Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Smile Factory - 1210 Words

COMMENTS ON Van Maanen, J., â€Å"The Smile Factory: Work at Disneyland†, In P. Frost, et al (eds.) Reframing Organizational Culture, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1991, pp. 58-76. A) HOW DOES THIS PAPER RELATE TO OTHER MATERIAL YOU HAVE REFLECTED ON IN THIS MODULE? The ‘Smile Factory: Work at Disneyland’ case study emphasizes a strong correlation with the in-class topics presented throughout the Organisational Behaviour module. The paper is a description of the organisation’s code of conduct, business focus and core values and is primarily concerned with evaluating relevant socio-behavioural patterns embedded with the specific business culture. Disneyland can be described as a mechanistic organisation, where potential†¦show more content†¦There is a 20 year gap between when the primary research was performed and when the article was first published. The author’s analysis is largely drawn from his own experience of working in Disneyland in late 1960’s and from informal interviews with ride-operators who worked in Disneyland during his time. Although the article is quite informative, its immense popularity could stem from the fact that the author is an influential professor of management at MIT. The article has been widely cited and is considered a classic case study in the study of management. We question whether it is possible for the author to be objective given his past relationship with Disneyland, described in Note 3. Also, the general tone of the article appears to be negative because of his past experiences at Disneyland. We also noted that the work culture prevalent in the 60’s may not necessarily reflect the current work culture at Disneyland. Also, the personal experiences of few ride-operators may not necessarily reflect the experiences of 4000 strong workforce at Disneyland. WeShow MoreRelatedLaissez Faire Vs. State Intervention1467 Words   |  6 Pagescourse without any external help, as suggested from some of the most famous economists of the era, as Adam Smith, his followers Thomas Robert Malthus and David Ricardo, or Samuel Smiles. These economists believed in a ‘hands-off approach’ of self-help, as it can be seen from their written works. For example, Samuel Smiles (1859) wrote: â€Å"Even the best institutions can give a man no active help. Perhaps, most they can do is, to leave him free to develop himself and improve his individual condition.†Read MoreCharlie Chaplin s Modern Times900 Words   |  4 Pagessilent movie, called â€Å"Modern Times†. The title of the movie itself gives a hint about the changes that human kind would be facing in the future. While watching the movie, the audience is inundated with the ideas of dehumanization of humans in the factories, the ‘Fordism’ ideology, the struggle to earn bread, and many more. Instead of conveying this powerful social message in harsh and serious tone, Charlie Chaplin has blended right amount of humor to the social drama. Just because of its satiricalRead MoreSocial And Economic Impacts Of Industrial Revolution8 93 Words   |  4 PagesRevolution was changing society for the better. â€Å"The Philosophy of Manufacture† by Andrew Ure aimed to show the improvements that the Industrial Revolution brought about. Ure restated throughout the excerpt of the book that, â€Å"The principle of the factory system then is, to substitute mechanical science for hand skill.†1 Ure wanted to get rid of workers hand crafting goods and put them to better use of overseeing machines that could do the work quicker and for cheaper. Skilled workers would take longerRead MoreSocial Inequalities During The Industrial Revolution854 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Compare the documents written by Elizabeth Bentley (Factory Work, testimony), Samuel Smiles (Thrift) as well as Karl Marx and Frederick Engels (The Communist Manifesto). To what extent do these documents address social inequalities during the industrial revolution? 768/1,500 (+785) Introduction 174/150 (-24) The advent of the Industrial Revolution in Britain created a duality of Nouveau Rich Bourgeoisie and Critically Poverty Stricken Proletariat. This was created through the move of productionRead MoreThe Industrial Revolution During The Nineteenth Century913 Words   |  4 Pagesimprovements throughout the industrial society. At the beginning the main goal of the manufacturing process was to acquire raw goods. Such products were provided by farms which specifically grew items necessary for this process. The increase of factory demand required a greater amount of raw materials, causing an increase in large farming. Small family farms, which had previously produced a variety of goods, began to vanish due to the strong emergence of large specialty farms. A letter writtenRead MoreThe Effects Of Sweatshop Conditions On The Workplace1635 Words   |  7 PagesIn 2006, the Mail on Sunday alleged that sweatshop conditions existed in factories in China, where the contract manufacturer Foxconn, operate the factories that produce the iPod. The article stated that one iPod factory, as an example, employed over 200,000 workers who lived and worked in the factory, and regularly performed more than 60 hours of labor per week. The article also reported that workers made around US$100 per month and were required to li ve on the premises and pay for rent and foodRead MoreImpact Of The Industrial Revolution On Women s Roles1756 Words   |  8 Pagesbeing an abrupt change. It is the collective term for the transition from the cottage system to the factory system. Jobs often moved from domestic or craft positions to manufacturing positions in order to efficiently produce . Class Differences Factory owners were small businessmen in tough competition, often in debt and trying to save money. Wages were low due to the large amount of employees factories needed to employ in order to keep up with production . Workers were often beaten. One such workerRead More The Philosophy of Simone Weil Essays3373 Words   |  14 Pagescomplexity of her work, I will be using her words exactly, as often as possible. Simone Weil was a trained philosopher and a teacher of philosophy. She was a political theorist and activist, a revolutionary, a laborer in the French fields and factories and toward the end of he life, she was a mystic. She believed in the transcendent powers of God. Much of her writing dealt with the ways in which God touches our lives, and the ways we can find or open ourselves to him. In her works, she spentRead MoreNo Logo-No Job Summary3044 Words   |  13 PagesBut all of this is leading to a breakdown in the relationship between organizations and their work force, with employees no longer experiencing a sense of identification with their work or the organization they work for. Chapter Nine: The discarded factory Nowadays the product is not anymore the brand. The brand has a deep inner meaning. The brand is the image it stands for lifestyle. The companies spend a lot of money for their brand, therefore the product looses on importance. The companies have toRead MoreHollywood998 Words   |  4 PagesEssay  «A Hollywood smile: so many teeth and so little heart ». What does this aphorism mean? Is it about a Hollywood smile? I dont think so. To my opiniom, it is a metaphor.  «Hollywood smile » is a well-known expression which means an ideal, well worked-out smile of Hollywood actors and actresses, the incarnation of Beauty. But the author looked at this phrase in a wider way, I can suppose he meant under the smile the whole cinema world, existing in Hollywood. Is it a world of Beauty? Is this life

Monday, May 18, 2020

Media As A Second Estate Of Indian Democracy Regarded A...

DOES MEDIA AS A FOURTH ESTATE OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY REGARDED A POWERFUL AND RELIABLE TOOL? For, Argumentative essay Abstract India is a democratic country with media playing an essential role in spreading information through media channels. People in the country are completely dependent on media either through news press medium or through online news. This is the reason why media as a fourth estate in India is a powerful medium but definitely does not provide validity of information because news is now prepared simply to enhance viewership. Introduction Democracy can be explained as a government where discussions are made through debate in opposition to the arbitrary dictators. In order to debate, individuals require right to speech and knowledge. Media is the medium by which right to speech and knowledge can be provided and this medium has been used since the past several centuries (Sen 1999). Due to its century old historical perspective, media or press has gained a special status in the society and are known as fourth estate of the realm of democracy. India as evident is a democratic country which uses the ideological state method and a subtle manipulation incorporated in media to make the society understand the events taking place across the globe (Sussman 2001). This argumentative essay has been developed to present arguments stating that media in Indian democracy is a fourth estate. Indian Media as a Fourth Estate The following graph providesShow MoreRelatedOrganisation Study at Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Ltd11436 Words   |  46 Pagesfor a period of 30 days spent in the organization * Data was collected directly from executives by direct observation, and face to face interaction with the company guide, who is an HR executive 2. SECONDARY DATA The secondary data is a second hand data collected from books and other sources and this includes: * Journals and magazines * Existing records in the company * Annual reports * Published documents * Website of Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Ltd LIMITATIONSRead MoreMarketing Management130471 Words   |  522 Pagesrelations Understanding individual consumer behaviour Understanding industrial consumer behaviour Customer satisfaction Customer relationship management Marketing of services Rural marketing Types of marketing research Process of marketing research Tools and Techniques of marketing research Applications of marketing research Preparation of marketing research report Online marketing E-commerce Trends in marketing Page No. Marketing management – an introduction Unit structure: 1. Introduction Read MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesfollowed the Great War, the victorious European powers appeared to have restored, even expanded, their global political and economic preeminence only to see it eclipsed by the emergence of the Soviet and U.S. superpowers on their periphery and a second round of even more devastating global conflict. The bifurcated international system that resulted from the cold war standoff extended the retreat of globalization, but nurtured the liberation of most of humanity from colonial rule. The collapseRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pagesderail Anglo–French rail link. Ryanair – competitive challenge and strategic choice in the budget airline industry. IKEA – quality and low prices at the Swedish furniture giant News Corporation – corporate logic and corporate management in a worldwide media business. CRH – impressive international growth of an Irish company driven from a ‘lean’ corporate centre. Numico – difficulties with diversification for a Dutch nutritional products company. AIB – competing in the global banking industry: the challengesRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pages. Organization Theory Challenges and Perspectives John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson . This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of workRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 PagesValue−Based Management Framework: An Overview 2. Why Value Value? 4. The Value Manager Harvard Business Review Finance Articles Eclipse of the Public Corporation 308 308 323 323 330 330 Article How I Learned to Live with Wall Street Article Second Thoughts on Going Public Article Reed−Lajoux †¢ The Art of M A: Merger/Acquisitions/Buyout Guide, Third Edition 10. Postmerger Integration 336 336 Text Hodgetts−Luthans−Doh †¢ International Management, Sixth Edition II. The Role of Culture Read MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesyears, with a particular focus on the ways in which the past shapes current and future possibilities in all three. His current work with Richard Macve is a study of the genesis and growth of modern management and accounting as contemporary forms of powerful knowledge. He is also researching, on behalf of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, current patterns of education and training in the accountancy profession. Liisa Kurunmaki, Ph.D., is a CIMA Lecturer of Accounting at theRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 PagesWILEY SONS, INC. VICE PRESIDENT PUBLISHER EXECUTIVE EDITOR ASSISTANT EDITOR PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE MARKETING MANAGER ASSISTANT MARKETING MANAGER MARKETING ASSISTANT DESIGN DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNER SENIOR MEDIA EDITOR George Hoffman Lise Johnson Carissa Doshi Dorothy Sinclair Matt Winslow Amy Scholz Carly DeCandia Alana Filipovich Jeof Vita Arthur Medina Allison Morris This book was set in 10/12 New Caledonia by Aptara ®, Inc. and printed andRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesInterior Design: Suzanne Duda and Michael Fruhbeis Permissions Project Manager: Shannon Barbe Manager, Cover Visual Research Permissions: Karen Sanatar Manager Central Design: Jayne Conte Cover Art: Getty Images, Inc. Cover Design: Suzanne Duda Lead Media Project Manager: Denise Vaughn Full-Service Project Management: Sharon Anderson/BookMasters, Inc. Composition: Integra Software Services Printer/Binder: Edwards Brothers Cover Printer: Coral Graphics Text Font: 10/12 Weidemann-Book Credits and acknowledgmentsRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 Pagesscope 5.3 Creating a WBS 5.4 Tools and techniques 6.1 Define activities 9.1.2. Responsibility matrixes 10.1 Communication planning (.2.3.4) [App. G-4] Chapter 12 Outsourcing 12.1.1 Procurement requirements [G.8] 12.1.2.3 Contract types 9.4.2.3 Conflict management 12.2.7 The art of negotiating 12.2.3.5 Change requests Chapter 13 Monitoring Progress Chapter 5 Estimating Times and Costs 6.4 Activity duration estimates (.3) 6.4.2 Estimating tools (.1.3.4) 6.3.1 Identifying resources

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Plato s Declaration Of Beauty - 1106 Words

Plato describes beauty in the Phaedo as being â€Å"radiant among other objects† , while the other virtues remain murky in relation to it. Plato’s declaration of beauty’s radiance indicates that it is significant. Beauty is observed most clearly by use of vision, which â€Å"is the sharpest of our bodily senses† . Plato explains that â€Å"beauty alone has this privilege, to be the most clearly visible and the most loved† . Because of the way in which beauty stands out among the other virtues, Plato confirms that beauty is dominant over the other virtues. In the Symposium, Diatoma explains how beauty is the highest good and â€Å"is in harmony with the divine† . Her definition indicates that there is a relationship between material beauty and divine Beauty. Beauty is intended to lead to Love, which Diatoma defines as wanting to possess beautiful things forever . Once a man possesses beautiful things, he achieves love and is happy. A man comes to possess beautiful things through the process of reproduction. In reproduction, lovers attempt to preserve their beauty by transmitting their beauty to offspring. The lovers are successful if they give birth to beauty, â€Å"whether in body or soul† . Reproduction immortalizes the parents’ beauty, since the offspring possess the parents’ beauty after they die. According to Diatoma’s definition of Love, the parents who reproduce beauty achieve Love. In the life of a philosopher, beauty is essential. The goal of philosophy is to achieve aShow MoreRelatedThe Slave By Frederick Douglass972 Words   |  4 PagesConcepts, techniques, and ways of thinking can last much longer than their creators. The philosophy of Plato is an example of that. Its ideas can be found in a speech written thousands of years later. In â€Å"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?† Frederick Douglass, a former slave, addresses an audience of white abolitionists on July 5th of 1852. He focuses on the disparity between the American values celebrated on the Independence Day and the issue of slavery. To do so, Douglass raises the questionRead MoreThe Ancient Greek Civilization1781 Words   |  8 PagesKyle Wolfe HUM 102 Athens, during the height of the Ancient Greek civilization, is often considered the birthplace of Western Philosophy. During this time period, one of the most famous Greek philosophers, Plato, engaged in debates with other philosophers about the nature of morality. His debates with the Sophists became heated on the matter of relativism and will be the focus of this paper. Relativism promotes the idea that each society or individual determines what is moral or â€Å"right† for thatRead MorePlato s Theory Of Love1812 Words   |  8 Pages Plato s Symposium is written in such a manner that each speech accounted has at least one insight into the nature of love or Eros that is latter expanded, contradicted or confirmed by the speech given by Socrates using Diotima s wisdom. Plato was very wise in his teaching on love, progressing from the simple to the much more complex, climaxing with the with the recounted exchange of Socrates and Diotima and then finalizing the instruction wi th a comical, but well-placed praise of the paragonRead MoreMarriage: A Right For All Essay2378 Words   |  10 PagesAn excerpt from the Declaration of Independence states, â€Å"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of natures God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evidentRead MoreEssay on Disney’s Capitalization on American Roots1658 Words   |  7 Pagesyour heart desires will come to you† has deeper connotations to Americas history where people came from around the world to have a chance at success. Americans have lived by the phrase â€Å"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness† since the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776. Happiness is of course something as human beings we strive for in our everyday lives. No wonder the biggest conglomerate in the world capitalized on this incredibly vulnerable need. Disney’s marketing schemeRead MoreCleanth Brookss Essay Irony as a Principle of Structure9125 Words   |  37 Pagescentury, a passage of writing or composition employing an ars poetica style is one that tries to capture the essence, the intrinsic value, of what it is expressing through. A song about a song, for example, would be an attempt to manifest the fleeting beauty of lyrics, notes, and dynamics. | | | | | | | | | | | |      Ã‚  - Introduction   Ã‚  - Ancient Greece   Ã‚  - Ancient Rome   Ã‚  - Other Ancient Civilizations   Ã‚  - Timeline   Ã‚  - Alphabetical List of Authors   Ã‚  - Index of Individual Works   Ã‚  - IndexRead MoreIndian English Novel17483 Words   |  70 Pagescontemporary touch with the coming of Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao and R.K.Narayan. The social disparity of India which was aptly described by Mulk Raj Anand in his Coolie, the imaginary village life with its entire unedited realities in R.K. Narayan`s Malgudi Days and last but not the least the aura of Gandhism depicted by Raja Rao in his remarkable novel Kanthapura portrayed a whole new India. The need of the `foreigners` depicting India amidst their write ups was not needed as Indians wantedRead Moreethical decision making16006 Words   |  65 Pagesof this practice and how does it reflect government accountability for safeguarding the health of all its citizens? â€Å"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.† Gandhi —Mahatma â€Å"Be kind, for everyone you meet is ï ¬ ghting a hard battle.† —Plato Beauchamp and Childress (1994) have identiï ¬ ed four concepts they believe to be essential to a theory of modern bioethics: autonomy (respect for persons), nonmaleï ¬ cence (refraining from harm), benevolence (doing good), and justice (fair distributionRead MorePrinciples of Microeconomics Fifth Canadian Edition20085 Words   |  81 Pagesbalancing efficiency and equity. Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. PARTRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesbuilt-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Kim S. Cameron UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore

Challenges Faced by First Year University Students

University life can be a great experience. It can be fun and educational and, on the other hand, full of hardships. First-year students at university face a lot of challenges. These challenges can be divided into groups of which three are making adjustments, security and being lost. First-year students have to make a lot of adjustments. Students face difficulty in adjusting to a completely new lifestyle. University life is totally different from living at home and going to high school. For example, many students are living alone and adjusting to being alone is difficult. Furthermore, students get a lot of freedom since they are renting or living alone. They have to adjust otherwise they will find themselves moving adrift from their†¦show more content†¦Many students live away from their homes and parents and therefore, lack social security. Many students are renting with other students and since they are first-year students, they find it hard since they are not used to this form of lifestyle. Moreover, without any parent or any other r elder to guide them, first-years drift away from their path into doing wrong things. Other students who live in hostels have some level of control instilled by the hostel but it is not equal to the guidance which a paren t could provide. Thus, living away from parents is a major hindrance and challenge for first-year students. Financial security is another challenge for first-year students. Money is most vital when pursuing higher education and lack of it can cause the collapse of one’s future. Money is needed to buy textbooks and pay fees, which is very costly. First-year students at university tend to spend a lot of money when they first come to university since they do not understand the importance of money and they are not able to control their expenditure. Situations are improved when the student has been awarded a scholarship, since they might not have any source of income. Therefore, finance is another problem faced by first-year students. Being in a new environment, first-year students find themselves lost for a couple of days. Students face difficulty in finding their required rooms. Universities have a lot of lecture theatres andShow MoreRelatedChallenges Faced by First Year Student s923 Words   |  4 Pages This essay will examine the challenges and hardships that first year student’s encounter at university. The problems that will be discussed in this essay is in terms of economic, cultural and social issues. Each issue will present two main ideas with an example. In addition it will further elaborate on these issues that first year students face and the reasons why this has become an obstacle for them. This disquisition will conclude that these challenges should be taken into seriousRead MoreChallenges Do First Year Students Face at University998 Words   |  4 Pagesin every mode. In university there are different field of studies with different years of each program. It is obvious that new students are going to face further challenges in university. In this case, these challenges could be the burden which can pull them out of the school without completing their studies. This essay will discuss these challenges in condition of financial, social, and academic. To begin with, financial problems are a major challenge for university students includes tuition feeRead MoreChallenges Do First Year Students Face at University982 Words   |  4 Pagesestablished in every mode. In university there are different field of studies with different years of each program. It is obvious that new students are going to face further challenges in university. In this case, these challenges could be the burden which can pull them out of the school without completing their studies. This essay will discuss these challenges in condition of financial, social, and academic. To begin with, financial problems are a major challenge for university students includes tuition feeRead MoreChallenges Faced By Students Studying At University951 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction This essay will mainly discuss and analyse the challenges faced by students studying at university for the first time based on Unit 2 in the course book, Academic Culture written by Clare Nukui. The transition between secondary and higher education can be a time of upheaval (Nukui, 2007). Unit 2 supports different types of problems that are associated with the transition from secondary to tertiary education. To be able to familiarize with academic culture, it is necessary to learn aboutRead MoreThe Challenges Facing International Students in Higher Education1294 Words   |  6 Pagesof the challenges facing international students in higher education and suggest some possible solutions. Tutor Name: Kinga Maior Student ID Number: 2060494 Date of Submission: Thursday 2nd May 2013 Word Count: 1,004 The number of international students studying in the UK has soared over the past decade due to globalization. Paige (1990) defined International students as those individuals who temporarily lived in the foreign countries and received the education as exchanged students. The mainRead MoreIncreasing Diversity in University Campuses1140 Words   |  5 PagesMany universities in the United States are looking to increase the diversity on their campuses and increasing the international student population is an attractive way of doing so. These students add a layer of diversity to the residence halls, campus atmosphere, and classrooms. The mix of international students in classrooms can have a positive, and sometimes negative, impact on the student classroom experience. These students entering American classrooms can face challenges in their critical thinkingRead MoreChallenges Faced By The United States1393 Words   |  6 PagesIn life you are bound to face constant challenges, whether you want to be or not. What is important is how you handle yourself in the face of those challenges. Should you shy away and let the challenges beat you or should you face them, thoroughly accomplish them, and become a greater person due to the trial that you endured? These are the experiences in life that mean the most. People in my life challenged me and presented opportunities since they knew I could handle it and that it would help toRead MoreA Discussion About Future Financial Decisions1293 Words   |  6 Pagesfinancial fiasco as a college student. In the time we live in, the costs of attending college have continued a harsh incline, leading to a major amount of student debt. Not to mention, students have to deal with their own finances for the first time in their life. Unfortunately, many students exit university with a mass amount of debt, as a harsh welcome to the real world. Colleges have begun to lend financial help through seminars and classes to help prepare students a nd perhaps avoid stupendousRead MoreIntroduction. Historically Black Colleges And Universities1300 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are experiencing low retention rates with first generation college students. The students are not graduating within a four to six year enrollment period, and or are not returning after their freshmen year. As the American workforce looks to colleges and universities to fulfill the workforce pipeline with educated diverse workers, HBCUs are in the spotlight to produce qualified minority graduates. Moreover, HBCU’s are looking to refineRead MoreThe Diversity On The Campus904 Words   |  4 Pagesknow, that we have to catch up on a lot of issues that I have learned. Like you already may know I am taking Contemporary Issues. It is a class designed to show the students the multicultural perspective of the diversity on the campus. You will be so surprised to everything that I have learned, the facts are really interesting on University of California San Diego (UCSD). I have come to learn the school is not what we expected it to be. I have done multiple reading, one in particular caught my attention

Key Sources of Financial Fragility-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp

Questions: 1.Describe three key sources of Financial fragility that led to the Financial Crisis 2.Discuss about the Central Banks response to the Crisis. 3.What is the relationship between financial development, growth and volatility? Answers: 1.The beginning of the US financial crisis can be traced back to 2008 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Investment Bank. This was then followed by the 2009 EU Debt crisis which affected many European countries and finally the global economic downturn. In this essay, I describe the three main sources of the financial fragility that led to the above sequence of events. Securitization According to Diamond and Raghuran (2009), one of the reasons for the financial crisis can be blamed on securitization of assets. Following an increase in demand for housing and low interest rates, many banks began investing in mortgage based securities. A mortgage based security is a type of derivative whose price is based on the value of its mortgages used as collateral. The banks would then sell these securities to investors like hedge funds, pension funds, commercial banks and other institutions. In the process, they were also transferring their credit risk to these investors. As a result, these securities were deemed more profitable to banks and they opened up a new source of funding from traditional ways. As profits grew, demands of the bank and investors to invest in these securities also grew. As a result, banks began lending loans to anyone including subprime borrowers who had a higher risk of default. When the property bubble began to burst and mortgage prices started to fall, the price of the mortgage based securities became volatile and decreased in value. By then, most banks had these securities listed on their balance sheets. The drop in value made these securities worthless and banks were faced with liquidity problems as they were unable to borrow against them. Some went to the extent of becoming insolvent. To prevent the entire system from collapsing, big financial institutions had to be bailed out by the Feds and other governments. Short Term Debt The second reason provided by Diamond and Raghuran (2009) for the financial fragility was the heavy reliance by financial institutions on short term debt capital structures. In good times and periods of low interest rates, short term debt is favored by most institutions as it is cheaper than long term debt. However, as pointed above, a lot of these banks were holding mortgage based securities which were dependant on the value of real estate. Consequently, there was a maturity mismatch as the assets backing the short term debt were long term in nature. Furthermore, during the economic downturn, it was impossible to liquidate property and real estate in the short term. Thus banks were again faced with the risk of illiquidity and potential insolvency. Regulatory Failure and Deregulation The third reason for financial fragility is regulatory failures. There were many regulatory failures that led to the current crisis. For example, there was no strict regulation that existed on the transactions between the banks and other investors when selling the mortgage based securities that proved fragile under stress. These resulted in numerous layered transactions and almost every institution ended up holding these securities, either directly or indirectly, on their balance sheets. In addition, the numerous layers involved in the selling of these securities complicated the supervision process by the regulators. According to Kroszner and Melick (2009), the tools and approaches used for financial regulation prior to the crisis had not evolved along with the changes and sophistication of the financial system. As a result, they proved inadequate. Additionally, other regulatory failures included a decline in credit risk underwriting procedures. Traditionally, the process of offering loans was stricter but with the securitization, it became more relaxed. Furthermore, there was poor oversight by rating agencies on the lending process. In summary, we have observed that the emergence of sophisticated financial instruments coupled with short term debt structures were the key sources of the financial fragility that led to the crisis. This is evident from the way many US banks were moving away from traditional roles of just lending and investing in derivatives like mortgage based securities which they perceived to be more profitable with less strict underwriting procedures. The financial crisis also revealed weaknesses in the original supervisory structures of banks which proved to be inadequate and out of date. Consequently, it generated a need to strengthen the existing framework by tackling existing problems while identifying and preventing possible future threats to the system. 2.The central banks role is to maintain prices and stabilize inflation. According to Bernanke (2009) speech, the central bank (fed) did the following in response to the crisis. Ease monetary policy by cutting down the discount rate- In an effort to improve the economy and reduce inflation, the discount rate was brought down to its lowest rate of 1% over seven months. Provide short-term liquidity to financial institutions that are sound- This allowed institutions to borrow from the bank against the less liquid collateral. By providing liquidity they were reducing systematic risk. Directly provide liquidity to market players in specific credit markets. The aim of providing liquidity was to reduce concerns of rollover risk in cases where a borrower couldnt repay maturing commercial paper. Increase banks portfolio investment in long-term securities- The aim of this is to improve conditions in the mortgage markets by placing a downward pressure on the long term interest rate. 3.Theoretically, financial development should support economic growth as it allows for proper allocation of capital and resources. However, in reality, this may not always be the case as evidenced by the 2008 financial crisis. We observed that financial development came at a cost in terms of volatility. The new sophisticated instruments and multiple layers of transactions made the system vulnerable and fragile to shocks consequently leading to a downward spiral of the economy (Kroszner, 2012). On the other hand it can also be argued that financial development may reduce volatility through risk sharing and diversification. However, this effect may probably be more visible in less developed markets than mature markets like in the west. References Kroszner, R. (2012). Stability, Growth, and Regulatory Reform. Paris: Banque de France. Diamond, D., Raghuran, R. (2009). The Credit Crisis: Conjectures about Causes and Remedies. Cambridge: National Burea of Economics Research. Kroszner, R., Melick, W. (2009). The Response of the Federal Reserve to the Recent Banking and Financial Crisis. Rome: Brugel Institute and the Peterson Institute of International Economics. ernanke, B. (2009, January 13). The Crisis and Policy Response. Retrieved August 5, 2017, from www.federalreserve.gov/newsevent/speech/bernanke20120413a.htm Kroszner, R., Melick, W. (2009). The Response of the Federal Reserve to the Recent Banking and Financial Crisis. Rome: Brugel Institute and the Peterson Institute of International Economic.

Derivatives and Risk Management

Questions: 1. To propose specific hedging strategies which require you to describe the following: i. the exposures to be hedged, ii. what percentage proportion of the exposure is to be hedged, iii. which derivative(s) are to be used to hedge each exposure, iv. the number of derivative contracts for each hedge, v. the delivery months (or duration of swaps) for each derivative, and vi. the prices at the time of making the recommendation - futures prices, option strike prices (including an explanation of the choice of strike price(s)] and theinterest rate for currency swaps (you will need to research this- use actual data). 2. Is the company adequately hedged? Why or why not? What are your recommendations? Answers: Introduction: (1). In the present report, we have selected a company named, Sonic Health Care Limited for the presenting recommendations about different hedging strategies using different transaction exposures. Actual data of financial year 2015 has been used for the said purpose assuming the hedging horizon of mid- December and for future and options, expiry date of December has been considered (sonichealthcare.com). In current market scenario, there are transaction, translation and economic or operating exposure, which are required to be hedged. Transaction and translation exposure falls under accounting exposure. i. Exposures that are required to be hedged, considering the selected company Pacific Energy Limited can be done through the following instruments: Forward contract Derivatives Money Market Hedge Currency invoicing and risk sharing Exposure netting. Forward contract is an arrangement by which two parties, buyer and seller agrees to enter in a contract on the spot date of the event to make payment in future at an agreed currency rate which takes place over the counter (Chance and Brooks, 2015). Derivatives comprise of Futures and Options which derives their value from underlying share price. Unlike forward contract, derivates are traded on exchange with mark to market feature in case of futures whereas, in case of options buyer has the right and not obligation to buy or sell the securities before a future fixed date in form of call or put option (Cuong and Toan, 2016). Money market, currency invoicing is a market where currencies are bought and sold at the rates regulated by Reserve Bank for the purpose of hedging (Devalkar, Anupindi and Sinha, 2016). Exposure netting means the set off between receivables and payables, which eliminates the risk as well as cost of the hedging process (Feng, 2015). From the data and explanations provided in the annual report 2015 (sonichealthcare.com), Sonic Healthcare Limited seemed to use currency and derivatives exposures to hedge itself. In the year 2015 Sonic Healthcare hedged itself for around 164,000 $ from forward contract. ii. Traditionally, there were two extremes to hedge the exposures, fully hedge i.e. 100% and no hedge (0 %). However, this strategy of hedging is not advisable as both the extremes involve either huge cost or huge risk. Therefore, to present an optimum proportion of exposure to be hedged was derived by Fisher Black formula which is used universally. The formula has been derived using the three inputs i.e. expected return on market portfolio and volatility of portfolio and market exchange rate (Tessema, 2016). It has also noted that there is another approach for optimum proportion of exposure to be hedged which is 50 % approach, known as minimizing, maximizing regret. This method is advised for short time periods and when the market rates maintain consistency with Purchasing power parity (PPP). iii. As mentioned in the above points, derivatives that should be beneficial to use are forward contract, futures, money market and netting of exposure (Wing and Jin, 2015). These derivates have been suggested with regard to market risk elimination, low cost in the course of hedging and parity in purchasing power for both payer and receiver. iv. Sonic Healthcare limited has received on exercising options, net cash amounted to $13M and number of options granted to its Directors in the month of September 2015, 2,465,418 options to one director and 1,181,485 options to another director. Further, the number of options granted in the current financial year is represented with the help of the following figure.Figure 2: Table showing number of options granted Figure 3: Table showing option plan v. The duration of swap of derivatives is the difference between the duration of fixed- rate bond and floating- rate bond, which is derived by dividing the present value of cash flows by the price of, bonds (Tessema, 2016). vi. Future price for the year 2015 of Sonic Healthcare Limited (sonichealthcare.com) as per Australian stock exchange was 50.180 $ with ASX code- AAA while that of US contracts 394.6 $. Options strike prices of both the US and Australia stock exchange revolves in the same direction i.e. $ 52.19 to 301.6 $ in the month of December horizon. This strike price has been selected to express the market volatility in the both the stock exchanges while interest swap rate is around 4%- 5%. Hence, it is advisable that to hedge the cash flows, company can use option spread by buying an option in Australia Stock Exchange at strike price $52.19 while going short in US stock exchange. (2). In considerations with the available data and prices, Sonic Healthcare Limited is partially hedged in the financial 2015 as well as in the year 2014. This was analyzed from its annual report wherein effective income from cash flow hedging stands to around $ 164,000 in 2015 and $ 1,550 in the year 2014. Though it seemed to be a sound hedge exposure (Wing and Jin, 2015), it is being recommended that the entity should maintain the strategy in future years including more transaction exposures in money market. Conclusion: The present report has been dealt with the various types of hedging strategies in the market portfolio and the exposure used by Sonic Healthcare Limited considering the factual data available from various sources. It has been recommended further that the enterprise is adequately hedged along with evidences and reasons thereof. Reference List: Chance, D. and Brooks, R., 2015.Introduction to derivatives and risk management. Cengage Learning. Cuong, D.X. and Toan, N.Q., 2016. Derivatives as the Price Fluctuation Risk Management for Vietnamese Coffee Exporters.Research in World Economy,7(1), p.p59. Devalkar, S.K., Anupindi, R. and Sinha, A., 2016. Dynamic risk management of commodity operations: Model and analysis.Indian School of Business Research Paper Series. Feng, Q., 2015, June. The use of derivatives, corporate risk management and firm financial performance: Evidence from non-financial listed companies in Zhejiang province, China. InEducation Management and Management Science: Proceedings of the International Conference on Education Management and Management Science (ICEMMS 2014), August 7-8, 2014, Tianjin, China(Vol. 7, p. 55). CRC Press. Tessema, A.M., 2016. Accounting for derivatives and risk management activities: The impact of product market competition.International Journal of Accounting and Information Management,24(1), pp.82-96. Wing, L.C. and Jin, Z., 2015. Risk management methods applied to renewable and sustainable energy: a review.Journal of Electrical and Electr