General Mills Financial Analysis Essay

From ready-to-eat cereal to convenient meals to wholesome snacks, General Mills is one of the biggest food products manufacturers and competes in growing food categories that are on-trend with consumer tastes around the world. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Haagen Daazs, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Totinos, and Cheerios, among others. Main rivals include Kellogg, Kraft, Conagra Foods, and Sara Lee. General Mills sells its products in three segments: U.S. retail (63% of net sales), International (25% of net sales), and Bakeries and Foodservices (12% of net sales). In addition, General Mills sells cereals and ice cream through its Cereal Partners Worldwide and Haagen Daazs Japan joint ventures. General Mills continues building its presence in developed markets and increasing presence in emerging markets worldwide by investing in established brands while also developing new products. The company’s goal is to generate balanced, long term growth. Profitable perform ance through the past years General Mills has shown a strong profitable performance during the past years. The company has achieved during the last 3 years an average RoE of 28% supported by strong efficiency, financial leverage, and a moderate profitability ratio given the nature of the business. This has resulted in a positive trend of the share price that delivered 3 year returns of 44% from 2009. The upward trend in RoE that peaked in 2011 reaching 30.6% reversed in 2012 that closed with a RoE of 24.5%. The RoE drop of c. 600 bps in 2012 compared to 2011 is explained by a reduction in profitability that was affected by high input-cost inflation primarily in food ingredients and energy that was not fully transferred to customers (370 bps Gross Profit Margin drop). Performance was also affected by restructuring actions (60 bps impact on profitability) taken to improve organizational effectiveness to drive future growth. General Mills managed to continue improving efficiency as the increase in sales (3 Years CAGR of 6.7%) outpaced the average assets growth (3 Years CAGR of 5.8%), reachin g in 2012 the highest efficiency ratio (83.8%) of the past 3 years. Efficiency improvement was primarily supported by inventory reduction efforts that, coupled with increase in accounts payable derived from shifts in timing of payments, reduced the cash conversion cycle to 43 days. It is worth noting that during fiscal 2012 the balance sheet had an important growth as a result of the acquisition of the international Yoplait business, including goodwill and other intangible assets of $2.3 bn USD. Sales growth also benefited from the acquisition and will be discussed in the next section. General Mills runs a leveraged operation where, in average, the total assets are 3 times shareholders equity. Leverage ratio has decreased since 2010 as retained earnings have increased at a faster pace than assets driven by strong business performance. A slight revamp in the leverage ratio during fiscal 2012 was mainly driven by an increase in other comprehensive losses related to pensions and postemployment activity, and foreign currency translation that offset retained earnings for the same period. Sustainable growth while generating strong levels of cash flows General Mills has shown a strong, sustainable growth throughout the last years. Net sales increase has been driven by a moderate average growth in the US Retail segment (3.8%), coupled with the expansion in the International business (13.4%). The big year on year increase of 12% in fiscal 2012 is driven by the acquisition of the international Yoplait yogurt business that contributed 7 points of sales growth, while underlying business grew 5%. It is important to note that sales growth has been mainly driven by volume growth with a slight component of net price increase and a favorable mix. Segment Operating Profit has also maintained a sustainable growth. The slowdown during fiscal 2012 and drop of Gross Profit Margin is driven by high input-cost inflation as previously mentioned. Despite high costs, the company managed to increase segment operating profit to exceed $3bn for the first time in the company’s history. General Mills has managed to generate strong levels of cash flowacross the years. Over the most recent 5 years, the company operations have generated almost $10bn USD in cash. A significant portion of this cash has been returned to stockholders through dividends and shares repurchase. In addition, this cash is used to fund Capital expenditure. In the most recent year, the company operations generated $2.4bn of cash compared to $1.5bn in the prior year. The major increase is driven by a favorable change in working capital supported by inventory reduction efforts, prepaid expenses, and other current assets. Cash used by investing activities had a significant increase in fiscal 2012 that is mainly explained by the acquisition of international Yoplait ($1bn USD). General Mills invested in fiscal 2012 c. $700m USD in land, buildings and equipment, similar to previous years. Cash used by financing activities includes a constant payment of dividends and purchase of treasury stock in the last years. In addition, General Mills has been actively managing their cost of funds by issuing / pre-paying long term debt and commercial paper as convenient. General Mills performance has outpaced main competitors in the recent years General Mills strong performance is accentuated when benchmarked against Kellog Co, another of the key food producers. Both companies present similar profitability with General Mills having a lower gross profit margin compensated by lower marketing investment and general expenses. Nevertheless, General Mills has managed to grow sales and has delivered higher returns at a faster pace than Kellog. In addition, General Mills produces higher levels of free cash flow and has grown dividends per share faster. Finally, Kellog has a heavy debt load while General Mills has lower leverage ratio. Solid position to face a challenging, uncertain future In a nutshell, General Mills has shown a strong performance in the recent years and has outperformed his competitors mainly in compound growth rates and value creation. A challenging future lies ahead with uncertain economic environment and increase in commodity costs. Pricing strategy to maintain margin while not impacting market share will play a key variable in the company’s performance. Strong brands, innovations, expansion in diversified markets, and solid cash position and moderate leverage should support General Mills to face these challenges and continue creating value in the following years.

Professional Writing and Composition: Meeting Announcement Essay

An announcement letter can be forwarded to inform a person of the itinerary of the meeting (LetterExpert.co.uk, 2007). It can be transmitted to reveal happenings such as banquets, weddings etc. It can also be written to convey to the community about the results of a competition, a changes in the institutional regulations, to call a meeting, or to inform the company departments regarding industrial action. Below is a sample of letter announcing or informing a meeting: Preparations were completed for a meeting to be held on 28 November 2007, at 8 o’clock in the morning, in Multimedia conference room, Legacy building located at 88 Magalia St. NY. The said gathering has the following objectives: To discuss the essential requirement of the project To know the description and characteristics of the new project design To identify the forms and span of researches to be undertaken relative to new design prototype development of GE Refrigeration System. To be ready before the formal launching of the project, this meeting is considerably required. Representatives from public and private organizations and media entities are requested to be present at the actual launching.   Within two weeks after the assembly, you are required to provide your commentaries and analysis of the objectives of the project, structure of the organization, the timetable for the whole duration of the project, the scope and limitation of the research and whether or not a group of consultants is needed during the whole project, and also any further commentaries that you may wish to express. You may also provide any information on the advantages and disadvantages of the project’s location.   We are warmly sending you invitation to attend and be part of the said gathering. We trust that the early participation of all the groups interested in this project will increase the efficiency and quality of cooperative planning.   Individuals who would require backup instruments to properly communicate to be able to partake in the talk are encouraged to inform their needs and inclination to the Executive Director for this proposed project at 710928719 or TDD phone number 4618691. References Boundary Between Professional Engineering Society and State Licensing Board. August 29, 2006. National Academy of Engineering Retrieved   November 26, 2007 from LetterExpert.co.uk (2007) Letter of Announcement. Retrieved November 26, 2007 from http://www.letterexpert.co.uk/LetterOfAnnouncement.html Project Sample Letters. (2007). Project Development Procedure Manual. 6. 368-370

Italian Unification

To what extent did foreign intervention impact the Italian unification movement? Italy, 1870. The unification movement of Italy has just been completed, the movement that could not have been successful without the efforts of Italy itself. Though foreign intervention was a minimal part of the unification, and at times even more of an obstacle than aide, without the militaristic action, internal economic and political change within Italy, the unification would not have been sparked, much less completed as successfully as it was.One of the important factors that contributed to the successful unification of Italy, was the decision to take militaristic action by joining wars and invading states that were crucial to the completion of the unification and would benefit Italy in the long run. By making the decision to join the Crimean war, and therefore aiding France and Great Britain, not only did Piedmont make a name for itself among all of Europe, gaining respect and fame, but the benefits for Italy in the long run were also known by Cavour, the leader of Piedmont at that time.Just by making the decision to aide France and Great Britain, it demonstrates how aware Piedmont was of the benefits of joining the war, and how the future Italy, and its unification would be impacted through it. Additionally, in the midst of the unification, it was the leaders of Italy that decided to invade the Papal States, to eventually complete the unification of Italy.This proves that the efforts of Italy itself completed the unification, because if the Papal States were not invaded, then Rome still would not have been part of Italy and the unification would have remained uncompleted. In addition to the militaristic action that was taken by Italy, the internal economic change that occurred within the nation also sparked the unification of Italy by furthering Piedmont, and eventually the rest of Italy’s image of a state in the process of modernizing.The textile industries, such as t he wool, silk and cotton industries were prime examples of Piedmonts economic industrialization. By industrializing the state, more citizens were happily employed, thereby creating a sense of unity among the people. Additionally, the construction of the railways advanced communication, and this economic development would eventually lead to benefits similar to those in Great Britain and in France.This development was again one instituted by Italy, and contributed greatly to the unification of Italy. Finally, under Cavour’s rule, trading treaties were signed with states such as France, Portugal, Britain and Belgium. Through these treaties, Italy was able to gain economic growth and support, resulting in import and export increases. Through these economic changes, the nation grew as a whole, and the citizens gained a greater sense of unity and recognition as a unified country from foreign states.And lastly, the political change that occurred under Cavour’s rule within Ita ly also shows the measures Italy took to complete a successful unification. A large part of the new political changes that were occurring in Italy stemmed from the new leaders that were instituting them. Mazzini, Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuel II and Cavour were all political figures that contributed to the unification of Italy, and without Mazzini’s motivation, Garibaldi’s military strength, Cavour’s brain or Victor Emmanuel II as King, the unification would not have been possible.Additionally, the statuto that was retained as a liberal constitution in Piedmont was an important factor in the unification, as it signifies the start of political freedom that began in Piedmont, and eventually spread throughout Italy. These ideas, which sparked the unification, could not have been put in place by any foreign nations. In conclusion, through the militaristic actions taken by Italy, in addition to the internal economic and political changes that occurred, it is clear that foreign intervention was not the cause of the successful unification movement that occurred in Italy.

Organizational and Management Processes Within Health Systems Coursework - 2

Organizational and Management Processes Within Health Systems - Coursework Example No one department is important than the other, and that provides a good understanding of the issues taking place within the organization. Ideally, the leaders understand that the organization must run as expected, providing new wave of understanding that ascertains the impact such organizational methods possess in boosting productivity (Billis 2010: 48). Chronological patterns follow certain sequences in addressing issues within the organization. This calls for the listing of the main issues within the management and follow the best order that will provide the most successful trend in reaching out to the clients (Karre 2011: 9). The goal is to reach out to the audience and provide a good understanding of the main points that will at all times provide the needed order, and set patterns to achieve the desired goals. Since the building blocks of an organization depend on people, strategies, structures, environment, and technology, chronological patterns allow managers to formulate the best combination and follow through with it (Douma & Schreuder 2013: 21). Spatial patterns create the impression of having a roadmap or blueprint that allows people to continue meeting these demands. Ideally, the growth of the company will only arise if the management can create a structure that defines the best means of attaining its goals based on such discussions. The blueprint will be the best way of making sure that the goals are still in sight and not lost in the daily strives to meet personal goals (Billis 2010: 59). Cause-effect patterns, on the other hand, works on meeting specific goals within the most proficient timing. The goal is to generate as much through the understanding of the problems within the system and working on their remedies. It also allows managers to set up ideal avenues that project new growth attributes. The impact is supposed to boost the company’s survival and increase its problem-solving methods (Karre 2011: 15). Organizations realize that the

Advanced Construction Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Advanced Construction Law - Essay Example A designer can be held liable for professional negligence in his duty if the design is considered to be poor quality, if he failed to manage the project properly, certifying for defective or unsuitable materials, indulging in the mismanagement of both contractors and the project costs, indulging in health and safety infringement, non-adherence of building regulations, and failing to get the appropriate permission for the project . One another law which deals with health & safety is the Control, of â€Å"Asbestos at Work (CAW) Regulations (2002)†. Some other regulation which is related to Health & Safety are as follows; a) â€Å"noise (Noise at Work Regulations 1989) , eyes (Protection of Eyes Regulation 1974), the use of asbestos (Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987) , the use of Lead (Control of Lead at Work Regulations 1987) , the control of substances hazardous to health ( Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988) , the control of industrial majo r hazards (the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1984) â€Å" .A designer of  Ã‚   a construction project will have multifarious responsibilities and roles. He has the duty follow the Code of Professional Conduct as prescribed by ARB and RIBA. He has the duty to offer the client with concise and clear advice about the design potential, estimated building cost, the necessity to get various statutory consents, likely time scale of project, project programming, and the necessity to appoint the services of the other professional specialists and consultants .Though a professional contractual commitment to his client only applicable to carry out his services with reasonable care and skill.

Sofia Petrovna, by Lydia Chukovskaya Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sofia Petrovna, by Lydia Chukovskaya - Assignment Example Sofia Petrovna was a wealthy doctor who genuinely tried to adjust to the Soviet manner of life. Additionally, the author portrays the communist lifestyle; despite having roots as an upper class background, she accepted the communist party. The main conclusion in the article is that there are awful realities that exist in Great Purge of Stalin. There are two perspectives that one can take in portraying the people’s struggle that formed part of the purge. One evident aspect is that people were exiled and mothers and wives watched the husbands and their sons get to exile. 4. The main assumption underlying the thinking of an author is that the delineating and the distinctive era of foreign policy of Stalin is a difficult and complicated concern. The author assumed that the foreign relations between the foreign powers and Soviet Union showed that the decisions of Stalin were based on the strong pragmatic philosophy and the basic principles. The main point of view presented in the text is that Sofia Petrovna had dreadful experience as one of the widowed mother in 1930s during the Russian Stalinist Terror. There were four basic outcomes of the Russian Stalinist Terror. First, it was the manner in which the people were organized, secondly, how the Stalin was kept in power and later stopped the revolution that made the citizens to work extra hard and increase the economic output. Additionally, it discusses how the families were separated and caused death of people because of false charges (Chukovskaya 34). I would argue on the unequivocal support for Kolya and Sofia and the faith and believe on the Soviet system, where Sofia had a pronounced support at the end of the story. The unrest of Kolya turned her life around; she refused to support the Soviet Apparatus, rather she drew herself closer. Faith of Sofia and Kolya in the leadership and Soviet system was at the peak during the arrest of Kolya, because this is the time people would expect her to have low

Consumer Behavior Final Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Consumer Behavior Final Campaign - Essay Example Because of this particular target market, Samsungs product offering to these individuals is necessarily high tech, cutting-edge, sleek, attractive, and expensive. By means of contrast in comparison, the target market that exists within lesser developed regions of the world, namely South America, many parts of Africa, and regions of Asia, is significantly different. Utilitarianism and functionality is the main concern that this target market represents. Beyond this, durability and low cost are other metrics that are highly appreciated within the aforementioned – lower income regions of the globe. Because of this, Samsungs target market within these areas is specifically predicated upon a larger segment of society; one that represents youth as well as individuals of a more advanced age. Similarly, as the income gap is far wider within these particular regions, and for individuals make up a statistically larger percentage of the overall population, the target market is specifical ly directed towards those that are not able to afford the more high-end and technologically advanced product offerings that Samsung is otherwise known. As a result of this fact, the product, as well as the target market, it is differentiated as compared what has already been discussed.

The role of the rule of law in the criminal justice process in UK Essay

The role of the rule of law in the criminal justice process in UK - Essay Example In the British Criminal Justice System, divisions like the Crown Prosecution Sector, the police, the law courts and the prisons operate together to bring about criminal justice. In general, the three departments are mutually responsible for the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and its subdivisions. These three consist of (i) The Ministry of Justice, which is concerned with the magistrates' law courts, the Appeals Courts, the Crown Court, the National Offender Management Service, and the Legal Services Commission (ii) The Home Office under whose jurisdiction are the police (iii) The Attorney General's Office which is in charge of the Serious Fraud Department, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Customs and Revenue Prosecutions Division In ordinary circumstances, it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice to oversee the entire justice procedure (Roberson, Wallace and Stuckey, 2009). It is responsible for justice being meted out from the time when a suspect is apprehended, to t he time they are charged with a crime and incarcerated (if this is the result) (Schmalleger, 2009). The Ministry of Justice also plays a role in a felon’s probation process. The ministry is also expected to provide legal aid, and seek to decrease the chances of re-offending. The Home Office, on the other hand, is responsible for safeguarding the public from instances of crime, terror and other anti-social behaviours. The home office ensures people’s safety in order to facilitate investment and peaceful coexistence. It also promotes the acceptable level of tolerance that allows people to live with others from different backgrounds without there being unnecessary problems that come about through misunderstandings. This division is responsible for counter terrorism initiatives, safe policing and overall crime reduction strategies.  The Attorney General, who is usually assisted in handling these responsibilities by the Solicitor General, is the key legal counsel to the B ritish Government (McLeod, 2010). Both the Solicitor General and the Attorney General are responsible for making sure that all citizens uphold the rule of law.   The Attorney General also has additional public interest responsibilities such as committing to objecting to extremely lenient sentences that are given to serious criminals, as well as initiating proceedings in courts concerning the Contempt of Court Act (Zander, 2007). The function of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) is to bring all to justice by convicting and imprisoning the felons while defending the public. It is also in charge of investigating crimes and making sure that the perpetrators are held accountable for their crimes (Packer, 1968). The CJS also carries out other functions such as executing court orders, collecting fines and overseeing custodial as well as community punishment.   The main objectives for the CJS are:   Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To enhance their efficiency in bringing crimes and their p erpetrators to justice.   Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To boost public confidence in the way the CJS conducts its operations   Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To make crime victims feel that their grievances have been satisfactorily addressed by the Police unit as well as the CJS.   Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To constantly gather, evaluate, and make use of statistics concerning different ethnicities so as to identify irregularities in the distribution of responsibilities in the CJS.   Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To increase the finding of criminal factors so that the public is made aware that criminals will not go unpunished (Sanders and Young, 2000). While not all the members of society are predisposed to crime, such a step will help in discouraging potential criminals. The Basic Concept Underlying the Rule of Law In the 19th and 18th British society, many individuals who belonged to the upper classes were not treated in the same way as the rest of the British citizens. If they committed any crimes, they had special government laws that would be used to judge their cases

Discuss the causes and effects of three factors of climate change Essay

Discuss the causes and effects of three factors of climate change - Essay Example Change in the climate of a given region, is because of natural and human induced factors on the environment. This paper discusses three factors that cause change in the climatic conditions of an area. These three factors include oceanic circulations, global warming and volcanic radiations. Volcanic activity is a natural factor that causes climatic change. When volcanic eruptions occur, they inject quite a large amount of duct and other gaseous elements into the stratosphere. One of the gaseous elements that reach the stratosphere is sulphur dioxide (Letcher 81). On reaching the stratosphere level, sulphur dioxide converts rapidly to form sulphuric acid aerosols. The aerosols formed continue to spread gradually covering the whole world at the stratosphere. The effects of volcanic eruptions at the stratosphere, do not wear out as fast as the effects at the lower level (Letcher 81). This is because at the lower level, the effects of gravity and rainfall, contribute to the recovery of th e volcanic effects at that level. The covering at the upper level, which constitutes sulphuric acid aerosols, reduces the direct solar beam to the earth surface. The reduction is because of the high reflective property of sulphuric acid aerosols (Letcher 81). ... The effects of volcanic activity on climate are in a long time scale, such as millions of years. Over millions of years, continuous volcanic activity, releases huge volumes of greenhouse gases, which causes global warming. On the other hand, sulphur dioxide emissions will counter the effects of global warming. Therefore, the result of the process on the climate remains uncertain, leaving other external factors, such as the nature of the volcano, to determine the change (Letcher 84). Ocean circulation is another significant factor that results to a change in the climatic conditions. This is because oceans too, play a role in the global climate system. Oceans store a large amount of heat energy. Ocean circulation is a force that causes a change in the global heat balance on Earth (Samelson 29). Major theories in ocean circulation, depict the changes in the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) production and thermohaline circulation, to be cause of climatic change. However, scientists have focused more on the climatic transitions that occurs between the interglacial and glacial occurrences (Samelson 29). The Gulf Stream carries heat polewards, to warm the north maritime Europe. The North Atlantic contains cold polar air (Samelson 30). On meeting the cold polar air, the warm water, releases heat to the atmosphere. The cooling water sinks with the help of the increased salinity in the region. Increase in salinity is a result of the presence of sea ice, which is present in the Arctic regions (Samelson 30). The cooling water will thus sink because of an increase in density, forming the North Atlantic Deep Water. The NADW flows through to the Pacific Ocean via western Atlantic, all the way around Australia and

SMALL BUSINESS MARKET RESEARCH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

SMALL BUSINESS MARKET RESEARCH - Essay Example This report seeks to carry out a market research for a sole trader in the UK market. The product in contention is ‘Nomido Pizza’. This is a fast food product that will target university students and therefore will be located close to The University of Liverpool so that it serves the students both in and out of campus. With the growing concern about the health of young people, this product will be a pizza, just like the others but clearly made from natural and locally available food items. No additives and chemical combinations in the ingredients. The unique selling proposition (USP) will be â€Å"Delivery within, quality maintained to the natural taste†. This is a product that seeks to take consideration of the health status of young people and therefore there is bound to be a very high profile sales to the students given that they already have this knowledge of health and have dynamic minds subject to change on what they consume. 3.0 Considerable Market Factors 3 .1 Suitability and Risks This is a very suitable enterprise for a sole trader as the factors considered in establishing it constitute a positive trend. The location, raw materials, human resource, market demand, competition, laws, the technology and the expected returns are bound to be good. This venture is suitable for a single business owner because it is economical on all economic and human factors as listed before (Ashton, 2007, p. 21). Having considered the suitability of these factors, it is a viable cause of action as the likeliness that the students will capture health as opposed to quantity and junk is probable. Moreover, as a sole trader, there is always the chance one could get family members to help in the operation as well as employ a few workers to take care of the workload (OECD, 2000, p. 11). This food industry choice can be punctuated by the fact that there is knowledge of catering and hospitality which puts up an advantageous position in the operations of the busin ess. There is however several risks involved in sole trading. McDonald and Hawkins (2012) clearly indicated the sacrifice that should be put into becoming a sole trader. The major risk is the liability risk. Sometimes the operations may be led by over-ambition; this may create liabilities and if there will be inability to service these, personal assets may be taken to cover for this. The heavy burden of decision making is a risk that can never be overlooked. One wrong decision may lead to closure of the business given that the decision will be binding in all situations. Other risks involved could take the form of lacking time off and lack of prestige in the business (Cruz-Cunha & Varajao, 2010, p. 97). 3.2 Target Market Segment A combination of segmentation bases will be at work in this case. The choice of a university environment reflects their prevailing knowledge of the need to change from the current consumption methods to new better methods. The geographic lineation of this seg ment is because it is very populated and therefore the market is concentrated at a place as found out by Emmanuel (2006). Shah (2010) also noted that an urban place where population density is high increases demand for a product. The demography is consistent with the young people whose is that of

How Southwest Airlines Soars Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 17

How Southwest Airlines Soars - Case Study Example The second one is the participative theory, which suggests that leaders should encourage contributions and participation from members and make them feel relevant in the organization. During the Halloween, Kelleher encouraged the employees to get loose by decorating gates, wearing wacky costumes and munching on treat snacks, by this, he encourages the employees to participate on keeping the airline's spirit alive. Kelleher is both a manager and a leader. The view as a manager is portrayed by implementing tactical actions when the airline set off in 1971; he put up measures of cutting cost by avoiding extra expenses. When the fuel prices rose, he initiated cutting cost by asking each employee to find a way of saving $5 per day (Case Study). He is seen as a leader by inspiring, empowering and creating new opportunities. As the airline expands, he creates new job opportunities by personality testing and maintains the culture of the airway by choosing individuals who are able to make decisions, good communicators, optimistic and team-oriented.

Effects of Illegal immigration on Staffing Essay Example for Free

Effects of Illegal immigration on Staffing Essay Illegal immigration is the scenario where people travel from a different country and enter another country using false documents or means that and makes it hard for the authorities to trace those who do so. The level of illegal immigrants to developing countries like the USA has been increasing tremendously in the recent past causing increased debates about their causes and effects. The most outstanding effect of illegal immigration basically touches on cost of public service and labor thus forcing several states to enact policies that may ultimately in reducing the number of public services available to the immigrants. Their number of illegal immigrant to the US has been gradually increasing until it has made it hard for the authorities to ascertain exactly their numbers or their exact residences (Yoshida, 2000). Background A lot of inconsistencies exist between affluent and poor nations both in wages and employment opportunities and this is responsible for the mass influx of residents from poorer countries to wealthier countries like the US. This has resulted in the illegal immigration from the poorer developing and less developed countries causing the problem of labor importation to the host country. This research will focus and analyze the effects of illegal immigration on the income, labor, and the process of recruitment and selection of labor on the host country like the USA. It is also important to note that, a problem is created in the country of origin of the immigrants (Scullion Collings, 2006). The size of population in most poor countries usually exceeds the rate of employment and when this is coupled with political, ethnic and religious instabilities the rate of emigration is accelerated and this results in unending problems on the host country. Staffing is the process in which an organization acquires new and qualified employees to work in order to achieve their objectives and goals. This process entails among other steps replacement, recruitment and selection. Recruitment is usually done when jobs have been analyzed according to the tasks that have been performed and then writing them to suitable job descriptions. This requires the selectors to have basic knowledge on academic qualifications, skills and abilities of those to be selected and the undesired characteristics identified. When it comes to replacement of staff very critical questions are asked to the would-be employees with the help of expert consultants. It is necessary for the experts to handle the process professionally to ascertain the suitability of the job seekers (Dale, 2003). The most important sources of recruitment that may be used for global staffing include internal promotion and introductions, used of recruitment agencies and advertising especially the use of local and the international media. The firm that seeks to recruit individuals as their employees will always try their best to discrimination by race, sex among other forms and this will help in upholding their reputation. When they do this, they always ensure that the candidate they select meet all the requirements that qualifies them to be employed for the particular job that they seek. However, in the developed countries like the USA, there are a lot of illegal immigrants and this affects the recruitment and selection process to the extent that the concerned firm or company may have its reputation tainted. They will however be following what is required of them by the legislation since a country requires all people who work to pay taxes but in this case, the illegal immigrants will be a burden to the government since they do not pay any federal tax (Haines Rosenblum, 1999) Findings and Discussions It is apparently clear that illegal immigration has both positive and negative effects to the general economy and the process of staffing. It is important to note illegal immigration affects the country of origin and the country of destination but the effects are severe on both sides. In this research we are going to consider the United States as the country of destination and Mexico as the country of origin where people emigrate from. Statistics from the Pew Hispanic Center indicate that more than 50% of illegal immigrants in the U. S. originate from Mexico and they supply low-skilled labor to farmers and employers. It is clear that no formal steps and procedures of staffing are followed by the employers who higher the immigrants (Bean Vernez1989). The effects of this illegal immigration that were identified are as follows; burdens the tax-based resources, leads to shortage of labor in the country of origin, fake document mills, tax evasion, distortion of the law of demand and supply in a capitalistic market, drags down the compensation of workers welfare and negative effects on working and middle class citizens. The other effects of illegal immigrations that generally affect the economy and workers is the fact that it makes it hard for a country to raise the minimum wages, it makes the unscrupulous employers to pay alien in cash, increase in crime, overpopulation of the host nation, remittance of money to their country of origin, lack of government reimbursement and mortgage and loan fraud (Bean Vernez1989). It is however important to state that illegal immigration has some positive effects to the economy and includes; provision of cheap labor making harvesting in agriculture relatively cheap, increase of cash flow to retail business, increase in profits of auto insurers, creates a market pool for local foods produced, they purchase real estate, some of them may open bank accounts may make the bankers earn some revenue. Immigrants may also spur economic growth and provides better lifestyles to those enter the country illegally. It is noticeable therefore that illegal immigration has both negative and positive effects (Yoshida, 2000). This raises a very fundamental question whether those found as criminals for being in a country illegally with no valid documents should be judged considering the difficult times caused by the pressures of unemployment, lack of homes, poverty, disillusion, lack of education and low-paying jobs in their country of origin (Daugherty Kammeyer, 1995). As initially stated, illegal immigration causes shortage of labor in their home country because they prefer going to the developed countries. This will ultimately affect the economic growth of the country negatively because there is no labor force to drive the economy. Lack of labor will force the staffing agencies of those countries to lower the minimum job requirements so that they can be able to get the required employees to work for them. This lowers the credibility of the recruitment agencies and the human resource managers who are involved in global staffing. This may make a country to have poorly qualified staffs that do shoddy work and this will lead to poor performance of the economy and ultimate increase in poverty. Illegal immigration promotes brain drain; a situation where the best knowledgeable staff and educated move to other developed countries to look for ‘greener pastures’ for the careers. This will therefore affects the process of recruitment and selection in a negative way (Haines Rosenblum, 1999) Illegal immigration also has a direct effect on the tax-based resources due to the burden exerted by the illegal immigrant. In the United States, all people who work there are taxed by the federal government. Such money obtained as taxed are later used to improve other public facilities among them hospitals, schools among others. However, the government does not have clear-cut measures to ensure that those being treated in such hospitals or using other facilities are the true citizens. This will therefore lead to exerting too much pressure on the resources and may ultimately lead to provision of poor quality services to the genuine citizens. This may have a negative impact of on the labor productivity and the morale of the workers. When this happens, the work done by the citizens may not be well done basically because their esteem has been undermined. This will later make staffing encounter a lot of difficulties in trying to identify the best employees to be promoted since this is always done on the basis of customer performance. The affected organizations or firms may have to use other terms and methods to carry out various staffing processes and this will obviously taint the reputation of the recruitment agency since staffing ethics may not have been properly followed (Daugherty Kammeyer, 1995). This clearly indicates that illegal immigration by straining the resources has a direct impact on the performance of worker. It is clear that illegal immigration leads to an influx of workers to the country of destination like the United States. This will lead to a greater supply of jobs in the market more than it can be absorbed or taken in by the recruitment agencies who work on behalf of companies who are in need of employees. This will lead to the distortion of the law of demand and supply for labor in the market. This may happen in two ways: the first scenario is a situation where the immigrants provide cheap labor for whoever needs it. It is obviously certain that some firms and companies may lay off the workers in preference of the cheap labor in the market. By doing so, they will not have followed any ethics that entails the staffing procedures. The act of dismissing qualified workers with preference of employing those with lower qualifications does not entail any staffing ethics. This shows therefore how illegal immigration may negatively affect the process of recruitment and selection (LeMay, 2007). The other way in which the law of supply and supply is distorted happens especially when more qualified workers immigrate illegally to a country. This will force companies or firms to lay off its workers in preference of the more qualified workers. This automatically makes the companies to lower the minimum wage so as to indirectly discourage workers and some will later resign thus creating opportunities for the cheap labor. When they resign, employment opportunities are created and the human resource managers will rush for the cheap labor. When they do so, they staffers and recruitment agencies may not necessarily follow the correct staffing or recruitment procedures and in the long run, may negatively affect the reputation of global human resource and the entire process of staffing. This indicates that illegal immigration is a vice that must be avoided and checked at all cost (Adler Gielen, 2003). The United States has registered an increased crime in the border between it and Mexico due to a lot of immigrant who enter the two neighboring states. In most of those who enter illegally believe that New Mexico is part of Mexico itself and some even engage in cross-border crime and drug-trafficking as they try to enter the United States. Any crime and a rise of the same will obviously affect adversely the productivity of the citizens who have previously been enjoying the serenity of the working environment. It is important to note that the whole process of staffing is not done over-night. Some processes like promotion and selection may require the monitoring of the employee performance over a certain period of time. It may therefore happen that the period to review the employee performance was when there was rampant crime within the place of work or within the vicinity. The performance the employee at that time will obviously be poor and should any of the process of staffing be mandatory then the rules and regulation of such a process may not have to be necessarily followed. This therefore directly points out that the process of staffing is affected by illegal immigration due to the creation of crime (Haines Rosenblum, 1999). The existence of illegal immigrants in an economy makes it hard for the U. S government to raise the minimum wage required of any worker. It has been noted that the illegal immigrants on most occasions engage in menial jobs like maids and nannies where most Americans are not ready to offer their services. A further complicated scenario is when they work in industries and paid cheaply payment for the services rendered. In the event that the genuine residents of the United States demand any increase in their minimum wage, it would be rhetoric to do so because some cheap labor is available within the same market. Since this is part of the staffing process, such happenings may put staffers in a tight spot because those who would want to increase their revenue earnings will not at any time do so. They will therefore have failed to perform their duties of genuine staffing procedures and this may encourage development of bogus recruitment agencies that may not really care about the ethics of staffing. This will therefore affect the process of staffing negatively and this may further affect the performance of workers and a further effect on the entire human resource (Dale, 2003). Illegal immigration may lead to emergence of unscrupulous employers who may not pay them well. Since the immigrants are consciously aware of their crime of being illegally in the country, they virtually have no voice to press for compensation of damages due to injuries met at work. This is because of the fear that they may be traced, tracked and taken back to their country of origin. The workers are therefore left to perish with their own perils since their employers only want to profit themselves out of cheap labor. The workers in this case are not able to claim any compensation that may arise due to the tasks or work that they do. When such things happen, it is not usually part of staffing or human resource to deny the workers what is genuinely theirs and this may greatly affect the reputation of the staffing companies who may have been involved in the process of selection of the workers in question. This may further affect the compensation of other workers and the eventual work performance (LeMay, 2007). It is important to note that, workers are entitled to join workers and trade unions which may in turn help them in solving problems or issues that arise as it concerns their work. However, it is necessary to understand that workers are able to join such unions when they earn a certain minimum wage which may not be practically possible owing the fact that the illegal immigrants are in abundance and law of demand dictates that they be paid less so that the entire pool of workers may be absorbed. This therefore raises a problem of lack of enough voice to articulate for their rights and this affects even the genuine residents of a country. This is because their will be a seemingly large number of workers but when it comes to those who are dully represented a problem arises. This will therefore be negatively affecting the performance of the genuine immigrants and may influence the way their employers handle them. Any friction that may arise between the employer and employee may affect the work performance and any handling that does not favor the welfare of the worker will be unethical and against the basic expectations from a human resource manager. This will ultimately affect the process of staffing on one way or another (OECD, 2000). Illegal immigrants have their own problems in their home country and there is a possibility that they may transfer such problems to the host country. Such problems may include contagious diseases, overpopulation leading to traffic jam and infection of the genuine residents of a country. This will affect the productivity of workers and this may force the human resource managers to hire other workers to replace those who have fallen sick from infection. As it is usual, the process of recruitment and selection is always carried out after stipulated period of time by the human resource managers and not any arbitrary time. It therefore means that the affected company may be forced to re-adjust their schedule so as to replace the sick employees. it is apparently clear that during such time, the companies are desperately in need of quick labor force to replace the on that is missing (Adler Gielen, 2003). As they do this, it would be absurd to think that the process of recruitment and selection is properly followed and this affects the overall process of staffing. The negative effects of illegal immigration can not really be exhaustibly discussed. The other effect includes emergence of individuals who undertake the crime of providing illegal document (visas) to the illegal immigrants. Such people may end up providing documents to illegal immigrants who end up being terrorists who carry out attacks to the harmless citizens. Such attacks like that of 9/11 were carried by illegal immigrants and this has greatly affected the job market in different ways. First is the fact that it has led to the victimization of people of a particular race or origin. Such people may be subjected to unnecessary scrutiny by the authorities thus discouraging them from searching for jobs in the U. S market (Seltser, et al 1998). This may be an additional task to the recruitment agencies that carry out recruitment and selection of employees and may not be part of what they are supposed to do. This will ultimately affect the quality of staffing processes undertaken by global human resource managers who may be dictated to follow recruitment procedures that does not correlate with the staffing ethics. It therefore links illegal immigration, terrorism and staffing (Djajic, 2001). The second effect of terrorism linked to illegal immigration is that, the nation may end up losing personnel and expatriates needed to drive the economy. This usually happens when the country become too obsessed in fighting terrorism. People may also flee from a country for fear of further terrorist attacks and this will reduce the number of qualified employees that are needed. This may force the global human resource managers to lower the qualifications of the needed job so as to acquire the necessary people required to run the economy. This will ultimately distort the common professional techniques of carrying out interviewing and appraising of candidates which is essential for any recruitment process. It will render it hard to get the best people with the correct mental capabilities, motivation and prospective potentials. The other problem that arises due to illegal immigration is tax evasion and loan and mortgage default. This is because the immigrants do not have identification documents that may help in tracing them and eventual lose the money and also tax. The effect does not end there because those employees of the bank may lose their jobs or incur loses themselves since it is assumed that they should have taken thorough vetting of customers before releasing any funds to them. If this happens it may indicate recruitment process may not have been sufficiently done to acquire the best employees who cannot fall for the fraudsters or the defaulters in this particular case. This may require the organization, bank affected to recheck their methods of recruitment and selection in the future. It may also result in the loss of credibility of the recruitment agency that may have been used by the bank to acquire its employees. This will therefore influence the overall mode of staffing (LeMay, 2007). Despite the negatives results of illegal immigration however, there are positive aspects of the illegal immigration to the economy. The most obvious one is the provision of cheap labor to the industries and agriculture. Most immigrants who come from poor countries do menial jobs like maids, cultivating for the flowers and other jobs that residents of the United States may see it necessary for them to do so. This labor when also provided in farms is relatively cheaper than that of the qualified people who reside in that country. This will ultimately minimize the cost of production an ultimately raises the profits margins of the company or the farmer thus influencing growth positively (OECD, 2000). In relation to staffing, it will be realized that no formal recruitment is done when acquiring such form of cheap labor. This therefore shows that, illegal immigration has the positive effect of reducing the cost of recruitment and selection. This will reduce the cost of production and an overall rise in the revenue of the employer. As has been stated earlier, most of the illegal immigrants who are employed prefer cash payment for their work that they have done than the use of credit cards. This is simply because they want to avoid being tracked since it is very possible with the use of credit cards. The cash payment will increase cash flow in the retail business because they will make most of their purchases there. Increase in cash flow will mean that the business in question has made larger amount of sales and it leads to greater revenues and profits. The firm that has made profits may think of expanding its premises and this creates employment opportunities to other people who have skills in the market. The issue of staffing arises here since recruitment agencies may be called in to carry out the exercise and will be required to do so with diligence as to ensure that the best employees are chosen and that they will be able to serve in a better manner that will enhance the profitability and service delivery. It is clearly indicated that cash paid to the illegal immigrants directly or indirectly influence the employment opportunities for other workers in the economy (Djajic, 2001). Immigrants who move to another country though illegally provide a larger market for the locally produced goods. This is because their living standards will improve compared to their home country. This will obviously spur economic growth of the entire nation with increase in the level of growth. This includes creation of a variety of job opportunities to all the people in that country. A further positive aspect that illegal immigration may bring is the purchase of real estate by the immigrants. They may also buy vehicles and this will enhance the growth of the insurance industry. Growth will obviously include the increase in the number of workers in the industry in question and this will influence staffing just as discussed in the cases studied initially. Illegal immigration is a complex issue but we cannot assume that it has no solution (Brings, 1984). The government of the United States and that of Mexico should start by imposing hefty fines to those found in the crime of illegal immigration and the money that is collected should be used to implement efficient security at the border. When this is done, those planning to do so will be discouraged because they will obviously not be able to pay and the only option they will have are to use genuine means to gain entry to the United States. We should not always assume that is cheap but rather have this in mind that it is a source of problems that are very harsh to the economy. Most immigrants in Mexico come over illegally or from other countries in search for jobs in the United States and they prefer the low pay in the United States than a relatively well paying job in their country of origin like Mexico (Seltser, et al 1998). Conclusion The process of staffing constitutes recruitment and selection of the best qualified personnel with the use of the best ethics in acquisition of employees. This is usually done by global human resource managers or recruitment agencies on behalf of companies or individuals and it is their duty to ensure that the best recruitment procedures are followed so as to obtain the qualified personnel (Scullion Collings, 2006). However, illegal immigration has brought in a lot of problems that affect the quality of the recruitment procedures. As it has been seen in this research, illegal immigration may affect the process of staffing in several ways chief among them, shortage of labor in the country of origin, increase in crime that lead to lowered self esteem of the workers, and distortion of the law of demand and supply. In addition to this there is a further use of public facilities like hospitals and schools in excess of what they may be able to do so. This results in influencing the attitude of workers towards work. It has also been reported that there is increased crime, smuggling of goods and drug trafficking between the border of Mexico and the United States (Lee, 1996). It is however important to not that that illegal immigration has some positive effects and this may include the provision of cheap labor to companies and individuals by lowering the operational cost thus enhancing the market revenue. The laborers also provide ready market for the very local goods that may have otherwise have been wasted and this will influence labor supply in one way or the other. Anything that influences labor supply also influences how and when the recruitment and selection process is carried out (Brings, 1984). Furthermore, it determines how best the ethics have been executed since the greater the degree of ethics that been followed the better the staffing procedures and one is sure to get the best qualified employee out of the others. It is apparently clear that the past history of illegal immigration has been pronounced and has affected the process of economic growth in one way or the other in the United States and Mexico. The effects extend up to affecting the quality of labor in the market and unequal economic growth between the two countries. It is necessary therefore for the leaders of the nations affected to put up measures that will end up this vice once and for all. Illegal immigration is also rampant in Europe evidenced by the number of ships originating from Africa but are regularly arrested though some are unfortunately drowned in the event that they meet strong waves and tides of the sea. This problem can be solved by ensuring that the mother nations have improved economy so that its citizens may not see the need to immigrate to other well developed countries (Seltser, et al 1998). References: Adler, L. L. Gielen, U. P (2003). Migration: Immigration and Emigration in International Perspective. Greenwood Publishing Group. Bean, F. D Vernez, G. (1989). Opening and Closing the Doors: Evaluating Immigration Reform and Control. The Urban Insitute Publishers. Brings, V. M (1984). Immigration Policy and the American Labor Force. Johns Hopkins University Press Dale, M. (2003). Managers guide to recruitment and selection. Kogan Page Publishers. Djajic, S. (2001). International Migration: Trends, Policy and Economic Impact. New York. Routledge Publishers Daugherty, H. G Kammeyer, K. C. W (1995). An Introduction to Population Guilford Press. Haines, D. W Rosenblum, K. E (1999). Illegal Immigration In America: A Reference Handbook. Greenwood Publishing Group.. Lee, R. D (1996). Local Fiscal Effects of Illegal Immigration: Report of a Workshop Compass Series. National Academies Publishers. LeMay, M. C (2007). Illegal Immigration: A Reference Handbook Contemporary World Issues. ABC-CLIO Publishers. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2000). Combating the Illegal Employment of Foreign Workers: International Migration. National Academies Publishers. Seltser, B. J. , Rezmovic, E. L. Stolz, B. A (1998). Illegal Immigration: Southwest Border. DIANE Publishing Scullion, H. Collings, D. G. (2006). Global Staffing. New York. Routledge Publishers. Yoshida, C. (2000). Illegal Immigration and Economic Welfare. Springer. .

Adventure Or Just Another Holiday Tourism Essay

Adventure Or Just Another Holiday Tourism Essay Adventure or just another Holiday? Holidays these days are not a luxury. They are a necessity. Every year people wait for that time of the year when they can shut off their laptops and head off to a place where they can forget about appointments and deadlines. The more people work the more is their need to get away from it all. Owing to lesser and lesser time people have on hand, holidays are a way to be together with families.   Ã‚   Recently the recession has brought about changes in the way people travel. Recession has created a new set of travelers called flashpackers. They are actually backpackers who are on a budget trip who do not share their sleeping space but opt for private rooms. People mostly these days go for all inclusive holidays which are a great help. They let you help your budget yourself; let you keep a check on your food, drink, entertainment and accommodation. The question is with little time on hand and lots of holiday agencies out there to lure you what would you go for? Is it a usual shopping-sightseeing-hogging type of a holiday or wellness treat that you look for? Does a yoga course soothe your senses or a rigorous trekking tour does it for you? According to official statistics families prefer to go on the predictable leisure holidays whereas youngsters and singles opt for adventurous trips. A general myth about adventure travel is that it is full of risks and not everyone can do it. This draws a lot of people away including families. General trend in travel has constantly shown that when parents and children decide to holiday together they always prefer beaches and mountains where they can laze around in hotels, go sight seeing and eat dinners together. If observed closely adventure travel lets you do all of it and much more. Adventure travel can be fun when the entire family is involved in doing a task together. And why just families group of friends or colleagues can have a good time on adventure travels. They are probably one way you can experience nature, be together, spend time and also learn about nature. Talking about nature, eco tourism is a new trend in travel these days which has been beautifully blend with adventure vacations. If you care for the environment which you should, and want to do something about conserving it you should try an eco tour. You get a chance to travel the remotest of the places which have very less human presence and nature at its wildest best.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Some statistics here can give you a better idea about the growing demands of adventure tourism and why you should be a part of it. Extreme Adventure vacations:There are many out there who have made a list which they call Ultimate 5 Lifetime Adventures. This one sorts out the adventures one must do before they die. Skydiving, Rappelling, A ropes challenge course supervised by the army trainer, Bike racing and Hot Air Ballooning. Family adventure holidays:Families have started choosing theme parks and all inclusive resorts more genuine nature-based, cultural, and education and learning excursions, says Doyle. Theses holiday trips came forth owing to the increasing demands of people to have holidays where they can be closer to families and nature.   Soft adventure vacations:There is an increase in number of people who wish for theme based holidays. The theme can be eco tour or Yoga course with a short trekking trip.   Infact Yog is a favorite and is combined with a lot of activities such as snow boarding or wind surfing.   These kinds of holidays are quiet popular among women.

Effect of Age Stereotypes on Balance Performance

Effect of Age Stereotypes on Balance Performance Question 1: An important aspect of physical functioning is the ability to stay balanced. How may expectations generated by age stereotypes influence older adults’ balance performance? Critically review psychological theory and research relevant to this issue, and discuss broader implications for interventions that may support healthy physical functioning of older persons. Loh Qiu Yan Melissa Abstract Older adults face wide range of age stereotypes as they age into their golden years. Such life cycles made people question their cognitive ability and physical functions. The effect of age stereotypes led to one facing both positive and negative aspect of life. These constant stereotyping had negative impacts on health and physical function. But with the help of social interactions, it helped older folks have a choice in leading a more balanced life. The use of social networks helped maintain their physical and cognitive functioning, giving them the room to have independence as well as learning more about their bodily functions. Importance and interventions in maintaining balance performance in physical functioning of older adults. Aging is an inevitable process in living beings where the condition of the body deteriorates resulting in decline of functioning. This challenges the physical abilities and cognitive functioning of older people (Wulf, Chiviacowsky Lewthwaite, 2012) in instances of performing daily activities such as being mobile enough to bath and dress on their own (Clark, Hayes, Jones, Lievesley, 2009). In order to maintain the ability to be mobile and independent in bodily functions at an older age, this is usually accompanied with the decline in physical, mental and sensory abilities. These declines in functions can affect performance in areas that require cognition involving fluid intelligence for example memory and abilities to reason and explain, along with task that require executive control involving vocabulary and word knowledge. Moreover, with the decline in physical functioning, particularly muscle strength and joint flexibility mostly involves motor tasks and balance; such as walking a nd running results in more dependence on cognitive resources at an older age due to the decline in eyesight and auditory range (Schaefer, Schumacher, 2010). These physical and cognitive challenges faced by older individuals can become issues; potentially leading to age stereotypes caused by expectations and assumptions in limited abilities of older adults (Wulf, Chiviacowsky Lewthwaite, 2012). By understanding how aging and age stereotypes take place plays an important role for individuals in realising the anxiety and uncertainty that can further affect cognitive capacity, assuming of own abilities for example intellectual and reasoning abilities (Schaefer, Schumacher, 2010), and regulation of positive and negative feedback given (Wulf, Chiviacowsky Lewthwaite, 2012). The cognitive aspect of a person can be affected positively and negatively in one’s mind set for example towards a challenging motor task which tests an older person’s ability (Wulf, Chiviacowsky Lewthwaite, 2012). This further challenges the balance performance of an older person who might require more cognitive resources later in life (Schaefer, Schumacher, 2010). Hence, the importance of understanding aging, age stereotypes, cognitive and physical functions in influencing balance performance can help develop a more positive aspect in maintaining healthy physical functioning. To better perform the interventions required for physical functioning of older folks, it is necessary to understand the reason behind age stereotypes which can have a negative impact on older folks. One probable reason that can lead to a rise in age stereotypes is by labelling and categorising people into old age groups. As a result, it usually occurs where less favourable attitudes are placed on older adults, viewing them as less productive members of society (Phillips, 2014). This in turn makes individuals come to a conclusion that these deep rooted thoughts and beliefs, mind-set and perceptual behaviour actually support age stereotyping (Blaine, 2013). Furthermore reinforcing and heightening their levels of fear and dependency on others throughout their aging process (Clark, Hayes, Jones, Lievesley, 2009). These thoughts and fears are further embedded in their mind, altering their mind set thus creates a self-conscious state (Wulf, Chiviacowsky Lewthwaite, 2012), which results i n self-stereotyping (Levy, 2003), and affecting balance performance which reduces the ability to perform (Wulf, Chiviacowsky Lewthwaite, 2012). An example of old age stereotype expressed with the use of cartoons characters in portraying older individuals such as Abe Simpson who is the father of Homer Simpson in â€Å"The Simpsons† cartoon. He was portrayed as a senile and dependent person who appears to be quite difficult to handle at times, also seen as being a burden to his son. This portrayed older adults in a negative stereotypical manner with limited abilities to be independent which is not the case for everyone (Blaine, 2013). However, switching to a different perspective of age stereotyping happening in a workplace environment in the context of Singapore, it proved that there were certain generational differences in the negative stereotypes towards older employees. For example, employees at a younger age felt they had more efficiency towards the aspect of multitasking and creativity compared to older employees whom felt that they have stronger work ethics but think that younger employees have stronger demand to wards recognition (Blauth, McDaniel, Perrin, Perrin, 2011). These generational differences were similar in the aspect of comparing the cognitive functioning which is related to balance performance of both groups of people. With better understanding of the cause and reasons for age stereotypes guides older individuals foster a better relationship with their cognitive and body functioning. As much as ageism being a concern, with the constant stereotypical opinions and perception on older people, emotional reactions of these elderly folks are affected in both positive and negative ways (Blaine, 2013). Positive influences and implications can be through social means by interacting with family members, friends and various people from all walks of life. Not only does social interaction help regulate the emotional reactions of older folks; it also encourages individuals in integrating with society through social means (Charles Carstensen, 2010). Social networks and interactions also have an effect on cognitive functioning where it is a motivational factor behind a better quality of life and the ability in maintaining independence despite increase in age; Furthermore, resulting one to developing more self- efficacy in leading a better functional health. This is due to the body reacting in a positive manner where social interaction has a direct relationship with neuroendocri ne and cardiovascular reactivity. Thus, with positive and supportive interactive reactions in the body help to reduce the physiological reactivity that has been linked to endocrine and cardiovascular activity resulting in cognitive decline (Seeman, Lusignolo, Albert Berkman, 2001). In the event of cognitive functioning of an older adult decreasing, there are higher chances of cognitive disorders or impairments such as signs of vascular dementia or Alzheimer to appear (Price, Corwin, Friedman, Laditka, Colabianchi Montgomery, 2011). Hence in order to maintain or increase cognitive functioning, having strong social networks and support in maintaining connectedness can improve one’s mental and physical health, resulting in prevention of cognitive decline. Voluntary activities are one of the social network and integrating activities that encourages bonding sessions with different individuals, demands social and mental skills (Charles Carstensen, 2010) provides a sense of purpose and prevents isolation for those who face difficulties at any point in their life (Grimm, Spring Dietz, 2007). The effect of social interaction has a potential and positive influence on cognitive functioning where both fluid intelligence and executive control involve extensive int rinsic cognitive components required during social interaction for example striking conversations with people during bonding sessions and activities. Social integrating activities such as volunteering can help one have a better sense of control over life and physical health by providing support to other older adults and gaining a sense of accomplishment. With the use of these cognitive components can further promote older individuals having better cognitive engagement and functioning (Seeman, Lusignolo, Albert Berkman, 2001) which are linked to balance performance. Maintaining of balance may seem as a simple and indispensable part in many people, however it is a task that is physical and demands independence in the aspect of an elderly person (Onambele, 2006). Through the study done by Wulf, Chiviacowsky, Lewthwaite (2012) showed that balance is influenced by social cognitive, affect and assuming of own abilities etc. Thus older adult’s balance performance can be further strengthened by increasing their perceived abilities in performing and completing tasks. In addition, based on a study done by Levy Leifheit-Limson (2009) similar to Wulf, Chiviacowsky, Lewthwaite (2012) where instilling of positive age stereotypes on physical or balance performance help mould a certain level of expectation towards the stereotype led to one conforming to it. As a result this causes one to self- stereotype (Levy, 2003), which affect the performance of the individuals in performing better due to the positive influence. Likewise if it was a negative ster eotype, the outcomes are negative. Further implications on how stereotypes can affect balance and physical functioning are neatness of handwriting and speed of walking. This was seen in a study done by Levy (2003) where older adults exposed to negative stereotypes are likely to appear older and frail. The body conditions as observed through handwritings produced seemed to have a little towards illegible due to shaking and unstable movements of the hands which explains that balance performance is affected. In another experiment of exposure to positive stereotyping, the speed of an older adult showed connection between the former and the latter. By exposing them to positive views, makes them self- stereotype themselves towards a more positive and satisfying aspect. The idea of measuring the speed of walking is by how much time is needed for foot to be lifted off the ground and this is measured as swing time which indicated balance. Therefore, results show that older individuals who we re exposed to positive stereotypes had greater swing time in particular to having better balance in their physical movements and their cognitive functioning. In conclusion, age stereotypes, cognitive abilities and physical functions share significantly close relationships in maintaining balance performance for older adults. Positive and negative age stereotypes can give significant effects to an older adult which can be misled and neglected at times. This can cause further effects in time and worst if the stereotypes are negative. The use and help of social interaction and network can boost a person’s physiological reactivity making one have a sense of accomplishment which promotes social integration. Most importantly it leads older individuals to keep their mind and body in working conditions which allow them practice and maintain independence. References Blaine, B. (2013). Understanding Age Stereotypes and Ageism. InUnderstanding the psychology of diversity(2nd ed., pp. 175-186). SAGE Publications. Blauth, C., McDaniel, J., Perrin, C., Perrin, P. (2011). Age-Based Stereotypes: Silent Killer of Collaboration and Productivity.  AchieveGlobal,1(2), 1-15. Charles, S., Carstensen, L., (2010). Social and emotional aging. Annual Reviews of Psychology, 61, 383-409. Clark, A., Hayes, R., Jones, K. Lievesley, N., (2009). Ageism and age discrimination in social care in the United Kingdom. Centre for Policy on Aging. Grimm, R., Spring, K., Dietz, N. (2007). Volunteering, Life Satisfaction, and Mental Health. In  The health benefits of volunteering: A review of recent research.Corporation for National Community Service, Office of Research and Policy Development. Levy, B. (2003). Mind Matters: Cognitive and Physical Effects of Aging Self-Stereotypes.  The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences,58(4), P203-P211. Levy, B., Leifheit-Limson, E. (2009). The stereotype-matching effect: Greater influence on functioning when age stereotypes correspond to outcomes.  Psychology and Aging,24(1), 230-233. Onambele, G. (2006). Calf muscle-tendon properties and postural balance in old age.  Journal of Applied Physiology,100(6), 2048-2056. Phillips, L. (2014). Efforts to Promote Physical Activity Must Battle Ageist Stereotypes. Research in Gerontological Nursing,7(1), 4-5. Price, A., Corwin, S., Friedman, D., Laditka, S., Colabianchi, N., Montgomery, K. (2011). Older Adults Perceptions of Physical Activity and Cognitive Health: Implications for Health Communication. Health Education Behavior, 38 (1), 15-24. Schaefer, S., Schumacher, V. (2010). The Interplay between Cognitive and Motor Functioning in Healthy Older Adults: Findings from Dual-Task Studies and Suggestions for Intervention.  Gerontology,57, 239-246. Seeman, T., Lusignolo, T., Albert, M., Berkman, L. (2001). Social relationships, social support, and patterns of cognitive aging in healthy, high-functioning older adults: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging.  Health Psychology,20 (4), 243-255. Wulf, G., Chiviacowsky, S., Lewthwaite, R. (2012). Altering mindset can enhance motor learning in older adults. Psychology and Aging, 27, 14-21. DOI: 10.1037/a0025718

Chinese Paleontologists Create a False Fossil Link Between Birds and Di

Chinese Paleontologists Create a False Fossil Link Between Birds and Dinosaurs An article published in January of 2000, â€Å"All mixed up over birds and dinosaurs†, by Richard Monastersky in Science News Online seems to put an interesting spin on a corresponding article published about six months earlier in the scientific journal Nature. The article in Science News Online seems to imply that the article â€Å"A dromaeosaurid dinosaur with a filamentous integument from the Yixian Formation of China,† could be referring to forged fossils made up by Chinese scientists in order to provide the missing fossil link between birds and dinosaurs. The article was published on September 16, 2004, by Xing Xu and Wu discusses the actual scientific findings of the Archaeoraptor lioningensis fossil, found in the northeastern province of Liaoning, China of what is the Sinornithosaurus millenii dinosaur. Monastersky and other paleontologists seem to believe the fakery occurred in that the tail discovered for the dromaeosaurid is really a mirror image of the ta il of the Archaeoraptor. The articles present completely different sides of the story as one being strictly scientific and the other article presenting damaging information that could prove to be dramatic for the Chinese paleontologists that were apparently trying to make a quick profit off the findings. Some background information on dromaeosaurids is they’re poorly characterized meat-eating dinosaurs that are a group of theropods known to have the closest relationship to birds than that of any other specimen of dinosaurs. These dinosaurs are also thought to be among the fastest and most agile dinosaurs certainly aiding in their hunting of prey. These two key features along with the bi... ... just like everyone else, but with the ever emerging technological world it seems that that code of ethics could be diminishing in one of the world’s oldest fields of study. It is a very hard thing to control and debate, but certainly scientists should try and continue to be fair and honest as they always have been. Certainly it is easy to see from this example that a scientific lie may hold up at first, but after awhile people begin to catch on and in the end it just ends up ruining reputations and careers. Works Cited Monastrersky, Richard. â€Å"All mixed up over birds and dinosaurs.† Science News Online. 15 Jan. 2000. Vol. 157, No.3. Xing Xu, Xiao-Lin Wang and Xiao-Chun Wu. â€Å"A dromaeosaurid dinosaur with a filamentous integument from the Yixian Formation of China.† Nature. 16 Sept. 1999.

Free Essays - Tale of Two Cities :: Tale Two Cities Essays

Tale of Two Cities The main purpose of this book is to show the contrasts between the peaceful city of London and the city of Paris, tearing itself apart in revolution. This is apparent in the very first line of the book, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." This is a contrast of the two cities, London, the tranquil home of Mr. Lorry and the Darnays'; and Paris, the center of a bloody revolution. The author shows gentleness in these violent times in the persons of Dr. and Lucie Mannette, both gentle and peaceful. He also characterizes the evil side of the revolution in the apathetic and depraved Misuser and Mademoiselle Defarge, who go about their business while death carts roll-- as do heads-- through the streets of Paris. He does though, depict a ray of light amongst all this evil; the heroic Carton, who gave his life for his friend and a woman he knew he would never have. The biggest contrast of all, is in the person of Misuser Darnay, the gentle English family man, who is also related to the evil Marquis Evremonde. I personally like stories that use historical events as backdrops because it brings these seemingly distant events closer to us. This book definitely offers insight into life in the two cities at the time of the French Revolution. I think it does an excellent job of depicting just how totally involved some people became in the revolution. It shows how people were blinded by the desire for freedom from their former oppressors, so much so, that they attacked anyone and anything that was even remotely related to their past rulers. I think this was effectively done by excellent characterization, using each character to depict a different aspect of society, then contrasting them by making them rivals. I really took away a different view of that time period. Some of the language he used was definitely outdated. The language was exactly what you would expect for a novel of that time period. I was able to follow the story pretty well, although there were a few times, in switching back and forth between cities, that I got a little lost Still on the whole I liked the way the story flowed. Unlike some stories of that time, there wasn't really any profanity or taking of God's name in vain, which is always good to see.

Language and Cognition Essay

Language is very complex and the manner at which humans learn language is even more complex. Language is more than just words and with words there are also definitions this paper will explain what language and lexicon is. Language is connected to cognitive functions in so many ways that this is better explained throughout the paper. There are key features in language that is developed during childhood and continues to grow as children get bigger. Language has a structure and processing through four levels. These levels better help humans understand language and communicate to one another. The connections in language processing and cognitive psychology are better understood later on in this paper. First to start off with a better understanding of what language and lexicon is. When a duck quacks, a dog barks, a horse neighs, and a cow moos everyone knows that they are communicating, these sounds do not however make up language. According to (Merriam-Webster’s Third New Internati onal Dictionary Unabridged) language is an â€Å"audible, articulate, meaningful sound as produced by the action of the vocal organs†. Language and communication is structured, to communicate there must be arbitrary, considered generative and dynamic. Animal sounds are audible they are produced by an action of vocal organs but they are not structured. An animal’s noise is composed of a single sound. In addition to the human cognitive functions and language assimilation, is how the brain has a mental dictionary that holds all of symbols of words. According to (Merriam-Webster’s Third New International Dictionary Unabridged) lexicon is â€Å"a book containing an alphabetical or other systematic arrangement of the words in a language or of a considerable number of them and their definitions†. Lexicon’s record accumulated spelling and pronunciation; humans also recognize words by evaluating what he or she has perceived hearing with these recordings. Humans will compare animal communication sounds using the stored lexicon to decide if the sounds make up a known language. Caldwell-Harris (2008) notes â€Å"words represented with links to their typical linguistic contexts will help explain the ever present influence of context on word meaning† (p. 170). Therefore, there would be no meaning to a human and an animal to communicate between each other because there are not words or contexts to understand. Furthermore, an understanding of language is more than the definition and lexicon, but includes the key features of language. Humans are pre-programmed to learn language; there is also a critical period which is where someone can learn effortlessly. According to (Willingham, 2007, p. 423) â€Å"there is fairly strong evidence that our brains are prepared to learn language, and with relatively little prompting, will do so†. Children learn in stage starting with babbling and cooing. According to (Hollich, 2006, p. 10) â€Å"to learn a word, infants must represent both the acoustic form and then make the connection to an external, possibly unfamiliar, object†. As children are learning to pronounce vowels and consonants they put together words, as they do this they also look at objects to match with the words. Chrysikou, Novick, Trueswell, & Thompson-Schill (2011) note â€Å"specifically, an increase in the spontaneous use of inner verbal strategies during development may support aspects of top-down control in task-shifting, by selecting and maintaining task-relevant goals, remembering task order , or retrieving task-relevant information† (p. 254). With repetition the key features of language are learned, and humans begin to form structure and begin to use the key features of language. There are four key features of language phonemes, words, sentences, and text. These key features are the structure and processing used in cognitive psychology. When listening to the pronunciations a person learning the language also needs to know how to identify it. Cognitive process helps us to learn these different words and how to spell, speak, and the meaning of each word. According to (Willingham, 2008, P. 454) if the phoneme string matches an entry, the word has been identified, and the cognitive system has access to the other properties of the word, including the spelling, part of speech, and meaning. The individual sounds that make up the audible and written copy of words are known as phonemes. There are about 200 phonemes used worldwide, but only about 46 are used in the English language. Through the above mentioned lexicon, people are able to determine a spelling and pronunciation of each word. With this ability humans are able to make coherent sentences with noun phrase and verb phrases. When this is completed it is where the significant formation of actual text is possible. A person can know phonemes, words, and sentences but to really carry on a conversation a person must correctly understand the language this is text. A branch of psychology is cognitive psychology and this area explores the function of mental processes connected to attending, thinking, perceiving, language, and memory. The English language has different sounds for letters as well for example kit and skill, the k sound is different in both words but the letter is the same. Each language has their own pronunciations as well as meanings but they are all diverse. According to (Evans and Levinson, 2009, P. 431) â€Å"the crucial fact for understanding the place of language in human cognition is its diversity. For example, languages may have less than a dozen distinctive sounds, or they may have 12 dozen, and sign languages do not use sounds at all†. There are quite a few functions used in cognitively one of which is memory. Memory is a big part of language and understanding the meaning of words. Humans learn language by repetition and memory to recall definitions and perceptions of the different words in the world around them. In conclusion cognitive psychology and the process of language is connected more than one might believe. Understanding our world around us through experiences is not the only way our mind works. Through language and lexicon, a person recalls information he or she has learned from previous experiences to better understand the lexicon and remember it. The key features of language are that humans are programmed to learn language and understand it. While humans learn the language they move through the four levels of structure and processing to get to communication. Communication is not just understanding the words but also making clear sentences and text as learned in this paper. References: CALDWELL-HARRIS, C. (2008). Language research needs an â€Å"emotion revolution† and distributed models of the lexicon. Bilingualism, 11(2), 169-171. doi:10.1017/S1366728908003301 Chrysikou, E. G., Novick, J. M., Trueswell, J. C., & Thompson-Schill, S. L. (2011). The Other Side of Cognitive Control: Can a Lack of Cognitive Control Benefit Language and Cognition?. Topics In Cognitive Science, 3(2), 253-256. doi:10.1111/j.1756-8765.2011.01137.x Evans, N., & Levinson, S. C. (2009). The myth of language universals: Language diversity and its importance for cognitive science. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32(5),429-48;discussion 448-494. doi:10.1017/S0140525X0999094X Hollich, G. (2006). Combining techniques to reveal emergent effects in infants segmentation, word learning, and grammar. Language and Speech, 49, 3-19. http://search.proquest.com /docview/213732301?accountid=35812 Merriam-Webster’s Third New International Dictionary Unabridged [Accessed June 18, 2012]. Willingham, D.T. (2007). Cognitions: The thinking animal (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Statistics Summary Essay

Statistics is commonly known as a tool utilise to direct decisions, but the official definition of statistics, harmonise to the textbook, is The science of collecting, organizing, presenting, analyzing, and interpreting data to facilitate in making more strong decisions. (Lind, Marchal, & Wathen, 2011) There argon two types of statistics, descriptive, and inferential. descriptive statistics provide selective information that domiciliate be used to show changes such as growth or decline in the area of study. Inferential statistics provide information about a specific effect of study by gathering information from samples.The science of statistics is also divided into trains, depending on certain characteristics of the information being analyzed. The archetypical take is called nominal and contains data that is just counted by category, such as the flesh of red gondolas on a car lot, or how many boys or girls are in a classroom. Another level is called ordinal. Ordinal dat a includes data that can be ranked in a certain order such as satisfactory ratings and championship rankings. The next level in statistics is called interval. Interval level not only ranks the data, but reflects a measured difference between values. An example of this could be average inches of rainfall. The final level of statistics is called proportionality. proportion level includes data that is ranked, reflects a measurable difference between values, and also assigns a meaningful value to zero. An example of ratio data could be the number of positions fill up in a company.Statistics is used for anything from estimating path/bridge traffic to determine morphological safety, to percentage of growth in universe to determine adequate classroom length in schools, to the average units of water supply used per household to establish monthly water rates. Statistics, used formally and informally, affects nearly every aspect of our lives.ReferenceLind, D. A., Marchal, W. G., & Wa then, S. A. (2011). Basic Statistics for handicraft and Economics (7th ed.). New York, NY McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Summaries of Outsourcing Works

abbreviation 1 2 In their clause Outscouring Types, relational Wages, and the Demand for Skilled Workers New Evidence from the U. S. Manufacturing Aekapol Chongvilaivan, Jung Hur and Yohanes E. Ryianto analyse the violations of outsourcing on relative salarys of firm workers. The notion of outsourcing implies that firms contract out some level of output in the vertical chain of fruit. The authors crys that there is a affinity amidst outsourcing types and relative wages of practiced and un masterly workers.In fact, the seekers thesis claim that downstream materials and attend outsourcing be influenced by worker acquisition, while upstream materials outsourcing is not. First, the authors divide the concept of outsourcing in leash categories. The starting line type consist of upstream material outsourcing. A firm doing so will outsource the production of inputs for a good. The second type consists of downstream production in which firms outsource the production of the final product. The 3rd type consists of dish up outsourcing sectors such as communications, accounting, auditing , clerking and computer services.The authors explain that each type direct different levels of skills for campaign. Therefore, they do not fix the alike repair on demand for sure-handed labour. earlier conducting their find out, the authors reviewed former lit on the topic. An influential study to the authors research is maven written by Blum in 2007. This reviewed literature showed that shifts of structures in the economy industries could explain the revolt wages for skilled workers. Another influential literature analyze by the researchers is one study conducted by Amiti and Weu (2006).This study evaluated the relates of undertake out on the productivity in the United-States. Amiti and Weu (2006) explain that if firms are able to internationally fragment the inefficient explodes of their production process by outsourcing, they can then specialise in the part of the production process in which they throw away comparative advantage locally. The study conducted by Manufacturing Aekapol Chongvilaivan, Jung Hur and Yohanes E. Ryianto differs from previous ones because of their distinction amongst skilled and unskilled worker.Another distinguishing looking of the research is the division of upstream and downstream outsourcing as different categories . Instead of apply a table data analysis researchers use a swing out industry analysis. In order to conduct their research on impact of outsourcing on relative wages, the authors have retrieved their information from various data sources. The first one is the 2002 Annual survey of Manufactures(ASM). This source offered authors information on wages and employment of the skilled and unskilled workers across the manufacturing sector.Researchers similarly employ the 2002 economic numerate as a data source where they got the embody and production structure of manufacturing firm s and also their use of ceiling and services. To rhythm the employment share of skilled workers the authors used a in brief run speak to solve based on the Brown and Christensen(1981 model). To measure downstream and upstream outsourcing impacts on relative wages, researchers disoriented skill wage share with different logarithm of elements of production.As for results, authors found that if import share is not crucial on wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers. Researchers found a negative blood between capitals and the relative demand for skilled workers. The authors also present that larger industries have higher wage share of skilled workers. This can be imputable to their cost advantage as a firm. Researchers also found that material outsourcing show the way to a decline in the overall productivity of labour in the short-run. Consequently, the efficiency of has a positive impact on relative wages.The authors show that downstream materials and service outsourcing have a positive impact on the wages of skilled workers relative to those of unskilled workers. Researchers also showed that upstream material outsourcing has a negative impact on relative wages of workers. The authors conclude by claiming that technology is influenced by skill in the manufacturing sector. stocky 2 Hartmut Egger and Peter Egger are authors of International outsourcing and the productivity of low-skilled labor in the EU.Their article shows the relationships between outsourcing and the productivity of low skilled labor. For their work, the authors claim that in the short run outsourcing has a belittled negative effect on contributions of workers. They estimate that in the prospicient run however, that outsourcing has a positive impact on real value added per worker. The researchers relied on previous studies conducted by Feenstra and Hanson to structure their study. Feenstra and Hansons article analyze the effects of offshoring and outsourcing on the labor trade in the U.S. Other influential studies used by authors studied the trade relationship of the E. U with developing countries. For their study, the researchers used various source of data to analyze the relationship of outsourcing and worker productivity. First, authors referred to the sources New Cronos (Eurostats) and Stan (OECD) to obtain numbers on productivity per worker, real gross production, employment and information in the European Union. Also, to measure the concept of outsourcing researchers used EU-output input tables.Finally, the authors used data from the UN data on intermediate goods trade. The data sets chosen by researchers were computed using translog functions and CES functions. CES refers to constant elasticity of substitution a function that include complex production or utility functions. Such functions offer simulation of the outsourcing effect on the average productivity of labor. The calculations where based on three main characteristic assumptions. The firs t being that outsourcing moves part of the production to other countries economies and markets.Secondly, by maximizing their additional firms want to adjust their factor employment. Thirdly, the difference between the short-run and the long run effects of contracting out may be increased due to flaws in markets. More firms may have the fillip to respond to competing companies outsourcing. After analyzing data with functions researchers made the undermentioned findings The first relates to outsourcing seems to make use of a pregnant negative effect on low skill worker productivity. Their research showed that.Also, researchers demonstrated that in the long run outsourcing had a positive effect on the productivity of low skilled labor. The difference between the short-run and the long-run effects of international outsourcing may be magnified by product market imperfections. The authors conclude their work by claiming that low-skilled labor productivity growth in the European indu stries in the short run was mainly stimulated by the channel in physical capital stocks and skill upgrading earlier than fragmentation of production across borders.