Letter to Simon (Class Discussion)

Dear Simon, I would personally like to welcome you to our country. To begin with, the basic primary functions of an operating system (OS) is managing resources such as coordinating the hard drive, internal memory, processor, etc. to make your computer run more smoothly. The operating system also acts as a User Interface with the application Microsoft Office, with the trial version already installed onto your computer. Finally, running applications meaning running all the application software such as Microsoft Word in Microsoft Office which we are going to discuss. The main three features of Microsoft Office that I am going to discuss with you are spelling and grammar check feature, the status bar feature, and the Word Help feature. These features will be most helpful I believe with your experience as a student and a worker. The first we will discuss will be the spelling and grammar check feature. You will be able to use this feature to correct misspelled words and incorrect grammar in your document. This is most helpful when typing an essay for school and creating a document for the office such as a business proposal. As you type, Word automatically checks your typing for spelling and grammar errors. When you misspell a word or use incorrect grammar, a red (for the misspelling) and a green (for incorrect grammar) wavy underline will appear underneath the errors. You can go to the incorrect grammar or misspelled word and right click on the word to see the suggestions that Word will give you to put in place of the incorrect word and/or grammar. The next feature we will discuss is the status bar. It is located at the bottom of the current document window that you are creating just above the Windows task bar. It presents information about the document such as the progress of current tasks. It also displays how many pages in the document and on which page you are currently on. It also displays how many words you have typed which will be very helpful in the case that you may have to write a report with let us say 500 words in it. It also displays your spelling and grammar check icon to let you know if you have any errors. A blue check displayed on the icon means you do not currently have any errors, while a ed ‘x’ mark means you have an error somewhere in your document, whether it be incorrect grammar or a misspelled word. Also, another feature of Microsoft Word, that I will include for you, that you may find useful is the templates. A template is a starting point that is pre-set, all that is needed done by the operator, which is you, is to fill in the blanks or replace pre-written supplements. Examples of templates include business letters, resumes, academic letters, personal letters, statements, etc. You can view your templates by clicking on the Office Button, then select New, and click on installed templates. The last feature we will discuss is the Word Help feature. It is very useful especially when you are new to Microsoft Word. Any time you are in the process of using Word, it does not matter if you are in the middle of a paragraph, page, or sentence, you can access Word Help to find answers to any of your questions. It responds with a list of search results with different links from many sources that you can click on to display your desired answer. It will minimize your time learning how to use Word and will reduce your frustrations. You can access it by clicking the Microsoft Office Word Help button near the upper right corner of your Word window displayed as a blue circle with a white question mark in the middle. A specific software application that I have found useful on my computer is Microsoft Office Excel. I have found it useful because I can keep track of my financial records, I can make a spreadsheet of how much money I currently have, how much I have spent, what I have spent that money for, and how much money I have remaining. I have also actually made a â€Å"potty chart† for my three-year-old daughter that every time she uses her ‘potty’ on any given day, she receives a sticker on that chart. I have also made chore charts for my household because I have a couple of friends staying with me until they get on their feet. We rotate the chores every week. Finally, the features of my current course website, E-College, that will help me to achieve success in my academic pursuits are: the main Course Home page where I can keep track of new announcements that my professor has posted; he Grade Book tab where I can check to see what my current grade is and the grades I have made on different assignments; and the email tab that lets me keep in touch with my instructor of any personal matters or any questions I may have that I do not want to be shared publicly. I can also keep in touch with my fellow classmates concerning any assignments that I may not understand and I will be able to ask them for help. Good luck with everything. I hope you do very well in your studies and profession. Your friend, Staci N. Phillips

Changes in Teenage Lifestyle: Indonesia

Lifestyle is a person's behavior indicated in the activities, interests and opinions especially those related to self-image to reflect the social status. Modern lifestyle synonymous with luxury. Lifestyle is also very closely related to the times and technology. Increasing age and increasingly sophisticated technology, the more widespread implementation of lifestyle also by humans in everyday life. In another sense, lifestyle can give positive or negative effects for those who run it. Well, depending on how the person living it. Today, the lifestyle is often misused by most teenagers. Moreover, teens who are in a Metropolitan city. They tend to follow fashion lifestyle today. Of course, fashion that they copied from the west. If they can filter out the good and proper, then the effects may also be positive. But otherwise, if not good at filtering out of the western mode, it will negatively affect their own. One example of the lifestyle of teenagers who follow Western fashion in everyday life is a matter of â€Å"dressed†. Problems clad teenagers of today are always associated with the times and technology. Because, in Indonesia, particularly teenagers, in clothes always obeying the prevailing fashion. Even more sadly, in many tv stations show examples of life style in the teens dressed people who follow western fashion. Metropolitan Auto not only teenagers who follow fashion, but also the people who are in villages or countryside. The next example, lifestyle most teens follow the western culture is taking a drink – booze, drugs, and the like. They assume that if it does not consume these goods, then he will be judged as a society that is out of date or not slang. Most of the youth of Indonesia has not been able to filter culture with properly. So, the negative effect arising from the teen's own self. We know that the mode adopted by most western people deviate from the moral. While we are aware that Indonesia is famous for luhurnya kesopanannya and kindness. However, some Indonesian teenager then mimic or follow the Western mode without the filter is good and right. And maybe it would be bad for our future generations. Therefore, in this modern era of the all parents who have teenage children should monitor the social, friends, and lifestyles which they apply. And for the teens should be cautious in accepting the culture from the outside and should be able to filter the culture from the outside in good and proper.

Western Civilization and the Greeks

There were many contributions to western civilization from the Ancient Greeks. Many roots of the civilization we have today can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks. They made long lasting contributions in the areas of art, architecture, philosophy, math, drama, and science. If the intelligent thinkers of the Ancient Greeks such as, Socrates, Aristotle,and Hippocrates never challenged the way Greeks lived many of the ideas we have today would have never been established. The Greeks made contributions in modern day art, architecture and philosophy. †The unexamined life is not worth living. (Document #1) This was a quote spoken by Socrates, an Ancient Greek philosopher. He was suggesting by this quote that if you don’t look at life in a different perspective why bother living it. â€Å"Since human reason is the most godlike part of human nature†¦ † (Document #2) This was a quote spoken by Aristotle, and Ancient Greek Philosopher. He believed about human nature that making deals or reasoning was the best human quality and separated us from others. â€Å"Nor do I think your orders were so strong that you, a mortal man, could overrun the gods‘ unwritten and unfailing laws†¦ (Document #6) This was an except from Sophocles‘ play Antigone. The values expressed in this play are that the gods are more powerful then humans and that the gods law are not written down but overpower written human law. The picture of the Parthenon in document #7 shows how specific features of that building influenced Western Civilization. The pillars and the shape of the building showed a sense of power and the actual architecture used in the Parthenon is still used today in places like the White House and Lincoln Monument. The picture of The Discus Thrower sculpture in document #8 reveals things about Greek values and shows an olympic event that is still used in modern times. This statue shows that the Greeks were very athletic people. The olympics sill influence p[people today by bring a competition throughout the countries of the world like a peaceful war. The Greeks also made contributions in modern day science, math, and government. â€Å"As for social standing, advancement is open to everyone, according to ability. † (Document #3) This was an excerpt from Pericles‘ Funeral Oration. In this, Pericles is describing the perks and benefits of aving a Democracy. He was hoping for all citizens to prosper because of this new government. â€Å"I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such [advice]†¦ † (Document #4) This was a excerpt from Hypocrites, an Ancient Greek doctor and philosopher, Hippocratic Oath. In this he was promising to always give the bes t treatment to anyone that seeks help. This is still used by doctors today. â€Å"Proposition 15, THEOREM: If two straight lines cut one another, the vertical, or opposite, angles shall be equal. † (Document #5) This was an excerpt from Euclid’s Elements. Euclid was an Ancient Greek Mathematician. His impact on modern day is that his ideas are the basis for our geometry/math. There were many contributions to western civilization from the Ancient Greeks. The Greeks have made contributions in many areas such as art architecture, philosophy, science, math, and government. Many roots of modern day ideas can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks. Mainly back to the philosophers such as Socrates, Aristotle and the mathematician Euclid. If these people never would have though differently and looked at life from a different perspective then many ideas we live by today may not be present.

Jesus the Jew and Christianity Origin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Jesus the Jew and Christianity Origin - Essay Example According to the documentary film, Jesus is a Jew, historical person born during the Roman occupation in the town of Bethlehem, in the Nation of Israel. Jesus’ father, Joseph, was from the town of Bethlehem which was a royal town of King David.Joseph was from the lineage of King David, whose family had been promised a messiah. For Jesus to fulfill this promise, He had to be born a Jew. Jesus was, therefore, a direct descendant of King David who was a Jew. Jesus would later be circumcised and baptized according to Jewish traditions. He also believed in the Mosaic Law and preached in Galilee which was entirely Jewish. Apostles would later spread the gospel from Jerusalem to Africa, to South America and from Syria to Britain. Paul was very instrumental in the spread of the Gospel especially throughout the Roman Empire and Europe and wrote 14 letters of the New Testament. The focus now changed from Jerusalem to other areas and for the first time, the followers of Jesus Christ were called Christians in Antioch.

Business Planning and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Planning and Development - Essay Example The company offered the products and features that were acceptable by the customers. This not only increased the sale rate but also reduced the cost of products. The cost leadership strategy had a positive impact on the company. It ignored the different market segments and focused on the mass market (Porter 1997). The advantages of employing this strategy were that the company charged lower prices, yet got the same profit. The market shares were protected from the rivals. The business had opportunity to reduce its price to compete with the substitute products. All these advantages have secured the business and gave the rivals and competitors a hard time. The difficulties that the company had faced were the technological advancements that the rivals have brought, like better features in low price. The imitation ability of the rival was another hurdle for the company (Cost Leadership Strategy 2010). Following the low cost strategy, our company has targeted less market as compared to ri vals to have a balance between price and cost of the product. The other difficulty that the industry has encountered was related to the market share. Some of the rivals also opted for the low cost leadership strategy due which our market shares reduced. ... The biggest challenge for our company was to provide unique services to the customer and to satisfy maximum number of customers. In achieving this target, we have invested and worked a lot. We have hired consultants, creative teams and professional marketing staff. All of these helped in making a position in the market and increasing the sales and profit of the company. The plans that the company has for future includes expansion of target market, enhancement of customization for the consumers and increase in production units. This requires more assets and operating expense. For that, the company needs loan from the bank so that the operations and sales do not get messed up due to lack of expenses and opportunities. The trade off related to these expansions may be the cost versus benefits. The benefit that the company may get is the profit. And the cost is the cost of expansion and other operating expenses. Benefits and costs are often expressed in monetary terms and are adjusted wit h the money value, which makes the flow of benefits and of costs to be expressed on a common basis of their actual and present value. Â  The biggest problem with this trade off is the accuracy. It’s not necessary that the estimation of the cost and its benefits is always estimated accurately. If the things do not work out, the cost versus benefit may subject risk of bankruptcy. For that, the company must have enough operating expense by which it can keep the company working. The establishment of the business requires a lot of sacrifices and commitment. On a personal note, the commitments that I had to make include the sacrifices of one’s own needs. The lack of prioritizing basic

Pensions as an important financial instruments Essay

Pensions as an important financial instruments - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper are pensions as an important financial instruments that provide economic security to employees once they retire. A pension is a fixed payment that the beneficiary receives on a monthly basis once they reach retirement age. The use of pension plans by corporations became a mainstream practice in corporate America after World War II. In the United States pension plans have become more important than ever particularly for younger people due to the fact that the social security system is not going to be able to help younger adults. The most likely outcome is that generation X will not receive a social security check 30 years from now. Defined contribution plans must be disclosed in the financial statements of an organization. The things that must be reported in the financial statements in regards to pensions include the existence of the plan, the employee groups covered, the basis for determining contributions, and any significant matters affecting comp arability from period to period. The accounting treatment for defined benefit plans is a bit more complex. It is imperative that corporations make pension contributions that are sufficient to cover the benefits that are promised by the plan. Due to the fluctuating nature of the stock market, which is an investment mechanism used by pension managers to obtain a greater return for the beneficiaries, on many occasions pension funds are underfunded. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 stipulated that all corporate pension funds must be fully funded by the year 2013. Pension fund accounting requires the use of actuarial tools to estimate the future value of pension benefits. Two benefit approaches that can be used by accountants are accumulated benefits approach and years of service approach. The difference between the two methods is that one estimates annual pension cost and liability based on existing salary levels, while the other is based on the estimated final pay at retirement. The liability for pension benefits under the accumulated benefits approach is called accumulated benefits obligation, while the liability computed under the benefits/years of service approach is called projected benefit obligation (Clark & Cathey, 2011). The proliferation of the use of pension plans occurred after World War II. The accounting profession immediately took notice of the tendency. In 1956 the Committee on Accounting Procedures released Accounting Bulleting No. 47, Accounting for Costs of Pension Plans. ARB-47 required disclosure of unfunded vested benefits on the balance sheet (Duangplov & Pence, 2007). Pension funds were considered a legal liability after the inception of APB No. 8 in 1966. APB No. 8 also discusses the different components of pension costs. The three components of pension costs are normal costs, past service costs, and prior service costs. The underfunded pension cost became a liability in the balance

Rommels Leadership in the Battle of El Alamein Essay

Rommels Leadership in the Battle of El Alamein - Essay Example Despite Rommel’s many talents, he was soundly defeated. That meant the end of the German campaign in North Africa. Rommel had many successes during his North African battles, even at the ill-fated battle of El Alamein. Rommel has been regarded as a brilliant military commander in both tactical and strategic levels, as much as his sphere of command can control. Rommel was aware that the forces under his command were numerically inferior against the British forces based in North Africa. They were also lacking in sufficient supplies. Despite such disadvantage, Rommel caused a lot of mayhem with a disproportionately small number of tanks and supplies. As Greene (2006) observed: What was most devastating about this offensive was the novel way Rommel fought. He used the desert as if it were an ocean. Despite supply problems and difficult terrain, he kept his tanks in perpetual motion. The British could not let up their guard for a moment and this mentally exhausted them†¦ Instead of pushing forward and to punch holes in the enemy lines, he would send out his weakest tanks, then have them retreat at first contact; the British tanks would invariably swallow the bait and go in pursuit, kicking up so much of their own dust in the process that they would not see they were running straight into a line of German antitank guns. (pp.190-191) Rommel relied on speed and surprise to make his strategy work to his advantage. He used small forces to outmaneuver and outsmart his numerous British opponents. Rommel would ride ahead, risking death so that he could make rapid decisions on the move. He devoured information about the enemy, made himself an expert on tank technology, memorized maps, and personalized his relationship with his men (Greene, 2006, p.38). Rommel also never allowed any of Hitler’s political directives to undermine his command. When Hitler ordered that Jews among the German military be shot, Rommel

My Role as a Facilitator During Group Discussions Essay

My Role as a Facilitator During Group Discussions - Essay Example This paper is essential in every aspect of my academic life as it unearths my role as a facilitator during our group discussions this semester with my roles during such learning processes clearly highlighted. Individual group learning stems from the fact that as learning process becomes significant to the learning process, significant attempts shifts the learning process from the instructor’s perspective to a student learning characteristics with emphasis on an individual’s ability to organize and sustain a learning process for knowledge acquisition and learning management. (Duncan, 2006) My earlier pre-college life offered very little meaning as to what Occupational Therapy (OT) really entailed. In my wild thoughts, I had always thought of Occupational Therapists as individuals with no clearly defined role often taking up counseling roles to justify their qualification in the field. Having enrolled for an OT has indeed changed these preconceptions. Ideally, I had never experienced group learning or group facilitation as a teenager and my earlier experiences worked very little for me to improve on that general perception and so I was somehow nervous on how to set the ball rolling in motion. The College of Occupational Therapists, (COT) views â€Å"people as occupational beings† and that the discipline empowers people to fulfill or enhance their role as occupational beings. (Sabonis-Chaffe & Hussey, 1998) Within this regard, Occupational therapists ‘promote function, quality of life and the realization of people’s potential in experiencing occupational deprivation, imbalance or alienation† (COT, 2009) through collective efforts of persons. I had never had an experience towards group work and influenced what impact this would have had in my presumed social functions as an occupational therapist. My reflective interest in group facilitation derived from a creative group conducted during my course placement. Reflection, in es sence, is an old phenomenon; investigative studies by Boud, Keogh, and Walker argued that reflection is essential as it enables people to focus on their learning and experiences thus creating a new informed conceptual framework of understanding. Subsequently, group leadership assists members to capitalize on the various skills, ideas, and talents that exist among the group members for goal formulation and achievement. Putting together my leadership skills and learning process during the therapeutic classes, I facilitated a creative brainstorming session to reflect upon various issues in occupational therapy and group dynamics.  Ã‚  

Project 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Project 3 - Essay Example The steps in action research are sequential in nature. One first identifies a problem, gathers data, interprets the data, action based on the data, reflects, and plans on the data after which he or she writes, shares or publicizes the obtained information. Teachers, students alongside co-researchers who are prepared to challenge the status quo usually conduct this systematic process. Therefore, action research is an important tool and parcel that enlightens the teachers in diverse education settings on ways of improving operations at their educational centers, how they ought to teach, and ways with which the students can learn and gain information with ease. Furthermore, action research seeks to bring together action and reflection, theory and practice, in participatory with others in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern to people and more generally to the flourishing of individual persons in their communities. This paper gives a summary of scientific and action research theory that is great significance to researchers including students. In summary, the scientific-technical view of problem solving is one of the most vital teaching strategies that employ the scientific and action research methods in searching for information. In simpler terms, various individuals including teachers have conceptualized problem solving as a systematic approach of defining the problem and creating a vast number of possible scientific or technological solutions without judging them. This primarily involves the students and hones their skills as it enables them to become active participants in the learning process. Five basic steps need to be followed in order to come up with a myriad of stellar scientific solutions to the depicted problems as required under action research. The technique enables students to be taught and trained to be sensitive to

Human Resource Managers in a Multinational Company Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Managers in a Multinational Company Essay 1. ‘To what extent are human resource managers in a multinational company restricted by cultural and institutional factors in implementing policies and practices across their subsidiaries? Discuss your answer giving examples.’ In the face of globalization, organisations struggle to develop the human resource management strategy (HRMS) between global integration and local differentiation. This is regarded as a critical concern for multinational enterprises (MNEs) since they suffer from cultural and institutional differences to integrate HRM practices and shape HRM activities to operate abroad. Regarding that, each cultural and institutional factors are developed over its history with unique insight into managing the organisation, the appropriate HRM practice would vary. The differentiation in national culture and institution call the different management practices that need to be concerned significantly especially for multinational companies’ managers. Researchers highlight the congruence between these factors and HR practice for higher organsational performance. When the HRM practice fits with the basic value shared by employees, the job satisfaction, employee motivation and commitment will be attained. This comes with the implication that cultural and institutional factors are pivotal in shaping the decisions and policies of managers of organisations. In this essay, it will explain what is the institutional and cultural factor with theoretical approach. After that it will suggest implications of institutional and cultural perspective for International Human Resource Management to answer how these factors influence in implementing management policies and practices. According to Hofstede (1991), Culture refers to the â€Å"shared sets of beliefs, values and norms† that is programmed into an actor’s mind. It is regarded as the psychological ‘software’ and sets of informal rule, while institution is more ‘hardware’ of modified and negotiated legal systems that actors follow. The institutionalism emphasises the legitimacy, which organsations struggle to acquiring and maintaining in relation to the environment. One of the new institutionalist theories, the ‘Variety of capitalism’, treats the corporation as a relationships network that locates organisation in its  stakeholders with employees and with competitors. The approach highlights the importance of institutional complementarities that argue the success of an organisation depending on the capability to coordinate effectively. The theory draws two types of political and economic structures across nations. One is the liberal market economic orientation (LME) and the other is the coordinated market economic orientation (CME). Companies in some North-Western European countries including Germany and Switzerland with CMEs tend to have highly structured arrangements in labour market that form strong trade union. Banks in these countries are highly coordinated with firms and have long-term capital. In contrast, there are loose hire and fire labour market regulations and dispersed international investors in the U.K and U.S.A where classified as LMEs. The source of finance in these countries is the stock market, with the clear difference. The figure1 demonstrates that corporations in these different types of systems do not operate in the same market. Figure 1. Institutions across sub-spheres of the political economy Source: Hall and Soskice, (2001) It shows the positions of OCED countries that describe institutional character in the financial and labour market. The higher development in a stock market implies higher dependency on market coordination with emphasis on financial criteria, whereas a higher degree of protection for employees is likely to rely more on non-market criteria. The flexible labour market in LMEs is suitable to easy access to stock market capital. Due to the competitive market conditions, firms in LME markets highly emphasise the financial performance rather than long-term strategies. Nervous investors such as those from the hedge fund tend to hesitate to investing in companies with long-term and uncertain employee training that ties capital in workers’ skills. Conversely, long-term employment arrangement and long-term capital remain in the essence of CMEs. The institutional considerations lead to different types of organisational behavior and investment patterns that shape different HRM policies and practices. Firms in LMEs emphasise short-term competition that likely treat  employees as disposable resources. Employees’ performances are appraised individually with a financial incentive system so managers are empowered to control HRM with considerable autonomy. Investments in employee training and development are classified as ‘overhead.’ `In contrast, HRM polices in CMEs regard employees as valuable assets for sustaining a competitive advantage thus tend to make a greater effort in investments in product innovation and employee development encouraging employment stability. In the system, the higher degrees of job security and work force commitment are derived, since its employment regulation and laws are protected from strong trade union and government. Moreover, different business systems across nations also significantly impact HRM issues. The issues including working hours, scheme of performance appraisal and job contract are highly influenced by local institutional arrangement. The MNCs in Japan prioritize work organisation, which contains quality oriented and flexible practice, and their HR practices are adopted to be suitable with this approach. Likewise, German MNCs, where short run financial ratio is not a greater concern, rely more on long term strategies that highly regulate the hours of work and worker participation. In this regard, the ability of MNCs to fit various institutional arrangements with the local environment is essential to have an advantage in global operations. The evidence from the survey conducted by Guest and Hoque (1996) show that MNCs in Germany do not implement their ‘best practices’ into subsidiaries in the U.K. such as long-term employment plans, union perception and employee training. Another crucial factor managers from MNCs should consider for effective HRM is culture. It is assumed as ‘the major source of differentiation’ in managerial behavior among different nations. One of the most widely cited approaches to culture, Hofstede’s study (1980), classifies four cultural dimensions based on the survey data from 116,000 IBM employees. The study suggests possible origin and consequence for managerial behavior in different dimension contexts. Power distance reflects the dependent relationship between superior and subordinate. Companies in high power distance subordinate have high dependence to superior with greater reverence through the hierarchical structure. Uncertainty avoidance measures different degrees of preparation for future risk and ambiguity. In risk adverse  organisations, rule making and bureaucracy are placed to deal with possibilities of risk and members prefer to behave what they are expected. Individualism versus collectivism dimension reveals the different level of desire to feeling that they belong with a group. At last, masculinity versus femininity dimension presents different values that masculine and feminine society prefer differently. Highly masculine societies have a higher tendency to be competitive since high earning and challenging careers are important values for employees. In societies with femininity tendencies, values related to satisfaction, security and cooperation are emphasised. The study highlights the importance of culture to coordinate different managerial behavior for international businesses. Another cross-cultural approach, Hall’s study (1976) classifies cultures into low and high context cultures, each with distinct demands and preferences. The culture characterizes the nature of human relationship, communication and authority. For example, the line of distinction between high and low context cultural communication has been particularly documented. According to Hall and Hall (1990), in high context communication, speakers tend to utilize relative indirect style of communication. On the other hand, in low context communication, speakers often employ more or less direct communication style. Clearly, these communication dimensions area is an overlap of the individualism-collectivism from Hofstede’s study. Collectivist societies often concern about minimizing the chances of hurting other parties. These groups emphasise the value conformity and traditions. It is for this reason that they prefer to use high context communication. The team members of collectivists often prefer communicating directly with their leaders. They are often concerned about avoiding responses that are negative, a move that is aimed at maintaining harmony. Any form of communication is aimed at fostering interpersonal communication. The tendency is reversed in individualist societies where each member pays more attention to personal goals and interests. The different communication styles and human relationships naturally relate to the different preferences of organisational structure that shape the HRM practices and policies. The culture influences multiple aspects of HRM, thus it is likely to be  effective when HR practice and policy fit with the culture. In regard to recruitment, collectivistic cultures prefer network based recruitment method like employee referrals. The method is supposed to enhance employee commitment and loyalty that strengthens the social network. Since collectivism highlights cooperation rather than individual achievement, it more considers candidates’ ascribed statuses more than personal skills and knowledge. Conversely, employers in an individualistic organisation select candidates based on necessary abilities through highly structured methods such as bureaucratic interviews. Similarly, the organisation with high uncertainty avoidance index prefers open recruitment with the use of more structured selection method as it is highly correlated with formalisation. In terms of performance appraisal, individualised appraisal and rewards are highly correlated with individualism and lower degree of uncertainty avoidance. Regarding that various reward practices based on individual performance would result in uncertainty it is less likely to emerge in risk adverse society. The incentive scheme may also not be needed in high power distance cultures since subordinates are more likely to be motivated by superiors’ direction. The merit-based selection and promotion, which consider individual performance and contribution to the organisation is related to individualism and low level of power distance. It is opposed to the value from collectivism and femininity that emphasise group harmony and cooperation. In conclusion, institution and culture significantly influence in managerial behavior. It is needed to take institutional and cultural factors into consideration in shaping and adopting management policies and practices. Cultural and institutional factors are so varied that they integrate all the factors oriented towards social and ethical responsibilities, which is a major focus for contemporary organisations. Cultural values demands that decision and policies that managers make reflect the interests of the society, including those of the institutions. Since the inappropriate management concept may trigger misunderstanding and conflict among subsidiaries it is vital for effective management. Clearly, Institutional and cultural researches contribute to analysing and understanding various manifestations of HR across a border. However, managers should take careful  consideration before implementing specific HR practices or policies to prevent overly deterministic connection from the theoretical context. In order to achieve successful performance, MNCs have to adjust and moderate management practice in accordance with the local environment. The differences in a business system, local environment and culture between home and host countries are the significant determinants for both evolutions. References: [1] Aycan, Z. (2005), ‘The interplay between cultural and institutional/structural contingencies in human resource management practices’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(7), pp. 1083-1119. [2] Earley, P.C. (1994), ‘Self or group? Cultural effects of training on self-efficacy and Performance’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 39(1), pp. 89-117. [3] Gomez-Mejia, L.Y Welbourne, T. (1991), ‘Compensation strategies in a global context’, Human Resource Planning, 14. pp. 29-42 [4] Guest. D. Hoque, K. (1996) National Ownership and HR Practices in UK Greenfield Sites, Human Resource Management Journal, 6(4), pp. 50-74. [5] Hall, E.T. (1976), Beyond culture, New York: Anchor Books [6] Hall, E.T. Hall, M.R. (1990) ‘Understanding Cultural Differences’, Yarmouth, MA: Intercultural Press. [7] Hall, P.A. Soskice, D. (2001) ‘An introduction to varieties of capitalism’ in Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, Oxford: Oxford University Press [8] Hofstede, G. (1980), Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values, California: Sage Publications [9] Hofstede, G. (1991), Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, Berkshire: McGraw-Hill [10] Tsui, A.S., Nifadkar, S.S. Ou, A.Y. (2007) ‘Cross-national, cross-cultural organizational behaviour research: Advances, gaps and recommendations’, Journal of Management, 33 (3), pp. 426–478. [ 1 ]. Earley, P.C. (1994), ‘Self or group? Cultural effects of training on self-efficacy and Performance’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 39(1), 89-117 [ 2 ]. Hall, P.A. Soskice, D. (2001) ‘An introduction to varieties of capitalism’ in Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Page 1. [ 3 ]. Hall, P.A. Soskice, D. (2001) ‘An introduction to varieties of capitalism’ in Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Page 4. [ 4 ]. Tsui, A.S., Nifadkar, S.S. Ou, A.Y. (2007) ‘Cross-national, cross-cultural organizational behavior research: Advances, gaps and recommendations’, Journal of Management, 33 (3), pp. 426–478. [ 5 ]. Aycan, Z. (2005), ‘The interplay between cultural and institutional/structural contingencies in human resource management practices’, International J ournal of Human Resource Management, 16(7), pp. 1083-1119. [ 6 ]. Gomez-Mejia, L.Y Welbourne, T. (1991), ‘Compensation strategies in a global context’, Human Resource Planning, 14. pp. 29-42

Analysis of Information Technology in Public Sector

Analysis of Information Technology in Public Sector Chapter 1 Introduction Countries and governments in the world try to develop and extend their business and economies throughout built relation and agreements among them for the exchange and transaction for different kind of trades through out what call e-government to facilitate communicating and transmitting the information between these countries, and to achieve these, they need to adopt the information technology as infrastructure for e-government purposes (Traunmiiller and Klaus Lenk, 2002). So, information technology IT, digital and networking considered a crucial requirements for the companies to extend their operation scope in the global. So organizational spending on information technology (IT) and utilize the technology to support different strategic and operational objectives to give the strength for the competitive strategy (support the different aspects of business), (Venkatesh Morris Davis Davis, 2003). Therefore, Information technology can be defined in various ways Like information technology includes hardware, software and telecommunication equipment which is used to capture, process, and store and distribute information ( Global text -information system-Richard T. Watson -2007Â ¬chapter 1). Also information technology refers to office, computing machines, communications equipment, instruments, photocopiers and related equipment, and software and related services (Brynjolfsson, 1991). Even Information Technology (IT) refers to Any equipment, or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment which is used in the automatic acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission. (DODD 4630.5, January 11, 2002). when the companies attempt to adopt the technology they face problems about the acceptance of the employees for the technology , some companies still cant predict the success from implementing new technology among the employees, some fail in adopting particular technology and some face resistance for accepting or adopting the technology, another companies didnt get the benefits that they expect from accepting or adopting the technology ,therefore, the companies turn to study the technology users conceptual about technology and the factors that could affect the acceptance for the technology (Alsohybe, 2007). Since information technology is supporting our economy throughout the reductions in the cost of obtaining, processing, and transmitting information are changing the way we do business so no company can escape its effects. General Managers know the importance of information technology and how it effect in the work. As more and more they spend their investment capital and their time in information technology and its effects, an executive have a growing awareness that the technology can no longer be the exclusive area of IT departments or IS departments, Executives recognize the need to become directly involved in the management of the new technology since they see their competitors use information for competitive advantage, These In the face of rapid change, however, they dont know how (S Rivard, L Raymond, D Verreault, 2006). In order to help managers respond to the challenges of the information developing and how will advances in information technology affect competition and the sources of competitive advantage and what are the opportunities for investing in information technology. For that managers must first understand the information technology (Yen Subramanian chino, 1997). So this study is going to examine the factors that influence information technology acceptance in the public sector in the republic of YEMEN to enhance the accepting, adopting and the usage of information technology among the workers in the public sector. Beside facilitate the information transaction between the managements and between the government utilities with spotlight in the role of information technology strategies in these utilities to support the accepting, adoption for the technology. Even this study is going to examine the support of the government to adopt the information technology as government infrastructure toward E-government. Republic of Yemens Background The Republic of Yemen is an Arab country located in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bounded on the north by Saudi Arabia and by the Arab Sea. Oman lies in the west of the Republic of Yemen and the Red Sea lies in the west of the Republic of Yemen. The total area of the Republic of Yemen is about 555,000 square Kilometer, and the population of the Republic of Yemen is 18 million. The official language of the country is Arabic and Islam is the official religion of the country. The ethnic groups in the Republic of Yemen are predominantly Arab, but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans. The Yemeni Rial (YR) is the official currency unit, but visitors can exchange most of the international currencies in exchange establishments or banks all over towns. Currently, the Republic of Yemen is enjoying a stable political, economic, and social system based on respect and openness with the rest of the world. This stability provides an opportunity for the country to improve its economy and service provision to its citizen and move along with the rest of the world. The Republic of Yemen has three national independence days: September 26, 1962 when the king of North the Republic of Yemen, at that time, was overthrown and making the country a republic instead of a kingdom, November 30, 1967 when South the Republic of Yemen, at that time, had become independent from United Kingdom. The Unification Day on May 22, 1990, when the Republic of Yemen was established by the merger of South the Republic of Yemen and North the Republic of Yemen. The legal system of the Republic of Yemen is based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law. The Republic of Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab World. It has reported strong growth since 2000, and its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. (CIA The World Fact book Yemen profile about Yemen, 2005: Countries, L. D, 2009) Since the unification of the Republic of Yemen in 1990, the president was determined to establish a new way of governance. The government represented by the president initiated a plan to develop the new country infrastructure and build a democratic administrative system, which is responsible for the provision of public services to all Yemenis whether in the country or abroad. Since 1990, the Republic of Yemen has been trying to pursue a clear social strategy for developing new sources of income for its people, find new ways of investment in the country, reform the government, and establish new private sector participation to enhance the economical growth of the country (Ministry of Development, Republic of Yemen, 2000). The main objective of the government now and then was to improve the efficiency of the governmental administrative capabilities for better and improved services. The Republic of Yemen long-terms strategy aimed to develop a reliable and efficient administration and government by improving and reforming its ministries and institutions to deliver better public services for all its citizens and gain recognition around the world. However, not all the goals were aimed at improving the governmental functions were achieved. There are still problems facing the government plan to reform like, inflated bureaucracy, lack of collaboration between ministries and agencies, illiteracy, and a lack of direct vision of the future of the country. In its attempt to overcome these problems, the government of the Republic of Yemen has launched a reform project using information technology to implement e-government in the next couple of Years. The implementation of information technology will lead into collaboration between governmental agencies and lead to integrated databases that can be accessed by any agency any time thus delivering rapid and efficient service to the public. Communication and Information Technology in the Republic of Yemen Comparing to other countries around the world, The Republic of Yemen is still lagging in term of using information technology. Tables 1 and 2 compare the Republic of Yemen to other countries around the world and show that the Republic of Yemen is still one of the lowest countries in term of using computers and Internet, telephone usage, and e government readiness. This study was prepared by the National Information Center of the Republic of Yemen, which was submitted to the Republic of Yemens Presidential Office and to the Shura Council on June 2005 as part of a workshop title E-government between reality and expected goals in the Republic of Yemen (Alsohybe, 2007). Table l : Computers for Every 100 People and Internet Usage per 100 People for the World and for Some Countries Including the Republic of Yemen Country/Group PC Percentage (%) per 100 people Internet usage per 100 people The World 7.74 15.47 Arab World 2.04 5.57 U.S.A 65.89 55.14 Canada 48.7 51.28 Malaysia 14.68 31.97 Egypt 1.66 2.82 Yemen 0.79 0.51 Note: E-Government between Reality and Expected Goals in the Republic of Yemen, by (Yemen, National Information Center, 2005. Sanaa, Yemen, p.10). Table 2: E-government Readiness for Some Countries Including the Republic of Yemen Country Web Measurement Communications Human Resources General Indicator international U.S.A 1.00 .0770 .0970 .0913 1 Canada 0.873 0.668 0.970 0.837 7 Malaysia 0.490 0.302 0.830 0.541 42 Egypt 0.100 0_066 0.630 0.265 136 Yemen 0.054 0.040 0.490 0.195 154 Note: E-Government between Reality and Expected Goals in the Republic of Yemen, by (Yemen National Information Center, 2005, Sanaa, Yemen, p. Background of the Problem In the increasingly global today, information technology (IT) spread unpredictably that because IT considers substantial investment for organizations in all different aspects. Technology used to support the strategy and operational goals Countries and governments all over the world try to develop and extend their business and economies throughout built relation and agreements among them for the exchange and transaction for different trade aspects through out what call e=government to facilitate communicating and transmitting the information between these countries, and to achieve these, there is need to adopt the information technology as infrastructure for E-government purposes. (Traunmuller and Klaus Lenk, 2002) But unfortunately acquiring appropriate IT is not a sufficient condition for utilizing it effectively. Information technology importance for adopt E-government and in order to avoid the failure in adopting E-government. Also because the change in the environment and technology the companies trying to keep going with these changes. The companies spend a lot in investing in the technology in order to empower its internal, external performance and the productivity (Alsohybe, 2007). Some employees in the organizations not used the IT effectively or are not used, despite the extending in the investment in IT. This led the organization to inappropriate investment and west the opportunities even remain the company undeveloped. So the workers in IS and the management under pressure to locate the financial and organizational benefits from the IT investment. In order to help managers and IS practitioners to determine the factors or the motivators for IT usage and the acceptance of individuals for IT usage in order to reduce the cost and attain the maximum return of the investment in IT from the beginning (Lopez Manson, 1997; Dadayan Ferro, 2005). Problem statement The problem statements is that it is expected that all companies adopting, using effectively and having information technology, however, in the reality, not all the companies adopt, use effectively or use the information technology. However, in the reality, not all employees in those organizations accept, adopt, use effectively or use the information technology. That means there is a gap between the ideal or the maximum usage for the information technology among the Yemeni government employees and the reality or the actual usage for the information technology inside those organizations. This leads to investigate or examine the determinants and characteristics such as (individual characteristics, system characteristics, social characteristics, institutional characteristics) which are of effecting in using or adopting such technology. Many researchers in information technology IT and information system IS support the necessity for study the factors affecting the IT acceptance and its relation with the employees performance: The study was conducted by (Venkatesh Morris Davis Davis, 2003) to compare eight models and validate the new theory named the unified model The study recommended that: Future research should identify the underlying influential mechanisms potential candidates here include computer literacy and social or cultural background, among others. Even The role of social influence and its change over time and may help explain some of the equivocal results helping to clarify the contingent nature of social influences. Current theoretical perspectives on individual acceptance are notably weak in providing prescriptive guidance to designers. For example applying any of the models might inform a designer that some set of individuals might find a new system difficult to use. Even the study recommended future study include system characteristics and self-efficacy And task technology fit. The study said that further work should attempt to identify and test additional boundary conditions of the model UTAUT in an attempt to provide an even richer understanding of technology adoption and usage behavior. Even different user groups, individuals in different functional areas and other organizational contexts (public or government institutions) Another study was conducted in SAUDIA ARABI (AL Gahtani, 2004) to examine the technology acceptance theory in their culture recommended more studies in the technology acceptance with focusing in the social and culture factors and using different methodologies. Also the study which conducted by (Gorke, 2006) mention about the important of farther research for determining the factors influence the decision of using particular system and the acceptance for any new system. Even the study (Yalcinkaya B.A M.S, 2007) which conducted in TURKISH in police office recommended for more studies considering other possible psychosocial or contextual variables that may affect behavioral intention of information technology usage. Beside The study (Almutairi, 2007) which conducted in Kuwaiti ministries to examine the technology acceptance theory in their culture found that there is needed to test the TAM in other culture to insure is it globalization of the model and the possibility to use in different cultures. More over The study was conducted in china (Kim lee law, 2007) This study makes an attempt to investigate the relationship between antecedents including information system quality, perceived value, and users acceptance of hotel front office systems (HFOSs) and the Results show information system quality affects users beliefs in HFOSs, it is important to realize that other factors may also play an important role in user beliefs. These factors include computer use experience and the study suggested Different studies can be performed on IT, targeting other technology systems .it is important to find factors other than perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived value that can affect the attitude towards technology acceptance. A few areas can be further examined in future studies in hotels as well as in other organizations. Even the study was conducted by (Smith, 2008) recommended more study for the technology acceptance within the private and the public sectors. According to (Agarwal, 2000) the importance of individual differences as a significant theoretical construct in technology acceptance is indisputable. Also, he recommends for farther studies in the training as individual difference variables. Even, the study supports that technology acceptance can be facilitated by utilizing other interventions that directly affect beliefs such as training and developing a learning culture. Also, in YEMEN the usage of the information is 10% from the system capability and that was not expected. So, there is need for investigate the reasons which inhibited the organization from getting the ideal usage from the system (wards from the minister of information technology and the vice general manager of the PTC public telecommunication corporation in Yemen KAKAL AL JABRI KAMAL HASAN, 2007). Therefore, there is a concurrent need to develop and gain empirical support for models of technology acceptance within the public sector, and to examine technology acceptance and utilization issues among public employees to improve the success of IS implementation in this arena and to explore the government role to support the adoption for information technology within the public utilities employees even as strategy or as logistic support. Even examine the role of the information technology strategy in controlling the factors influence the acceptance for technology to develop and improve the employees performance. This paper presents more comprehensive, by using model of technology acceptance and suggest testing it in public sector (Alsohybe, 2007). Research Objectives 1. To examine the status of technology acceptance and utilization issues among public employees to improve the success of IS acceptance and implementation in the following theory: To examine individual differences which are effecting on the acceptance for any new technology among the employees in the public sector. To examine which of system feature that influences in acceptance the technology To examine the social factors that influences the acceptance for any new technology among the employees in the public sector. To examine institutional factors which are influencing the acceptance for any new technology among the employees in the public sector. 2 To evaluate the role of strategy in affecting on the factors that influence the acceptance for any new technology. Research questions To examine the status of technology acceptance and utilization issues among public employees to improve the success of IS acceptance and implementation in the following theory: Is there effect for individual differences on the acceptance for any new technology among the employees in the public sector? Are there effects for the system feature on the acceptance for any new technology? What are the influences of the social factors on the acceptance for any new technology among the employees in the public sector? Is there effect for the institutional factors on the acceptance for any new technology among the employees in the public sector? What is the role of strategy in affecting the factors that influence the acceptance for any new technology? Purpose of the study The study plans to examine the status of technology acceptance and utilization issues among managers and employees in the public sector as individuals to~ improve the success of IS acceptance and implementation in this area. This study aims to explore the government role to support the adoption for information technology within the employees in the public sector. Even, the study will evaluate the strategy role in controlling the variables that influences the acceptance for the information technology, and explore the information technology company characteristics that have been used in public companies in Yemen. The government of the Republic of Yemen has an opportunity to improve the progresses and prepares its people to meet the challenges of accepting and implementing information technology in the work place to provide information and services for its citizens from any place at any time. By using IT, government of the Republic of Yemen will be able to overcome the communication problem, improve government efficiency, develop alternative sources of income, and improve the livelihood of all its citizens. The Yemeni government is committed to improve the way it is conducting its day-to-day work by adopting an information technology. Scope of study The study will conduct in the public sector in the republic of Yemen. The study target will be the managers and employees as individuals in the ministries and some utilities belong to the government. This will be achieved by survey Significance of the Study According to the study (Smith, 2008) which aimed to delineate IT differences between the public and private sectors. The study argued that private sector using the information technology more than the public sector that due to many reasons individual differences is one of these reasons, so this study was encouraged to study the acceptance and implementation of the information technology among the individuals in the public sector. Even, this study is trying to add the culture as independent variable for the technology acceptance model TAM, TAM2 and TAM3 as empirical study and contribution, this research will examine the acceptance and implementation of technologies in a very conservative and traditional society like The Republic of Yemen society where culture and religion dominate the way people live and perceive changes around them and can affect their acceptance or resentment of such innovation. Also, the study combined TAM, TAM2 by setting the attitude as mediated in the relation between the believes perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and the intention to use which was deleted in the technology acceptance model TAM2 and TAM3. Also, many studies were conducted to examine three variables affecting the technology acceptance such as individual differences, system feature and social influence and some studies examine individual differences, system feature and institutional factors, however, this study aims to examine the four factors because of the effect of each variable in the acceptance of the technology and its effect on the other variables. Also, this study uses mixed theories to give more explanatory power for the technology acceptance. Also, this study aims to predicting the behavior of the managers and employees for accept the information technology is critical issue for the companies because the important of the information technology in the government utilities in order to enhance its internal and external performance in facilitating the work flaw and smooth transferring of the information among the individuals in the different department in one unit even between the units in the public sector. Chapter 2 Summary for chapter 1 From-the -previous chapter which presents the problem statement, accept, adopting, using effectively and using information technology, however, in the reality, not all employees in those organizations accept, adopting, using, effectively and using the information technology, his means there is a gap between the ideal usage for the information technology among the employees of the Yemeni government and the reality of the usage for the technology inside those organizations. This leads to investigate and examine the determinants and characteristics (individual differences, system characteristic, social characteristics, institutional characteristic) which are effecting in accepting, adopting for such technology. 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1- The importance of Information Technology Rapidly advanced scientific and technological innovations, economic turbulence and uncertainty are some factors that underlie the importance of information technology investment. IT enables organizations to have the capabilities to do some adaptations proactively, so IT becomes an integral part, even a pivotal part of business activities and processes undertaken by any organization (Chau Hu, 2002), from that, question appears about the necessity to invest in IT in order to the organizations can get the benefits from adopting the information technology and to insure the success in the adoption, Agarwal and Karahanna (2000) see the success in this investment will be a valuable when IT utilized by the intended user in the way that contributes to the strategy and the operational goals of the organization, so the user acceptance of IT is the fundamental for the success of IT investment. The importance of technology comes from that Technology has an important impact on innovation and the development of societies and economies. This impact can be observed in three steps, the first step is substitution, new technology substitutes for the old. For example, consumers start substituting their fixed telephone lines with mobile telephones. The second step is the diffusion, when adopting the new technology is widely across society because it is law cost or better or more effective than the previous technology. The final step is transformation when the new technology ways start working and emerging because the new technology is diffused so widely in society. For example, the widespread adoption of the networking has led to interesting innovations in the communication patterns of individuals such as executives conducting business while waiting in airport lounges or traveling in trains DUTTA MIA, 2006)World Economic Forum. ICT offers more opportunities for economic development and plays very important role in international competitiveness, rapid economic change, and productive capacity of improvements for developing countries. ICTs offer the developing countries many opportunities, as it has done in the developed world, when it created unprecedented possibilities for them. Studies have emphasized that there is evidence of a strong linkage between GDP growth and ICT investment showing the importance of ICT investment for development. Acquiring IT to support business needs is clearly a crucial prerequisite to exploiting the potential of IT. Unfortunately acquiring appropriate IT is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for utilizing it effectively. Organizations (i.e., leaders and managers) make primary adoption decisions, yet it is individuals within the firm who are the ultimate users and consumers of IT. Thus, it is evident that true business value from any information technology would derive only through appropriate use by its target user group. In other words, systems that are not utilized will not deliver the returns anticipated by managers. Evidence suggests that individual users can exhibit a variety of different behaviors when confronted with a new information technology: They may completely reject it and engage in sabotage or active resistance they may only partially utilize its functionality, or they may wholeheartedly embrace the technology and the opportunities it offers. Obviously, each behavior has some consequential outcomes both negative and positive for managers (Agarwal, 2000). Also, Organizations have increased their investment in information technology IT for planning in order to increase the efficiency of their business processes. Support management decision making and improve productivity. So IT become important tool to attaining competitive advantage for the organization and improves employees productivity and efficiency (Kim Lee Law, 2007), besides, -Many researches investigate the relation between IT investment and increase the productivity and the performance in the companies one of studies (sircar et al, 2000) which found several organization success with the spending on the IT but others were failed. (Agarwal karahanna, 2000) argue in this result that IT investment will be successful when IT utilized by the organization intended user in the way contribute to the strategy and the goals of the firms. Thus user acceptance is the key for the successes of the IT investment (Darsono, 2005), Even, for more than two decades information technology has be en the focus for researcher in information system this is because IT considers as the key to lead the organization for the good performance so many researches focus in the initial usage for IT or continuous usage for IT. 2.2- The advantages and disadvantages from adopting informationtechnology 2.2.1 The advantages Information technology uses to support the competitive strategy in helping the companies to reduce the costs of the company to give special offer for its products and services and give better care about customers and suppliers and to develop unions among the company and the company with the environment around the company and increase the virtue of its investment in IT resources. By using the information technology the organization or the companies will be able to develop the value of its business throughout making the customer value the focus of its strategy which is to keep track of its customers preferences to supply its products and services anytime anywhere by using the internet or intranet and extranet(e-commerce websites). A lot of organizations/companies use information technology and internet to reengineering its business process because information technology can make integration for the organization to work for the same goal of the organization and this improves the design of the work flows or the requirements of the job even the organization structures even improve the efficiency and the effectiveness. Information technology provides the communicatio

A Financial Comparison Between Two Companies Finance Essay

A Financial Comparison Between Two Companies Finance Essay Find the most recent financial statements for two companies of same industry which are listed in KLSE (Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange). Evaluate the financial position and performance for each of these two companies using accounting ratio analysis. You are required to compute and compare the accounting ratios between these two companies, and conclude the results of your finding. The limitations or problems of using accounting ratios for performance analysis should be include in your conclusion. INTRODUCTION Accounting ratio is one number that expressed in terms of another relationship between two or various figures and company that can be compared. Example it can be shown in a view from balance sheet, profit and loss account, and budgetary control system or in any accounting organization that shows relationship between accounting data. The purpose of accounting ratio is simplifies the comprehension of financial statements and condition by successful and unsuccessful firm. Other than that it also helps in the of planning, forecasting and assist management and it helps in case of investors and lending decision of bankers. The 5 aspect of business measured by accounting ratios is: Profitability that is how far the company earns profit, Liquidity is to measure the financial status, Asset management is how far the company can manage their finance, Debts management is how they manage their tax, and Market value of investment to ordinary shareholders is how they create their market value book. FORMULA THAT USED MEASURE EACH ASPECT OR AREA OF BUSINESS Profitability of company A) Gross profit markup (%) = ÃÆ'- 100 Gross profit = Sales Cost of the good / Opening stock + Purchase Closing stock B) Gross profit margin (%) = ÃÆ'- 100 Net sales value = Sales Return inwards C) Operating profit margin on sales (%) = ÃÆ'-100 D) Profit margin on sales (%) =ÃÆ'-100 = Profit after interest, after tax, after preference dividend after minority interest ÃÆ'-100 Net sales value E) Basic earning power (BEP) = ÃÆ'- 100 Total asset = Fixed assets + Current asset F) Return on Total assets = ÃÆ'- 100 = Profit after interest, after tax, after preference dividend after minority interest ÃÆ'-100 Net sales value G) Return on common equity = ÃÆ'-100 = Profit after interest, after tax, after preference dividend after minority interest ÃÆ'-100 ( Ordinary share capital + Reserves ) OR (Total assets Total liabilities) Liquidity of company A) Current ratio / Working capital ratio = B) Liquid ratio / quick ratio / acid test ratio = Asset management of company A) Inventory Turnover or Stock turnover = or B) Total Assets Turnover = Total asset = Fixed asset + current asset C) Debtor Ratio = D) Days sales outstanding = Debts management A) Debts ratio = Total Debts = Long time liabilities + Current liabilities Total asset = Fixed assets + Current asset B) Debts equity ratio = C) Times interest earned or Interest cover = Market value of investments to stockholders A) Earnings per share = = B) Price earnings ratio = C) Earnings yield = = D) Market price per book value ratio = = Inter-temporal comparisons between two periods are the comparison value that happens between years in one industry for example year 2009 and 2010. Inter-firms comparison between two companies is a different accounting policies and rules and regulation that they created like in IJM BERHAD and GAMUDA BERHAD. Comparison with industry average can measure that is happen in market value to common stockholders in every each industry. And there are two companies are selected for business performance measurement that is : IJM CORPORATION BERHAD GAMUDA BERHAD BACKGROUND ,INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS TYPE OF THE TWO COMPANY IJM CORPORATION BERHAD IJM is a Corporation Berhad is an a international competitive Malaysian conglomerate with business in construction, properties, industries, plantations and infrastructure systematic industry. Joining of three company enterprising local construction IGB Construction Sdn Bhd was incorporated in 1981, Jurutama Sdn Bhd was incorporated in 1970 as Soon Tat Construction Sdn Bhd and Mudajaya Sdn Bhd incorporated in 1965 as Chye Hin Construction Co Ltd. IJM become grown in reputation and renown internationally in excellent ways of by achieving record by numerous awards. GAMUDA BERHAD Gamuda is a Construction , building and engineering like main project on highways, airport runways, highways, railways, tunnels, water treatment plants and dams, to infrastructure privation and the development of new townships and also it is a property and infrastructure company in Malaysia. The income statements and balance sheets of the two companies information that are required for business performance and it obtain the required information from the related company financial reports via internet . FORMULA Ratio with formula (Profitability of Company) IJM Corporation Berhad Gamuda Berhad Gross Profit markup (%) = ÃÆ'- 100 = 31.16% Gross profit = Sales Cost of the good RM2455143000 RM2032167000 = RM422976000 Cost of the good sales = RM1580125000 + RM363348000 + RM8595000 + RM19973000 + RM19260000 + RM40866000 = RM2032167000 ÃÆ'- 100 = 20.81% Gross profit margin (%) = ÃÆ'- 100 = 23.76% Net sales value = Sales Return inward RM2455143000 0 =RM 2455143000 ÃÆ'- 100 = 17.23% Operating profit margin on sales (%) = ÃÆ'-100 = 18.65% ÃÆ'- 100 = 10.58% Profit margin on sales (%) = ÃÆ'-100 = 8.29% ÃÆ'- 100 = 11.43% Basic earning power(BEP)= ÃÆ'- 100 Total assets = RM6959529000 + RM5598766000 = RM12558295000 = 5.96% Total assets = RM2347737000+RM4203173000 = RM6550910000 ÃÆ'- 100 = 3.97% Return on Total assets= ÃÆ'- 100 Total assets = RM6959529000 + RM5598766000 = RM12558295000 = 2.65% Total assets = RM2347737000+RM4203173000 = RM6550910000 ÃÆ'- 100 = 4.28% Return on common equity= ÃÆ'-100 = 6.48% ÃÆ'- 100 = 8.62% Ratio with Formula (Liquidity of Company) IJM Corporation Berhad Gamuda Berhad Current Ratio= = 2.09:1 = 2.18 : 1 Acid-test ratio= Liquid asset = Current asset -inventory RM5598760000 -RM 529320000 = RM5069446000 = 1.89:1 Liquid asset = Current asset-inventory RM4203173000 RM79738000 = 4123435000 RM4123435000 RM1930241000 = 2.14 : 1 Ratio with Formula ( Assets Management of Company) IJM Corporation Berhad Gamuda Berhad Inventory Turnover = or = 5.78 times = 25.49 times Total Assets Turnover= = 0.32 times = 0.37 times Debtor Ratio= = 0.54 : 1 = 0.65 : 1 Days sales outstanding= 0.54365days = 197.1days 0.65365days = 237.25days Ratio with Formula (Debts management of company) IJM Corporation Berhad Gamuda Berhad Debts ratio= Total Debts = Long time liabilities + current Liabilities = RM3303461000 +RM112250000 = RM3415711000 Total assets = Fix asset + Current asset RM3415711000 + RM2685225000 = RM6100936000 = 0.49 : 1 Total Debts = Long time liabilities + current Liabilities = RM1312946000 + RM1930241000 = RM3243187000 Total assets = Fix asset + Current asset RM2347737000 + RM4203173000 = RM6550910000 = 0.50 : 1 Debts equity ratio= = 1.19 : 1 = 1:1 Times interest earned or Interest cover= = 3.72 times = 5.93 times Ratio with Formula (Market value of investment to stockholder of company) IJM Corporation Berhad Gamuda Berhad Earnings per share= = = RM0.25 = RM0.14 Price earnings ratio= OR = 19.2 times = 22.86 times Earnings yield= = 100 / 75 X RM 0.25 RM0.48 = 6.94% = 5.83% Market price per book value ratio= = = = 1.24 : 1 = = 1.99 : 1 The Ratio Comparison between two companies for business performance measurement under each of the bold headings Profitability of the two companies: Gross profit markup and gross profit margin for the (Gamuda Berhad) is lower than (IJM Corporation Berhad) because the ineffective and inefficient in purchasing from supplier causing higher purchase cost, ineffective use of material and labor causing higher production cost to reduce gross profit earning. For operating profit margin on sales, (Gamuda Berhad) have a lower profit earned by company from the sales made for the ineffective control on expenditures and interest cost, incurring higher operating expenses and higher interest costs to reduce the profit earning but profit margin on sales, (Gamuda Berhad) have higher profit earned by company from the sales that is made for the effective control on its expenditures and interest costs, incurring lower operating expenses and lower interest costs to increase the profit earning than the second company. Liquidity of the two companies: The current ratio is first company is higher than second company because first company has larger amount of current assets can be used to finance its current liabilities and that will indicates the company is financially stable and able to finance its short-term liabilities. For acid-test ratio, first company is also higher than the second company is because that the first company has a larger amount of liquid assets that can be used to finance its current liabilities and the company has high liquidity to finance its short-term liabilities and financially stable. Asset Management of the two companies: The inventory turnover for the first company is higher than the second company because the first company has a fast stock turnover where the goods purchased and kept in the store are fast taken out for resale so that the stock is not accumulated and money is not tied up with the stock. For total assets turnover, the first company is also higher than the second company because first company has a higher sales generated from the assets for the effective use of assets in business activities to increase the production. Other than that, the debtor ratio and DSO, the first company is higher than the second company because the company has given longer credit time to allow debtors owing and causing longer time taken by the company to collect money slowly from debtors so that larger debtor balance is collected to tie up money and bringing it to shortage of money for paying back liabilities and facing short-term financial problem. Debts Management of the two companies: The debts ratio for the first company is higher than the second company because the first company has a heavy debts burden with larger amount of debts and bearing high interest cost. Company with heavy debts burden is risky for not able to finance or not able to pay back its debts or maybe it is being forced to dispose or to sell its assets for paying back the debts. But for debts equity ratio, the first company is lower than the second company because the second company has a light debts burden with smaller amount of debts and bearing low interest. And the times interest earned for the first company is higher than the second company because it has a bearing high interest charges in relation to its available profit. Market value of investment to stockholders: Earnings per share and earnings yield for the first company is lower than the second company, this indicates that the company has lower growth in business profit and resulting lower net income available to each unit share and being less attractive and lower value to the common stockholders. Due to lower earnings per share, stockholders or shareholders have to use more times of profit earning and more times of net cash inflow and longer period to recover back their share investment. This shows the confirmation by the price earnings ratio for the first company is being higher than the second company. Market price per book value for the first company is higher than the second company, this indicates that the company share price has inequitably risen up above its real asset value or book value and being not realistic to stockholders. Conclusion In my conclusion, the first company Gamuda Berhads performance is better than the IJM corporation Berhad, and this indicated (Gamuda Berhad) has better performance, because first company has a higher rate in the 5 aspect of business that measured by accounting ratio. In information problems, the base information is out of date and analysis of accounting information, and they will only identify symptoms but not the causes and this will make the company to have information problems. For inter-firm problems, every companies have to select their industry norms and the usefulness of norms based on the averages and different company have different business and financial problems and the impact on analysis. so in this matter they have theur own way to solve their problems. QUESTION 2 Identify and discuss three different ways for transferring capital or fund from savers to borrowers in the financial market. ANSWER QUESTION 2 INTRODUCTION Financial market means it is a organization and people who be found to borrow money from those having some valuable metals to be exchanged at efficient by market price and also they refer to the stock market, wall street, even markets. In this field there are many different kind of financial market each market use different kind of matted, terms, types of parts of country and customer and the asset banking. By the ending from the any type of this helps them in business grown big and investors make money and give them a lot of profit. At the same time the trading of the stock and bonds that they get in financial market take place direct between buys and sellers and also financial market can be a good relationship by domestic or international business level in communication. There are many various of types in financial market that is physical asset markets to deal with the tangible, real and physical products such as computer, machinery, real estate and other assets the financial market deal with different types of instruments such as stocks or shares, bonds, notes, mortgagees and other claims or real assets with derivative securities whose values derived from changes in the price of other assets. Spot market refer to deals being bought or sold for on the delivery within a few days where future market refers future market deals bought or sold future delivery at some future date such six months or a year in to the future. There are some major financial markets like money markets who deals asset in short term and highly liquid debt securities in borrowing and lending with original maturities in a short periods between less than one year for example it involves like certificate of deposit, federal funds and asset-backed securities. Capital markets is who deals for securities where companies and governments can intermediate or long-term debts in a periods of one year or more than one years and also it include stock market. Montage market is a market who deals with loans on residential, commercial, industrial real estate and farmland and the federal government has confirmed that a major economic role in the mortgage loan market because real estate development is a major sector of the U.S. Economy. Consumer credit market is markets that deals with loans and autos and appliances, as well as loans for education and vacations and provide good services. Primary markets is an market which is corporations raise capital by issuing new securities or new shares like governments or public sector institutions can obtain funding the sale of a new market issue. A secondary market which is the existing and already outstanding securities or financial assets are traded among investors after they have been issued by the corporations and also called as aftermarket where have been issued securities and instruments such are bought and sold. Initial public offering (IOP) market that is firm by offering securities to the public for the first time and often often issued by smaller, younger companies seeking to expand, but can also be done by large private companies looking to become publicly traded. Private market is all about transactions that worked privately and directly between two parties without going to public by independently and also they called breakup value market. There are three different ways of transferring capital or funds from savers to borrowers in financial markets and they are following picture: TRANSFER OF CAPITAL OR FUND BETWEEN SAVERS ( MONEY LENDRE ) AND THOSE WHO NEED CAPITAL OR FUND ( BORROWERS ) 1. Direct transfer from savers to borrowers: When a corporation take place in issues and sells stocks or bonds strata way to saver without giving any financial institution so the corporation as borrower will delivers securities to savers who in turn give money to the corporation and the capital directly transfersed from savers to corporation (borrower). Business Corporation Issue corporations securities to Savers (Borrower) Receive capital or funds from (Money lender) 2. Indirect transfer from savers to borrowers though investment banking house: Investment bank is a unwritten the issues of corporations securities as a middlemen to the facilitate the issues by purchase and then resell the same corporation so that the money paid by savers for purchase. The investment bank receive money merely pass thought banking house. Issue corporations Resell corporations Securities to securities to Business Investment Savers Corporation Banking (money (Borrower) House Lender) Receive fund from Receive fund from 3. Indirect intermediately such as a bank or mutual funds from saver by issuing securities or certificate of deposit to savers. Than it used the fund collected to purchase and hold the securities as investment and the funds transferred from saver intermediary when pay money to financially exchange for receiving certificate of deposit . future than that this fund to other corporation paying money out of fun because they are safer and more liquid them mortgage and loans. Issue Corporations Issue intermediarys Securities to Securities to Business Financial Savers Corporation (Money (borrower) Intermediary Lender) Receive fund from Receive fund from Investment Banking House Can be say that organization that underwrites and distributes the upcoming new issue of latest business corporations securities to assist corporation that is fund for financial. For example, a businessperson who produces shoes may purchase a machine that automatically stitches leather that hopes in the time saved will allow for the production of more shoes and increased sales or another example investment banking house are Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Financial Intermediaries There are some specialized in financial firm that transfer of funds from savers to be demanders of capital or event borrower. The financial intermediaries generally huge and they gain in economies of scale in analyzing the creditworthiness of potential borrower, in processing and collecting loans, and in pooling risk and for the helping individual savers to diversity their funds investments. Following are major financial intermediaries Commercial bank is a financial intermediary which collects credit from lenders in the form of deposits and lends in the form of loans holds deposits for individuals and businesses in the form of checking and savings accounts and certificates of deposit of varying maturities while a issues loans in the form of personal and business loans as well as mortgages and also they handled checking accounts and thought which is Federal Reserve System expended or contracted the money supply. They also provides an ever-widening service, stock brokerage service and insurance and they are different from investment bank they lend out money to borrows and investment banks assist business corporation to raise capital or fund from savers. Saving and loan association is a specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loan like collect funds from many small savers and lend out the money to house buyers and other kind of borrowers and it more significant economic function of the saving and loan association to create liquidity in capital markets. Mutual saving funds is a savings that has no stockholders and reinvests all profits in itself and the savings banks are owned their depositors and borrowers because there are no stockholders to please, mutual savings banks are often very conservative with how they invest deposits. Credit unions is a non-profit financial institution that owned and operated entirely by members and also it provide financial services for their members, including savings and lending. In large organizations and companies may organize credit unions for their members and employees, respectively. They are often the chepast source of funds available to individual to borrowers. Pension funds is a retirement plans funded by corporation or government agencies for their workers and administered by trust departments of commercial banks or by life insurance companies. It also a funds invest primarily in bonds, stocks, mortgages and real estate. Life insurance companies is a collect saving that form or annual premiums and invest in stocks, bonds, real estate and montage, finally make payments to the beneficiaries of the insured parties. It also have many kind of tax deferred saving plans to provide benefits to the participants when they retire. Mutual funds collect money from savers and use to buy stocks, long-term bonds and short-term debt instruments that issued by government or business units and thus reduce risk by investment diversification, achieve economies of scale in analyzing securities, managing portfolios, buy and selling securities. They also designed to meet objective in different types of savers and they used as interest bearing checking account such as money market funds.

Essay --

Citizens of the United States are traditionally given unlimited freedom of speech, press, and assembly. These American privileges allow interest groups to express their perspectives by using the media and other sources that are accessible to the public. In definition, an interest group is a group of individuals who organize to influence the government’s programs and policies. The main goal of these groups is to have the government both listen and respond to their interests (Shin 243). Historically interest groups have and continue to play a crucial role in American politics; especially since it is an effective form for citizens to interfere with government decision making. Two current interest groups in the United States are the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and the National Council of La Raza. These particular interest groups demonstrate how interest groups directly and indirectly influence public opinion and the political process. Interest groups representation is based on attitude and not the United States population geography. I chose to investigate national immigration interest groups that focus on Hispanic individuals that are living in the United States. According to the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) website, it was established in 1991 as an unbiased association of major Hispanic national organizations that distinguishes Hispanic Leaders all over the nation. Their mission is to unite Latinos around the country and encourage the Hispanic community to become more involved with our country’s affairs. Hispanic leaders of NHLA raise public awareness of major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole (â€Å"NHLA†). In other words this group centralizes its ideas around Hispanic civil rights a... ...as run on money and unfortunately the less money an interest group has then the less likely it will be addressed to either the public or the government. But since both NHLA and NCLR have multiple members and offices then they get their voices herd. In conclusion, the missions of these two groups clearly want to see the government taking action when it comes to their concerns and they know that by informing the public could possibly help gain more supporters for their issues; more supporters means more successful outcomes for the NHLA and NCLR. I decided to research the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and the National Council of La Raza because I was interested in learning about interest groups that could possibly influence me and people of my race or ethnicity. I am not part of an interest group but this research has influenced me to want to participate in one.

Descriminationn Against Irish-American Immigrants and Native Americans

Descriminationn Against Irish-American Immigrants and Native Americans Racism is a problem with roots reaching as far back as biblical times, and it is questionable as to whether or not racial discrimination will ever vanish. Many different groups of people have been subject to racism over time. Two historical examples of people who were discriminated against because of their nationality are Native Americans and Irish-American immigrants. Although the situations they faced are not quite identical, they have an abundance of similarities. The Native Americans and the Irish citizens who immigrated to the United States suffered a similar plight in the sense that both peoples were persecuted for their cultural differences as well as exiled from their own homelands. Before all others, varying tribes of Native Americans inhabited North America. The eleventh-century Norse seaman Leif Eriksson glimpsed very small portions of the continent, yet his discoveries never became public knowledge.(Brinkley, 8) It was not until Christopher Columbus’s â€Å"discovery† of North America that Europeans began to develop an interest in the so-called New World. British, French, and Spanish colonies sprouted up along the eastern coast of America soon after Columbus’s expedition. Once the colonies declared their independence from Great Britain and formed the United States of America in 1776, the westward expansion of the white settlers inflated tremendously. This intrusion upon the lands of the Native Americans produced many conflicts between the two groups. The Americans began to repeatedly intrude upon Native American property, and force the Indians off of their rightfully owned land. One person who is often associated with the poor treat... ...persecuted horribly and viewed as inferior, and as belonging to a lower level in the social order. The Irish’s subservience was influenced mainly by ideological apparatuses, while the Indians were restrained mostly by repressive forces, such as military action. Yet, both methods were effective in lowering the people in the social rankings, so that they were frequently overlooked and wronged morally and legally. While we can not take back what has happened, we can use what has happened in the past to try to prevent such injustices in the future. The first step in the solution to racism is understanding one another. Bibliography: Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People, 3rd ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2000. Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America, Boston, MA: Bay Back Books, 1993.

Encounter Part Ii– John Mcphee

Encounter Part II–John Mcphee An Island introduces Charles Fraser and David Brower, the two on a tour of Cumberland Island, Georgia. Charles Fraser, a real estate developer in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina with David Brower, a conservationist, the leader of a conservation organization called Friends of the Earth, the most effective single person on the cutting edge of conservation in this country.Charles Fraser has obtained 3000 acres of undeveloped Cumberland Island and he has bent over backwards in previous developments to preserve as much of the original landscape as he could, but he considers all environmentalists to be â€Å"druids† who will sacrifice people to save trees. Fraser considers himself a true conservationist, and he will say that he thinks of most so-called conservationists as â€Å"preservationists† but that he prefers to call them â€Å"druid. † â€Å"Ancient druids used to sacrifice human beings under oak trees,† â€Å"Mode rn druids worship trees and sacrifice human beings to those tree.They want to save things they like, all for themselves. † Fraser's characterization of environmentalists as modern druids who â€Å"worship trees and sacrifice human beings to those trees† provides the charge against Brower that forms the title of the book. Brower came to Georgia in order to stop Fraser's plan to develop Cumberland Island. Actually, Brower agreed that it would be a better candidate if Fraser developed Cumberland Island with federal protection. I think that both of them have common sense.Even though Fraser is a businessman, but he cares about the environment. I agree with Brower and I believe everyone has their own responsibility to get involved with environmental issues. Developing and environmental issue are always conflicted in current. Maybe we will find out the best solution to solve this puzzle. According to environmental ethic, we have to protect our environment first. I agree with t hat it is priority to protect our Earth Planet. I think it might be human nature, we always realize our mistake after we actually have made the mistake.For example in China, compare to 20 years ago, China’s economy has been developing to a very higher level, but the environment condition is going down to the hell. China has been studying and learning economic developing from Western for a long while and realized that economy is the most important thing for the country. Most of Chinese think that America is the superpower state in the world because our super economy and technology. Previous Chinese President, Mr. Deng Xiaoping, after his economic reforms, the whole country’s living standard has been increased enormously.During developing, Chinese has realized that economic developing has destroyed the country’s environment. Now it is the payback time for Chinese, even they want to spend 10 times more it won’t get the nature environment back. I don’t think that all the Chinese realize how important environment it is. I agree with most of Brower s opinion and I like to protect our green earth, but I believe that developing is very important too. Some of Fraser’s thoughts are right to me. I would like to see the developing with good environmental protection. The best asset religion offers is the moral framework by which practitioners must abide. 3] Since many environmental problems have stemmed from human activity, it follows that religion might hold some solutions to mitigating destructive patterns. Buddhism idealizes and emphasizes interconnection,[4] thereby creating a mindset that creates a productive and cooperative relationship between humans and nature. That all actions are based on the premise of interconnection makes the Buddhist mindset affective in generating modesty, compassion, and balance among followers, which may ultimately mitigate the harm done to the environment.One benefit of the Buddhist interconnected mindset is the inevitable humility that ensues. Because humans are entwined with natural systems, damage done upon the Earth is also harm done to humans. [5] This realization is quite modifying to a human race that historically pillages the Earth for individual benefit. When rational humans minimize the split between humanity and nature and bridge the gaps,[3] only then will a mutual respect emerge in which all entities coexist rather than fight.Buddhism maintains that the reason for all suffering comes from attachment. [6] When release from the tight grasp humanity has on individuality and separateness occurs, then oneness and interconnection is realized. So rather than emphasizing winners and losers, humanity will understand its existence within others; this results in a modesty that ends egoic mind. Another benefit of Buddhist practice to the environment is the compassion that drives all thinking. [3] When humans realize that they are all onnected, harm done to another will neve r benefit the initiator. [5] Therefore, peaceful wishes for everyone and everything will ultimately benefit the initiator. Through accepting that the web of life is connected[4]—if one entity benefits, all benefit[5]—then the prevailing mindset encourages peaceful actions all the time. If everything depends on everything else, then only beneficial events will make life situations better. Acceptance of compassion takes training and practice, which is also encouraged by Buddhist moral conduct in the form of mediation.This habitual striving for harmony and friendship among all beings creates a more perfect relationship between humanity and nature. Lastly, Buddhist mindset relies on taking the middle road or striving for balance. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, spent his life searching for the outlet of human suffering, eventually concluding that a balance must be established between self-destruction and self-indulgence. [7] While modern, industrial humans emp hasize economic and social aspects of life and lastly environmental aspects, this view is lopsided. 5] When human preferences are leveled with environmental preferences—giving a voice to natural systems as well as human systems—then can balance and harmony be realized. Therefore, using this idealized and disciplined framework that Buddhism has to offer can create lasting solutions to amending the broken relationship between humanity and nature. What ensues is an ethic, rather than a short-term policy or technological fix. [5] When never-ending consumption patterns cease for the betterment of the world as a whole, then all systems will harmoniously interact in a non-abusive way. 5] Without needing to adopt a new religion, just recognizing and accepting this mindset can help to heal the environmental injuries of the past. Buddhists today are involved in spreading environmental awareness. In a meeting with the U. S Ambassador to the Republic of India Timothy J. Roemer, th e Dalai Lama urged the U. S to engage China on climate change in Tibet. [8] The Dalai Lama has also been part of a series on discussions organised by the Mind and Life Institute; a non profit organisation that specializes on the relationship between science and Buddhism.The talks were partly about ecology, ethics and interdependence and issues on global warming were brought up [9] According to some social science research, Christians and members of the Christian right are typically less concerned about issues of environmental responsibility than the general public. [1][2] Green Christianity is a broad field that encompasses Christian theological reflection on nature, Christian liturgical and spiritual practices centered on environmental issues, as well as Christian-based activism in the environmental movement. citation needed] Within the activism arena, green Christianity refers to a diverse group of Christians who emphasize the biblical or theological basis for protecting and celeb rating the environment. [citation needed] The term indicates not a particular denomination, but a shared territory of concern. [citation needed] http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Religion_and_environmentalism#Religions_and_the_environment