D’Ann Penner received her Ph.D. from the University of...

D’Ann Penner received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, where she studied belief and resistance among Cossacks, farmers and women in the formative years of the Soviet Union. Keith C. Ferdinand is a clinical cardiologist, who was previously the Medical Director of Heartbeats Life Center and Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at Xavier University College of Pharmacy in New Orleans, Louisiana. Overcoming Katrina: African American Voices from the Crescent City and Beyond, is a collection of 27 interviews of people who dealt with multiple issues of abandonment, evacuation, displacement, and having to rebuild their lives after Katrina. The authors have divide the book up in four different sections that split the†¦show more content†¦Throughout the book, there is a feeling of distrust with the narrators, because, like many others, they felt as if they had been betrayed and that the levees were not properly maintained. The authors back this theory with the 1924 incident when levees were blown up to flood the black neighborhoods, to save the predominately white ones. I do feel that instead of interviewing friends and relatives of co-author Keith Ferdinand, others should have been used to make it less of a personalized book for a group of individuals. I also feel that the authors should have provided the questions asked by the interviewer, leaving the book in it’s original transcription. For me personality, this was an excellent book and was an easy read, due to the fact that it flowed so well. You can place yourself in the shoes of each narrator and feel what they felt.as they went through this trying time in their life. The older narrators give the reader a lot of their lives and you really see their struggles to come up during a time of segregation and racism. These were educated individuals who came from average backgrounds. Through the eyes of the narrators you can visualize the neighborhoods they grew up in, you get a g limpse of what their family life was, and briefly go through Katrina with them. In the â€Å"Coming of Age† section you see life from the perspective of the youth in Katrina. Before Katrina these young men were plagued with a life of violence

Essay on CU4177 End Of Life Dementia Care2 - 1957 Words

CU4177 End of Life Dementia Care 1.1 Dementia is a progressive disease where an individual’s brain functions deteriorate and affects their mental capabilities. This disease is incurable which is similar to another terminal illness such as cancer. Symptoms of dementia will affect an individual’s memory leading to loss and confusing, language/ communication, understanding and judgement. Medication can be prescribed to help slow down the progression of symptoms. Within the more advanced stages the individual will commonly suffer from incontinence, limited mobility and limited communication usually the individual will not be able to use sentences just limited words. Other symptoms that worsen similar to those with a terminal illness are:†¦show more content†¦2.2 In the earlier stages individual’s may be able to express pain through verbal and non verbal communication, together the carer could recognise that they are in pain and a rough area of where this is coming from. This will enable carers to be able to provide medical intervention if needed I.e. Administering PRN paracetamol or seeking medical attention from a nurse/ doctor when required. Care givers should use clear questions when speaking to someone with dementia as it may take them a little longer to process what is being asked. As the dementia progresses the individual could be unable to communicate, but they may be able to express pain through noise I.e. screams, but these could be easily misinterpreted by care providers as a â€Å"normal† behaviour if these are regular occurrences. 2.3 When pain has been recognised by care providers, communication with the individual is important where possible dependant of their ability to be verbal and how much capacity the individual has to understand their pain. Care givers will continuously monitor and observe the individual for changes in needs and record these within the daily care notes within the care plan. Dependant on the type of pain will depend on what medical intervention will be best for the individual through advice from other health professionals. Health professionals offer support to care providers to work as a multi-disciplinary team

Accounting Disclosure And Economic Benefits -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Accounting Disclosure And Economic Benefits? Answer: Introducation In accordance with annual report of the company for the financial year ending 30th of June 2017, following are the assets that the company has tested for the impairment loss or impairment charges if any during the period: Property Plant and Equipment Goodwill Loans and Advances Financial Instruments Other Intangible assets like computer software, core deposits, customer relationship, other acquired intangibles and trustee license. Other assets including accrued income, repayments already made by the company, debtors of the company from whom the payment is required to be received and deferred expenditure if any. The company has conducted the impairment testing in accordance with the relevant provisions of the accounting standards. In accordance with the provisions of the Australian accounting standard one hundred and thirty six on impairment of assets, the company is currently conducting the impairment test on an annual basis. At the end of each year and at each of the balance sheet date, the company assesses whether there are any indication that the value of the assets as stated in the balance sheet of the company is weakened. For the purpose of testing, the main emphasis is on the comparison of the recoverable amount with the carrying amount of the particular asset. Recoverable amount is the higher of the value in use and the net selling price. Value in use is defined as the present value of all the cash flows that are estimated for the future depending upon the useful life of an asset and the present value of the residual value of the asset at the end of its useful life. Net selling price is the selling price of the asset less the cost that is incurred to sell the product. Carrying amount is the amount of the assets which are stated in the balance sheet. The Company has also determined the cash generating units because of the fact that the cash flows to be derived from the assets cannot be derived separately (AASB, 2016). Yes, the company has recorded the impairment expenditures in the statement of the profit and loss account. As per the provisions of the accounting standard number one hundred and thirty six, the impairment loss is charged to the statement of the Profit and Loss account on one hand and on the other hand the impairment loss is charged to the value of the asset of the company and accordingly after deduction the carrying amount of the assets have been disclosed at the year end. Following are details for which the impairment expense has been charged (Company Official Website, 2017): S. No. Particulars Amount of Impairment Charges (In Million dollar) 1 Property plant and equipment 21.8 2 Loans and Advances 107.90 3 Financial Assets 0.3 4 Other acquired Intangibles 0.4 Following are the key estimates and assumptions that have been used by the firm for conducting the impairment testing: The assets will be tested for impairment at the end of the each year that is to say at the balance sheet date. In case of the property plant and equipment, the company has made the assumption that in case the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the recoverable amount, then the impairment loss will be recognized. As per the note number nine of the financial statements of the company, the impairment of loans and advances is made when there are chances of having the failure in the timely achievement of the repayment of the total amount which includes the principal as well as the interest on the outstanding principal. It is irrespective of the banking norms whether the loans and advances so given are due or has been outstanding for a period more than ninety days. In case of loans and advances, the impairment loss or the charges are made only when the company has the objective proof of having the loan portfolio in total loss. The company has also made the key assumption regarding the loans and advances and that is termed in the notes to the financial statement as the specific provision. Under this head, the provision is made only when there is the reasonable doubt on the collection of the principal and interest from the customer and then all the irrecoverable are written off or adjusted against the specific provision. It is done in the period in which the loans and advances so become irrecoverable. Company has made the head of the collective provision, where the individual loans which are not grouped earlier are regrouped under this head and the provision is made accordingly for the irrecoverable pertaining to the individual loans. Yes, although the company is in compliance with the relevant provisions of the accounting standard, but there is the subjectivity in the form of the different disclosure heads created by the company for bifurcating the impairment provision. Secondly, subjectivity is present in the estimation of the future cash flows on the basis of which the value in use is determined (Intelligent Investor, 2017). The first form of the subjectivity will confuse the investors of the company in understanding the impairment testing. The second form of subjectivity can lead the outcome to be distorted. It is because the estimation of the cash flows can appreciate the value of assets and can depreciate the value of assets. If in case it is not correctly determined then there will be the case where the value of the net block of assets is depreciating on one hand and on the other hand the companys net worth is deteriorating. I find somewhere it has confusion and at most of the times it is interesting. It is because it is different industry and the way they have dealt with the loans and advances is different. The insight is that the company is performing well in the estimation of impairment loss. It is because all the method that has been applied by the company is in total compliance with the provisions of the accounting standards. And the impairment testing is very fair and correct. In note number 22 of the financial statements, the fair value measurement has been described. Fair value is equivalent to the price that the company will receive when the company will sell the asset and the price at which the company will be able to complete its obligation. Fair values have been calculated by having the unadjusted market prices of the identical instruments of the market. There are other valuation techniques also where unadjusted market prices are not made available. These are Quoted market prices, techniques with observable inputs and technique with unobservable input. Economic reality means that the financial statements of the company shall present the true and fair view of the financial position and the financial performance of the company and basically how the company is disclosing the accounts and the key assumptions in the financial statements (Ely, 2015). In the former standard the liabilities of the company are not recorded in full on the face of the balance sheet of the company. It is to say that earlier only those liabilities are recorded in the balance sheet of the company that comes under the financial lease and the operating lease (Day and Stuart,2013). Due to this bifurcation the liabilities that come under the operating lease are required to be kept out of the balance sheet and are recorded as contingent liability off the balance sheet. Secondly, by having so bifurcation, the net worth of the company is understated and the banks and the financial institutions gives loan on that basis of only instead of considering the contingent liabilities. Thirdly, the proposed investors or the potential investors were on the idea that the company has the high net worth and offers the high earnings per share and does not even considers the contingent liabilities. Due to this very fact, the former accounting standard does not invoke the concept of the economic reality. The big statement that has been made by the Hans Hoogervorst is that the off balance sheet items consists of the 66 times greater than the debt reported on the balance sheet. It has generally happened in the earlier accounting standard. Under the former provisions, the liabilities in case of the operating lease are not liable to be recorded on the face of the balance sheet and thus records off the balance sheet (Singh, 2011). Due to this loophole, the company has started entering into the lease called operating lease. Under this lease, the lessee is not required to create the liabilities. It is because of the fact that the substantial risks and rewards are not transferred. Majorly the airlines have started entering into the lease and that too in operating one and have been recording the liabilities off the balance. Due to its accumulation over the period of lease, the amount becomes so higher that the total debt as recorded in the balance sheet counts as one third of the off balance sheet liabilities (Ma, 2011). The chairperson of the IASB has very categorically mentioned that there was no level playing field among the airlines. It has been said keeping in view the trend that the airlines have adopted over the period of time. Under the provisions of the former accounting standard, if any company enters into the operating lease then there will be the chances that the lessee company will not record the liabilities in relation to the financial obligations towards the lessor and shall record the same as the contingent liability off the balance sheet (Singer, 2017). Due to this privilege that the airlines company have sought and instead of entering into the financial lease or the rent agreement has entered into the operating lease agreement and have started mentioning the liability off the balance sheet which otherwise shall be mentioned as the actual liability (Gross, 2014). Now the competitor or new airlines which enters into the market will not be able to play like this and thus for some airlines the intra comparison is not possible in every meaning. Therefore, the chairperson has said that there was no playing field. Chairperson has simultaneously mentioned that the new accounting standard will not so popular with everyone. The major reason of the statement is that the companies which have been playing with their financial statements so long will naturally at first resist in the adoption of the relevant accounting standard and if when made applicable then they will resort to other form of hiring the planes or the machineries or any other asset depending upon the nature and size of the business like rent agreement, etc (Lim, 2014). Secondly, although the standard and its provisions are for the benefit of the investors, shareholders and other stakeholders of the company as it will bring out the economic reality of the company but the new standard will in some manner affects the way of doing of the business which is currently into the roots of the nature of doing business. Thirdly, the implementation of the new leasing standard will require the time as well as the cost which every company will resist and accordingly half of the listed companies which are into the leasing transactions will be greatly affected and will be out of the leasing transactions (Knubley, 2010; Moore and Nagy, 2013). Thus, in this manner the new leasing standard will be unpopular with everyone. The statement made by the chairperson of the IASB is very effective. The basic intent is very clear that by having the new leasing standard, the companies both lessor and lessee will be required to disclose the assets and liabilities in the balance sheet which in turn will help the investors and the other stakeholders of the company to take an informative and the better decision and that too in an efficient and effective manner FASB, (2016). Secondly, the new leasing standard will help the management of the company. It helps the company in the way that where any situation come where the company is required to make decision between two options as to whether to buy the machinery or to lease out, the company will be able to take an effective decision. References AASB, (2016), Impairment of Assets available at https://www.aasb.gov.au/admin/file/content105/c9/AASB136_07-04_COMPjun09_01-10.pdf accessed on 23-01-2018. AASB, (2016), Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement available at https://www.aasb.gov.au/admin/file/content105/c9/AASB139_07-04_COMPoct10_01-11.pdf accessed on 23-01-2018. Company Official Website, (2017), Annual Report 2016, available on https://www.bendigoadelaide.com.au accessed on 23/01/2018. Day, R. and Stuart, R., (2013), New lease accounting proposal: what it means and what companies can do to prepare.Financial Executive,29(6), pp.11-13. FASB, (2016), New Guidance on Lease Accounting available at https://www.fasb.org/jsp/FASB/FASBContent_C/NewsPagecid=1176167901466 accessed on 21/09/2017. Ely, K.M., (2015), Operating lease accounting and the market's assessment of equity risk.Journal of Accounting Research, pp.397-415 Gross, A.D, (2014). The path of lease resistance: How changes to lease accounting treatment may impact your business.Business Horizons,57(6), pp.759-765. Intelligent Investor, (2017), Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BEN), available on https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/company/Bendigo-and-Adelaide-Bank-Limited-BEN-249121 accessed on 23/01/2018. Knubley, R., (2010). Proposed changes to lease accounting.Journal of Property Investment Finance,28(5), pp.322-327 Lim, S.C., (2014), Market Recognition of the Accounting Disclosure and Economic Benefits of Operating Leases: Evidence from Borrowing Costs and Credit Ratings. Ma W, (2011), Impact on Financial Statements of New Accounting model for leases available at https://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1194context=srhonors_theses accessed on 21/09/2017 Moore, S. and Nagy, A., (2013), CONTRACT STRUCTURING UNDER THE NEW LEASE ACCOUNTING RULES: THE CASE OF CUSTOM DESIGN RETAIL, INC.Global Perspectives on Accounting Education,10, p.81 Singer, R, ( 2017), Accountinq for Leases Under the New Standard, Part 1: Definition and Classification of Leases and Lessee Accounting.CPA Journal,87(8). Singh, A.,( 2011). A restaurant case study of lease accounting impacts of proposed changes in lease accounting rules.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,23(6), pp.820-839.

Sustainability Of The Current Business Issues †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Sustainability Of The Current Business Issues. Answer: Introduction In this journal, I will be going to highlight the specific issues that are regarding the sustainability of the current business issues. It is imperative to note that the business organizations in the modern competitive business environment should have developed the viability. If they face business sustainability issues, they might face several challenges to arrange their business operations smoothly. I will discuss several issues that are encountered in the business organizations to maintain the sustainability. Concept of business sustainability The concept of the business sustainability is a very wide approach to be precise. Some of the ways in which the organizational sustainability can be achieved is to maintain the integrity of the managers and make effective communication between the employees and the customers (Bansal and DesJardine 2014). The business organizations should always act by maintaining the ethics in their business. This should be one of the most important things to achieve the sustainability in the business. The different perspectives like the maintaining the ethical standards should be very effective in this sense as well. The business organizations should always be very much active in meeting the demands of the customers (Bansal and DesJardine 2014) I also think that the business organizations should be trying to meet all the environmental, legal and political guidelines so they can keep up their reputation in the good manner. One of the most important issues that the business organizations face is the f act that they face some social and environmental challenges while meeting their financial adjectives (Galea 2017). Sustainability, the Triple Bottom Line business The Triple Bottom Line is considered to be one of the most important things that are said to be the measure sticks for the sustainability of the business (Elkington 2013). I critically think that this Triple Bottom Line is the main cause of measuring the corporate sustainability of the business organizations. I am strongly of the opinion that sustainability is the thing that the business organizations need to flourish and cope up with the challenges in their industry. One of the main issues in maintains the securing the business success is to manage the human capital and utilizing the advantage of a better social position in the business industry. The organizations should be involved in developing the social status of the organizations. My personal opinion is that the business organizations should always support the local initiatives for the business indeed. These issues should be sorted out in the most ways (Elkington 2013). If I can use implement the Triple Bottom Line method, the organizations can expand in the best ways by keeping the local economy in the minds. If this method is used in the business, the managers will be able to build a proper workforce in which they can have faith and those employees can bring out their best efforts indeed. Their skills will provide the organizations with the best profits and help maintaining the sustainability of the organization (Savitz 2013). The Six Forms of Capital used by businesses There are six types of the capitals which are very much essential for the business organizations. These things are very much important since they help the business organizations to get their best place in the industry. They also help the organizations to maintain their sustainability as well. These six types of business capitals are internal economic capital, external economic capital, natural capital, human capital, social and relationship capital and constructed capital. I believe these six types of capitals are indeed very much necessary for the business organizations to survive in this competitive business environment. The companies should focus on building their brand values in a way that they should be able to grab the entire market within their target audience (Burns 2016). The various climatic resources like the ecosystem and others should be valued by the organizations as well. According to me, the organizations should also give more focus on the skills of the employees, mot ivating the employees to perform better and give more efforts. I believe these things would really be very much beneficial for the organizations indeed. The individuals should be given much motivation by the organizations and their managers. I always believe that the organizations should always build a strong network and build a strong market. This should be very much effective for them to gather the competitive advantage over their rival companies (Campbell, Coff and Kryscynski 2012). The strong teamwork or collaboration should be implemented in the business operations. I have always asked for the shared intellectual capital that should be practiced in the organizations (Burns 2016). The six phases of business approaches to sustainability The business organizations should always practice some measures by which they can achieve their sustainability in the best ways (Rosemann and vom Brocke 2015). There are six ways in which the organizations can gain the competitive advantage by practicing the approaches of business sustainability. These approaches are the managing the uncertainty in the business, the ability to adapt with changing business environment, openness to changes, using the participatory cultures and tools, using the value-based approach and managing the systems change (Benn, Edwards and Williams 2014). I believe if the organizations can practice these steps they will surely manage the business sustainability. Conclusion I would like to conclude this journal by saying that the organizations need to adapt to many changes that would be very influential in order to bring in the sustainability in the business performance. The organizations can perform better if these values are included in their business operations. References Bansal, P. and DesJardine, M.R., 2014. Business sustainability: It is about time.Strategic Organization,12(1), pp.70-78. Benn, S., Edwards, M. and Williams, T., 2014.Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge. Burns, P., 2016.Entrepreneurship and small business. Palgrave Macmillan Limited. Campbell, B.A., Coff, R. and Kryscynski, D., 2012. Rethinking sustained competitive advantage from human capital.Academy ofManagement Review,37(3), pp.376-395. Elkington, J., 2013. Enter the triple bottom line. InThe triple bottom line(pp. 23-38). Routledge. Galea, C. ed., 2017.Teaching business sustainability: From theory to practice. Routledge. Rosemann, M. and vom Brocke, J., 2015. The six core elements of business process management. InHandbook onbusiness process management 1(pp. 105-122). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Savitz, A., 2013.The triple bottom line: how today's best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success-and how you can too. John Wiley Sons.

Hardap Freight Services free essay sample

Hardap Freight Services (hereafter referred to as HFS) is a small/medium enterprise, registered as a closed corporation, providing superior courier logistics through a network of standardized service points. Their head office is situated in Windhoek, but they have regional offices in Karibib, Swakopmund, Walvisbay, Ondangwa, Rundu, Tsumeb, Grootfontein, Mariental and Keetmanshoop. HFS is currently one of many courier companies offering overnight logistical services throughout the country, additional to a high quality service, they pride themselves in delivering that service on a daily basis and guarantees delivery times to their customers. HFS has been in operation since 2006, but was bought by Mr. Gert Liebenberg in 2009 and has been operated under new management since then. A second member recently bought into HFS, specifically focusing on and developing the administration side of the business. HFS has a staff complement of 30 employees. The company currently has two departments only, namely Operations and Administration. Under the Administration department the financial, administration and human resources functions are managed and the Operational department is responsible for the entire logistical function, including warehouse management. We will write a custom essay sample on Hardap Freight Services or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Map, indicating main daily routes and the location of the HFS branches. Hardap Freight Services Page 3 2. SWOT Analysis 2. 1 Strengths HFS is registered as a closed corporation, which means the company has a legal personality of its own. This allows the company to obtain finances for potential future growth and development of the business. HFS is currently the only courier service delivering the main daily newspapers, namely The Namibian, The Republikein, the Namibian Sun and the Algemeine Zeitung by a specified delivery time throughout the country on a daily basis. In addition to this, they offer door-to-door parcel deliveries countrywide. As stated by Mr. Liebenberg, HFS has a few exclusive contracts signed with big companies, such as The Namibian, House of Wines and Justine Beauty Products. This allows them to offer more competitive pricing, as the day-to-day operational expenses are carried by the fixed term contracts. HFS has been in existence for 6 years already and is a well-established company with experience in the field of small/medium parcel logistics. The fact that they have established branches throughout the country in all major towns and serving all major routes throughout the country, allows them to build a vastly spread customer base and commitment from communities throughout the country. Confirmed by Mr. Liebenberg, the growth that the company has shown over the past year is a clear indication that the services HFS offer, are well in demand. The industry norm for freight management growth, according to Third Party Logistics (3PLs), is 15% and can be considered to be between 15% and 20% in countries like Asia and the United States of America. (Third Party Logistics, 2010). â€Å"HFS, in relation to this growth trend, has shown a 39% increase in turnover, year on year†, Mr. Liebenberg confirmed. To summarize the strengths, one could say that HFS is committed to delivering an excellent service to their customers, thus having the slogan: investment†. â€Å"Where service is an SWOT Analysis – Hardap Freight Services Page 4 2. 2 Weaknesses HFS does not have a Marketing strategy or department focusing on advertising their services or develop special promotions for customers. The company does not focus on Customer Relationship Management (CRM), nor has any customer retaining strategies in place. HFS does not capitalize on the use of technology in comparison with their competitors. Logistics industry trends indicate that in the years to come the following factors, which guide the logistics industry is reckoned to strengthen further. The factors facilitating the effective functioning of the logistics industry are integration, confederations, technology, legislation and globalization. † (Third Party Logistics, 2010). The company has no proper organization structure and line of authority, allowing each employee to report to different individuals on different matters and in certain instances reporting directly to the owner of the business. This causes employees to be confused on when to report to whom and since there is no direct line of report/authority; it also complicates performance management and proper individual and departmental goal setting. HFS also experience challenges in the maintenance of their fleet, as well as obtaining more vehicles and strengthening their fleet, as stated by Mr. Liebenberg. Thus the company cannot focus on expanding the type of services offered to the public and become a preferred service provider, offering a bigger variety of services than their competitors. This unfortunately does not only limit them with regards to expansion opportunities, but also with regards to delivering a superior quality service to their current customers – especially if vehicles break down and they don’t have sufficient fleet backup. Through the interview with Mr. Liebenberg, it has become clear that the management of HFS tends to distrust their employees, believing they must be controlled, directed to perform and threatened with punishment very much based on McGregor’s Theory X principle, according to Stuart Crainer when he refers to McGregor’s The Human Side of Enterprise. The Ultimate Business Library). SWOT Analysis – Hardap Freight Services Page 5 This unfortunately leads to employees acting according to the way they are treated, having an â€Å"I don’t care† attitude and ultimately abusing or misusing company assets for their own benefit. This could lead to the company having to compromise on their promised quality of service. The confirmed cash flow challenges that the company is experiencing, according to Mr. Liebenberg, might lead to the company not being able to offer attractive salary packages, hence not being able to attract reliable and committed staff or alternatively spending money in the right places, like maintenance of fleet, for example. The lack of a benchmarking strategy contributes to the lack of a Vision and Mission statement and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound) strategic goals/objectives. HFS pretty much run on a day-to-day principle instead of having a clear long term objective in which they don’t only concentrate on the idea of â€Å"one day become like Nampost† (according to Mr. Liebenberg), but rather incorporate specific goals, human resources plan, marketing strategies and best practices to ensure sustainable business development and financial growth. SWOT Analysis – Hardap Freight Services Page 6 2. 3 Opportunities During recent years we have seen an increase in logistical businesses in the country focusing specifically on transportation of goods via freight services. One of the reasons for this mushroomed growth could be contributed to the expansion and development of the Port of Walvis Bay. Along with the increase in the goods being imported and exported to countries like Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Angola, logistical services, and specifically freight services offer huge promises to entrepreneurs. Due to the legislative requirements, as well as the level of technical, practical and business knowledge required to run a successful logistical department or section, combined with the costs involved in running such an operation, companies started to outsource logistical needs to other companies that do not only focus on logistics, but can deliver a cost effective service. HFS focuses on exactly that – delivering a cost effective logistical solution to companies like The Namibian newspaper, Justine Beauty Products, Democratic Media Holdings and House of Wines. The opportunity would exist in marketing this service to other companies that currently still do their own distribution, such as other daily and weekly newspapers in the country, as well as companies like Office Economics, Waltons and MTC, to name a few. HFS’s success is mostly contributed to the fact that they cover the entire Namibia on a daily bases. They offer guaranteed delivery times and therefore became the preferred logistical service provider for industries specializing in fast moving goods. The opportunity would be to market themselves on this strength and build further on the opportunities that exist with other companies needing the same type of logistical services. Further opportunities in the current business environment that HFS can capitalize on for expansion are:  §? to market HFS through local media, making the extent and quality of their services known to the business industry and the public throughout the country. Another means of marketing could be the use of technology and an extensive Customer Relationship Management program (CRM program), defining strategies to retain the current customer base and build a bigger customer base at the same time SWOT Analysis – Hardap Freight Services Page 7  §? making their services known to students at the various educational institutions, through either offering in-service training opportunities or inviting students to do projects, based on the business. This allows them to strategically focus on future marketing opportunities, considering that that the students of today will be the employees and employers of tomorrow who could potentially make use of the company’s services in future.  §? possibly expanding their business through implementing a proper warehousing strategy and potentially providing storage facilities for clients who have goods in transit.  §? capitalizing on the advantages presented by technological breakthroughs. This is a huge opportunity that HFS is currently not focussing on. There are so many logistical systems to choose from, as well as warehousing management systems to be investigated and potentially implemented. And of course technology could not only be used to improve control and management of a company, but to market a company to current and potential new clients. None of these are currently in place or considered at HFS, and therefore could be seen as perhaps an opportunity, turning into their biggest weakness if not explored and implemented. Most successful companies have either a cost strategy or a differentiation strategy, or perhaps a combination of the two in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Both these strategies will be discussed under the section covering the competitive advantages of HFS. To summarize, HFS should not only use their current strengths in the context of these two strategies, but also ensure to build on those strengths, allowing them the opportunity to remain on top of their game. SWOT Analysis – Hardap Freight Services Page 8 2. 4 Threats HFS is but one of a minimum of 20 companies in Namibia, offering the same type of logistical services. Some of the bigger companies, such as Nampost, DHL, Formula and Parcel Force offer logistical services to international destinations as well – something that HFS is not currently doing or considering for the near future, according to Mr. Liebenberg. As mentioned above under â€Å"Opportunities†, the need for logistical services is becoming increasingly high due to the Walvisbay Port expansion, which proves to be an instigation point for other individuals to start offering the same type of services, increasing the competition in this field. A lot of logistical companies start to capitalize on technology, focusing on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and developing methods of not only retaining the existing customer base, but improving services in order to grow their customer base – attracting other logistical companies’ customers with more inviting and rewarding services. It has been noted by Mr. Liebenberg that HFS currently has difficulty in controlling and managing its cash flow, which makes it a potential high risk company with regards to financing future endeavors. Employee turnover is fairly high and employees speak about staff dissatisfaction openly. They lost 14 staff members over the two past years. Currently no exit interviews are done; therefore no justified reasons were given for the staff turnover and therefore no measures could be put in place to address potential weaknesses within the organization. Fuel has increased by 15% over the past year. Considering that this company travels approximately 185 000 km’s per month to deliver the services to their customers, this increase has huge effects on their expenses. These expenses should therefore be managed very carefully in order to ensure that the company does not run into potential financial problems. SWOT Analysis – Hardap Freight Services Page 9 3. Competitive Advantages †A competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices. † (Competitive advantage: Tutor2u. net) Michael Porter proposed four advantage-gaining strategies that could be used within a business. These strategies are based on the scope of business activities, specifically referring to a â€Å"narrow† versus â€Å"broad† area of focus, as well as the extent to which a business focuses on the differentiation of their products/services delivered. Herewith the four strategies: (Competitor advantage: Tutor2u. net) SWOT Analysis – Hardap Freight Services Page 10 â€Å"Strategy Differentiation This strategy involves selecting one or more criteria used by buyers in a market and then positioning the business uniquely to meet those criteria. This strategy is usually associated with charging a premium price for the product (service) often to reflect the higher production (service) costs and extra value-added features provided for the consumer. Differentiation is about charging a premium price that more than covers the additional production (service) costs, and about giving customers clear reasons to prefer the product (service) over other, less differentiated products. Strategy Cost Focus Here a business seeks a lower-cost advantage in just a small number of market segments. The product will be basic perhaps a similar product to the higher-priced and featured market leader, but acceptable to sufficient consumers. Such products are often called metoos. † (Michael Porter, Competitive advantage: Tutor2u. net) Based on our research, HFS’s competitive advantage could be defined within these two strategies specifically. Firstly, HFS has the fixed term, exclusive contracts with companies such as The Namibian, Democratic Media Holdings and Justine Beauty Products, which differentiate them from their rivals, who do not focus on fixed term contracts. HFS, opposed to other logistical service providers, offers a unique service by transport goods daily throughout the country and in addition to this guarantee delivery times to their customers. Based on HFS’s differentiating strategy, they could also implement a cost focus strategy, as the operating expenses are mostly covered by the fixed term contracts that they have in place. price. This allows them to offer more competitive prices to their other day-to-day customers in Namibia, based on the fact that they offer a premium service at a premium SWOT Analysis – Hardap Freight Services Page 11 4. Findings When presented with the opportunity to do a SWOT analyses, we chose HFS as a suitable company to do this analysis on for two main reasons: a) In the field of logistics and the huge opportunities presented in this field lately, it can be seen as the new playing field for entrepreneurs and since most of us are studying Logistics and Supply Chain Management, we placed our focus on this field; b) We believe HFS is a logistical company with huge potential because of the fact that big companies such as The Namibian, Democratic Media Holdings and Justine Beauty Products decided to enter into fixed term contracts with them. It was of interest to us to know whether HFS uses the opportunities presented to them through these contracts to increase their market share. Therefore, looking into depth at the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company, as well as the opportunities and threats presented by the external environment, we found the following: Strengths †¢ The company guarantees delivery times, which allows them to focus on a differentiation strategy. HFS has fixed term contracts, which covers the day-to-day operational expenses. This allows them to focus on a cost strategy to make their services cost effective †¢ HFS has been in existence for 6 years and has a legal entity of its own, which should contribute towards allowing this company to obtain financial assistance much easier than a newly established company †¢ HFS is currently showing good turnover growth

Philosophy of Education

Philosophy of Education Free Online Research Papers The philosophy of education is individual to each person and their particular insights. The philosophy of education generally addresses: the role of the teacher, the role of the students, and the role of learning in general. Each of these areas is very important for a soon to be teacher. Upcoming teacher should have a pretty firm idea of what their beliefs are about each of the above listed three areas. Therefore, as an upcoming teacher I will be sharing my views and beliefs on each of the three areas. The role of the teacher is a very important one that goes past what many people may think. I firstly think the main role of the teacher is to be at a school as an educator of whatever subject they are teaching and to have adequate knowledge in that content area. The teacher must be able to effectively communicate the information on the subject matter to their students in a way that the students will be able to comprehend and recall or perform that subject knowledge in the future. Past just teaching content in a subject area, teachers are also â€Å"life teachers†. Teachers may not always realize it initially, but they are huge role models in their students’ lives. Students are around their teachers for about 8 hours of the day. Sometimes that is more time than the students may see their parents/guardians. So whether or not teachers want or choose to be a role model in their students’ lives, they are. This means while at school teachers should exhibit professional , mature, attributable characteristics that will set a model for how the students should act now and in their future. In addition but very similar to just being a role model, is the role of a teacher being a life coach. Teachers are also unexpectedly thrown into this role. Throughout the career of teaching you will come into experience with many students that have really had someone to help guide them in their life. This often makes you as a teacher become their life coach since you are someone that they spend many hours with each day. Therefore teachers need to provide care, trust, security, love, and respect to their students without prejudice. You never know what each student is going through, so even if a student’s life may seem perfect, it could actually being crashing down without you knowing. This is why you cannot jump too quickly to stereotypes or conclusions when you are â€Å"judging† your students. I believe the main roles of the teacher are: to communicate subject knowledge effectively to their students, to be role models to their students, and to also be life coaches to their students. Another important part of the philosophy of education is the role of the student. The role of the student in the philosophy of education is a huge one. Each student will play a different role in the educational process, but the role of students in general is crucial for you to have a firm belief on to be able to effectively be able to teach individual student who will have their own separate beliefs about their role in the educational system. I believe the main role of the student is their willingness and desire to learn. Many students in school may not admit it, but they are there because they want and have a desire to learn in order for them to grow as an individual. Students also must want to learn in order to be able to learn. What I mean by this is that if a student is resistant to learning and does not care about learning then they most likely will not learn. They will be the student who rebels and does not pay attention in class and is usually causing trouble because they do n ot have a desire to be in the classroom. Another very important role or characteristic of the student is respect for their teacher. A student must be respectful of their teacher and also their fellow classmates in order to be able to learn. If there is no respect then the student will not want to pay attention to you as a teacher and will be disruptive to other students who are trying to learn therefore you must give them respect and you must gain their respect. Yet another role of the student is the role of socialization. Students are in an educational system to learn not only content knowledge but also to gain real world skills such as socialization. Each day students go through many different interactions between friends, teachers, administrators, and sometimes other school officials such as the nurse or guidance counselor. Each time a student has one of these interactions, it teaches them further socialization skills. The way people react to that person socializing with them wil l mold the future actions of the interactions with others. Such as, if a student comes up to another student and compliments them on the shirt they are wearing and they receive a response such as: â€Å"thank you!† then that originally student is encouraged by the positive response to continue to compliment others in the future. Let’s say the student receiving the compliment though responded this way instead: â€Å"Ewww I hate this shirt, I can’t believe you think it’s cute, you must have no fashion taste!†, then the original student will be discouraged from giving people compliments in the future and they will feel down about themselves because they will then think they have no fashion sense. This demonstrates how every interaction influence how we will act in the future. The last important role I believe that students have is the role of students as fellow â€Å"teachers† to their classmates. It is amazing how much students can sometimes g et something across to another student that a teacher may not have been able to. Most of the time students in a classroom are at different levels of learning, some higher than others. In this case, the higher level students will also be able to be teachers to their fellow classmates. Even students at the same level can be teachers to their classmates as well. Programs at schools are being implemented to improve and encourage this role of the student. At Springfield School District 186 in Springfield, IL there is a program called AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) that specifically targets this skill. On Tuesdays and Thursdays college mentors come into the classroom to assist in a program where students come into groups with questions while their fellow classmates in their groups guide a student through their original question to help them to achieve the answer without just giving it to them. This is a great example of the students’ role as being â€Å"teachersâ €  to their fellow classmates. I believe the four main roles of a student are: the role of the student to have a desire to learn, the role of being a respectful student towards teachers and fellow classmates, the role of socialization within the school, and the role of students as fellow teachers. The last major part of the philosophy of education is the role of learning. Many people ask why we should learn. My answer would be: for each of us to grow as individuals and therefore be a better, well informed, functioning member of society. Learning is a vital part of each person’s life. The formal educational system aids greatly in this area. Through formal education, many different things are learned in many different content areas, but also as I discussed earlier, sometimes in school you will also learn other important â€Å"life lessons†. Learning throughout your life never stops. Usually every day, whether or not we are in a formal school setting, we learn something new that we did not know previously. I also believe we learn as a survival instinct. When we are first born, there are things we must learn how to do in order to be able to survive. This could also be true to formal schooling in a way. In order to survive in the corporate world, you must continually be one step ahead of your competition, so you must constantly be striving to learn more about your career and your industry. Another reason I think we learn is to keep our brains occupied. Our brains are constantly striving for information. If we never learned anything new, we would get very bored and would be driven to learn more or to learn something new. There are many different reasons people could come up with for why we should learn, but mine is very basic. I believe we should learn in order to continuously grow as individuals and to be a better, well informed, functioning member of society. Each person’s beliefs and views about the philosophy of education will be very individualized. The philosophy of education generally addresses: the role of the teacher, the role of the student, and the role of learning in general. Each of these areas encompasses many different functions. For anyone who is an up and coming teacher, it is very important for you to be confident in and aware of your beliefs about each of the three areas in the philosophy of education. I as an up and coming teacher believe I have clearly demonstrated my confidence and awareness of my beliefs about each of the areas. Knowing my beliefs and being confident in them will surely help me once I do enter a school system as a teacher. Being confident in my beliefs will help me in order to be able to be an effective teacher, know my students role while at school, and to be able to communicate why the role of learning is so important. Research Papers on Philosophy of EducationStandardized TestingTrailblazing by Eric AndersonBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesThree Concepts of PsychodynamicCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite Religion

Features of an Effective Total Rewards Program Essay

Features of an Effective Total Rewards Program - Essay Example Total rewards program, that is explained in this essay ensures that employees get paid according to their performance. Also, fair payment means that employees get the best value for the work that they do. Equitable payment relates to the ranks of the employees and so it should match their interests according to the organization structure. This essay is focused on a total rewards plan creation. Benefits that employees get should be competitive and should meet their personal needs. Author states that this can be achieved by offering economically feasible benefit plans that meet their needs at personal level. Rewarding also should be done in a fair way. Efforts made by employees to attain a certain goal should be recognized, this can be done by having a rewarding and recognition system that satisfies the employees. Also, the expectations of employees to grow and succeed should be met by the highly managed plan and high-qualified managment. Equity and fairness in payments for both genders, that are defined in this essay can be determined by communication between employers and the employees. In general, equitable pay leads to motivation and increased performance. Also, the plan, created by the magament should be positive. The employee compensation plan should be positive in the sense that both the employees and the employe r are comfortable with the system or program. In conclusion, author states that if payments are competitive for employees, they will do their work with a lot of motivation.