the best test center for you. Also, be sure that you’re getting enough sleep and following the guidelines to be ready the morning of the test. Finally, give yourself enough time before a retake – if you rush to retake the ACT on the next possible test date, you might not give yourself enough time to practice and improve. Make sure you give yourself enough time to study and prepare for your ACT retake! What’s Next? Check out ACT tips from our resident 36 full-scorer. If you can incorporate all these tips, the odds of your score decreasing will go WAY down! Learn more about how the ACT is scored to know how many questions you need to get correct for a score increase. Also read about ACT timing so you can be efficient about your time per question. Need motivation to study for your ACT retake? Discover scholarships you can earn for high ACT scores. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points?We have the industry's leading ACT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and ACT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Alien Vs Predator essays

Alien Vs Predator essays This is a scientific film, its about a war between 2 groups of strange organisms which are not from earth. And all the fight is on earth inside an ancient pyramid in Egypt which has a relation ship between these aliens from a long time ago. I really liked the film much, I think it is so exiting, I liked its story much and its brilliant direction. And I wrote about some scenes from the film which I really found that they The story begins inside a research center in USA, where the group of the history scientists were talking about a strange pyramid which was discovered in Egypt. At the end of the talk the result was to send some of the group to the pyramid to find out what history or revolution does it belongs to. Unfortunately, the time the group was going to the pyramid, was the time the revolution of the aliens come to life again. All the frozen aliens in the pyramid will go out to life again. And the predators are coming to the pyramid to destroy the aliens and stop them from making their civilization One of the scenes which I really liked in the film was the scene when a woman scientist of the group called Sam was under the mercy of the 2 creatures. When Sam was running inside the pyramid from one of the aliens then suddenly a predator appears in front of her. I felt so pitiful toward her, but the strange thing was that the predator didnt attack her but he went for the alien. Then there was a strong painful fight between the 2 enormous strong creatures, which ended by the victory of the predator. This wasnt only the exciting part of the scene, when the predator killed the alien he went towards Sam as he approaches to her he gets out a sword and he almost kills kills her. I felt my heart beats at this time as she was so panic, then suddenly the predator stops as she get out a bag, then she opens it and gets out o ...