A critical review of a story in the press Essay

The story I have chosen to review is about Derek Bond, a 72 year old pensioner from Bristol. Mr Bond was arrested by South African authorities, when he arrived for a family holiday with his wife in South Africa. Mr Bond was detained at the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on suspicion of being one of America’s most wanted criminals; the alleged crime a $4. 8 million telemarketing fraud. Fortunately, for Derek Bond it was a case of mistaken identity. Eventually he was released, with the help of media intervention after a traumatic three week ordeal, locked up, in a South African prison. The story broke in a television news broadcast by the BBC six o’ clock evening news, on Tuesday 25th February 2003. The story was published by the newspapers the following day, 26th February 2003. The two newspapers I have chosen to compare the story are, The Guardian, and The Daily Mirror. The Guardian is a politically left-of-centre broadsheet newspaper aimed at professional middle- class Britain. The Guardian uses formal vocabulary to report on the facts of a story it is writing about. The Guardian costs 55 pence to buy, and provides, national and international news, policy and politics section, finance, sport, theatre, art reviews, and finally human interest supplements. The Guardian offers extremely good value for money, over an average of 35 pages. In contrast, The Daily Mirror is a politically left-of-centre tabloid newspaper aimed at working- class Britain. The Daily Mirror uses informal vocabulary consisting of common words that are easily understood. This would indicate that it’s aimed at a lower readership, than The Guardian. The Daily Mirror costs 32 pence to buy, and provides, national news, showbiz gossip, advertising, holiday offers, horoscopes, television listings, finance, and, finally sport. On average, the reader will get 60-70 pages of coverage. ANALYSIS DAY ONE – THE GUARDIAN The coverage of the story began on Wednesday 26th February 2003. It was placed on page three of the newspaper on a day when front page news headlines focussed on, â€Å"War rebels challenge Blair,† about the up and coming war on Iraq. The article, in question was headlined, â€Å"The Name’s Bond – but is he a fraudster wanted by the FBI or a Bristol family man? † The headline was printed black on white, with an approximate letter size of one inch. The effect of this is a play on the catchphrase of James Bond 007 spy films, to create mystery and intrigue, and grasp the readers’ attention. Two feature photographs 5†³ wide, and 8†³ long, in size are placed directly beneath the headline. The photograph on the left hand side, of the real fugitive is in black and white print. This image shows him looking very sombre, similar to an FBI, â€Å"Mugshot† photograph. In contrast, the photograph of Mr Bond is in colour, portraying him as a respectable family man dressed in evening attire, smiling and looking very healthy. This obviously shows the contrast in style between the two men. A further two photographs appear directly beneath Mr Bond; one of the police station, in Durban where he was held, and the other a photograph of his three children. Both photographs are in colour and approximately 3†³ wide and 2†³ long, in size. The reason behind these two photographs is so the reader is given an insight where Mr Bond was held, and too see the look of pain and disbelief, on the faces, of his children. A sub-heading occupies the top left hand corner, which summarises the whole story. Emotive words have been used, â€Å"Victim,† and â€Å"Theft,† to attract and engage the readers’ attention. Different styles of typography have been used across the whole page. For example, a bold print dropped capital letter, one inch in size, at the beginning of the opening paragraph, to draw the eye of the reader, to the introduction, and not browse over the story to the end. Directly beneath the photograph of fugitive, Derek Sykes, alias Derek Bond, a different style of typography has been used, to show a comparable section in which comparisons are made between, what Mr Bonds family claim, and what the FBI claim is true. This has been highlighted by the use of a sub-heading in red bold print. In addition to this, bullet points have been used to divide the statements. ANALYSIS DAY ONE – THE DAILY MIRROR The coverage of the story also began on Wednesday 26th February 2003. The story was placed on page nineteen of the newspaper, in contrast to The Guardian where the story was placed on page three. This means that The Guardian, considers the story of rather more importance, than The Daily Mirror. Two totally different headlines stole front page coverage, firstly, â€Å"Is Richard the No 1 VILLAIN in TV soap history? † Secondly, â€Å"MUTINY- 100-plus Labour rebels to defy Blair over Iraq. † This is typical of a tabloid news headline; TV soap is given priority over the Iraq crisis. The story began with a bold print capitalised headline, â€Å"THE NAME’S BOND †¦ † The letters are one inch in size. The headline is similar to The Guardian, but leads the reader on to the next part of the page. The typography of White on Black has been used to highlight two sub-heading statements, which are as follows: â€Å"Is he a toupee wearing $4. 8m fraudster and one of the FBI’S most wanted criminals†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Or a balding 72-year-old wine-tasting Rotarian who lives in Bristol? † Each statement has a letter size of half an inch, and is placed in a 3†³ squared black box, creating maximum effect of the WOB. Directly beneath the first statement is a round photograph of fugitive Derek Sykes, in black and white, 3†³ in diameter. The photograph used by The Daily Mirror, is identical to The Guardian, but is scaled down in size and a different shape. In addition, a photograph of Mr Bond is placed directly beneath the second statement. Basically, this reveals who, The Daily Mirror thinks is the real, and false, fugitive. Furthermore, a photograph of Mr Bond’s children appears beneath the main headline, which is black and white, and 2†³ squared in size. The photograph is different to the one used by The Guardian; it’s in a different place, and in addition is not posed. It seems to have been taken by chance, rather than with consent from the family. ANALYSIS DAY 2 – THE GUARDIAN By the following day, Mr Bond had been released as the FBI’s mistake was acknowledged. The story on day 2 is given front page priority. A sub- heading in red bold print is placed as a footnote; the footnote reads, â€Å"Good news for Mr Bond,† followed by a brief summary, and the reader is directed to page 3, where the story continues. In addition, to the footnote a cartoon caption appears next to the directional pointer, which is sarcastically laughing at the incompetence, of the FBI.

Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Breast Cancer Society of America Funds? Mary Clayborne [email  protected] com Leadership and Organizational Behavior MGMT -591-19138 Instructor: Jacci Christopher September 21, 2012 At one point in time, I’ve thought that every one including myself knew themselves whether it was their character, personality, what they like and do not like. I figured that once you knew of these things than that means that you were going to be just fine and that you now have the knowledge and tools needed to get by in life it self.After taking this life styles inventory test, I realized that what you have thought about in regards to ones own self may not always be true. While taking this inventory, my primary results were that I scored a 99 for being affiliate, needing approval, conventional, being dependent, and also avoidance. One word that I did not understand was affiliate. So when I did my research on the word the definition that came about was from businessdictionary. com states that an affiliate leader is one that promotes harmony among his or her followers and helps to solve any conflict.They also make it where their followers feel connected to each other. This sounds like me. I love to be in a place where there is peace, love, harmony, unity as well. This particular inventory amazes me even from the start of it. My backup personal thinking styles as shown in my circumplex are oppositional, self-actualizing, and humanistic-Encouraging. Its funny how one of my second highest percentiles was humanistic-encouraging. At my church, my talent and gift and being an encourager.So this thinking style I most certainly agree with due to the fact that I find myself encouraging people all the time on a regular basis. Even when I’m at work, at church, at school or just daily doing activities and it might perhaps cause me to interact with someone. Most times I catch myself asking that particular person if they are alright or if there is anything that I can do for them. I t feels like when I say those words it feels so natural to ask them that and not like any struggles as it may feel to others. In this case I totally agree with me being a humanistic-encourager.However, I would have thought that humanistic-encouraging would have been one of the styles that gotten a high percentage, so that kind-of puzzles me. In my mind being a dependent type of person means that you rely on people for certain things. Now that I think about it I guess it’s true to a certain extent. The style that I think might be reducing my over all effectiveness would be oppositional. I don’t think that I critic everything and seems to be a negative person. I try to be as positive as I can towards any situation. If an employer sees that one of my styles were oppositional, I don’t think they would want to hire me.However, I’m willing to be more open minded about the situation of course and to gain more knowledge and wisdom as to how to handle different si tuations that may come my way. One thing that I’ve noticed is that when you are a manager or a CEO of a particular company, hearing the voice from your staff should be very vital. At my job one of the biggest issues that everyone is having is with parking. I work literally right outside of down town and so the area in which everyone parks at is for free which means that everyone including the people you work with will get there as early as possible to get a park.However, there is a paid parking lot that located right behind our building where a lot of people do not park at because of the pricing. So us as a staff, we asked the owner of the company if he could rent the parking lot out for his staff and we all would pay a monthly fee. We all should have known what the response would be, (it was no). Due to this matter trying to get to work at 6:00am and do not have to see client’s until 9:30am is quite a bother. Some times it effects my work ethics and behavior because i m at work so early and don’t have to see anyone until hours later.So when the time come, I feel tired and drained because all of my energy was used so when I got to work. When you are working with a diverse group of people, you will notice that you have to be a multitasked and able to be opened minded with new ideas that might come about. My LSI style affects my personal and professional life style. I have 8 brothers and sister. Majority of them are girls, so there would always be some types of competitiveness going on in the house. Who has the longest hair, which can clean up the best for mother’s approval, who can dance better, who can do a lot of other things better than the other.My LSI style has contributed to my child hood. It makes you think and wonder, when we were children we started to develop into our character and personality not knowing it would create our own unique self. Being a perfectionist is a style that I thought I carried very strongly. I’m assuming that its not based on the LSI inventory. I could remember times where I would get highly upset if a particular task that I was to complete was not done the way that I wanted it to be. If so, I would stop completely and never return to it.Not knowing that that style is being a perfectionist person. Did this make me different from the other children or not was a question that I wondered for years. One of the things I would like to learn while being in MGMT591 is that I’m able to learn how to blend my primary and backup styles together or balance them out so that I can become emotionally stable while on the job or in my personal life. While doing so, this would improve who I am as an employee and as a person in general. Name:  Ã‚  D01595657 |Date Survey Taken:  Ã‚   | Your LSI Styles Profile The raw and percentile scores in the table below and the extensions on the circumplex shown below depict your perceptions of how you think and behave. The CONSTRUCTIVE Styles ( 11, 12, 1, and 2 o'clock positions) reflect self-enhancing thinking and behavior that contribute to one's level of satisfaction, ability to develop healthy relationships and work effectively with people, and proficiency at accomplishing tasks.The PASSIVE/DEFENSIVE Styles (3, 4, 5, and 6 o'clock positions) represent self-protecting thinking and behavior that promote the fulfillment of security needs through interaction with people. The AGGRESSIVE/DEFENSIVE Styles (7, 8, 9, and 10 o'clock positions) describe self-promoting thinking and behavior used to maintain status/position and fulfill security needs through task-related activities. |Position |Style Score |Percentile | |1 |Humanistic-Encouraging |39 |96 | |2 |Affiliative |40 |99 | |3 |Approval |33 |99 | |4 |Conventional |36 |99 | |5 |Dependent |36 |99 | |6 |Avoidance |21 |99 | |7 |Oppositional |9 |63 | |8 |Power |2 |10 | |9 |Competitive |7 |15 | |10 |Perfectionistic |15 |20 | |11 |Achievement |25 |25 | |12 |Self-Actualizing |32 |70 | The raw scores potentially range from 0 to 40. The percentile scores represent your results compared to those of 9,207 individuals who previously completed the Life Styles Inventory.For example, a percentile score of 75 means that you scored higher along a particular position than 75% of the other respondents in the sample and, in turn, indicates that the style represented by that position is strongly descriptive of you. In contrast, a score of 25 means that you scored higher than only about 25% of the other respondents and therefore indicates that the style represented by that position is not very descriptive of you. Your LSI Styles Circumplex For detailed descriptions of each of these 12 styles, click on the circumplex graphic in each of the 12 sections. [pic] Examining your Circumplex To accurately interpret your LSI results, it is important for you to consider your score on each style in terms of its range (high, medium, or low) on the profile. The three ranges correspond to the percentile points in the circumplex and in the table above. [pic] Leadership and Organizational Behavior Assignment 1, Briefing sheet, January 2013 Jeffrey P. Bezos : An entrepreneur leader Jeff Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and from an early age he showed his mechanical attitude developing intense and varied scientific interests. Considering this fact, his parents sent him to a special program for gifted children, where Jeff could develop his love for gadgets (Byers, 2006). When his family moved to Florida, he discovered his ‘great passion’, computers, so he abandoned his studies in Physics and got a degree on Computer science and Electrical engineering (Sherman, 2001).After his studies, Jeff Bezos started working for Bankers Trust, and at the age of 26 he became the youngest Vice President of the company (Byers, 2006). When he noticed in 1994 that internet usage was increasing by 2300% a year (Hamalainen & Saarinen, 2007), he started planning his next step, which was Amazon. com. Amazon made his appearance in 1995 with 3 micro stations in Bezos’ garage (Robinson, 2009) and its activity was to sell books. Today Amazon. com is one of the most preferable internet retail platform, where customers can find DVD’s, CD’s, MP3 downloads, books and toys. According to Economist (2000), Amazon. om is the most visited internet retail platform in USA and one of the top 3 in Germany, UK, France and Japan. The impact of Amazon. com Amazon. com is today the largest electronic retail worldwide (Anon. , 2012). According to J. Bezos (Wired Magazine, December, 2011), Amazon is a cultural pioneer which lives to disrupt even its own business. It is recognized by 55% of conscious population, and it is part of today’s Western culture (Spector, 2002). The company spends almost 40% of its income on brand building (Margolis, 1999), and that is why Amazon. com is a trustable and a well-known brand name (Economist, 2000, Marketing, 1999). 0,000 people work today for Amazon, and the company turnover is 48 billion a year (Warman, 2012). Amaz on. com launched in November 2007 Kindle E-book reader and as Bezos notes â€Å"Millions of people own now Kindles† (Gonsalves, 2010)). According to Gonsalves (2010), Amazon sells 6 Kindles titles for every 10 hard books, and this strategic move increased profits up to 71%. Jeff Bezos vision about Amazon. com is to be the most customer-centric company in the world (Mellahi & Johnson, 2000). According to Mellahi and Johnson (2000) the success key of the company is†¦ innovation-innovation & innovation. J.Bezos’ approach to leading Amazon and his key factors which have contributed to his success. He was named â€Å"Man of the year 1999† (Ramo, 2011) and â€Å"Business person of the year† (Fortune Magazine, 2012). Jeff Bezos is a visionary entrepreneur leader ( (Dyer, et al. , 2009)). According to Moment (2004) the essential traits of an effective entrepreneur are to be singular focus, self-driven, ambitious, achievement oriented, imaginative, independen t and versatile. According to Quittner (1999) â€Å"Bezos, naturally enough is unmoved by the nay saying†. He asserts some instinctive characteristics, which make him distinctive from other leaders.Can he be described as a â€Å"Great Man/ Great leader†? As Huczynski and Buchanan put it (2007) â€Å"Great man are born leaders and emerge to take power regardless of social, organizational or historical context†. Other researches on trait theories tried to specify the traits of a great leader and found hundreds of them. However, according to Kilpatrick and Locke (1991) the typical leadership traits are: drive to archive, motivation to lead, self-confidence, ability to withstand setbacks, honesty and integrity, standing firm, cognitive ability, knowledge of business, emotional resilient.When Bezos decided to quit from his work on Wall Street, he had a strong feeling that his new business plan for an internet based retail platform would be his chance to move his idea s one step further (Academy of achievement interview, 2001). According to Stogdill (1948, 1974) a great man is confident, and he has a strong ego. A great man also has traits as honesty and integrity (Kilpatrick and Locke, 1991) and Jeff Bezos believe that one of the principal key of a leader is the courage â€Å"to tell the hard truth†.His collaborators and people who spend time working with him, subscribe Bezos as â€Å"immensely likable man† (Eskenazi, 2005). All this shows to us his excellent social skills. Subordinates are surprised by his brainpower and the way he inspires and leads his subordinates . These are signs of his intelligence and his motivation to lead. Examine the style, approach and content of the leadership demonstrated by specific examples Daft (2009) subscribes Bezos as a strong charismatic and also a visionary entrepreneur leader (Dyer, et al. , 2009).According to Schlooser and Todorovic (2006) there are commonalities between entrepreneurs and ch arismatic leaders. Subordinates usually are attracted by the way an entrepreneur and charismatic leader shows his great passion on achieving goals, taking risks, adding value in the organization and the way to control the business (Schlooser and Todorovic, 2006). According to Daft (2009) in an organization like Amazon where growth increases and the leader (Bezos) provide his major goal for continued growth, subordinates are exited and fully committed.Bezos has also a great ability to adapt to changes. He believes that engaging only to practices which will surely be successful, will prevent from exploring new opportunities (The business journals, May, 2008) Amazon. com’s motto is â€Å"Work hard, have fun and write history†. According to Adair (1979) in order to increase the effectiveness of the group, leaders (managers) must find ways to cover three basic needs of their subordinates: task needs (work hard), individual needs (have fun) and team maintance needs (write hi story).This approach is called Action-Centred Leadership and is part of Functional Approach. According to this approach, attention is focused on the content of leadership and how the group of the subordinates is affected by the leaders’ behavior. Bezos is also a situational leader, when Amazon had 2,9 million dollars in loses, he changed his strategy from â€Å"getting Amazon bigger and faster† to â€Å"look inside the house† (Anon. , 2012). Situational approach (Hersey and Blanchard, 1979) focuses on the situation where characteristics of an effective leadership are depending on the situation.Furthermore, Bezos is a transformational leader. Researchers in leadership argue that visionary and charisma are some of the characteristics of a transformational leader (Mullins, 2010). A transformational leader inspires and gives vision for the next day of the organization and knows how to connect the achievements of the subordinates with the organization’s goals (Kark, et al. , 2003). Shares are offered for bonuses to Amazon. com employees, in order to motivate them to see the big picture of the business and to feel their participation within the organization’s vision.Evaluate whether Jeff Bezos could have been as effective in a different context or organization, giving a credible argument for this supported by referenced theory Jeff Bezos has showed he can lead Amazon. com through change via his ability to make it the most costumer centric company in the world (Sherman, 2001). His visionary entrepreneur leadership style (Dyer, et al. , 2009) offers the ability to fit in change. His transformational leadership style (Burns, 1978) also indicates his charismatic way on leading his organization under different situations.Also, Jeff Bezos and Amazon surprised by launching the new Kindle Fire HD tablets (Spencer, 2012). Kindle Fire Hd is now one of the most hi-tech tablet gadgets in the world and Apple’s iPad finally found a real c ompetitor. According to Charles(2012), Bezos and Amazon are preparing another big surprise for their competitors: The new Kindle phone. These show us that Bezos could be effective if the context of the company was different. Jeffrey Bezos is an entrepreneur, and like other entrepreneurs he is known for having started his own business. It is unknown whether he could lead an established organization.It can be said that he would not be effective leading companies which are out of his ’area’ (computing & internet), but he also founded ‘’Blue Origin’’, a human spaceflight company (Boyle, 2006). According to these transferable skills and his traits (charisma, creativity, energy-drive, strong ego, honesty and integrity, social sills) he could lead different context companies in various situations. Conclusion We showed that Jeff Bezos is a strong visionary and charismatic entrepreneur leader with the traits of a great man. He is also a situational an d transformational leader with a great ability to inspire his suborders.They admire his brainpower and his successful decision-making. He can easily adapt to change, and his transferable skills make him a great leader under any circumstances. References Anon. , 2006. Click to download. [Online] Available at: http://www. economist. com/node/7791530 [Accessed 28 December 2012]. Anon. , 2012. A Retail Revolution Turns 10. [Online] Available at: http://www. nytimes. com/2005/07/10/business/yourmoney/10amazon. html? pagewanted=all&_r=0 [Accessed 28 December 2012]. Boyle, A. , 2012. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin spaceship company aces pad-escape test. [Online] Available at: http://cosmiclog. nbcnews. om/_news/2012/10/22/14623551-jeff-bezos-blue-origin-spaceship-company-aces-pad-escape-test? lite [Accessed 28 December 2012]. Byers, A. ; Byers, A. , 2006. Jeff Bezos: The Founder of Amazon. com. New York: Rosen Publishing Group . Dyer, J. H. , Gregersen, H. B. ; Clayton, M. , 2009. The Innovatorâ €™s DNA. [Online] Available at: http://hbr. org/2009/12/the-innovators-dna/sb2 [Accessed December 2012]. Edgecliffe-Johnson, A. , 2011. Amazon leads holiday online retailers poll. [Online] Available at: http://www. ft. com/intl/cms/s/0/65aef080-30a8-11e1-9436-00144feabdc0. html#axzz2JBnkxnU0 [Accessed 2 January 2013]. Gonsalves, A. , 2010.Amazon Kindle Sales Push Profits Up 71%. [Online] Available at: http://www. informationweek. com/telecom/business/amazon-kindle-sales-push-profits-up-71/222600622 [Accessed 28 December 2012]. Gonsalves, A. , 2010. Color Kindle Deep On Amazon Horizon. [Online] Available at: http://www. informationweek. com/storage/portable/color-kindle-deep-on-amazon-horizon/225200291 [Accessed 28 December 2012]. Halliday, J. ; Arthur, C. , 2012. New Kindle Fire set for launch following first version sales of 6m. [Online] Available at: http://www. guardian. co. uk/technology/2012/aug/31/kindle-fire-tablet-launch-amazon [Accessed 28 December 2012].Hamalainen, R. H. P. ; Saarinen, E. , 2007. Systems Intelligence in Leadership and Everyday Life. Helsinki: Systems Analysis Laboratory. Hersey, P. ; Blanchard, K. , 1996. Management of organizational behaviour. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Huczynski, A. ; Buchanan, D. , 2001. Organizational Behaviour. s. l. :Prentice Hall. Kark, R. , Shamir, B. ; Chen, G. , 2003. The two faces of transformational leadership: Empowerment and dependency. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(2), pp. 246-255. Levy, S. , 2011. Jeff Bezos Owns the Web in More Ways Than You Think. Wired Magazine, 13 November.Margolis, B. , 1999. An Amazon. com storey lessons learned. Direct Marketing, 62(761), p. 243. Mellahi, K. ; Johnson, M. , 2000. Does it pay to be a first mover in e. commerce? The case of Amazon. com. Management Decision, 38(7), pp. 445-452. Mullins, L. , 2009. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 9th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Ramo, J. C. , 1999. Jeffrey Preston Bezos: 1999 Peson of the year. Time Magazi ne, 27 December. Robinson, T. , 2009. Jeff Bezos: Amazon. com Architect. Minneapolis: Abdo Publishing Company. Sherman, J. , 2001. Jeff Bezos:King Of Amazon. Com. New York: 21st Century.Spector, R. , 2002. Amazon. com: Get Big Fast. New York: Harper Collins Publishers . Todorovic, Z. W. ; Schlosser, F. K. , 2007. An entrepreneur and a leader! : A framework conceptualizing the influence of leader style on a firm's entrepreneurial orientation—Performance relationship. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 2o(3), pp. 289-308. Warman, M. , 2012. Amazon: don't blame us for the revolution on the high street. [Online] Available at: http://www. telegraph. co. uk/technology/amazon/9604296/Amazon-dont-blame-us-for-the-revolution-on-the-high-street. html [Accessed 28 December 2012].

Net Present Value

Critics to DCF methods Ducht an UK companies * However, it is found inappropriate to use DCF methods for investments that have got strategic implications. * There are various reasons for the use of open approach. Since the outcomes of these projects are highly unforeseen, according one interviewee, the application of quantitative tools is not plausible. Therefore, companies tend to apply the rule of thumb methods rather than standardized quantitative models. The justification for not applying quantitative models is some times attributed to the nature of a project. Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions Specifically, it has been alleged that the traditional appraisal methods of payback, discounted net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) undervalues the long-term benefits; that traditional financial appraisals assume a far too static view of future industrial activity, under-rating the effects and pace of technological change; that there are many benefits from investments in new technology which are difficult to quantify and are often ignored in the appraisal process; and lastly, it is claimed that the systems of management control often employed by large organizations compound the bias against those investments which, although expensive, reap rewards vital for lon g-term viability. The first issue is a criticism of financial technique; the next two are criticisms of the way in which business operations are modelled; and the last is an issue of organizationalc ontrol and behavior. * We show that the criticisms directeda traditional appraisal methods may to some extent be based on misconceptions of the financial models and the ways in which they are best used * A similar objection is raised to the use of NPV and IRR. The claim is that discounting future cash benefits under-emphasizes the future benefits of new technology. This problem may be exacerbated by the application of risk premia to the discount rate. New echnology is assumed to be riskier than that which has been well established, Why DCF are bad for business and why business schools should stop using it * The assumptions related to DCF are increasingly becoming so disconnected from business reality that its continued use should come with the following warning, ‘This financial man agement technique is hazardous to your business. ’ * DCF as a capital investment appraisal tool suffers from a number of major limitations. These limitations include its narrow perspective, exclusion of non-financial benefits, overemphasis on the short-term, faulty assumptions about the status quo, inconsistent treatment of inflation, and promotion of dysfunctional/cheating behaviour. Previous authors, including Hastie (1974); Ramasesh and Jayakumar (1993); and Adler (2000) have enumerated and discussed the various sins of DCF. * The objections against the use of DCF for capital investment appraisal have often been objected to themselves. Kaplan (1986), for example, feels that the supposed limitations of DCF are in truth a limitation of the user and not of the technique. For example, the selection of a static discount rate is a failure of the user and not of the technique itself. Likewise, the inconsistent treatment of inflation, the overemphasis on the short-term, faulty assumptions about the status quo alternative, the adoption of a narrow organisational perspective, and manipulative and cheating behaviour are again all mistakes of the user. Even the difficulty of including non-financial benefits is seen as a lack of the financial analyst’s imagination rather than an inherent shortcoming of the technique. To help overcome the problems of DCF for capital investment decision-making, proponents of real options theory have argued for the tandem use of the Black and Scholes’ (1973) model and DCF. – The problem with DCF, and which cannot be overcome by its real options complement, occurs when data is not accessible or quantifiable. Not only do these occasions happen quite frequently, but also they become increasingly common as the decision moves from the operationally mundane to the strategically critical. The missapplication of capital investment appraisal techniques * Surveys of capital budgeting practices in the UK and USA reveal a trend towards the increased use of more sophisticated investment appraisals requiring the application of discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques. Several writers, however, have claimed that companies are underinvesting because they misapply ormisinterpret DCF techniques. * the only justification we can think of for using the accounting rate of return method is because top management believe that reported profits have an impact on how financial markets evaluate a company. This is further reinforced in many companies by linking management rewards to short-term financial accounting measures. Thus a project’s impact on the financial accounting measures used by financial markets would appear to be a factor that is taken into account within the decision-making process. Dimson and Marsh (1994) have expressed concern that many UK companies may be using exces sively high discount rates to appraise investments and, as a result, these companies are in danger of underinvesting. In the USA it has also been alleged that firms use discount rates to evaluate investment projects that are higher than their estimated cost of capital (Porter, 1992). Conclusions: Ducht an UK companies * All the UK case study companies apply combined methods of investment appraisal and most of them combine the DCF techniques with the value based management methods, such as SVA and EVA. The combination among the Netherlands companies, however, is mostly with the accounting based measures. Project decision-making in most of the case study companies is found decentralized, which provides the benefits of teamwork in project management. * In terms of appraisal model selection, however, the result is heterogeneous. Most companies prefer to apply combined methods of appraisal. Uniform methods of evaluation are no applied across all stages of a project, which will make diffi cult the comparison of project values at different stages. Although research in capital budgeting suggests the use of quantitative models for R&D and ICT projects, the application is not found in practice. In contrary, firms are relying on qualitative and non-standard approaches. This does not have rigorous theoretical basis, and hence, the decision-making process may not get an acceptable yardstick for its rationality. Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions * Payback methods are inadequate appraisal techniques and should never be used alone. NPV and IRR are appropriate ways of valuing future cash-flows. Any bias in their application will be due to a systematic use of too high a discount rate, but this can be avoided by correct analysis. Assumptionsa bout the futurec an lead to bias if an over-optimisticp ictureo f the no-investment position is taken, but again this is an avoidable pitfall. As for the benefits ignored, many of these can be quantifieda nd broughtf ormallyi nto the analysis. W hereb enefitsc annot be quantifiedt, hey shouldn everthelessb e stateds o that they can be givenp roperc onsiderationw hena finalj udgement is made. The bias due to the use of short-term financial criteria can be removed by the use of measures reflecting the longer-term benefits of present investments. In principle, then, the biases of capital-investment appraisals are avoidable, but one difficulty remains. New technology invariably leads to greater complexity, and any unwillingness to face this complexity in the capital-investment process is likely to lead to bias against change. * NPV, IRR and PB undervalue long term benefits * Benefits from investing in technology very difficult to quantify and often are ignored in the appraisal process. DCF analysis places too little weight on the future due to the magnitude of the discount rate (too high). Reasons for a too high discount rate: 1. 2. to compensate non-profit projects 3. – To calculate the required rate of return we use t he CAPM – Managers? interests different from shareholders? ones so higher rate or return determined. Then, again, the critic/problem is not of the appraisal method but of its application or understanding Theory-practice gap in .. : UK The survey results indicate that UK corporations have increasingly adopted prescribed textbook financial analysis. The stage has now been reached where only a small minority do not make use of discounted cash flows, formal risk analysis, ppropriate inflation adjustment and post-auditing. However, managers continue to employ simpler rules-of-thumb techniques. There has not, in general, been a replacement of one set of methods with another, but rather, a widening of the range of ways of analysing a financial decision. Why DCF are bad for business and why business schools should stop using it It has been said, ‘Life must be lived forward but can only be understood backwards. ’ There is no denying that DCF is wonderful at looking backwa rds and calculating, for example, the actual NPV a project has earned. Sometimes, generally when commonplace, operational decisions are involved, DCF can even work as a forward-looking tool. To work in this manner, however, requires the relevant cash flow data to be either present or, perhaps with a bit of work, discoverable. DCF does not work well when the decision at hand is strategic in nature. In these situations, the data is often neither present nor discoverable in time for an ex ante evaluation. Only after the decision is made does useful data likely become available. The condition described here is well captured in the lyrics of the Rolling Stones’ song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’: You can’t always get what you want But if you try sometimes, well you might find You get what you need. When it comes to matters that really matter, DCF and real options theory fail to enlighten us. Instead, they sap managers’ energy by focusing their attention on Pareto’s trivial many at the expense of his vital few. In the end, managers end up missing the forest in their search for the non-existent trees. It is time that as educators, we rediscovered the vital few and culled out the trivial many topics that have crept into our course outlines. DCF should be one of the first topics we drop or at a minimum drastically prune back. It is not only a prime example of the trivial many, but it is a potential hazard to firms that use it for decisions that affect firm strategy. Do I hear any other offers? The missapplication of capital investment appraisal techniques The use of conservative cash flow forecasts, combined with the incorrect treatment of nflation and excessive discount rates observed in the survey suggests that many UK organizations may be rejecting profitable investments. Given these problems it could be argued that DCF procedures should be abandoned or give n little weight in long-term investment decisions. We strongly disagree. DCF procedures should not be ignored or relegated in importance merely because they might be used incorrectly. Instead, decisionmakers should recognize potential problems and be careful to ensure that the financial appraisal is performed correctly. CRITICS TO PAYBACK PERIOD Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions The objection to payback methods is that they ignore all cash flows after the desired payback period, which may be as short as 2 or 3 years. Thus they take no account of the long-term advantages that many large investments in new process technology bring, so the use of payback criteria is worthy of comment. 5 Payback can be insensitive to considerable variation among projects (in terms of their cash flows). 6 Payback methods are simple rules of thumb. Their attraction is their simplicity, and robustness for making judgements on possibly optimistic costings and uneasily quantified business risks. However, they do ignore medium- and long-term cash flows, and it is perhaps surprising that they seem to be regarded as serious tools of financial analysis. Net present value Firms generally have many investment opportunities available.   Some of these investment opportunities are valuable and others are not. The essence of successful financial management is identifying which opportunities will increase shareholder wealth. There are three basic and related concepts that form the very foundation of modern day finance: present value, net present value (NPV) and opportunity cost. Present value gives the value of cash flows generated by an investment and NPV gives the effective net benefit from an investment after subtracting its costs. Opportunity cost represents the rate of return on investments of comparable risk. Application of these concepts enables us to value different kinds of assets, especially those which are not commonly traded in well-functioning markets. NPV of an asset or investment is the present value of its cash flows less the cost of acquiring the asset. Smart investors will only acquire assets that have positive NPVs and will attempt to maximize the NPV of their investments. The rate of return received from an investment is the profit divided by the cost of the investment. Positive NPV investments will have rates of return higher than the opportunity cost. This gives an alternate investment decision rule. Good investments are those that have rates of return higher than the opportunity cost. This opportunity cost can be inferred from the capital market and is based on its risk characteristics of the investment. To assess why Net Present Value leads to better investment decisions than other criteria, let us start with a review of the NPV approach to investment decision making and then present four other widely used measures. These are: the payback period, the book rate of return, the internal rate of return (IRR) and profitability index. The measures are inferior to the NPV and should not, with the qualified exception of the IRR, normally be relied upon to provide sound investment decisions. These measures are commonly used in practice. The NPV represents the value added to the business by the project or the investment. It represents the increase in the market value of the stockholders’ wealth. Thus, accepting a project with a positive NPV will make the stockholders better off by the amount of its NPV. The NPV is the theoretically correct method to use in most situations. Other measures are inferior because they often give decisions different from those given by following the NPV rule. They will not serve the best interests of the stockholders (Brealey, 2002). To calculate NPV we should firstly forecast the incremental cash flows generated by the project and determine the appropriate discount rate, which should be the opportunity cost of capital. Then calculate the sum of the present values (PV) of all the cash flows generated by the investment. NPV = PV of cash inflows – initial investment. To make decision on investment, we should accept projects with NPV greater than zero and for mutually exclusive projects, accept the project with the highest NPV, if the NPV is positive. The NPV represents the value added to the stockholders’ wealth by the project. The discount rate should reflect the opportunity cost of capital or what the stockholders can expect to earn on other investments of equivalent risk (Brealey, 2002). The NPV approach correctly accounts for the time value of money and adjusts for the project’s risk by using the opportunity cost of capital as the discount rate. Thus, it clearly measures the increase in market value or wealth created by the project. The NPV of a project is not affected by â€Å"packaging† it with another project. In other words, NPV(A+B) = NPV(A) + NPV(B). The NPV is the only measure that provides the theoretically correct measure of a project’s value (Ross, 2002). Payback Period. The payback period is simply the time taken by the project to return your initial investment. The measure is very popular and is widely used; it is also a flawed and unreliable measure. It is simple to calculate and easy to comprehend. However, payback period has very limited economic meaning because it ignores the time value of money and the cash flows after the payback period. It can be inconsistent and the ranking of projects may be changed by packaging with other projects. Discounted payback is a modified version of the payback measure and uses the discounted cash flows to compute payback. This is an improvement over the traditional payback in that the time value of money is recognized. A project, which has a measurable discounted payback, will have a positive NPV. However, the other disadvantages of payback still apply. It is also not simple anymore (Investment Criteria). Book Rate of Return (BRR). This is a rate of return measure based on accounting earnings and is defined as the ratio of book income to book assets. Accounting earnings are reported by firms to the stockholders and the book return measure fits in with the reported earnings and the accounting procedures used by firms. However, the measure suffers from the serious drawback that it does not measure the cash flows or economic profitability of the project. It does not consider the time value of money and gives too much weight to distant earnings. The measure depends on the choice of depreciation method and on other accounting conventions. BRR can give inconsistent ranking of projects and rankings may be altered by packaging. There is very little relationship between the book return and the IRR. (Brealey, 2002). Internal Rate of Return (IRR). IRR is defined as the discount rate at which the NPV equals zero. Used properly, the IRR will give the same result as the NPV for independent projects and for projects with normal cash flows. As long as the cost of capital is less than the IRR, the NPV for the project will be positive. IRR can rank projects incorrectly, and the rankings may be changed by the packaging of the projects. For mutually exclusive projects, IRR can give incorrect decisions and should not be used to rank projects. If one must use IRR for mutually exclusive projects, it should be done by calculating the IRR on the differences between their cash flows (Ross, 2002). Profitability Index. Occasionally, companies face resource constraint or capital rationing. The amount available for investment is limited so that all positive NPV projects cannot be accepted. In such cases, stockholder wealth is maximized by taking up projects with the highest NPV per dollar of initial investment. This approach is facilitated by the profitability index (PI) measure. Profitability index is defined as: NPV/Investment. The decision rule for profitability index is to accept all projects with a PI greater than zero. This rule is equivalent to the NPV rule. The modified rule applied in the case of capital rationing is to accept projects with the highest profitability index first, followed by the one with next highest, and so on till the investment dollars are exhausted. This rule will maximize the NPV and stockholder wealth. If the resource constraint is on some other resources, the profitability index needs to be modified to measure the NPV per unit of the resource that is rationed. The profitability index cannot cope with mutually exclusive projects or where one project is contingent on another (Brealey, 2002). Thus, comparing NVP with other criteria we can assert that NPV is superior to other criteria. First, it is the only measure, which considers the time value of money, properly adjusting for the opportunity cost of capital. Second, it gives consistent measures of the project’s value (i.e. not affected by packaging with other projects). Third, it clearly measures the value added to the stockholders’ wealth. The only exception to the superiority of NPV is when the firm is constrained by capital rationing. This implies that the firm cannot finance all positive NPV projects and should therefore choose projects that give the highest NPV for each dollar of investment. The profitability index that is defined as the ratio of NPV to the investment amount is used to achieve this selection. However, the other criteria for the evaluation of projects are found to be popular in practice. If using them, we should make sure we use them in the best possible way and understand the limitations of them. For example, we should always compare mutually exclusive projects on the basis of the difference between their cash flows, because that it is the cash flows that determine the value of a project. Inadequate forecast of the cash flows can be far more disastrous than using the wrong appraisal technique. Cash flow forecasts are difficult to make and can be expensive. It does not make sense to waste the forecasts by using an inferior method of evaluation. References: Brealey, Richard A. & Myers, Stewart C. (2002). Principles of Corporate Finance, 7th ed. Chapters 5 – 6. Irwin/McGraw-Hill Book Co. Investment Criteria, Chapter 9. Introduction to Finance. COMM 203 Homepage. College of Commerce, University of Saskatchewan, 2004 from http://www.commerce.usask.ca/faculty/loescher/Commerce203/CapitalBudgeting/Investment_Criteria.ppt Ross, S., Westerfield, R., Jordan, B. & Roberts, G. (2002). Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. Net Present Value Critics to DCF methods Ducht an UK companies * However, it is found inappropriate to use DCF methods for investments that have got strategic implications. * There are various reasons for the use of open approach. Since the outcomes of these projects are highly unforeseen, according one interviewee, the application of quantitative tools is not plausible. Therefore, companies tend to apply the rule of thumb methods rather than standardized quantitative models. The justification for not applying quantitative models is some times attributed to the nature of a project. Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions Specifically, it has been alleged that the traditional appraisal methods of payback, discounted net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) undervalues the long-term benefits; that traditional financial appraisals assume a far too static view of future industrial activity, under-rating the effects and pace of technological change; that there are many benefits from investments in new technology which are difficult to quantify and are often ignored in the appraisal process; and lastly, it is claimed that the systems of management control often employed by large organizations compound the bias against those investments which, although expensive, reap rewards vital for lon g-term viability. The first issue is a criticism of financial technique; the next two are criticisms of the way in which business operations are modelled; and the last is an issue of organizationalc ontrol and behavior. * We show that the criticisms directeda traditional appraisal methods may to some extent be based on misconceptions of the financial models and the ways in which they are best used * A similar objection is raised to the use of NPV and IRR. The claim is that discounting future cash benefits under-emphasizes the future benefits of new technology. This problem may be exacerbated by the application of risk premia to the discount rate. New echnology is assumed to be riskier than that which has been well established, Why DCF are bad for business and why business schools should stop using it * The assumptions related to DCF are increasingly becoming so disconnected from business reality that its continued use should come with the following warning, ‘This financial man agement technique is hazardous to your business. ’ * DCF as a capital investment appraisal tool suffers from a number of major limitations. These limitations include its narrow perspective, exclusion of non-financial benefits, overemphasis on the short-term, faulty assumptions about the status quo, inconsistent treatment of inflation, and promotion of dysfunctional/cheating behaviour. Previous authors, including Hastie (1974); Ramasesh and Jayakumar (1993); and Adler (2000) have enumerated and discussed the various sins of DCF. * The objections against the use of DCF for capital investment appraisal have often been objected to themselves. Kaplan (1986), for example, feels that the supposed limitations of DCF are in truth a limitation of the user and not of the technique. For example, the selection of a static discount rate is a failure of the user and not of the technique itself. Likewise, the inconsistent treatment of inflation, the overemphasis on the short-term, faulty assumptions about the status quo alternative, the adoption of a narrow organisational perspective, and manipulative and cheating behaviour are again all mistakes of the user. Even the difficulty of including non-financial benefits is seen as a lack of the financial analyst’s imagination rather than an inherent shortcoming of the technique. To help overcome the problems of DCF for capital investment decision-making, proponents of real options theory have argued for the tandem use of the Black and Scholes’ (1973) model and DCF. – The problem with DCF, and which cannot be overcome by its real options complement, occurs when data is not accessible or quantifiable. Not only do these occasions happen quite frequently, but also they become increasingly common as the decision moves from the operationally mundane to the strategically critical. The missapplication of capital investment appraisal techniques * Surveys of capital budgeting practices in the UK and USA reveal a trend towards the increased use of more sophisticated investment appraisals requiring the application of discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques. Several writers, however, have claimed that companies are underinvesting because they misapply ormisinterpret DCF techniques. * the only justification we can think of for using the accounting rate of return method is because top management believe that reported profits have an impact on how financial markets evaluate a company. This is further reinforced in many companies by linking management rewards to short-term financial accounting measures. Thus a project’s impact on the financial accounting measures used by financial markets would appear to be a factor that is taken into account within the decision-making process. Dimson and Marsh (1994) have expressed concern that many UK companies may be using exces sively high discount rates to appraise investments and, as a result, these companies are in danger of underinvesting. In the USA it has also been alleged that firms use discount rates to evaluate investment projects that are higher than their estimated cost of capital (Porter, 1992). Conclusions: Ducht an UK companies * All the UK case study companies apply combined methods of investment appraisal and most of them combine the DCF techniques with the value based management methods, such as SVA and EVA. The combination among the Netherlands companies, however, is mostly with the accounting based measures. Project decision-making in most of the case study companies is found decentralized, which provides the benefits of teamwork in project management. * In terms of appraisal model selection, however, the result is heterogeneous. Most companies prefer to apply combined methods of appraisal. Uniform methods of evaluation are no applied across all stages of a project, which will make diffi cult the comparison of project values at different stages. Although research in capital budgeting suggests the use of quantitative models for R&D and ICT projects, the application is not found in practice. In contrary, firms are relying on qualitative and non-standard approaches. This does not have rigorous theoretical basis, and hence, the decision-making process may not get an acceptable yardstick for its rationality. Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions * Payback methods are inadequate appraisal techniques and should never be used alone. NPV and IRR are appropriate ways of valuing future cash-flows. Any bias in their application will be due to a systematic use of too high a discount rate, but this can be avoided by correct analysis. Assumptionsa bout the futurec an lead to bias if an over-optimisticp ictureo f the no-investment position is taken, but again this is an avoidable pitfall. As for the benefits ignored, many of these can be quantifieda nd broughtf ormallyi nto the analysis. W hereb enefitsc annot be quantifiedt, hey shouldn everthelessb e stateds o that they can be givenp roperc onsiderationw hena finalj udgement is made. The bias due to the use of short-term financial criteria can be removed by the use of measures reflecting the longer-term benefits of present investments. In principle, then, the biases of capital-investment appraisals are avoidable, but one difficulty remains. New technology invariably leads to greater complexity, and any unwillingness to face this complexity in the capital-investment process is likely to lead to bias against change. * NPV, IRR and PB undervalue long term benefits * Benefits from investing in technology very difficult to quantify and often are ignored in the appraisal process. DCF analysis places too little weight on the future due to the magnitude of the discount rate (too high). Reasons for a too high discount rate: 1. 2. to compensate non-profit projects 3. – To calculate the required rate of return we use t he CAPM – Managers? interests different from shareholders? ones so higher rate or return determined. Then, again, the critic/problem is not of the appraisal method but of its application or understanding Theory-practice gap in .. : UK The survey results indicate that UK corporations have increasingly adopted prescribed textbook financial analysis. The stage has now been reached where only a small minority do not make use of discounted cash flows, formal risk analysis, ppropriate inflation adjustment and post-auditing. However, managers continue to employ simpler rules-of-thumb techniques. There has not, in general, been a replacement of one set of methods with another, but rather, a widening of the range of ways of analysing a financial decision. Why DCF are bad for business and why business schools should stop using it It has been said, ‘Life must be lived forward but can only be understood backwards. ’ There is no denying that DCF is wonderful at looking backwa rds and calculating, for example, the actual NPV a project has earned. Sometimes, generally when commonplace, operational decisions are involved, DCF can even work as a forward-looking tool. To work in this manner, however, requires the relevant cash flow data to be either present or, perhaps with a bit of work, discoverable. DCF does not work well when the decision at hand is strategic in nature. In these situations, the data is often neither present nor discoverable in time for an ex ante evaluation. Only after the decision is made does useful data likely become available. The condition described here is well captured in the lyrics of the Rolling Stones’ song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’: You can’t always get what you want But if you try sometimes, well you might find You get what you need. When it comes to matters that really matter, DCF and real options theory fail to enlighten us. Instead, they sap managers’ energy by focusing their attention on Pareto’s trivial many at the expense of his vital few. In the end, managers end up missing the forest in their search for the non-existent trees. It is time that as educators, we rediscovered the vital few and culled out the trivial many topics that have crept into our course outlines. DCF should be one of the first topics we drop or at a minimum drastically prune back. It is not only a prime example of the trivial many, but it is a potential hazard to firms that use it for decisions that affect firm strategy. Do I hear any other offers? The missapplication of capital investment appraisal techniques The use of conservative cash flow forecasts, combined with the incorrect treatment of nflation and excessive discount rates observed in the survey suggests that many UK organizations may be rejecting profitable investments. Given these problems it could be argued that DCF procedures should be abandoned or give n little weight in long-term investment decisions. We strongly disagree. DCF procedures should not be ignored or relegated in importance merely because they might be used incorrectly. Instead, decisionmakers should recognize potential problems and be careful to ensure that the financial appraisal is performed correctly. CRITICS TO PAYBACK PERIOD Capital inv appraisal of new technologies: Problems, misconceptions and research directions The objection to payback methods is that they ignore all cash flows after the desired payback period, which may be as short as 2 or 3 years. Thus they take no account of the long-term advantages that many large investments in new process technology bring, so the use of payback criteria is worthy of comment. 5 Payback can be insensitive to considerable variation among projects (in terms of their cash flows). 6 Payback methods are simple rules of thumb. Their attraction is their simplicity, and robustness for making judgements on possibly optimistic costings and uneasily quantified business risks. However, they do ignore medium- and long-term cash flows, and it is perhaps surprising that they seem to be regarded as serious tools of financial analysis.

Fallacies Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fallacies Analysis - Assignment Example This is a type of question that is intended to make the opponent look unavoidably bad and uncomfortable. It can be found in political campaigns aimed at the citizens’ noble feelings: e.g. do you favor voting for a party that will legalize drugs, promote gay marriages and diminishes importance of religious spirituality justifying it with democratic aspirations? In this fallacy, the premises supporting the conclusion imply that the conclusion is true. For example, one can say that the United States is the best country to live in the world because there are no other countries better than the U.S. Drawing conclusions based on the available evidence, we often suppress both available and unavailable evidence that might make the conclusion more consistent. A common instance is insisting that America is an inherently Christian nation relying on the fact that ‘in God, we trust’ is inscribed in money. However, this conclusion is inconsistent due to a suppressed evidence: this inscription was added in the middle of the 20th century because of the fear of communism. Lack of proportion is over- or underestimation of actions, arguments, and outcomes used to convince people. An instance of this fallacy can be seen in downplaying important arguments for the sake of less significant ones. For example, a mother can be worried about the risk her child faces at school, i.e. risk of a mass school shooting; but she ignores the significance of the risk the child faces going to the school by bus daily.

Marketing strategy and KSFs of Apple Incorporation Dissertation

Marketing strategy and KSFs of Apple Incorporation - Dissertation Example Globalization has posed a major challenge to organizations to manage international business. Technological advancement has pervaded every field and marketing of high-technology products has become a specialized activity. The global economy is driven by technological innovation as the scope of high-technology applications is no longer limited to computers. The high-tech industries are characterized by a high degree of uncertainty as far as the markets, technology and competition which makes the traditional marketing tools unsuitable for these products. Apple Inc. features among the top 50 companies in Business Week in 2006. This is an Independent Research paper (IRP) with the objective of evaluating the marketing strategy and the key success factors (KSF) adopted by Apple Inc. when they were virtually on the verge of closure. Literature review of the existing marketing theories and principles was carried out and the framework for the IRP determined. This IRP is totally based on secondary data collected through academic journals and reputed websites through reputed search engines. The study concludes that the marketing strategy of Apple is based on several factors. They focus on continuous product enhancement and they anticipate and incorporate the customer needs of which even the customers may not be aware of. Over the years they have build a brand image and today they enjoy high brand equity on which they thrive. They have several channels to reach their products to their customers and have been able to build a community of Apple users. Long-range vision of the CEO contributes to its KSFs apart from the brand loyalty and the value they create for the customer. The key success factors of Apple include the long-range vision of the CEO, the brand loyalty, the value they create for the customer and the excel lent customer experience they provide at their stores. The study concludes with recommendations for further research. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Rationale for research 2 1.3 Organization of the study 3 2. Literature Review 5 2.1 Marketing strategy 2.1.1 Introduction 5 2.1.2 Product positioning/branding 6 2.1.3 Niche marketing 7 2.1.4 Customer engagement behavior 8 2.2 Theoretical perspectives 2.2.1 Competitive strategy 9 2.2.2 Key Success factors (KSF) 9 2.3 Overview of the computer industry 10 2.4 Overview of Apple Inc 10 3. Research Methodology 12 3.1 Purpose of the research and phenomenon 12 3.2 Research Philosophy 12 3.3 Research Strategy – justification for the chosen method 13 3.4 Data collection 14 3.5 Data Analysis 14 3.6 Limitations of the study 14 4. Findings 4.1 Introduction 16 4.2 Apple’s strategy 4.2.1 Product differentiation strategy 16 4.2.2 Advertising strategy 16 4.2.3 Brand Value 17 4.2.4 Distribution channels 20 4.3 Appleà ¢â‚¬â„¢s KSFs 4.3.1 Apple customer experience 22 4.3.2 Long-range vision 22 4.3.3 Creating value for the customers 22 4.3.4 Technological paradigm 23 4.4 Strategies of competitors 23 5. Discussion on findings 27 5. Conclusion and Recommendation 5.1 Conclusion 31 5.2 Learning outcome 32 5.3 Recommendations 32 References 33 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Globalization has posed a major challenge to organizations to manage international business. This requires organizations to have skills, efforts and resources in terms of manpower, financial resources and the capability to handle issues that may arise during the course of international operations. Globalization has led to unlimited competition across nations, cultures and organizations (Faria & Guedes, 2005). Technological advancement has pervaded every field and marketing of high-technology products has become a specialized activity. These require an effective marketing strategy, an understanding of international management of busine ss and knowledge of managing across different cultures. The global economy is driven by technological innovation as the scope of high-technology

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Team Discussion and strategic paper - Essay Example He must be clear in his mind about the strategies for the smooth functioning of the business. He should have a thorough research about the success and possible challenges to his business idea before setting it up. â€Å"A balanced scorecard analysis (Developed by Dr. Robert Kaplan and Dr. David Norton) will help the entrepreneur in defining the vision and strategies of his business and translate them into action. The entrepreneur must ensure that his strategies are well known to his employees to ensure the success of his business. The proposed business must be analyzed under different perspectives like Learning and growth, business process, customer and financial perspectives. Within each perspective, identify what needs to be done in order to achieve the overall mission like, What must we do (from each perspective) to achieve the overall mission? What is â€Å"This perspective focuses on how an organisation is improving its ability to innovate, improve and learn in order to support success with the critical operations and processes defined in the Internal Process Perspective. This may include employee training and corporate culture attitudes.† (Balanced scorecard) Innovation always creates leaders in the market. Consumers are always going after new trends and hence the success of a business depends on the innovative strategies of the entrepreneur. For a baby clothing store, the entrepreneur must analyze the current trends and he must be capable of designing new varieties of clothes for kids depend on the consumer interests. Following what others are doing may not help him to compete in the market. The employees must be well versed in the current scientific management theories which will help them in dealing with customers, marketing, accounting, purchasing estimations, etc. For that purpose the entrepreneur must provide adequate training to the employees to make them aware of the current trends in business, corporate strategies and

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American cinema - Essay Example Concerns of the 90s are also brought out in the film, including increased violence, changing rates and types of drug use and cultural oddities such as all over body piercings. Each character has their own perspective on the times in which they’re living as well, bringing in even more depth in Tarantino’s analysis of this era, which is brought out in even sharper detail thanks to the several references made to pop culture icons of bygone eras. It is through these various devices that Tarantino is able to deliver a film that not only captures the prevailing culture of 1990s America, but that also provides an answer for those seeking meaning in a confusing and violent world. Violence plays a big role in the film just as it did in everyday life in America in the 90’s. By the end of the decade, Americans had become used to acting as the world’s policeman, having worked singly and with other countries in a variety of predominantly Middle Eastern issues. However, the beginnings of this trend were already evident by the time the movie was released. Although he doesn’t make a comment upon these actions directly, Tarantino indicates his own feelings regarding war in the flashback Butch experiences just before he’s called to his fight. The character of Captain Koons enters the home where Butch as a young child is watching cartoons and gives him his father’s watch. While war is given a somewhat nostalgic, honorable memory in the story regarding Butch’s great-grandfather who went to war in World War I and his grandfather who died in World War II, the Captain takes on a whole new tone when discussing his own experience in Vietnam. Although his voice has been calm and gentle, almost sing-song as he relates the family history regarding the watch in his hand, he takes on a much harsher tone and introduces vulgar language in discussing how the watch was preserved to be passed down to Butch.

Possible entry modes strategies into china for australian beer product Essay

Possible entry modes strategies into china for australian beer product and examine the key strategic issues that need to be considered - Essay Example FDI, and then to cost-orientated FDI; Technology and marketing factors combine to explain standardization, which drives location decisions’ (Buckley et al., 1998, 539) The decision of a firm to entry a foreign market is depended on a series of factors. According to Gaba et al. (2002, 39) ‘firms face three interlocking questions with regard to international expansion: what market to enter (entry location), how to enter (mode of entry), and when to enter (timing of entry)’. On the other hand, it has been considered by Zacharakis (1997, 23) that international expansion involves ‘risks, including political instability in the target market, expropriation, social unrest, fluctuating exchange rates, poor infrastructures, host government regulations, differing language, norms, religion, and legal systems’. The presentation of the above factors however does not exclude the possible existence of other elements that can influence the company’s decision to enter a foreign market. In accordance with the views stated in the literature, a firm’s decision to enter a foreign market could be possibly analyzed using certain theoretical models. One of these models (Agarwal et al., 1992, 2), the normative decision theory suggests that ‘the choice of a foreign market entry mode should be based on trade-offs between risks and returns; A firm is expected to choose the entry mode that offers the highest risk-adjusted return on investment’. On the other hand, behavioral evidence indicates that a firms choices may also be determined by resource availability and need for control; Resource availability refers to the financial and managerial capacity of a firm for serving a particular foreign market while control refers to a firms need to influence systems, methods, and decisions in that foreign market’ (Agarwal et al., 1992, 2). Entry mode has been characterized as ‘the cornerstone of a firms market entry strategy’ (Au et al., 1997, 780). Moreover, in accordance

Socio-economic Effects of Reducing National Debt of the United States Research Paper

Socio-economic Effects of Reducing National Debt of the United States - Research Paper Example Application of microeconomic theory especially the demand supply mechanisms will be applied to show the effects on price as well as quantities. 3. Processes of deficit reduction There has been different proposals being put forwarded by policy makers and the political parties towards debt reduction mechanism. The Republicans have claimed that a smaller government is required towards deriving a balanced budget (Erickson, 2012). Although it can be stated to be having some significance but the policy is rather far from being a panacea. The reason for this is that the Republicans have targeted towards too small of programs. When there was backing of legislation by the Republicans in curbing expenditure on the food stamp, there was only trimming of around $ 16 billion out of $ 80 billion food stamp budget. It has been stated that the proposals made by the Republicans do not possess the ability towards solving the woes of the nation’s fiscal conditions. There has been necessity of bi gger reforms. The proposals as granted by Democratic parties in for tax hikes can be also stated to be far from panacea as well. It can be stated while the increase in taxes can neutralize the difficulties in budget but they are far from being actually neutralizing the problem all by them. On the surface it can be stated that the hike in taxes might be a good idea towards raising revenue simultaneously with the minimization of the income inequality gap. On further scrutiny it can be stated that the plan has also certain problems. The first problem is associated with the required breadth of the tax hikes. In the current situation the Federal taxes are around 18% of the GDP of the United States of America. For the purpose of balancing the...The paper highlights the process of lowering the national debt which affects the everyday hardworking American citizens in almost every aspect of their lives. There is a requirement of Federal law which directs that the Congress in United States of America possess the power of borrowing any amount of money which is required to pay for the programs which has been passed by the Congress of the country 75). There has been power given by the constitution towards controlling the expenditure as well as borrowing. The limit of debt or the ceiling in debt introduced in the World War I was targeted towards giving the Treasury towards provision of flexibility. In 2011, the ceiling of debt has become the central ground for the conflict of budget among the Republicans who took control of the House in the elections of the year 2010. American President as well as Democrats refused in raising the limits without a deficit reduction package. There was an impasse which was resolved a with a plan of broadening the spending cuts if there would be no working of the deal that could be worked out for a large scale reduction. There was so called sequestration cuts which was scheduled towards taking effect on January, 2013 but has been pushed back until the month of March, 2013 with the bill being passed on the Day of New Year for heading off the fiscal cliffs of the cuts as well as tax hikes. There is a graphical explanation of the possible tax hike in the paper, that shows the adverse effects on the wage of the employees in the economy.

Geicos Total Rewards Program Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Geicos Total Rewards Program - Coursework Example First, it is quite hilarious to understand how it has impacted on the quality of life of many people. This has been clearly explained on the website. For this reason, anyone who gets access to the site does not need to conduct an extensive research, but to have a glance at this site in order to know everything about all the rewards associated with the program. To conclude, I would like to commend the administrators of this website for doing a commendable job. It is quite encouraging to design and manage such a well-organized website for the benefits of all the audience. After all, all the information is presented in a clear manner using a simple language. Thus, it undoubtedly becomes beneficial to anyone who gets access to it at all times. However, I would like to say that the information should not be too brief. Instead, it should be properly illustrated for easier comprehension by all the readers. As a matter of fact, a program can be much effective if it addresses the needs of everyone. This is due to the fact that they are meant to serve a dynamic society comprised of different people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse needs. In other words, as it is now; the program does not address all the advantages examined in the World at Work Handbook of Compensation, Benefits & Total Reward. For this reason, it is my considered opinion that the rewards should be repackaged to expand into many other areas rather than the ones specified on the website. I would like to urge the program to consider using the strategy of flexibility. Meaning, the program should not only concentrate on a few areas but expand to other aspects as well. These are also equally important since they have lots of value to add to human life. Although it is important to emphasize on health and education, the focus should be put on other significant areas such as economic empowerment.

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 20

Project management - Essay Example The vision of ASAP entails; realizing a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable Africa, through high quality education. The main objective of the project is to improve the quality of public education in East Africa. In order to achieve its mission and objectives, and work towards realizing vision, the company has adopted effective strategies. The strategies entail seeking the expertise of fulltime and volunteer staffs, and the financial support from international donors. The financial support has enabled ASAP to partner with the community to build schools; for instance, Miririni Secondary School and Chole Primary School. The volunteer program enables groups of Americans to visit during the summer, and assist in building or renovating a school in rural Africa. ASAP has partnered with several international partners, to ensure the success of its quality education activities. The organization is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. The project used the Millennium Development goals as a guideline, and also benchmark for monitoring and evaluation

Joint Commission Accreditation, Certification, and Licensing Essay Example for Free

Joint Commission Accreditation, Certification, and Licensing Essay Given health record completion policies, correctly apply accreditation or licensing standards to determine the organization’s compliance. Write a 1-page paper on how you think Joint? organization’s compliance. Commission’s standards impact health record completion and organizational compliance. Be sure to discuss advantages/disadvantages of being accredited by Joint Commission. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of healthcare organizations (JCAHO) is a non-profit and independent accreditation organization that provides accreditation and certification for various healthcare organizations, health plans, health packages and hospitals in the US. It has been functioning in the US, and is recognized throughout the world. More than 15, 000 healthcare organizations in the US have been accredited and certified by the Joint Commission. An organization that subscribes to accreditation by the JCAHO would constantly have to make an effort to reach certain performance standards. JCAHO gives greater importance to maintaining patient safety standards and improving the quality of care (The Joint Commission, 2008). The Joint Commission has accredited several aspects of medical care including ambulatory care, assisted living, behavioral healthcare, critical care, laboratory services, home care, surgeries, old age clinics, staff and employees, disease-management, long-term care, etc (The Joint Commission, 2008). It is very important that the healthcare organization complies with the specifications mentioned by the JCAHO. Firstly, the healthcare organization has to understand the importance of having these specifications in place. It would benefit the organization and also the patients, insurance companies, government and the general public. The litigations against malpractice are significantly fewer when a hospital has accreditation. Flowsheets that record detailed information and observations of the patients vitals and care administered would help in precise documentation. An electronic system would act as an aid in ensuring that the specifications of the joint Commission are enforced and followed. Studies have demonstrated that the compliance levels of the JCAHO specifications are around 50 % in all healthcare organizations that subscribe to accreditation by this organization. The outcome of any case would certainly be better if the specifications laid down by the JCAHO are followed. Frequently, the Joint Commission would be conducting surveys and suggested measures to be implemented in order to improve the status of the employees and the patients. One way of ensuring that the organization complies with the JCAHO specifications is to have several monitoring devices in place. These include surprise checks, regular visits, inspection of the records, etc. The information transmitted and stored in the hospital database should be accessible to the JCAHO for the purpose of monitoring. Patient surveys are another method of ensuring compliance by the JCAHO. Another way would be to record the cases of malpractice against the healthcare organization (Massachusetts General Hospital, 2007). There are several requirements a hospital or a healthcare organization has to follow in order to get accredited to the JCAHO. These include: ? Following the recommendations launched by the AMH and the BHC ? Following the requirements of the HIPAA ? Having a system that fulfills the recommendations lay down by the JCAHO regarding flow of information (using software tools such as TIER). ? Some of the important criteria regarding the information management system includes: 1. Maintain confidentiality of the patient information 2. The internal and the external needs have to be addressed through comprehensive planning 3. Security of the information – accessibility only to the relevant staff members 4. Data, which can be collected, analyzed and decisions-made. 5. Addressing the education and training needs – Information should be presented to the staff members and the patients in an automated manner 6. Information and clinical records presented to the patients should be comprehensive and specific. The Joint Commission accreditation has several advantages and disadvantages. Advantages: †¢ The patients would be having greater confidence in the healthcare organization and health plan. †¢ In the market, there would be greater competition between the healthcare organizations. †¢ The risk management would be more efficient. †¢ The business practices and ethics would improve. †¢ The human resource management process would be better. †¢ Insurance companies and third parties would have better relationships with the healthcare organization. †¢ Compliance with the terms and conditions mentioned by the regulatory bodies would be better. Disadvantages: †¢ Information provided to the JCAHO could be potentially misused. †¢ The hospital would be spending huge sums of money for the purpose of accreditation and would actually not be involved in improving patient care. †¢ Unhealthy competition may be propagated. References: Brink, L. J. (2004). â€Å"JCAHO Information Management Standards and TIER† Retrieved on February 18, 2008, from Hospitals for a Healthy Environment Web site: http://www. sequest. net/articles/TIER%20and%20JCAHO%20IM%20Standards. pdf Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (2007). â€Å"Guide to JCAHO Environment of Care Standard 1. 10.1† Retrieved on January 29, 2008, from Hospitals for a Healthy Environment Web site: http://www. h2e-online. org/regsandstandards/jcahoEC1. 10. 1. html Masshecutes General Hospital (2007). â€Å"Massachusetts General Hospital Summary of the Joint Commission Findings. † Retrieved on January 29, 2008, from MGH Web site: http://www. massgeneral. org/findings_summary. html The Joint Commission (2008). â€Å"Joint Commission Requirements. † Retrieved on January 29, 2008, from The Joint Commission Web site: http://www. jointcommission. org/Standards/Requirements/

The Impacts Of Invasive Alien Plants

The Impacts Of Invasive Alien Plants Chapter 1 Research on the impacts of invasive alien plants (IAP) on biodiversity, ecosystem services and processes have been well documented in the literature. Furthermore, the primary focus of this research was the negative impacts associated with IAPs when there are some benefits associated with these plants. Limited research has also addressed the issue of IAP impact on the livelihoods and well-being of local land-users. Seeing that limited resources are available to address the issue of IAP at large, quantification of stakeholder perception is needed to maximise IAP management. Through this thesis, an investigation into the spread and impacts of IAPs in the rural parts of the Agulhas Plain as well as the perceptions, uses, costs and benefits associated with IAPs and the importance of these plants to the livelihoods of the local communities was carried out. The purpose of this research is to provide a better understanding of the possible impacts of invasive plant species on the livelihoods of people. This local knowledge can aid researchers by providing context specific information about impacts, which can then be used for future conservation actions. Motivation The detrimental effects of IAPs on ecosystems and biodiversity, ecosystem goods and services the economy of human enterprises and human health have been well documented in the literature (e.g. Geesing et al. 2004, Nel et al. 2004, Shackleton et al. 2007). Invasion by alien species have been reported as a major threat to the biodiversity and functioning of sensitive ecosystems (Turpie et al. 2003, Richardson and Van Wilgen 2004, Van Wilgen et al. 2008). It has been shown that invasive species are very successful in competing for resources with native species and can modify fuel loads by changing the amount of litter fall (Behenna et al. 2008). Invasive alien plants are also capable of altering the natural nutrient fluxs by shifting the nitrogen content due to changes in the litter fall (Behenna et al. 2008). Dense stands of acacias along the rivers in the Western Cape replace and exclude native fynbos species (Blanchard and Holmes 2008). Invasive alien plants also pose one of the grea test immediate threats to floral diversity in the fynbos and have the ability capture vast amounts of water (Turpie et al. 2003). In contrast, research exploring the effects of IAPs on the livelihoods of local, rural communities has received little attention (McGarry et al. 2005, Shackleton et al. 2007). Not all of the impacts exerted by IAPs are negative as these plant species is a source of both costs and benefits (Bardsley and Edward-Jones 2006). Various plants have been introduced to South Africa for a variety of purposes (Van Wilgen et al. 2001). These include species intrudes for crop production, timber and firewood, garden ornamentals, for dune stabilisation and hedge plants (Van Wilgen et al. 2001). Several of these have become naturalized and some of the naturalized species are now invasive (Van Wilgen et al. 2001). Costs are experienced when these invasive species impede the functioning of social and ecological systems (Bardsley and Edward-Jones 2006). Benefits, on the other hand, are experienced when the same traits (such as hardiness and high fecundity) that lead to these species becoming invasives, contribute to their usefulness (Bardsley and Edward-Jones 2006). Rural communities are exposed to IAPs in different ways (Shackleton et al. 2007). The outcome is that that these communities have to weigh up the trade-offs between the possible positive benefits of IAPs as a natural resource and the negative impacts exercised by these species on ecosystem goods and services and in turn on human livelihood (Shackleton et al. 2007). It is generally accepted that the negative effects of IAPs on ecosystem goods and services are transferred directly to human well-being (Shackleton et al. 2007). This has been proven otherwise by researchers such as de Neergaard and others (2005), Shackleton and others (2007) and Kull and others (2011) who illustrated that IAPs can be integrated significantly by local communities in their lifestyles as either a source of tannins and timber, for firewood, building material, as well as for medicinal extractions and financial income by selling of firewood. Working for Water (WfW), an IAP eradication programme, was launced in 1995 with the aim of restoring natural capital by controlling invading species and enhance water security (Van Wilgen et al. 1998). Simultaneously, the programme aims to alleviate poverty by providing employment to underprivileged communities (Van Wilgen et al. 1998). To date, the WfW programme has developed into one of the biggest conservation projects in Africa with regard to manpower, costs and impact (Ndhlovu 2011). Immense sponsorships have contributed towards extensive areas being cleared and a large numbers of individuals being employed (Binns et al. 2001, Turpie et al. 2008). Conversely, the socio-economic benefits of the WfW programme have not been wholly assessed regardless of the programmes extensive activities and substantial sponsorships associated with it (Turpie et al. 2008). Additionally, the use of these plants by rural communities is not well understood and seldom integrated into eradication programmes as stated below: The lack of information on the socio-economic impacts of IAS has been singled out as a major barrier to the implementation of comprehensive national IAS management programmes and as one of the main reasons for the failure of IAS issues to feature prominently in the mainstream agenda of most countries (Peter, 2009). Quantification of stakeholder perception on the impacts of IAPs is essential in order authorize an argument for the control and management of invasive plant species (Peter, 2009). Though it is vital to understand anthropogenic impacts on landscapes and ecosystems through ecological knowledge of invasive species, an improved understanding of the social processes is also required to inform both species management and conservation policy (Peter 2009). There is a shortage of information regarding the socio-economic impact of alien species presently found in South Africa. Even in well studied areas such as the Cape Floristic Region, the range of the impact of invasive plants is poorly understood. Additionally, limited research has also been done with regard to the socio-economic impacts of alien eradication programmes in the Western Cape. Consequently, there is a need for comprehensive research that investigates the holistic impacts (both negative and positive) of IAPs on the livelihoods and well-being of local communities. Goals and Objectives Considering the above, the objective of this study was to assess the effects and impacts of IAP infestation on human well-being, with the focus on the effects of IAPs on the livelihoods of rural land users in the Western Cape, South Africa. The main research question that directs the study is as follow: What are the impacts of invasive alien plants on the livelihoods of rural land users? This research question was broken down into seven key questions. These key questions were adapted from the literature (see McGarry et al. 2005). Key Questions What is the significance of the natural environment to the community? What are peoples attitudes towards and perceptions of IAPs ? How important are IAPs for human well-being and livelihoods? Are the IAPs used for sustenance, for domestic requirements, etc.? Are IAPs sold to provide an income? Does the local community perceive IAPs as having a positive or negative impact on spirituality, culture and/or aesthetics? How do IAPs in the area affect the supply of (other) ecosystem goods and services which are important to peoples livelihoods? What are peoples attitudes towards IAP management? What are the impacts of IAP eradication programmes on livelihoods? What is the impact of IAP distribution on land-use practices? What are the long-term and short-term gains and losses for human well-being and livelihood as a result of IAP impact? The study site is highly dependent on areas where rural communities are still highly reliant on generating an income from the land. Additionally, the study site must also comply with the use of IAPs by the local community and in the same light IAPs must be potentially regarded as a problem by the local community. The Agulhas Plain, situated within the Cape Floristic Region (CFR), has been selected as the focus area for this study as it meets the above mentioned criteria. Study area The Agulhas Plain (AP) is located within the CFR which is internationally known as a global biodiversity hotspot (Turpie et al. 2003). The CFR, known for its Mediterranean type climate, is the most floristically rich of the seven diverse biomes allocated in South Africa with an estimated 9600 plant species of which 70% are endemic (Richardson and Sekhran 2009). The AP, comprising an area of 270 000 ha, is located at the southern-most tip of South Africa and is a species-rich area known for its fire-prone coastal lowland fynbos and infertile soils (Richardson and Sekhran 2009, Treurnicht 2010). It is internationally recognised as a centre for endemism (Treurnicht 2010). This area is however increasingly threatened by habitat transformation and alien plant invasion (Turpie et al. 2003), the latter being the focal point of this study. Fynbos wildflower farming and harvesting, particularly from natural vegetation, forms an integral part of this areas economic activity and contributes immensely to this regions agricultural sector (Treurnicht 2010). This has been shown Turpie and others (2003) who stated that natural fynbos vegetation are estimated to be accountable for 57.6% of the CFRs turnover, which were equal to R90.5 million in the year 2000. The Agulhas Plain is practically responsible for the largest part of this turnover (Turpie et al. 2003). Study limitations It was not possible to do a systematic and exhaustive research in all the areas on the Agulhas Plain were IAP infestation occurs due to the time limitation of this study. It was thus decided to do a detailed and comprehensive micro focus i.e. case study on the socio-economic impacts of invasive alien plants and to gather as much consistent information as possible by means of interviews. Elim and the surrounding farming communities were accordingly selected as the study group. Study site selection Elim and the surrounding farming communities were chosen as the best suitable study site according to the following reasons: It was established during the visits prior and during the pilot study that this rural settlement and its neighbouring farms still relies on woody IAPs as either a primary or a supplementary source of energy. It was noted during field visits that the areas surround the settlement as well as the neighbouring farms are invaded to a substantial degree. There has been active alien eradication programmes in the area since 1998 i.e. Working for Water as well as LandCare under the departments of Water Affairs and Agriculture respectively. Thesis outline Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Literature Review Chapter 3 Methods, Results and Discussion Chapter 4 Implications for management and policies

The Role That Perception Plays Psychology Essay

The Role That Perception Plays Psychology Essay To a great extent, our behavior is fashioned by our perceptions, personalities, emotions and experiences. In this essay, the role that perception plays in affecting the way that we see the world and its impact on our work related behaviors will be examined. Perception is the process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson). Perception and reality however can be two entirely different things and in addition to this, the perceptions of two or several different people will very rarely be the same even when reflecting back on the same incident or event. It can therefore be argued that the accuracy of ones interpretation of a given situation will determine the effectiveness of their response to it and essentially, the outcome. This is why perception is an essential factor to be considered when examining Organizational Behavior. More often than not a manager is rated differently by his or her subordinates. The importance of taking perception into consideration in an organization cannot be overlooked by the managers themselves. The way a manger perceives an employee within an organization should not be influenced by their stature or position as with different situations for which perceptions have to be primarily based as closely as possible on solid facts. The below table depicts significant mean differences of perception between supervisors and their subordinates on a scale from 1-5. On these grounds, three distinct factors that contribute to perceptual differences and the perceptual process among people at work arise: The Perceiver (Factors of influence: past experiences, needs or motives, personality, values and attitudes). The Situation or Setting (Factors of influence: physical, social, and organizational). The Perceived or Object/Target (Factors of influence: characteristics of the perceived person, object, or event, such as contrast, intensity, figure/ground separation, size, motion, and repetition or novelty). It must not however be overlooked that although these factors help in shaping the perception of individuals, they may also sometimes distort such perceptions. Fig 2 (Kondalkar 2007, p.117) THE PERCEPTUAL PROCESS There are several stages that determine a subjects perception and reaction as a result of processing information; these information processing stages are best depicted in the following figure. The information-processing stages are divided into information attention and selection; organization of information; information interpretation; and information retrieval. Fig 3 (Schermerhorn,, Grant Osborn 2002, p.32) Our senses are repeatedly overloaded with too much information to process, unless our minds are selective in what to absorb and what to overlook we would quickly become debilitated as a result of this overload of information. Much of this mental sieving is done consciously and the perceiver is full-aware that they are processing information. This function of the mind is referred to by Schermerhorn, Grant Osborn as selective screening. On the other hand, this selective screening process can take place sub-consciously without the awareness of the perceiver. When the mind is functioning like this, it is normally whilst performing a task such as walking and talking on ones mobile phone at the same time, in other words, walking devoid of consciously thinking of the act walking. The ability of the mind to slip out of this sub-conscious state is there in event of a non-routine occurrence, however if not done quickly enough an accident can occur. Despite selective screening taking place in the attention stage, it is still necessary for this information to be organized in such a way that it can be retrieved efficiently. Cognitive frameworks known as schemas help us achieve this by acquiring knowledge through experience. A self schema is created by ones self awareness and is rooted around their appearance, behavior and personality. A person schema refers to the way by which one tends to categorize others based on prominent features normally regarding such demographic characteristics as gender, age, able-bodiedness, and racial and ethnic groups; this is commonly referred to as stereotyping or prototyping. Once this stereotype is created it is then stored in the long term memory for future reference. Once formed a stereotype may be difficult to change and will tend to last a long time (Schermerhorn,, Grant Osborn). On this note it can be said that our tendency to create stereotypes can be attributed to our memories oversimplifying of processed information in order to prevent overloading. A script schema is the mental acquisition of the necessary steps which need to be taken in order to complete a given task (based on experience), such as a manager running a meeting. Finally, person in situation schemas are combinational and are built around people (self and person schemas) and events (script schemas). As is made apparent in the above figure, schemas have a powerful impact on the organizational and other stages of the perception process. Schemas are primarily automatic and sub-conscious responses that free up space in order to maximize ones mental capacity for controlled processing. From the moment that ones mind is drawn in by a stimulus and this information has been processed the next course of action is to expose the underlying reasons behind it. This is otherwise known as interpretation. This method of deduction applied the same situation by two different people will not necessarily lead to the same interpretation. To utilize information stored in ones memory it has to be retrieved. This is depicted by the retrieval step in the above figure. From time to time all of us have difficulty with the recollection of stored information in our memories, more precisely, our memories tend to crumble and only provide us with partial bits of the information we are attempting to recall. Schemas play an important role in this as they make it difficult for us to remember traits or characteristics not relatable to ourselves. PERCEPTUAL DISTORTIONS It should now be clear that varying viewpoints in perception result in different people seeing different things and consequently attaching different meanings to the same stimuli. When examining the dynamic between the perceiver and the other subject, the accuracy of interpersonal perception and judgments made can be influenced by factors such as the nature of the relationship between the two parties, the order and amount of information received by the perceiver and the overall extent of interaction. There are five main features that can lead to perceptual problems: Stereotyping Stereotyping is the tendency that people have to attach positive or negative labels on others based around their own personalized process of categorization and perceived similarities. This perception is normally centered on what is expected, in this respect, by the perceiver. As mentioned earlier on, stereotyping or prototyping is the minds way of simplifying its intake of stimuli in order to prevent overloading itself (a form of selective screening). The perceiver will tend to place the subject into a preconceived group in which they feel that they best fit. Therefore questionable pre-judgments are formed. Despite the fact that this process condenses information stored in the memory, some extremely negative implications arise which can lead to situations of bigotry or bias. At the workplace, stereotyping can have negative effects on an employee as a negative preconception will normally have the capability to stick and as a result stigmatize and hinder the subjects career. The Halo Effect The Halo Effect occurs when one single characteristic of a person or situation is used by the perceiver to create an overall image or impression. This effect triggers the shutting out of any other relevant characteristics. A specific negative impact of The Halo Effect is what Mullins refers to as perceptual blindness, more specifically this is when rash judgments are made and other important stimuli are simply overlooked as a result of utilizing only what is readily available at that instance. Another phenomenon known as the Rusty Halo Effect exists; this is where general judgments are made on what can be justified and isolated incidents and a person subjected to this can be wrongfully branded as something that they are not. Perceptual Defense Perceptual Defense is a mechanism that surfaces when someone unknowingly or knowingly filters out specific parameters from a given situation that they may find threatening or intimidating. This inadvertently leads to people selectively striking from their minds information that does not support their opinions or points if view. Projection Perception is distorted by feelings and emotions. Projection can result from people overemphasizing undesirable traits that they see in others, whilst at the same time; refuse to see such traits in themselves. Projection also implies attributing or projecting ones own feelings, motives or characteristics to other people (Mullins). This implies that people will tend to be more favorable towards others who seem to be more relatable to them in terms of character, emotional state or momentary state of mind. According to Freud, projection is a means by which we protect ourselves from acknowledging that we possess undesirable traits and assign them in exaggerated amounts to other people. The Self Fulfilling Prophecy This phenomenon arises when a person or situation is hijacked by the misconception of the perceiver or perceivers and consequently ends up becoming that very delusion. This can be attributed to peoples strong desire to validate their own perceptions whilst disregarding the actual reality of the situation. IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT In certain situations, we all attempt to depict our attitudes, personality and competence to others by putting particular emphasis on the way that we physically present ourselves. A job interview is a common example of this; which is referred to as impression management. In the forming of an impression, more emphasis is put on some bits of information than others. It has been proven through research that truly first impressions count, this is formally known as the primacy effect. Interestingly enough, it has also been proven that a negative impression is less likely to change than a positive one. DISTORTION MANAGEMENT In a healthy working environment, the collective perceptual process, at some level should be regulated or supervised. This responsibility, known as distortion management, falls to the managers and supervisors of an organization. A manager who successfully practices distortion management should willfully balance conscious and sub-conscious (automatic and controlled) information processing at the attention and selection stage (refer to Fig 3). Responsibilities of theirs such as performance assessment and clear communication require conscious information processing which will potentially be a hindrance to other job responsibilities. Together with this, managers should strive toward seeking out disconfirming information (concerning previous deductions that they have reached in assessing a subordinate or situation) that will help level out their typical perception of information, thereby avoiding bias. Particular care has to be taken when considering the range of schemas and stereotypes at the information organizing stage. A manager should make a point to expand on his/her schemas and even consider replacing them all together with more precise or wholesome ones. Additionally they should acknowledge that the retrieval stage of the memory can be imprecise. With this in mind a manager should never rely too much on schemas and sensitivity toward perceptual distortions should be ever-present. ATTRIBUTION THEORY The attribution theory focuses on how people attempt to understand the causes of a certain event, assess responsibility for the outcomes of the event and evaluate the personal qualities of the people involved in the event. There are internal and external attributions that can be linked to causes of behavior. Internal causes are within the control of the individual, whereas external causes are variables within a persons environment. There are several factors that can influence internal and external attributions these include: Distinctiveness: consistency of a persons behavior across situations. Consensus: likelihood of others responding in a similar way. Consistency: whether an individual responds the same way across time. In addition to these three influences, two errors have an impact on internal versus external determination: The fundamental attribution error: This applies to the evaluation of someone elses behavior whereby success is attributed to situational factors and failure to personal factors. The self-serving bias: This applies to the evaluation of ones own behavior, where success is attributed to personal factors and failure to situational factors. CONCLUSION All problems encountered throughout the course of this paper point directly toward the massive degree of bias which lurks within the perceptual process. Both personally and professionally, people strive to exist in a world ruled by certainty, more specifically their own certainty and it is our individual perceptual systems that oversee this. The underlying absurdity behind all of this is that it is this very idea that is our downfall; as this system is overrun with errors and bias at the same time. And although we are conscious of this and attempt to rectify these glitches, we are essentially working against our perceptual system in its natural state.