Midterm report ISTD Essay

This project is designed to make an in-depth study and critical analysis of HR aspects in MedTek.Net India Pvt Ltd. At this point in the project, it reports about the progress we made in analyzing theR training aspects and the progress it made towards its goals; describe obstacles (both internal& external) faced; detail work accomplished and actions to be taken in the future. During the process of project, we got to know and notice lot many interesting facts and points which are really important for the growth and success of the organization. It gave an opportunity for the HR department to  audit the entire HRD aspects of the organization there by adding more value to way we operate. At the end of this project, all parties of the organization; Management, employees, HR department are eager to know more about the findings and improvements that we can make to the organization from the HRD prospect which can bring an edge to the company when compared to our competitors in the market. Below pages of this report offers a brief description about the analysis and work we have done so far in this project. Introduction: Within every organization, there is a need to manage learning in accordance with business requirements. A systematic approach in training and development always adds an edge to the performance of the organization in all means. Objective: Objective of this project is to do complete analysis on the below training aspects, their performance impact and recommendations for betterment of the organization. a) Human Resource Planning, Training Policy, Training Budget. b) Training Needs Assessment System. c) Training & other Development Programmes and their evaluation. d) Strategies for improving HRD activities in the Organization. With our analysis, findings & recommendations, our attempt is to provide viable propositions for betterment in the applicable areas of organization. In this process, we have collected all recorded data like policies, questionnaires, processes followed etc and live data like interviews and one on one discussion with various employees of different departments and external data like market scenario, industry analysis etc. Project Design: We have designed the project in to four phases. 1. Collecting basic data and information related to all training aspects. 2.  Analyzing data, processes and drawing findings for their evaluation procedure. 3. Evaluating the information and processes of various data analyzed. 4. Recommending strategies for the improvement of HRD activities with the help of above in the organization. For any company, training and development is an important aspect which boosts continuous growth and success to the business. We have considered all external and internal components of the existing performance of the organization with respect to the targeted objectives set. Some of the components include absenteeism, work hours of the employee’s w.r.t their performance, performance of the software (IPAS – Integrated Performance Appraisal System) which was initiated recently, employee hiring and job enrichment strategies used for retaining the existing employees, HRD activities practiced for long term growth of the organization etc. Project Implementation We started implementing the project by collating data available from all sources. Simultaneously we started working with people as well by circulating questionnaires and by conducting one on one discussion. Below explanation will give us a brief of what we have studied and analyzed in this process with the help of both data and people. HRD System: Human Resource Planning, Training Policy, Training Budget. Human Resource Planning At MedTek.Net we measure the growth of business by the no of minutes and reports we process per year. Therefore our target of business growth lies in the same and accordingly we plan for resources to recruit per year, it includes both fresher’s and experienced resources. MedTek HR planning for the period of 2012-2013 is focused on the below points to achieve during this time. Below points are analyzed after a detailed discussion with people in the company and after going through the information/data which is all available. 1. Work closely with management to reinforce the need for competitive compensation for individuals MedTek wishes to attract and retain. 2. Invest  in professional development programs to improve leadership capabilities, job skills, and employee productivity. 3. Identifying and attracting right talent at campus level thereby training and employing them in the organization accordingly. 4. Develop comprehensive career management tools, job enrichment strategies, and mentoring programs to help employees prepare for new opportunities. 5. Leverage technology to streamline HR service processes and improve access to employee information. 6. Conduct regular organizational climate assessments and collaborate with senior managers to improve the campus work climate. Review of training policy & budget: As MedTek.Net is a mid sized company they do not really have a fixed annual budget for training. The budget varies as per the requirement and situation of the company although getting approved prior by management. But, with in the limitation HR department tried to encompass the training programs which align the company’s goals and objectives of employee development. Some of the cost effective measures which got imparted in the training budget are: 1. Finding trainers with in the organization wherever it is necessary and possible. 2. Imparting self learning techniques for the employees which not only reduces costs but also helps employees to work on their skills by focusing on their weaknesses and strengths. 3. Encouraging the technique of cross-train employees at work place. This technique really worked at MedTek as employees showed great interest to share their knowledge. It is happening in this way; 2nd level employees train 1st level employees and 2nd level employees will g et trained by their above level i.e. 3rd level employees and vice-versa. Keeping in view of budget constraints and business requirements training policy of Medtek for the year 2012-13 aims to ensure that 1. All new members of staff receive an induction training programme that achieves the common company induction standards. 2. Company invests in training that helps to meet its goals of providing a quality service, which are achieved by increasing the knowledge and skills and competencies of its staff to meet the needs of quality service standards set. 3. All staff has  an annual appraisal which, amongst other matters, reviews all training undertaken and sets goals for the coming year based on the individual training needs assessment. 4. All staff are provided with an annual personal training file, which they will keep. In the file they include details of all training sessions that they attend. The file should also contain a personal development plan filled in at the same time as the appraisal. The personal development plan contains details of any training opportunities that the member of staff seeks to pursue during the year. At MedTek, Training policy and Training budget got framed by keeping in view of companies annual HR planning and business growth. Keeping in view of companies strengths and weaknesses these three components got designed and in the continuous process slight deviation(more or less) is always there to align with industry and market changes and requirements. Analysis on Training needs Identification and Assessment process: Up on detailed analysis and review Training Identification & Assessment process at MedTek usually happens by following the below steps: 1. Data Gathering: One on One discussion with Managers/ Supervisors/ employees, performance Mgmt software, knowledge/ skill test to the employees, questionnaires etc. 2. Post assessing the need, HR department designs a module defining the purpose of the need, target group, resource person and the deliverables. 3. Defining the deliverables and methodology to measure the deliverables are very critical while identifying the need. 4. Training Need Validation: After identifying the list of training needs, the same will be listed and discussed with functional heads of all departments. During this exercise, the relevance of each training need with the forthcoming financial year and the business requirement to be validated. 5. Training Need Prioritization: The training needs identified will be then categorized as high impact and low impact / high cost and low cost. 6. The deliverables of the training needs which may likely to create High Impact on the business with Low Cost will be given fir st priority. The training needs with High Impact and High Cost will be given 2nd Priority and the training needs with Low Impact and Low Cost will be given 3rd Priority. Review and analysis of 2012-2013 annual Training programs planned & conducted: The training programs conducted on continuous basis for the year 2012-2013 at MedTek.Net are mentioned as below: 1. Induction for new joinees- Technical Training, Behavioral Training, HR induction. 2. Technical Training – To all employees designation wise for knowledge and skill improvement. 3. Management Development Sessions – Workshops for the existing managers and potential employees who are identified for promotions. 4. Soft skills and Personality Development Training programs – For the identified team members of different departments. 5. Sponsoring some training workshops for the identified team members which were conducted outside the company premises. T&D activities which left impact towards improvement & development of both the parties i.e. employees & the organization. Employees: Entry Level: Employees at entry level got highly benefited with induction training program as it includes both soft skills, technical and company policies related training. The best part of this training is each employee after training session will be associated with one senior employee as their mentor for 1 month and on-the job assistance/training will be given to them till they get accommodated with the work life at MedTek. It is the responsibility of the mentor to make the new employee comfortable and feedback from the new employee at the end of the mentorship will be taken and will be added to the performance points of the senior employee. This process got succeeded and is yielding some great results so far. Mid Level: Technical Training and personality development programs are popular in this segment of employees at MedTek. Providing mentorship to new employees is also popular as it inculcates self learning process and adds performance points. Proof Readers and Quality Controllers generally comes in to the segment of mid level employees at MedTek. They need high technical knowledge  and skill as they are responsible for the final delivery of report to the clients. Therefore self learning technique and technical training plays a great role for their knowledge and skill improvement. Supervisors and Managers: Management Development sessions which got conducted at both indoor and outdoor left a visible impact in their skill development. In the company where stress and pressure rules, these sessions helped a lot for the managers and supervisors to handle the team members and stress. Organization: As an organization MedTek is able to see advantages in various ways as below: Performance of new recruits got improved and are delivering their full capacity of performance. Quality standard got improved and are getting some good satisfaction mails from the clients about the quality and TAT (Turn Around Time). Management sessions helped the organization to polish and train the employees who are identified to elevate for the next level mgmt positions at different levels. Overall on a note of conclusion, training programs which got implemented are able to deliver clear return on investment for both employees and organization. The success rate is clearly visible and is encouraging for both HR department and management to continue the training programs in a more effective manner for the growth of organization Analysis of T&D evaluation techniques up on which the organization is relying in terms of measuring the outcomes of the T & D programs implemented & planned. At MedTek, training evaluation is done keeping in view of five main elements as mentioned below: Satisfaction and participant reaction, with the help of questionnaires and random one on one discussion. MedTek, also has internal portal where the participants can post their feedback wrt training sessions attended. Knowledge acquisition- This can be evaluated by the scores they get in the technical tests which are conducted very often in the office premises.  Behavioral application – This can be observed eventually and often immediate supervisors or mentors are responsible for recording any change in their behavioral aspects during the course of time. Return on investment (ROI) – Each individual performance in terms of increase in number of minutes they process can be considered to evaluate ROI. Measurable business improvement – Improvement in all four parameters collectively contribute towards business improvement. Keeping in view of the above five elements, below mentioned evaluation techniques are often used at MedTek. 1. Kirkpatrick’s training evaluation model. 2. Robert O Brinkerhoff- The Success Case method 3. The IPO model (Input, Process, Output) 4. Jack Philips Return On Investment HR department pick a combination of one or two from the above models for evaluation process and the evaluation process happen in 3 phases; Pre Training, During the training and Post Training. Results of training evaluation are submitted to senior management and some points of evaluation are accessible to employees as well through portal. Project outputs Management of MedTek.Net is very keen about this project as it gives an opportunity to analyze the entire process of T & D processes we have been conducting every year. It gave an opportunity to observe, compare and study T&D processes and systems other competitors are practicing in the industry. Below are few outputs so far turned up in the project. 1. Because of budget constraints they have challenges in hiring the no’s they require and this could effect the effective HR planning. HR department need to come up with some new strategies to fulfill the requirement of manpower with in the budget. MedTeK HR department was able to succeed so far but, in order to survive for long term they have to plan some strong strategies which can help them for some good no of years. 2. Employees at MedTek are happy with the training programs going on in the company when compared to some of the fellow companies from the same industry. 3. The challenge for both  employees and HR dept is volume fluctuation. The amount of work that they get on any day is often fluctuating and this could really affect the training schedules planned. For HR dept it is a challenging task, as they need to make the employees still connect with the training programs and need to constantly motivate them on this regard. 4. Management wants cost effective hiring or less hiring with out increasing operational costs but operations team demands more head count. 5. So far during the project, we have observed that support departments of the organization like Finance & Accounts, Admin, IT help desk are not getting their fair share of training as the always got mobbed up with work and they are the most stressed out team members in the organization. 6. Post evaluation after evaluating employees performance periodically it is really becoming tough for the HR department to plan for successive training programs for the employees those who are in need of because of the tight work schedules. 7. Time and money are the game pla yers at MedTek when it comes to T&D activities. Both management and employees see the value addition of T&D activities but they want it to be done with in the time frame and budget so that these activities would not affect work and budget stretch. Key Issues addressed 1. As we have observed above both management and employees shows interest towards T&D activities but with in the time frame and budget. On this regard, HR department had a discussion with Management about the long term benefits of T&D activities and tried to enlighten them how and what kind of remarkable changes it can bring to the improvement of business in a more effective manner. 2. HR department also highlighted the importance of hiring few more team members for support teams like Accounts & Finance, admin, IT helpdesk etc and advantages of training them in them which can bring a spearhead change in the way they are operating so far. 3. As it is emergency the temporary or time being strategy for hiring after discussing with managers and senior level mgmt, HR dept gave the options as below. a. Providing more work from home options there by reducing operational costs and paying salary as per the performance i.e. no of minutes processed per month by a resource. b. Recruiting and training fresher’s and making them  ready by the time projects comes in as per the business forecast (In health care industry fresher’s usually get paid only after completing the training). c. Encouraging and motivating existing employees for processing more no of minutes and paying incentives for the extra minutes they process. 4. But, for many concerns at MedTek, hiring more team members is the single answer. But considering the concerns of budget, market conditions and business growth plans, MedTek has to consider the plan of hiring in slow pace (for experienced) and hiring fresher’s at good number and making them job ready with in the short period which really cuts the budget to a greater extent. Impact of the Project 1. The project did really give us enough reason to actually audit entire HRD aspects of the organization which we delayed because of some noted business reasons. 2. It throws light on many aspects which we need to work on for the betterment of both organization and employees success. 3. We are able to clearly figure out the strengths and weaknesses from HR point of view and started working on them in no time. Future Direction of the project We are in the final & crucial phase of completing this project. It will take couple of weeks to draw the final and more detailed analysis of the entire work we have done so far during this project tenure. We are left with Section D analysis which has been carrying out simultaneously and will be finished at the earliest. With the support of my guide we can submit the final version by the 3rd week of October.

To Tax or Not to Tax

To Tax or Not to Tax: The Problem of America Money, like a cookie, is something everybody wants, and when it is gone a person blames everybody else for its absence; realizing later they were the one to consume it in the first place. Taxes, since the beginning of an organized economy, have been argued over for centuries. At the end of 2012 after surviving the â€Å"end of the world,† tax payers were faced with another apocalyptic situation, the Fiscal Cliff.It had the potential to raise taxes to outrageous rates, and despite the dismissal of the Cliff, the issue had just been pushed onto the back burner of the economy and will be readdressed later this year. On one hand, by keeping low taxes the state is unable to create a sufficient amount of money to pay off its debt. Instead, many people argue that by raising taxes the increased prices of items will actually harm the nation’s economic recovery (Russell).Taxes should be increased because facing the national debt is ine vitable and the country is will be unable to recover from the mounting debt until it’s citizens help bring it back from its economic grave. Taxes are directly connected to the economy of a nation, and due to this many people argue that the government needs to cut spending on government programs that are causing the debt to increase. Yet, it was revealed that automatic budget cuts were part of the Fiscal Cliff, and would have saved $109 billion in federal spending on defense and non-defense programs alike. â€Å"President To Make Argument For Fiscal Cliff  Plans†). Ironically, people argued that the government needs to cut, but as it was revealed that is exactly what the cliff was aiming to do. The Fiscal Cliff could have cut unnecessary costs causing the debt to lessen, and in turn reduced swollen deficits (Dixon). This reduction can decrease the debt but even with the removal of these programs the large debt the nation has would be unable to be quickly and efficient ly taken care of at current tax rates.This proves that cutting costs can not solely help the economic situation. Despite this, the resulting chain reaction caused by cutting certain budgets benefits the United States overall because it organizes the spending of the nation and can prevent unnecessary costs. By going over the Cliff, one possibility is that the nation could fall into a recession. Yet, the government discussed the possibility of raising taxes on the rich to make up for taxes that could be placed on the middle class.Economists, who have analyzed the possible effects of going over this â€Å"cliff,† argue that this would result in preventing the economy from completely going over (Cohen). Although, taxes will have to be raised on everybody anyways due to newly enacted health care programs. This tax raise is justifiable because these new programs are meant to help citizens but it is unlikely for things to come without a price, â€Å"though the people support the go vernment; the government should not support the people,† (Cleveland).This plan to raise taxes by 39% is actually an advantage for tax payers because it will be made permanent meaning that after families adjust to the new income amount they will receive, after taxes have been removed from the overall amount, they will not have to worry about being faced with another scramble to extend tax policies in the future (Ohlemacher). The certainty this can provide families with a regular tax plan they can adjust to without major changes in the future. The economic world can be both a clam sea and a brewing storm, although with a consistent tax plan tax payers will be able to comfortably sail this reliable ocean.Often, before acting, one looks to the examples of others for guidance; for the mistakes of others will not be theirs. Britain has remained the main nation America looks at when discussing politics and this was proven no different when discussing economics. Conceders have argued that raising taxes would not fix anything, as proven by the British example. In 2010 Cameron took office, axing the government’s budget, a potential plan in the Fiscal Cliff, yet the gross domestic product is below the level it had been at when Cameron had started (Brown).This comparison proves inaccurate because governments are individualistic and many factors, such as the executives chosen in the government and the differing economies or markets in each country, could affect the result of certain decisions. Britain’s ailment is specifically due to a lack of demand not of supply, Adam Posen, a specialist in British economics, argued, and the U. S. cannot be properly compared to the parliamentary government of Britain (Brown). If the government was to raise taxes it is not guaranteed that it would result negatively on the economy as a whole.Actually, by raising taxes the nation is being given a chance to reform the tax code and broaden the base in the future (Cohen). A trip to the drawing board of economics combined with an on the dot tax plan could revolutionize the economy of America instead of resulting in disaster as many people against the raise in taxes have argued. To tax or not to tax; that is the problem. Despite arguments for a decrease in taxes it is clear that if the government ignores the demand for money to appease the increasing debt then the economy will fall into a harsh depression that will become harder to fix.Citizens put their safety in the hands of the government, they put their children’s safety in the hands of the government, they put their education in the hands of the government, and they put their money in the hands of the government. Why then can they not put their trust? Taxes should be raises so that the deficit does not increase to a larger rate. It is time to start refilling the empty bank of American. Works Cited Brown, Abram. â€Å"The Argument Against Fiscal Cliff Austerity: Just Look At Britain's Mess. â€Å"Forbes.Forbes Magazine, 24 Dec. 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. Cleveland, Grover. Quote – Though the People Support the Government; the Government Should Not Support the People†¦ on Quotations Book. N. p. , n. d. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. Cohen, Tom. â€Å"Fiscal Cliff: What Isn't Said Tells More than Actual Words. †Ã‚  CNN. Cable News Network, 07 Dec. 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. Dixon, Kim. â€Å"Analysis: â€Å"Fiscal Cliff' Deal Called a Dud on Deficit Front. †Ã‚  Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune, 01 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. Dubay, Curtis S. â€Å"Send This Report to a Friend.   The Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation, 9 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. Ohlemacher, Stephen. â€Å"Fiscal Cliff Deal Will Raise Taxes On 77 Percent Of Americans: Tax Policy Center Analysis. †Ã‚  The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost. com, 02Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. â€Å"President To Make Argument For Fiscal Cliff  Plans. †Ã‚  Breaking News for Bla ck America. News One, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. Russell, Don. â€Å"A Clear Concise Look at the ‘Fiscal Cliff' Controversy. †Ã‚  Examiner. com. Examiner, 4 Dec. 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2013.

Information management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Information management - Coursework Example obile users (Goswami, 2013).The purpose of the report is to evaluate the impact of mobile computing in information management and also the importance of information management in the modern world. Global access and management of information has been one of the influential forces in the evolution of information technology. The development of central computing facilitated the computation of complex calculations and in the manipulation of advanced information. Further, the discovery of the web technology helped in providing hyper-linked information and global technology. However, the access to the information was restricted to the physical location of the individuals. The achievement of the real global network by accessing information anywhere and at anytime in the world is the fundamental motivation behind the development of mobile computing. This advancement in technology is the result of the development in the both the hardware and software parts at various stages motivated by tangible application needs (Cox, 2014). The design and implementation of data management applications for the wireless mediums which facilitates the mobility of data resources and computation is equally important. Wireless communications allow users carrying portable devices to retain their network connection even when they are moving. This type of communication is called mobile and nomadic computing. Mobile computing adds a new dimension to distributed computation with universal access to the required information anywhere and anytime (Pitoura and Samaras, 2012). The importance of mobile computing is increasing continuously due to the rise in the variety of available portable devices and the desire to have a constant connectivity to the network irrespective of the physical location of the individual. Mobile computing is a resourceful and possibly strategic device that improves information accessibility, band quality, increases management effectiveness and enhances operational efficiency.

Romer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Romer - Essay Example This alternative prevents the disparity between real and nominal interest and inflation against the price level. Simultaneity is reduced by simplifying the analysis of monetary policy and similarly provides a simplified dynamics that makes aspects of the exchange rate more credible. Extensive discussion was provided where Romer identified 11 advantages of the alternative model. The IS-LM model has not been without criticisms as many regard it as overly straightforward in determining economic intricacies. But the same had been found to be efficient in explaining fluctuation, especially short-term. The most common version of explaining the model is through the relationship of interest rate and output. In a good market economy, an increase in the interest rate will reduce demand at certain income brackets. The same effect can be seen in the demand for investments and general consumption. In an open economy that has floating exchange rates, net exports plummet because the demanded output quantity is equivalent to production. The negative relationship of interest rate to output is called the IS curve. Money market is another definitive relationship in understanding the IS-LM model. This shows that the demand for liquidity increases as income rises while the interest rate concurrently decreases. Equilibrium in the money market is determined by the money supplied and liquidity preference. If the supply of money by the central bank is fixed and there is a simultaneous increase in aggregate income this results in the demand for liquidity. The interest rate rises to an extent that supply is met by the demand for money. This is the relationship depicted in the LM curve (Romer, 2000, pp.150-151). An important assumption by Romer is that real interest rather than nominal interest, is a more important consideration for the central bank. This falls upon the Federal Reserve to set interest rates in order to control the IS and LM curves. In this

Strategies for increasing Customer Loyalty Essay

Strategies for increasing Customer Loyalty - Essay Example The airline industry is a case-in-point. Customer loyalty programs, while different in their form and detail, often have the same basic features. As Brook Consulting (2006) puts it, "many companies focus on rewarding customers who have repeat purchases . . . such reward programs have their place in assuring customer loyalty . . . however, if the product or service doesn't meet customer needs, no reward program will keep them returning." (my emphasis). The basic fact is that if a company offers a product or service that consumers desire then no customer loyalty program is really needed as the customers will return to give repeat business. This paper will analyze a number of different types of customer loyalty programs, from those that succeed to those of uncertain success to those that have not worked. There is a great variety of reward and loyalty programs currently in place. As Kim (2001) puts it, "in the marketplace we observe a diverse set of offerings, ranging from cash rewards, firm's free products or service, or free products or service of another firm in a different category". Thus, The question arises as to whether there is any method to the apparent madness of these customer loyalty programs. ... Wal-Mart is the largest retail company in the world. It provides a whole range of consumer goods from clothes to sports-ware to household items to food and automotive services. It sells virtually any consumer product that a customer could want, becoming almost ubiquitous in recent years. Recently it has also expanded its offerings to include on-site banking, hairdressing, tax advice and numerous other activities that it normally offers through outsourcing. Wal-Mart has no customer loyalty program because it does not need one. By the end of 2003, more than 100,000,000 /week visited Wal-Mart stores worldwide, and it had $256 billion in sales (Economist 2004). The very appearance of a Wal-Mart in an area seems to create its own self-contained customer loyalty program. None that is centrally organized is needed. Wal-Mart's customer loyalty is gained by offering the best prices on a whole range of products, together with a remarkably liberal return policy that allows a no-questions asked return on most goods up to three months after purchase. Wal-Mart currently employs more than 1.7 million people worldwide, with 1.3 million of them in America alone. This makes it the largest private employer in America, and probably the largest company that the world has ever known. Such massive size brings the obvious advantages of economies of scale. Thus Wal-Mart can offer the lowest possible prices on its products through its massive buying leverage with its suppliers. It can pick and choose its suppliers, and there is great competition to become a leader supplier to Wal-Mart. For about half of companies customer loyalty programs take on a more concrete, and risky dynamic, as they offer to

Human resource and employment law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human resource and employment law - Coursework Example He served as an unofficial spokesperson against the abuse of workers in industrial organizations and government corruption. LaFollette supported union growth and development as a check-and-balance on large corporations’ power. Some of the notable, specific measures he supported included protection of workers’ rights, defense of small farmers, preservation of state forests, breaking up monopolies, and taxation on railroads (Wisconsin Historical Society, 2011). The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals case of Spoerle v. Kraft Foods Global, Inc. involved plaintiffs (employees) suing their employer, Kraft. The lawsuit claimed the company was not paying employees for all time owed. Employees were fighting for payment of time spent getting into and out of required safety and sanitation clothing. Additionally, the employees felt they should be paid for the time spent walking to and from the stations where they worked at both the beginning and end of their shifts (Nicholas Kaster Attorneys at Law,  2008). The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) allows union employee and employer relationships, as far as management and policies are concerned, to vary depending upon the agreed Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Judge Easterbrook determined the provision, â€Å"requirement that employers pay workers for time spent donning and doffing ‘integral and indispensible’ safety gear under 29 U.S.C.  § 203(o),† did not override Wisconsin’s state law. The current law requires payment to employees for time spent on these required tasks (Nicholas Kaster Attorneys at

Globalization Has Had Positive Impacts On Most Workers In The Third Essay

Globalization Has Had Positive Impacts On Most Workers In The Third World - Essay Example Although globalization has contributed to increased environmental consequences and widened the wage gap, it has contributed to the high demand for employment opportunities, increased competition and cultural diversity; thereby, creating instantaneous changes within the social structures of many cultural societies. History of Globilisation Globilisation can be traced back to the historical process, which began during the immigration of people from Africa to other parts of the globe. The migration process of merchants and labor force across the borders contributed to new changes including the new ideas, cultural diversity and new products. The first phase of globalization began in the 16th century during the pre-modern period where there were some improvements in maritime technologies (Lindio-McGovern and Wallimann (2009, p. 123). This period contributed to varied changes including maritime exploration, discovery, and centralization tendencies associated with monarchies and development of modern states. The second stage of globalization started on the late of 18th century, and this phase was marked by extensive Industrial Revolution. This was the time when human technology began flourishing, productivity increased and the consumption level for commodities increased. Globalization increased in 19th century and major developments were experienced in all sectors across the globe. The economic growth in many countries started expanding in the mid 1980s and the earlier 20th century. The modern globalization is the latest age of globalization that began in late 19th century throughout the 20th century; thus this period can be marked with rapid industrialization that allowed cheap production and labor force (Roberts and Hite 2007, p. 56). The... The research study indicates that globalization has significantly increased the amount of economic activities taking place across national boundaries, however, this has had huge impact on the lives of labor force and other communities everywhere. This is because the current globalization with diverse international policies and regulations underpinning it has contributed to increased hardships in the third world economies. This paper makes a conclusion that although globalization has contributed to increased environmental consequences and widened the wage gap, it has contributed to the high demand for employment opportunities, increased competition and cultural diversity; thereby, creating instantaneous changes within the social structures of many cultural societies. Therefore, to a larger extent, globalization has had impacts on the third world countries and many of them are positive impacts, which have contributed to economic growth in many of the third world nations. Developing nations have benefited from globalization because of increased employment opportunities and many of them are able to compete favorably with their competitors. It has also promoted free trade and increased cultural diversity, as well as, changes in income levels has companies have increasingly found access to international markets that offer outsourcing. However, to a smaller extent, globalization have contributed to increased environmental degradation, created capitalist society, widened income inequalities and increased poverty levels as capital flows are repatriated to the companies investing in developing nations.

The Benefits of increasing Drinking Age Research Paper

The Benefits of increasing Drinking Age - Research Paper Example In many developed nations such as USA and Australia, the legal age for consuming alcohol is 21, but there are sections of society, which claim that lowering drinking age is the best solution to curb this habit among youngsters and specifically students. However, those who propose lowering drinking age as a feasible solution in this regard does not understand the salient disadvantages associated with allowing drinking at teen-age. Alcohol consumption is no more a habit or just a beverage option among youngsters; it has become a way of life, a part of the culture in today's scenario (Alcohol and Drug Information Service). There is a dire need to restrict their access to alcohol because it is a proven fact that starting to drink early can impose several short-term as well as long-term disadvantages on human health and society. This paper is an attempt to evaluate the benefits of increasing the drinking age from various aspects of an individual’s life as well as the impact on gove rnment and society in a broader spectrum. Health-related benefits of increasing drinking age: Increasing drinking age restricts young students from consuming alcohol at an early age, and as they reach adulthood, the craving for alcohol is likely to die-down or controlled. Various critics of increasing drinking age argue that when people can vote and marry at 18, why cannot they drink according to their choice? The problem is that voting and marriage do not harm a person’s psyche, mental development, and physiological health. However, consuming alcohol is susceptible to infinite life-risking implications from every possible aspect of human health and also considerably deters public welfare. The most significant point in the debate upon lowering or increasing drinking age is that, Is drinking suitable for individual health at all? Then the other point that arises is that will it benefit young people in any way if they are allowed. to drink at the age of 18? The fact which canno t be ignored is that alcohol in itself is extremely injurious to health, and its impact can be devastating. Frances Webb and Ellie Whitney claimed that â€Å"Age does matter. Young people do not benefit their health by drinking; rather, they increase their risk of dying from all causes; young non-drinkers are found to have a lower risk of dying than even light drinkers† (101). There is enough substance in this claim from Webb and Whitney, since if medical science research is anything to abide by, then it is true that drinking is not a healthy habit at all, instead, it becomes the base for various life-threatening ailments. It is a reality that alcohol consumption paves the way for more than 60 fatal diseases in the human body (Freeman). James Garbutt, a psychiatry professor and researcher of Alcohol studies at the University of North Carolina, revealed that â€Å"Alcohol does all kinds of things in the body, and we're not fully aware of all its effects. It's a pretty complic ated little molecule† (Freeman). Diseases like Anemia, Cancer, Cardiovascular problems, Gout, Depression, Nerve damage, Dementia, high-blood pressure, Pancreatitis, and Cirrhosis are all caused by alcohol consumption, and the virus gets triggered more intensively if one starts drinking at an early stage of life (Freeman).  

Ethnic Identity and African Americans Essay Example for Free

Ethnic Identity and African Americans Essay Ethnic identity is the sum total of group member feelings about those values, symbols, and common histories that identify them as a distinct group (Smith 1991). Development of ethnic identity is important because it helps one to come to terms with their ethnic membership as a prominent reference group and significant part of an individuals overall identity. Ethnic reference group refers to an individuals psychological relatedness to groups (Smith 1991). These reference groups help adolescents sense, reflect and see things from the point of their ethnic groups in which they actively participate or seek to participate. What is ethnic identity? The establishment of identity is an important, complex task for all adolescents, and is considered a major developmental task for all adolescents. It is particularly complicated for adolescents belonging to ethnic and minority groups. Ethnic identity of the majority group of individuals is constantly validated and reinforced in a positive manner where as the minority group is constantly ridiculed and punished in a negative manner. What does this say for those adolescents who are the minority and not the majority? It is important to study or research ethnic identity because it provides better knowledge to help one understand striving for a sense of unity and connectivenesss in which the self provides meaning for direction and meaning of ethnic identity (Spencer, 1990). It is also important to study or research the differences between these groups due to beliefs and values. Adolescents that are the minority are confronted with their ethnicity at an earlier age then Caucasian adolescents majority and they are constantly aware of ethnic differences, which means it is of greater importance to understand the development of the minority individual. It should lead to different assessments when it comes to ethnic identity. For example, African American adolescents are psychologically compared to Caucasian American adolescence diagnoses, which are sometimes inaccurately assessed. Bronfenberner explains the theoretical perspective such as the ecological perspective by saying, The implications for clinical treatment of African American adolescents, mental health workers must be sensitive to the ecological context of their clients. Mental Health workers must realize that there is no single entity called the black family . The black families compared to the other families established their American family. He suggests that these families vary dramatically in backgrounds, social economic status, values, and degree of acculturation to the norms and values of mainstream America (1990). There are also, significant differences that may exist in preparation of African American adolescent, at the level of rearing family practices and in schools (1990). That is, schools continue to reflect historical values that deal with racial-stereotypes and prejudice and beliefs. At the same time there are families trying to avoid and make light out of such situations. These families and communities continue to show constancy by instilling their own beliefs and values through child rearing which maybe different from Caucasian Americas. Identity and ethnicity as adolescent issues Identity has been defined in many ways. It is the concept used to describe an individuals sense of who he or she is (Dashefsky and Shapiro, 1976). Changes in identity occur throughout the life cycle, however, the changes in identity are usually most notable during adolescence. Integrating a positive sense of ethnic identity into ones overall personal identity is an important task of late adolescence (Steinberg, 1996). Ethnic identity has been defined as the aspect of ones sense of identity concerning ancestry or racial group membership (Steinberg, 1996). Ethnic identity development is an essential human need because it provides a sense of belonging and historical continuity. Ethnic socialization Minority children are confronted with their ethnicity at an earlier age than their majority counterparts (Smith, 1991). Parents can help to speed up the early stages of ethnic identity development by taking an active approach to ethnic socialization. Ethnic socialization, according to Steinberg(1996), refers to the process through which parents teach their children about their ethnicity and about the certain experiences they may have with the broader society. Ethnic socialization consists of three themes: 1) understanding ones own culture, 2) getting along in mainstream society, and 3) dealing with racism (Steinberg, 1996). Possible outcomes of ethnic identity development. There are four ways to deal with ethnicity (Steinberg, 1996): Â ·Assimilationadopting the cultural norms of the majority while rejecting the norms of ones own culture. Â ·Separationrejecting the majority culture and associating only with members of ones own culture. Â ·Marginalityliving within majority culture but feeling estranged. Â ·Biculturalismmaintaining ties to both cultures. According to Steinberg (1996) many believe that biculturalism is more successful than the other four. With biculturalism minority youth have access to the norms of the majority and minority culture depending on the situation. References. Â ·Smith, Elise J. Ethnic Identity Development: Toward the Development of A Theory within the Context of Majority/Minority Status. Journal of Counseling and Development: JCD. v70. n1. Sept. 1991. p. 181-188. Â ·Spencer, Margaret Beale. Child Development. v61 n2. Apr. 1990. P. 290-310. Â ·Dashefsky, A. (Eds. ). (1976). Ethnic identity in society. Chicago: Rand McNally College Publishing Co. Smith, E. J. (1991). Ethnic identity development: Toward the development of a theory within the context of majority/minority status. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 181-187. Â ·Steinberg, L. (1996). Adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Friendships in Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Friendships in Of Mice and Men Essay Throughout life, one establishes friendships to better ensure their future. The novel Of Mice And Men, written by John Steinbeck, is about a group of traveling labor workers and the hardships that they overcome. The friendship between George, one of the main characters, and Lenny, a retarded man and of Candy, a crippled man, and his old dog, although different, they each share many of the same feelings toward each other. Also, by establishing these friendships, each partner is benefited and is given life motivation. However, all good things must come to an end, and when each partner is separated from their companion, their significant bonds are broken. Because of their established friendships, George, Lenny, Candy and his dog are able to live happy lives filled with joyous and exciting times. Throughout the book, many feelings are expressed between the relationship of George and Lenny and of Candy and his dog. Ever since they had lived together, George and Lenny loved and cared for each other every waiting day. Because [they] [had] each other, George and Lenny became more loving and compassionate, not just towards themselves, but also towards others (104). Unlike the other traveling workers who journeyed alone, George and Lenny were together, fighting off the hardships of The Great Depression with a loving relationship. This bond kept each others hearts pure and refrained them from turning bitter. Ever since Candys dog was a puppy, he and Candy had shared a trustworthy connection filled with loyalty for each other. In Candys younger years of life, when his partner was a good sheep dog, they had started a trusting relationship, which they carried out throughout the rest of their lives (24). Since Candy had his pup ever since it was born, Candy was its only master. Because canines are extremely loyal to their master, this loyal bond was able to flourish. Finally, because Lenny has been with George all his life, he feels a bond of trust between them and is completely loyal to George. During their early years, when George wasnt so kind to Lenny, he could have told Lenny to walk over a cliff and over hed go (40). Although George never did something this cruel, he did do some grueling things. He even got Lenny into fights. However, as time went on, he too became loyal and a trusting relationship grew. Even though these partners are very different, they still share many of the same feelings towards each other. In the relationship of George and Lenny and of Candy and his dog, each partner gains something and this is the motivation for the friendship. Because of Lennys mental state, as he travels with, and becomes friends with, George, he benefits by having a guardian to follow him around and keep him safe. Ever since they were young, Lenny just come along with George, and from that day forward he benefited from Georges safety (40). Lenny is retarded and his mind cannot process enough useful information to allow him to live a successful life, contributing to society. If George had not allowed Lenny to travel with him then Lenny would either end up homeless, in prison, or dead. In addition, because Candys dog is now useless, he benefits off Candy by receiving a guardian to protect him and guide him through the rest of his life. Although he had been an excellent canine in his day, because he aint no good to anyone now, his life would be futile if he did not have a guide for his remaining years. However, Candy did not care for him entirely out of kindness, he too benefits from their relationship. Because Candy is a cripple, he wants to feel like he is needed, and having someone that depends on him, allows Candy to live a joyous life. Although Lenny does not have much to give, George still benefits off their friendship by receiving a loyal companion to accompany him on his journeys. Because [they] travel together, George does not have to be burdened with the loneliness that could drive a man insane. George observes the other traveling labor workers become hard and lonely because they have nobody to converse with on their journeys. Although he benefits from their relationship, George pays dearly with his guardianship over Lenny. By establishing these relationships, each partner is benefited and given life motiv ation. Both the friendship of George and Lenny and of Candy and his dog lose their significant bonds when the partners are separated. Because Candy and his dog provide companionship for each other, when his dog dies Candy is left alone and unstable. Once his dog had been put up for the death sentence, Candy was left alone, pondering their wonderful memories together as he lied rigidly on his bed and stared at the ceiling (48). Candys purpose in life was now over, for he had no one that depended on him. Now the only thing that drove  him was the hope that Georges dream would come true, and that George, Lenny and he would get their own little plot of land. After George kills Lenny, although this was an act of kindness, George loses his purpose as a guardian. After he had pulled the trigger, George shivered and looked at the gun, for he knew that his guardianship was now over (106). George understood that it was his responsibility to kill Lenny. Although this act of kindness will burden him for the rest of his life, George still did the honorable thing. When Lenny died, George loses his dream of having a place of their own. By now, the dream had spread to more than just George and Lenny and when Lenny and their little place die away George becomes miserable and hurt (94). The time that followed this tragedy was the first time of Georges adult life with out Lenny. Also, up till now Georges purpose in life was to care for, and keep Lenny safe. With Lenny dead, George feels that his life had no purpose, for he could not keep Lenny from dangers grasp. When each friendship becomes separated, the still living partner feels no more purpose for life. Because of their established friendships, George, Lenny, Candy and his dog are able to live happy, joy filled lives as they overcome the hardships of The Great Depression. Although their significant bonds are broken when the partners are separated, when they are together, the partners benefit and share many feelings towards each other. Some say opposites attract, and buy using this scientific law to create friendships with different people; our society would be a friendlier and overall better place. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck New York : Covici-Friede, 1937

International Relations Essays Global Culture

International Relations Essays Global Culture What is meant by a global culture and how and why do transnational corporations seek to promote such a culture? A global culture can be seen in one of two ways. One suggests that today’s communications and technologies allow a more open spread of culture around the world – people in far corners of the globe are able to be aware of and share each others culture. It is a view that sees global culture as generally positive – something that encourages diversity and a mixing of culture and has enabled people around the world to overcome national boundaries to embrace common causes. The more common perception of global culture is that of a Western, predominantly American culture gradually imposing itself around the world, often to the detriment of long established local cultures. For analysts opposed to globalisation this type of global culture is slowly killing diversity and devastating traditional ways of life. Scholte suggests that this viewpoint is that: â€Å"Globalisation introduces a single world culture centred on consumerism, mass media, Americana and the English language† (p23 Scholte 2000). It is this type of global culture in particular that transnational companies are linked to and are generally happy to promote. Transnational companies have become economic superpowers as globalisation has spread and the development of a global culture is seen to benefit them economically. Certainly the potential wealth that the transnationals can offer to indigenous populations can take precedence over the upholding of local tradition and culture. The basic human desire to accumulate wealth can often override cultural, ethnic and religious factors when transnational companies set their sights on economic expansion in a particular area. A global culture involves the spread of popular cultural icons around the globe, often diluting and overriding local cultures with the threat that the vast cultural diversity that the world offers will one day be submerged beneath a dull uniformity. Advances in technology and communications have helped propagate cultural globalisation. Digital communication, satellite television and the Internet are methods of communication that can overcome any national boundaries or government control – as Held and McGrew write: â€Å"Many national controls over information have become ineffective. People everywhere are exposed to the values of other cultures as never before† (p17, Held and McGrew 2003). Deregulation of media ownership along with technological advances combined in the latter decades of the twentieth century to allow the largest media companies to establish networks in many countries. This media influence gives companies the opportunity to promote their own cultural preferences and it is notable that the global media is dominated by the same eight transnational media companies that dominate the US media: General Electric, ATT Media, Disney, Time Warner, Sony, News Corporation, Viacom Seagram and Bertelsmann (p261 Held and McGrew 2003). These companies aggressively seek to become global players – the US market is largely developed and the global markets provide better opportunities for expansion and getting ahead of the competition – Time Warner predict that non-US sales will yield the majority of their revenue within the next decade. With the global expansion of US media companies comes the global expansion of US culture. The power of Hollywood is one of the prime examples of cultural globalisation with an American agenda. A seemingly endless line of films promoting an American cultural and political agenda emanate from Hollywood and have driven independent film making in many regions either out of business or underground. Some countries such as Norway, Mexico and South Africa have seen government subsidies try to support domestic film production companies, whilst the success of the Indian ‘Bollywood’ film industry is one of few examples of cinema audiences resisting the spread of a global culture. The economic benefits to the transnationals can be huge. Cable and digital television channels across the globe are owned by the major transnational companies and are hugely important parts of their revenue streams. Major Hollywood studios were expecting revenue from global TV rights to their film librarie s to have exceeded $11 billion by the end of 2002 (p261 Held and McGrew 2003). The marketing power of the transnational companies ensures that the values, brands and culture of the US are spread globally. Some of the largest brands generate money that outstrips many national economies – Coca Cola’s brand for example was estimates by a brand consultancy to be worth $68.9 billion. (p119 Legrain 2002) The continuing expansion of such brands through the development of a global culture is something certain to boost the profits of the transnationals. Writers on globalisation such as Naomi Klein in particular link brands to global culture and the influence of the transnationals. She writes: â€Å"Power, for a brand-driven company, is not attained by collecting assets per se, but by projecting one’s brand idea onto as many surfaces of the culture as possible†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (New Statesman 24 Jan 2000). This view of those opposed to globalisations suggests that propelling popular cultural icons into established cultures and forcing homogenous culture to take a back seat to Western culture is very much the aim of transnational companies.   Certainly, the marginalisation and dilution of local cultures through the efforts of Western media and brand marketing is a concern. Lloyd Fernando writes ominously: â€Å"The world is truly eclectic and simultaneous these days and Marshal Macluhan’s deterministic vision of us all being plugged into one vast electrical organism like domestic animals at a a trough is far too close for us to laugh at† (P111 Mittelman and Othman 2001). The spread of the English language is another aspect of a global culture that transnational companies promote. In addition to Western films, music and media being promoted across the globe in an attempt to dominate popular culture, the ability to speak English is becoming seen as practically a necessity to get on in many of the world’s poorer nation – financial and economic institutions worldwide are adopting English and it is increasingly difficult to operate in the world’s markets without the language. Mandal states: â€Å"Globalizers actively promote English as a purely functional and even neutral language that is synonymous with economic growth, technological advancement and modernity as a whole† (p120 Mittelman and Othman 2001) and it is clear that non-governmental organisations such as the IMF and World Bank largely support the transnational companies in their promotion of English as a global language. Much of their analysis of the economic crisis in South East Asia in the 1990s suggests that the countries in the region that recovered best were those that had made the most progress in introducing the English language into the culture.   Across the globe, governments are accepting this aspect of global culture – in South Korea large scale English villages are being developed for locals to immerse themselves into the language, whilst the Mongolian government, in a country landlocked by Russia and China has announced long term plans to make English its primary second language. One of the greatest fears of those opposed to cultural globalisation is that it offers English speaking and western culture as something to aspire to whilst abandoning traditional culture. Hirst and Thompson write that: â€Å"National cultures that aim to be dominant over the individual that belong to them are increasingly projects of resistance to and retreat from the world† (p266 Hirst and Thompson 2000) – in effect, people and cultures that do not embrace the Western led global culture are seen as conservative, suspicious and most probably less likely to see investment from transnational companies. Globalisation is not going to go away, neither are the huge transnational companies. Some see the growth of a global culture and the wealth and opportunity that these huge organisations can bring as something for which diversity of culture can be sacrificed. They also argue, correctly, that people wherever they live do have a choice. Whatever the power of western marketing, if people across the globe choose to maintain their own culture and reject global or western culture, they have the power to do so. Others continue to argue that cultural globalisation in itself promotes diversity and a respect for other cultures. Those opposed to globalisation remain strongly opposed to the spread of the stereotypical McDonalds and Coke culture that personifies Western and particularly American culture. For transnational companies, profits are the bottom line and continual expansion across the globe is one of the best ways to ensure that they continue to make a profit. Transnational companies, ri ghtly or wrongly, have little concern for the protection of local culture – if a global culture will ensure that more of their products are sold, they will continue to promote it.   Bibliography Jan Aart Scholte, Globalization – A Critical Introduction, Macmillan Press Limited, London 2002 Philippe Legrain, Open World: The Truth About Globalisation, Abacus, Great Britain, 2002 Robert McChesney, The New Global Media in Held and McGrew The Global Transformations Reader, Polity Press, Cambridge 2002 Naomi Klein, Tyranny of the Brands, article New Statesman, 24 January 2000 James H Mittelman and Norani Othman, Capturing Globalisation, Routledge, London 2001 Paul Hirst and Grahame Thompson, Globalisation in Question, Polity Press, Cambridge 2000 Christopher Cook, Human Dignity Needs Protection, article at www.populist.com/00.2.cook.html

Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe and the Protestant Work Ethic Essay

Robinson Crusoe and the Protestant Work Ethic  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      The story of Robinson Crusoe is, in a very obvious sense, a morality story about a wayward but typical youth of no particular talent whose life turned out all right in the end because he discovered the importance of the values that really matter.   The values that he discovers are those associated with the Protestant Work Ethic, those virtues which arise out of the Puritan’s sense of the religious life as a total commitment to a calling, unremitting service in what generally appears as a very restricted but often challenging commitment.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The central concern of Robinson Crusoe’s experiences on the island is work.   The great majority of the text is taken up with describing his unceasing efforts at mundane tasks.   Robinson Crusoe is clearly eager to persuade his readers that he was never idle.   Many of his undertakings may have been futile (like his first big boat, which he could not move to the water), but they kept him busy.   We might wonder to what extent he needs to do all the things he describes for us, like, for example, making bread or living off the produce he creates through his own agriculture.   Is there no natural sustenance on the island which might be obtained with less labor?   What about fishing?   Wouldn’t that be easier?   He tries it and has success, but he doesn’t stay with it.   Why not?   Surely, given the topical nature of the island, he doesn’t have to labor so much?     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Questions like this miss the point.   Robinson Crusoe is a tribute to work, and the overwhelming message is: God has put us on this world to work.   That, in effect, means directing our energies to transform the world around us, to shape it to our will, t... ...ing it with a secret kind of pleasure (though mixed with my other afflicting thoughts), to think that this was all my own, that I was king and lord of all this country indefeasibly and had a right of possession; and if I could convey it, I might have it in inheritance, as completely as any lord of a manor in England.   (101) The language of this quotation is interesting.   He admits he takes pleasure in his accomplishment, but there’s a sense of guilt in the admission (he has to remind us that he also has afflictions).   And he frames his feelings of satisfaction entirely in legal terms (â€Å"indefeasibly,† â€Å"right of possession,† â€Å"convey†).   What stimulates his satisfaction is not the accomplishment or the beauty or the sense of his own proven skill, but the sense of legal ownership.   He has gone from a castaway to the equivalent of an aristocrat.   

Essay --

Currency/Exchange Rate Currency- Yuan Exchange Rate - 1 Chinese Yuan - 0.17 USD On December 1, 1948, the new People’s Bank of China introduced Yuan notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000, and later in 1949, the bank introduced 200, 500, 5000, and 10,000 Yuan notes. 50,000 Yuan notes were then added in 1950. Practices, Regulations, Laws In the twentieth and twenty first centuries, the practice of law in China became known to become a rich mix of old traditional values and Western influence. Because of traditional values, law in China is heavily based upon Confucian philosophy that Chinese culture has become so famous for. the system is based on gaining control through moral education. Though the Chinese culture has seen great change throughout the millennium, the law of the People’s Republic of China is undergoing reform, as the nation feels the need to emphasize of the strengthening of rule of law. Similar to the United States, the Chinese people honor the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. This document is often described to be the â€Å"highest and ultimate source of legal norms† in China. The value of different forms of laws is set under the Constitution in a form of hierarchy as follows: 1. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China 2. National laws, iss ued by the National People’s Congress 3. Administrative regulations, issued by the State Council 4. Local decrees, issued by the local People’s Congresses 5. Administrative and local rule, issued by an administrative agency or by a local People’s Government. Aside from high level governmental law systems, the People’s Republic of China has also set up courts for different levels of public affairs under the Organic Law of the People’s C... ...d very fresh. Attractions When at China, there are many different places that people can visit. However, the top ten places that they must go are the main cities like Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai where they can make their first stop before going on to other attractions. From Beijing, people can go to the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China, Ming Tomb, Lama Temple, and even the Beijing Capital Museum. From Xi’an, people can visit the Terra-cotta army, Banpo Museum, Huaqing Hot Spring, City Wall, and even the Xi’an Great Mosque. From Shanghai, people can travel to the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple, and the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. China is a large country with a various type of attractions. There are a lot of ways visitors can adventure China and do their sightseeing as there are a lot of things to sightsee. Essay -- Currency/Exchange Rate Currency- Yuan Exchange Rate - 1 Chinese Yuan - 0.17 USD On December 1, 1948, the new People’s Bank of China introduced Yuan notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000, and later in 1949, the bank introduced 200, 500, 5000, and 10,000 Yuan notes. 50,000 Yuan notes were then added in 1950. Practices, Regulations, Laws In the twentieth and twenty first centuries, the practice of law in China became known to become a rich mix of old traditional values and Western influence. Because of traditional values, law in China is heavily based upon Confucian philosophy that Chinese culture has become so famous for. the system is based on gaining control through moral education. Though the Chinese culture has seen great change throughout the millennium, the law of the People’s Republic of China is undergoing reform, as the nation feels the need to emphasize of the strengthening of rule of law. Similar to the United States, the Chinese people honor the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. This document is often described to be the â€Å"highest and ultimate source of legal norms† in China. The value of different forms of laws is set under the Constitution in a form of hierarchy as follows: 1. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China 2. National laws, iss ued by the National People’s Congress 3. Administrative regulations, issued by the State Council 4. Local decrees, issued by the local People’s Congresses 5. Administrative and local rule, issued by an administrative agency or by a local People’s Government. Aside from high level governmental law systems, the People’s Republic of China has also set up courts for different levels of public affairs under the Organic Law of the People’s C... ...d very fresh. Attractions When at China, there are many different places that people can visit. However, the top ten places that they must go are the main cities like Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai where they can make their first stop before going on to other attractions. From Beijing, people can go to the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China, Ming Tomb, Lama Temple, and even the Beijing Capital Museum. From Xi’an, people can visit the Terra-cotta army, Banpo Museum, Huaqing Hot Spring, City Wall, and even the Xi’an Great Mosque. From Shanghai, people can travel to the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple, and the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. China is a large country with a various type of attractions. There are a lot of ways visitors can adventure China and do their sightseeing as there are a lot of things to sightsee.

Lbj Paper

Nicole Curtis 4/15/10 APUS: LBJ DBQ Essay President Lyndon B. Johnson and his administration passed several legislations and supported many programs that attempted to repair the numerous political, economic, and social problems of the United States during the 1960s. His administration responded to most of the problems effectively, but with the issue of civil rights, for example, they didn’t always fix the problems to the best of their ability. But most importantly was his attack on the â€Å"war on poverty. Acts, like the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, assisted citizens of the US through attacking the â€Å"war on poverty† and creating opportunities for the children of the future. Minorities, like African Americans, had trouble gaining political power. Primarily, blacks were fighting for their protection to vote and an increase in their influence in politics. For instance, some African Americans got together and created â€Å"freedom organizations† known as t he Black Panther Party in order to represent their strength and dignity of their culture (doc. C).They didn’t have any legitimate successes in their fight for their political rights. Johnson and his administration, therefore, admitted the 24th amendment. This prohibited the poll tax which was a discriminatory tax that was required in order to exercise the ability to vote. Also, the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, which outlawed the discriminatory voting practices that were responsible for the disenfranchisement of African Americans in the US. These laws and his support for blacks’ rights were strongly influential and beneficial to the United States. LBJ’s (Lyndon B.Johnson’s) most influential response to the problems of the United States was in his response to the â€Å"war on poverty. † The programs that he passed helped the poverty problem through the economical and social aspect of it. Economically, his programs boosted money into the econ omy and improved the education for citizens so that they could make more money in their future. Socially, it improved the conditions of the urban cities as well as decreasing the gap between the rich and poor by heavily helping the poor. Specifically, he aided in with the health care concern for United States citizens (doc.A). Medicare and Medicaid were created which provided federal aid to the elderly and poor for medic al expenses. Also the Economic Opportunity Act improved and increased the number of educational programs, gave money to the youth through Job Corps, and gave volunteers to troubled communities to provide educational and social services (doc. B). The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Model Cities Program also were formed during Johnson’s presidency. The Model Cities Program redeveloped the urban city. This attempted to improve the conditions for the poor who lived in the city.Prior to Johnson’s aid, many people felt â€Å"†¦si ck of ‘poor’ people demonstrations†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (doc. G). So, Johnson’s main goal was to improve the poverty problem in the US which he did successfully. Between 1960 and 1970, the percentage of non-whites that fell below poverty level decreased from 53. 3% to 32. 0% (doc. H). Also the percentage of whites that fell below the poverty line decreased from 18. 1% to 9. 9% during the 60s. Clearly, his programs were effective. Socially, blacks had many problems regarding their human and civil rights. They continued to fight for them throughout the 60s.Johnson supported this and passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This piece of legislation outlawed the application of unequal voter requirements and segregation in schools, work, and public places. He also facilitated the March on Washington. He, as well as Governor Wallace of Alabama, federalized the Alabama National Guard, and sent an additional 2200 troops from the U. S. Army to protect the marchers. His wide support for the civil rights movement was great, but still many blacks were being discriminated against due to the lack of enforcement of the Civil Rights Act in specific areas.His administration had the ability to do great things, yet they only did good things in response to the civil rights issue. Lyndon B. Johnson and his administration, â€Å"[made] it possible for every child of every color to grow up in a nice house, to eat a solid breakfast, to attend a decent school, and to get a good and lasting job† (doc. F). Johnson did this through his many successful programs like the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. He repaired many of the political, economic, and social problems of the US in the 60s effectively.

Case of Aline Deneuve

Case of Aline DeNeuve This case Aline DeNeuve is written by Alvin Turner, from St. Catharine’s, Ontario, Canada. There are a lot of issues in this case. Aline talked with five random employees to secure their views on having another retreat and to take their opinion how effective was the previous retreat. The first employee she talked with was Heather. The main issue over here is mostly stereotypical and racial discrimination. Heather told she doesn’t like retreats. She also said that she was ignored to give a promotion six months ago by her supervisor Jack as she was Chinese, and that her supervisor doesn’t like foreigners.She also stated that the three day retreat held once a year won’t solve the anti-social atmosphere between the employees. This problem occurred because Heather was upset with Jack for the reason she was not promoted by him. Categorization is an OB concept which falls under stereotyping. This is a comparison process for social identity, and that comparison begins by categorizing people into different groups. Heather thought she was categorized by her supervisor Jack as she was from China. Homogenization is another OB concept that falls under stereotyping. It is a simplified process of comparing people in various groups.Here people tends to think that, people with in a group are very much similar to each other despite the fact that everyone is an individual and have their own different characteristics. Heather thought that jack was homogenization towards her as she belonged from China, and was from some kind of Chinese group. Heather also thought that Jack was discriminating towards her as she was a foreigner, and so didn’t give her a promotion. There were also internal attribution factors in Heather as she regularly took large numbers of sick days from work, for the reason she thought her supervisor was discriminating her.She also had fundamental attribution error. Fundamental attribution error is a bias, re fers to our tendency to see the person rather than the situation as the main cause of the person’s behaviour. Heather thinks that she is biased by her supervisor. These problems can be fixed in various ways by Heather. Awareness of perceptual biases is one of the ways her problems can be solved. Training on diversity awareness can lessen discrimination by making people aware of methodical discrimination as well as biases that occur through stereotyping. Awareness of perceptual biases can make people more watchful of their opinions and activities.Thus, Heather might have a better point of view about Jack, and might think more positively about the outcomes that come in real life. Another way of fixing her problem is by improving self-awareness. It is a more powerful way to minimize perceptual biases; it provides evidence that the individual’s own conduct and choices reflect these biases. Therefore Heather can have a better and positive view of what is happening in her su rroundings and how positively she can take them. However, Heather can have a conversation period with her supervisor and discuss all the matters that are bothering her.This might help her understand Jack in a better way and stop all kinds of problematic issues they have between each other. The second employee Aline talked with was Jack. Jack is the manager of marketing department. He did not want to attend the retreat. He was upset as he was not promoted to the director position. Jack thought that he was passed over because he was black. He suggested that the organization should invest more money in its security purposes as he thinks lot of employees are taking home office supplies. He also thought that the company should design a better job orientation and socialization program for the new employees.The problem over here was Jack thought that he didn’t get the promotion because he was black; he assumed that he was racially discriminated. He also made a very serious statement about other office employees, that they have been taking office supplies to their home. This to my thought was really offensive to other employees especially when he had no evidence to prove them. The only positive statement that I thought Jack made was having a better designed job orientation and socializing program for the new employees. This step would really help the new comers to get involved in various activities in an organization.In this part of the case I found two problems that took place with Jack. The first one was Jack thinking stereotypically about himself. His thinking was more of stereotypical because he thought he was racially discriminated in the organization and so was not given a promotion to the director position. The solution to this problem can be diversity awareness training. This training will help Jack to minimize discriminating thoughts in his mind. He also needs to improve his self-awareness in himself which will let him know what he thinks about himself .The second problem associated with Jack was accusing other employees of the organization, for taking office supplies to their home. This is a very serious offensive issue. To me Jack thinks like this because he is having some internal issues with his fellow employees. This can be fixed from the Johari Window model. It helps to get to a mutual understanding which eventually encourages disclosure of argument. Jack can also have a formal conversation with the organization’s promotion giving team to get to know why he wasn’t selected for the director position; this might really help him to get to know the real facts.The third employee Aline had a conversation with was June, manager of customer service. She was also not keen to attend the retreat as she thought that the previous one was a waste of time. She also doesn’t like her job anymore as it became too stressful for her. She also stated that the company kept on promising her that it will hire more customer serv ice representative, but haven’t hired anyone. She also mentioned that it is getting hard for her to maintain her marriage with such a stressful job beside. June also said that she got tired of answering customer’s silly questions.The first problem June had was shortage of customer service representative which made her working condition stressful. She can write a letter to the organization’s head stating the entire problem that she is facing and asking for an immediate solution. The fact that June’s marriage life is getting affected from her work life falls in an OB concept, work-life balance. People tend to lose control of their marriage life due to a stressful condition in their work life. This problem can be solved by the means of virtual work.She can request the company to work from her home instead of working in the office using information technology. This will let her to for work from the comfort of her home; allowing to have a better and balanced l ifestyle. Many survey came up with results that on an average, a person working in a call center works no more than two years. However, I think June should leave her current job and look for a better one, because doing something that she doesn’t like, won’t be productive for her or the company. Fourth employee Aline spoke with was Alison, supervisor of employee benefits and services.Alison also expressed disagreement in attending another retreat. She said that some male and female employees think that retreats are an opportunity for hitting on one another. She also mentioned that the company should develop a policy regarding inter-office dating. She also stated that the management is contributing to these factors by not taking actions to stop such behaviour in work place. As Alison has very strong views to her religion she is very unsatisfied with the kind of environment that goes in work place, because most religious views are strong and conservative.This is more of a n issue than a problem. This issue falls under categorical thinking, as religious views falls under a specific category. In this categorical thinking people tries to relate every possible action in the base of that category, as Alison did by judging most of the situation in religious views. To overcome this issue Alison can go through a behaviour modification session, it is also known as operant conditioning and reinforcement theory. It helps people understand that learning and visualising completely depends on the environment and the situation.The last employee Aline talked with was Richard. Richard said he will be pleased to attend a retreat because he always felt these types of ventures are a great way to improve interpersonal relationship and to socialize with senior management. Richard was the only employee amongst the five employees who had positive and inspiring attitude. There was no problem that I could find from this conversation. Instead he was more inspirational for the other employees. He is extroverted, as he seems more outgoing, sociable, and assertive. The organization should take a lot of immediate actions to resolve these problems.The company can encourage its employees to join on various training sessions on improving self-awareness, awareness of perceptual biases, meaning full interactions with one another in office environment, behaviour modification, etc. The company can set up free training sessions to help their employee learn the visuals of work life in a modified and better way. One of the best alternatives can be, giving new employees not only job training but also other training to keep office environment healthy and good. MD Samiul Karim Shaown A00355188 Micro Organizational Behaviour MGMT-2383-1C

Compairison of amy tans mother tongue snd orwells shooting an elephant Essay

Even though Tan and Orwell have two different approaches to showing a struggle to fit into society, they are actually in agreement that people who come from different places struggle to fit. This common ground becomes apparent through the emotion behind each authors’ writing. In both Tan and Orwell’s writing they show a variety of feelings. These feelings consist of sadness, anger and bitterness. The first illustration of both authors’ accord is the way each of them express sadness from the way they are treated by those around them. It is especially evident that Tan is saddened by the fact that her mother is poorly treated due to her broken English. Tan states â€Å"But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions of the limited English speaker† (179). This demonstrates the sadness Tan feels for her mother and the difficulty her mother faces to fit into society, bearing in mind it is nearly impossible to fit in with others if their perceptions are skewed. Orwell faces a similar issue throughout his essay as well. The natives of Burma were extraordinarily boorish towards Orwell simply because he was from England. Orwell shows an example of this by opening his writing with â€Å"In Moulmein, in Lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me† (229). Hatred from all of Burma for no good reason causes sadness upon Orwell, especially when all he wants is to fit in and not be ridiculed. Evidently when the society one lives in is not accepting of them it becomes a struggle to fit it. Tan and Orwell also display strong feelings of anger in their writings. As Tan continues to write, a change in tone is evident. She starts off placid and calm then progresses to a more aggressive angry tone. An example of this is when Tan complains â€Å"And when the doctor finally called her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect English –lo and behold – we had assurances the CAT scan would be found, promises that a conference call on Monday would be held, and apologies for any suffering my mother had gone through for a most regrettable mistake† (180). The above quote demonstrates a sarcastic tone which signifies the author is fed up, annoyed, and even angry. Orwell communicates angers from the very start of his writing when he  tells of a time he was tripped on the football field. A Burman man purposely tripped Orwell in front of the crowed and they all laughed at him, which irritated him and made him mad. Anger is a very strong emotion in which both authors’ express due to frustration from not fitting into society. An even worse emotion compared to anger is bitterness. Bitterness is a vile, putrid feeling. It shows that you have let something get the best of you. Each author displays bitterness in some form or another. Orwell shot an elephant for the sheer fact that he did not want to seem like a fool. If he was not bitter toward the Burmans he would not have allowed them to get the best of him. As far a Tan goes, she says â€Å"people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her† (180). Tan’s bitterness for the disrespect her mother receives from multiple different people helps her to express her mother’s struggle to fit into society. With everything these two different authors’ have in common its clear they both agree that people from different places struggle to fit in. People from all different cultures and societies struggle to fit in when they go somewhere new. Both authors do a wonderful job at expressing these challenges. They each show as an individual their own personal experiences with struggling to fit into society. Their imagery and emotions make it easy to visualize being in their shoes struggling to overcome the challenges of fitting into society. It is perfectly clear that both author agree upon outsiders struggling to fit into a new society. Works Cited Orwell, George. â€Å"Shooting an Elephant.† Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing. Ed. Nancy R. Comley, et.al. 10th edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin, 2013. 129-134. Print. Tan, Amy. â€Å"Mother Tongue.† Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing. Ed. Nancy R. Comley, et.al. 10th edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin, 2013. 178-182. Print.

Benefits to having a CFO as CEO Essay

Part IIn today’s complex business environment, more and more companies are turning to Chief Finance Officers (CFO) to assume the premier position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. However, the qualities required of a CEO are not always in line with the training and experiences of a former CFO. Yet the CFO can bring many qualities to the CEO position to help a company succeed. What are the benefits to having a CFO as CEO, and what are the required qualities of a CEO that may hamper the CFO’s success in this position?As the leader of a corporation, the CEO must be a well rounded leader. The CEO’s key responsibility is â€Å"making critical strategic decisions and creating conditions for those to be well-executed† He must have the people skills to motivate and build consensus both among the employees, shareholders, and board members. He must be able to develop a strategy and swiftly and effectively implement it. â€Å"A CEO must think at a higher level of abstraction – more inductively and less deductively. A CEO must be more willing and able to act on key decisions with fewer facts, relying more on grounded assumptions. And a CEO must be able to communicate effectively to a broader constituency – in particular, he must be far more politically attuned.† John Dasburg, CEO of Burger King and former CFO of Marriott International IncGenerally the CEO is more concerned with the â€Å"Big Picture† of the company, and can not afford to immerse themselves in the details of any specific area. They are the motivators and leaders. Often the CEO can be successful simply by selling his vision and strategic plan, while letting others such as the CFO work out the details. In contrast, people expect the CFO to be detailed and analytical, even critical in their examination of the strategic plan, by examining it for financial flaws. Probably the biggest barrier preventing CFOs from succeeding as CEOs is that of management skills. The CFO is an expert in the financial underpinnings of the company, but often is not required to display skill in people or project management. CEOs often make decisions based on the analytics, as well as intangibles learned from these skills; intuition, personal knowledge of those involved, and consumer opinion for example. In addition, the CEO is often required to make decisions with limited time to examine the details,  something the CFO is trained to specifically not do. The CFO is trained collect and analyze all the data before coming to a decision. They look at different factors, from NPV to the timing of cash flow and returns; then calculate the risk of the investment. The CEO will often look at the same data, yet will not give the hard numbers the same weight as the CFO. Instead, those intangibles may weigh heavily in the making of the decision. The CEO is often willing to accept take more risk than the CFO. The transition to being able to make the hard decision without all the data may be a difficult one for the analytically oriented CFO to make. Another functional area the CFO will have little experience in is marketing. Sales and marketing will always be an important part of business. Many CFOs are hired to cut costs to increase the efficiency of a company. Marketing is generally a favorite target of the cost cutters. In a sluggish market, this may be effective, but in a growth market such as seen in recent years, focusing more on marketing can led a company to success. CFOs rarely have experience or understanding of marketing and sales, and their relationship to the market. This lack of dedicated experience can harm a company when it needs to grow to succeed. However, the recent economic down-turn, to include the fall of the dot-coms and telecommunications companies, the numerous high-profile scandals that have racked prominent companies and the global growth that continues in all business has led to financial expertise being a top priority for a new CEO. The CFO can bring many skill sets to the CEO position to mitigate the complexity and public, and government, oversight prevalent in today’s business environment. By definition, CFOs are more focused on the finances than a CEO normally is. However a financial background can greatly help a CEO to understand the status of the company, and can lead to enhanced success, while at the same time staying out of the scandals. The responsibility for regulatory compliance is the domain of the CFO. They are trained in the details required to keep the company within the legal bounds. As stated by Deborah Thomas, head of treasury at Michael Page International:†The CFO has had to pick up responsibility for responding to regulatory changes. And with regulation, compliance and corporate risk at the forefront of everyone’s minds, the CFO makes the perfect choice for CEO†By the time a person is promoted to CFO, they possess an innate understanding of the regulations, legal requirements, and a comprehensive knowledge of the financial status of the company. These are all skills that a CEO needs to possess to be successful. As a CEO, the CFO may be capable of managing the regulatory complexities, while still finding opportunities for growth. Today’s CFO is better-rounded than those in the past. Partly due to the recent scandals, the CFO works closely with the CEO in developing and executing strategy. It is often the CFO who is now the face of the company, managing the daily relationships with the shareholders. Today’s CFO is invested in the daily operations of the company, and will now come to the CEO seat with a full understanding of operations and strategy. With business becoming increasingly complex, due to increased public oversight, regulation, and global growth; it is imperative that a CEO have a strong financial background. Having the financial background can lead a company to increased success. Rather than trusting those intangibles, the CFO may make decisions based more higher probabilities of success. He may avoid the big risks, and subsequent big payoffs, but will often show a steady growth and return. In fact, according to a study by Duke University, companies that are run by optimistic, dynamic CEOs often run a higher level of short-term debt and attempt to time the debt market, a sign of taking risks. Whereas companies run by former CFOs tend to have higher debt to equity ratios, an indication of stability. It is this ability to negotiate the risks that places the CFO as a highly  desirable CEO candidate. The CFO is able to assess the risks and their impact on financial performance. The CFO seems to perform well overall as a CEO. So well that the trend is growing, according to CFO Magazine in 2005, 20 percent of Fortune 100 CEOs were once CFOs, up from 12 percent in 1995. The key to success for the CFO seeking to become a CEO is to round out their experiences. They will possess they technical expertise to perform the job, they just need to be able to supplement that skill with the management and visionary skills requisite for a good CEO. References 1. Durfee, Don. SAY YES TO DR NO: New research suggests that CFOs are an essential counterweight to optimistic CEOs. CFO Asia, 7 Sep 2006http://www.cfoasia.com/archives/200609-07.htm2. Favaro, Paul. Making the Leap from CFO to CEO. Financial Executives Online. November 2001http://www.favaro.net/publications/cfo-to-ceo/CFOtoCEO.htm3. Durfee, Don. The Top Spot: Why more companies are tapping their finance chiefs for CEO. CFO Magazine. 1 October 2005http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/44444684. Corporate Finance. CFO to CEO1 April 2005http://www.cristassociates.com/press/CorpFin_CFOtoCEO_040105.pdf

Analysis of Optimal Conditional Heteroskedasticity Model

Analysis of Optimal Conditional Heteroskedasticity Model Abstract: Recently cryptocurrency markets have seen an immense growth. Bitcoin is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies accounting for the highest share of all cryptocurrency markets, even though it still remains rather unclear whether it resembles more to a currency, a commodity or an asset. Previous research has shown that Bitcoin is often used for investment purposes, a fact that suggests the importance of analysing its volatility. In this article, we examine the optimal conditional heteroskedasticity model, not only in terms of goodness-of-fit, but also in terms of forecasting performance, an area which has been underexplored in the case of Bitcoin. According to the results, the optimal conditional heteroskedasticity model that can fit the series is not the same as the one that can forecast it better. As modelling GARCH effects in Bitcoin market effectively is crucial for appropriate portfolio management, our results can help investors and other decision makers make more informed decisions. Keywords: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies, GARCH, Volatility, Forecasting JEL classification: C22, C5, G1 1. Introduction Over the last few years, the analysis of Bitcoin has drawn a lot of both public and academic attention. Bitcoin is the first implementation of a concept called â€Å"cryptocurrency†, which was first described in 1998 by Wei Dai on the cypherpunks mailing list, suggesting the idea of a new form of money that uses cryptography to control its creation and transactions, rather than a central authority, but the first Bitcoin specification was published in 2009 in a cryptography mailing list by Satoshi Nakamoto ( Bitcoin.org 2017 ). The market of cryptocurrencies has grown remarkably with Bitcoin being considered the most famous cryptocurrency, with an estimated market capitalisation of $ 19.6 billion (coinmarketcap.com accessed on 8th March 2017), which currently accounts for around 84.4% of the total estimated cryptocurrency cap italisation. An overview of Bitcoin can be found in, e.g., Becker et al. (2013), Dwyer (2015), Frisby (2014), Bà ¶hme et al. (2015) and Selgin (2015). Hence, Bitcoin is only briefly introduced here. It has been previously argued that Bitcoin shares some elements of currencies. However, recent fluctuations in Bitcoin prices (see Figure 1) have resulted in unpredictable volatility undermining the role Bitcoin plays as a unit of account (Cheah and Fry 2015), while users have adopted Bitcoin not only as a currency but also for investment purposes. In fact, new users tend to trade Bitcoin on a speculative investment intention basis and have low intention to rely on the underlying network as means for paying goods or services (Glaser et al. 2014). The Bitcoin market is thus highly speculative at present, and therefore Bitcoin may be mostly used as an asset rather than a currency (Baek and Elbeck 2015; Dyhrberg 2016a). Moreover, recent studies have examined the hedging capabilitie s of the Bitcoin (see, e.g., Dyhrberg (2016a, b), justifying the view of it as an asset, as well as the role of different exchanges in the price discovery process of Bitcoin (Brandvold et al. 2015), while it has also been previously shown that cryptocurrency markets share some stylised empirical facts with other markets, e.g., a vulnerability to speculative bubbles (Cheah and Fry 2015). Consequently, Bitcoin has a place in the financial markets and in portfolio management (Dyhrberg 2016a). Bitcoin has posed great challenges and opportunities for policy makers, economists, entrepreneurs, and consumers since its introduction (Dyhrberg 2016b), while Bitcoin price volatility seems to be a major concern for most of the general public at this time (Bouoiyour and Selmi 2016). As a result, studying Bitcoin price volatility is of high importance. Following the extensive literature on modelling financial asset prices using the family of Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskeda sticity (GARCH) models, recently there has also been an increased interest in modelling Bitcoin price volatility using similar methods. Previous studies have used different types of GARCH models when examining the Bitcoin price volatility.For example, the simple GARCH model has been employed by Glaser et al. (2014), Gronwald (2014) and Dyhrberg (2016a). On the other hand, other studies have considered extensions to the GARCH model in order to study asymmetries in Bitcoin price volatility. For instance, the Exponential GARCH (EGARCH) model has been used by Dyhrberg (2016a) and Bouoiyour and Selmi (2015, 2016), the Threshold GARCH (TGARCH) ( GJR-GARCH ) model has been employed by Dyhrberg (2016b), Bouoiyour and Selmi (2015, 2016) and Bouri et al. (2017), while the Asymmetric Power ARCH (APARCH) and Component with Multiple Threshold-GARCH (CMT-GARCH) models have been used by Bouoiyour and Selmi (2015, 2016). Nevertheless, it is rather unclear which conditional heteroskedasticity mo del should be used when studying the Bitcoin price volatility. Previous studies of the Bitcoin price volatility have focused mainly on the use of a single conditional heteroskedasticity model, without comparing different GARCH-type models , though , with the only exceptions being the studies of Bouoiyour and Selmi (2015, 2016), which have split [PK1] the sample into different sub-periods, though , and the study of Katsiampa (2017/forthcomng?), which has not considered the risk-return relationships, though [PK2] . In addition, little attention has been paid to forecasting the volatility of the Bitcoin prices. To the best of the author’s knowledge only the study of Bouoiyour and Selmi (2016) has examined the forecasting performance of the CMT-GARCH and APARCH models, but no study has compared the predictive ability of different GARCH models with regards to Bitcoin. Consequently, we aim to contribute to the literature by investigating which conditional heteroskedasticity mode l can describe and forecast the Bitcoin prices better. The remainder of the article is organised as follows: The next section presents the models employed in this study. The data and methodology used in the study are discussed in the third section, while the fourth section details our empirical results. Finally, the conclusions drawn and the implications are presented in section five. 2. Models In this section, the models used in this research are introduced. The models consist of an Autoregressive model for the conditional mean and a first-order GARCH-type or a GARCH-in-Mean-type model for the conditional variance [1] , as follows , , , where is the Bitcoin price return on day , is the error term, is a white noise process, is the conditional standard deviation, and hence is the conditional variance. When is equal to zero, the resulting model is the autoregressive model with a GARCH-type specification for the conditional variance, while when is different from zero a GARCH-in-Mean-type specification for the conditional variance is obtained. Adding the standard deviation to the mean equation measures the risk and helps with the identification and measurement of any risk-return relationship. The conventional GARCH(1,1) model is represented by , with , and . The GARCH model (Bollerslev 1986) is undoubtedly one of the most popular models for describing the conditional variance of financial returns. Nevertheless, since its introduction, there have been proposed many extensions of the GARCH model and there have been a lot of advances in modelling the conditional variance. Hence in this study, we also consider five extensions to the linear GARCH model, namely the EGARCH model of Nelson (1991), the TGARCH model introduced by Glosten et al. (1993), the APARCH model proposed by Ding et al. (1993), the Component GARCH (CGARCH) model of Engle and Lee (1999) and the Asymmetric CGARCH (ACGARCH) model. All these models constitute example s of extensions of the simple GARCH model and have attempted to describe the conditional variance more accurately. Moreover, compared with the simple GARCH model, the EGARCH, TGARCH and APARCH models allow for different volatility responses to opposite signs of the previous shocks. More specifically, the EGARCH model is defined as , and considers the asymmetric volatility responses to negative news, that is , and positive news, , as given by the sign of , if is different from zero. The TGARCH model is given by , where is the indicator function, with if and 0 otherwise, suggesting that positive shocks and negative shocks have again different effects on the volatility, if is different from 0. On the other hand, the APARCH model is defined as , where , , , and . This model imposes a Box-Cox power transformation of the conditional standard deviation process and the asymmetric absolute residuals (Ding et al. 1993). Furthermore, in contrast with the G ARCH model, the conditional variance of which shows mean reversion to , which is a constant for all time, the CGARCH model allows for both a long-run component of conditional variance, , which is time varying and slowly mean-reverting, and a short-run component, , and is defined as . Christoffersen et al. (2008) demonstrated that by including both a short-run and a long-run component allows the CGARCH model to outperform the GARCH model. Finally, the Asymmetric Component GARCH (ACGARCH) model combines the CGARCH model with the TGARCH model, introducing asymmetric effects in the transitory equation, and takes the following form , where is a dummy variable which indicates negative shocks, while positive values of suggest the presence of transitory leverage effects in the conditional variance. 3. Data and methodology The data consists of daily closing prices for the Bitcoin Coindesk Index from 19 th July 2010 to 10 th January 2017. The estimation sample cover s the period between 19 th July 2017 and 31 st December 2017 leading to a total number of 2357 observations, while the remaining ten observations are used in the forecasting sample. The Bitcoin CoinDesk Index is listed in USD and the data are publicly available online at http://www.coindesk.com/price. The data are converted to natural logarithms, and then the returns are defined as , where is the logarithmic Bitcoin price index change and is the daily Bitcoin price index on day . Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the Bitcoin prices and price returns, respectively, in the estimation period. We start the empirical analysis by producing descriptive statistics for the Bitcoin price returns, while the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) unit-root tests are also performed to examine the stationarity of the returns. As will be seen in the next section, the results show that the series is stationary. In order to choose the best model in terms of fitting to d ata, three information criteria, namely Akaike (AIC), Bayesian (BIC) and Hannan-Quinn (HQ), are employed. For given data sets, all of these information criteria consider both how good the fitting of the model is and how many parameters there are in the model, rewarding a better fitting and penalising an increased number of parameters. The preferred model is the one with the respective minimum criterion value. However, since model selection is often not only based on a model’s goodness-of-fit to data, but also on forecasting performance, it is important to also check the models’ predictive ability, as a better fitting model does not always lead to better forecasts. Hence, the best model specification in terms of forecasting is selected according to the Root Mean Squared Forecasting Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Forecasting Error (MAE) and Mean Absolute Percentage Forecasting Error (MAPE), all of which are used as measures of forecasting performance. Although the RMSE is one of the most commonly used measures of predictive ability, the additional measures have been used in order to verify the results. [2] The models’ forecasting performance is evaluated based on out-of-sample forecasts, and model selection is examined in terms of both multi-step-ahead and multiple 1-step-ahead forecasting. The preferred model is the one with the lowest values of the measures of predictive ability. Fig. 1 . Daily closing prices of the Coindesk Bitcoin Index (US Dollars). Fig. 2 . Daily Bitcoin price returns. 4. Results Table 1 reports the descriptive statistics for the daily returns of the Bitcoin price index. The daily average closing return is positive and equal to 0.5805% with a standard deviation of 0.0606. Moreover, the returns are positively skewed, indicating that it is more likely to observe large positive returns, and leptokurtic as a result of significant excess kurtosis. The Jarque-Bera (JB) test confirms the departure from normality, while the results of the ARCH(5) test for conditional heteroskedasticity show evidence of ARCH effects in the returns of the Bitcoin price index. Therefore the Autoregressive model for the conditional mean needs to be combined with an Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity process to model the conditional variance. It can be noticed that the ARCH effects can also be observed from Figure 2 where large (small) price changes tend to be followed by large (small) price changes over time. Furthermore, the results from both the Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron unit root tests indicate that stationarity is ensured. Table 1. Descriptive statistics and unit roots tests. Panel A: Descriptive statistics Observations 2357 Mean 0.005805 Median 0.000741 Maximum 0.528947 Minimum -0.388309 Std. Dev. 0.060607 Skewness 0.873024 Kurtosis 15.64823 JB 16010.55*** ARCH(5) 56.56059*** Panel B: Unit root test statistics ADF -46.90888*** PP -47.56848*** Note: *** indicates the rejection of the null hypotheses at the 1% level. Next, the estimation results of the GARCH-type models are discussed. The conditional mean equation includes a constant and an autoregressive term, while the conditional variance is modelled by various competing GARCH models. The model parameters are estimated by using the maximum likelihood approach under the Gaussian distribution. Table 2 presents the estimation results of each model. These include the model parameter estimates, the log-likelihood values and the three information criteria values. In addition, the ARCH(5) test to check whether the conditional heteroskedasticity is eliminated and the Ljung-Box test for autocorrelation with 10 lags applied to squared residuals, as well as the Jarque-Bera (JB) test of norm ality of the residuals have been used as diagnostic tests, the results of which are also reported in Table 2. According to the results, both the AIC and HQ information criteria select the AR(1)-ACGARCH(1,1) model as the preferred model in terms of fitting to data, followed by the AR(1)-CGARCH(1,1)-M and AR(1)-CGARCH(1,1) models, suggesting the important role of having both long-run and short-run components of conditional variance. The log-likelihood is also maximised under the AR(1)-ACGARCH(1,1) model. On the other hand, the preferred model according to the BIC is the AR(1)-CGARCH(1,1), followed by the AR(1)-ACGARCH(1,1) model. The latter result could be explained, though, by the fact that the BIC penalises more a higher number of model parameters, and hence the selection of the AR(1)-ACGARCH(1,1) model seems appropriate. It can also be noticed that for the AR(1)-ACGARCH(1,1) model all the parameter estimates are statistically significant. Moreover, the results of the ARCH(5) an d tests applied to the squared residuals of the AR(1)-ACGARCH(1,1) model indicate that the selected AR(1)-ACGARCH(1,1) model with Gaussian distribution is correctly specified because the hypotheses of no remaining ARCH effects and no autocorrelation cannot be rejected. Furthermore, despite the fact that the residuals still depart from normality, the value of the Jarque-Bera statistic associated with the residuals of the AR(1)-ACGARCH(1,1) model is much lower than the corresponding value for the raw returns. Consequently, the AR-ACGARCH model seems to be useful to describe the volatility of the returns of the Bitcoin price index. This result seems to be consistent with the study of Bouoiyour and Selmi (2016) [PK3] who found that the best model for the period from December 2010 to December 2014 is the CMT-GARCH model, which also includes both transitory and permanent components as well as thresholds related to positive and negative shocks. With regards to the out-of-sample for ecasting performance, the five- and ten-day-ahead forecasts as well as the five and ten 1-day-ahead forecasts of the twelve competing GARCH-type models were generated. We then compared the models’ forecasting performance based on the three mean loss functions (RMSE, MAE and MAPE). Table 3 reports the obtained results, while the bold numbers indicate the best model in terms of forecast accuracy. An interesting finding is that overall the information criteria for model selection in terms of goodness-of-fit do not agree with the measures of predictive ability. Even though the minimum RMSE values of the 10-step-ahead and ten 1-step-ahead forecasts were both given for the AR-CGARCH model, a result which is consistent with the Bayesian Information Criterion, the results of the other two measures of predictive ability (MAE and MAPE) showed that there are other models that perform better than the AR-ACGARCH and AR-CGARCH models when it comes to forecasting. More specifically, the minimum RMSE values of the 5-step-ahead and five 1-step-ahead forecasts were both given for the AR-EGARCH-M model. On the other hand, the lowest MAE and MAPE values of the 5- and 10-step-ahead forecasting as well as those of the five 1-step-ahead forecasting were all given for the AR-EGARCH model. The lowest MAE value of the ten 1-step-ahead forecasting was also given for the AR-EGARCH model, while the lowest MAPE value of the ten 1-step-ahead forecasting was given for the AR-APARCH-M model. In summary, according to our estimation results the AR-ACGARCH model is preferred to the other competing models in terms of volatility estimates for the returns. However, the preferred model in terms of forecasting is overall the AR-EGARCH. This result is crucial for portfolio management and decision making in general by individuals who use Bitcoin for speculative purposes. Finally, it should be noted that the model parameters were estimated under the Student- t and GED distributions as well, but as there was no improvement in either the goodness-of-fit or forecasting performance, the results are not reported here. [3] This is in contrast with the results of the study of Bouri et al. (2017) who found that the TGARCH(1,1) model under the GED density is the best fit. 5. Conclusions Over the last few years cryptocurrency markets have grown to a great extent, with Bitcoin having attracted a lot of attention from both the public and researchers. This article aimed to offer a discussion into Bitcoin price volatility by selecting an optimal GARCH-type model in terms of both goodness-of-fit to data and forecasting performance chosen among several extensions. It was found that even though the best model in terms of goodness-of-fit is the AR-ACGARCH, a result which is consistent with previous studies [PK4] , with regards to forecasting performance the best model seems to be overall the AR-EGARCH. Consequently, if the objective is to find the best model in terms of pr edictive ability, model selection based on information criteria only might not be adequate. As Bitcoin can combine some of the advantages of both commodities and currencies in the financial markets (Dyhrberg 2016a), it can be a useful tool for portfolio analysis and risk management. Hence, individuals in portfolio and risk management need to get a more detailed view of the Bitcoin price volatility. Our results may thus have important implications mainly for investors but also for other decision makers, such as policymakers, as they can enable them to make more informed decisions.