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Scorecard Strategy Vision - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 30 Words: 9095 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BALANCED SCORECARD IN ACHIEVING THE STRATEGY AND VISION OF ORGANISATIONS (A CASE STUDY OF BARCLAYS BANK OF GHANA LTD) EXECUTIVE MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (eMBA) Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Scorecard Strategy Vision" essay for you Create order CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1Background Traditionally, managers have used a series of indicators to measure how well their organisations are performing. These measures relate essentially to financial issues such as business ratios, productivity, unit costs, growth and profitability. While useful in themselves, they provide only a narrowly focused snapshot of how an organisation performed in the past and give little or no indication of likely future performance. During the early 1980s, the rapidly changing business environment prompted managers to take a broader view of performance and a range of other factors started to be taken into account, exemplified by the McKinsey 7-S model and popularized by the In Search of Excellence by Peters and Waterman. These provide a broader assessment of corporate health in both immediate and longer term. It is in this same regard that Robert Kaplan and David Norton of Harvard Business School in 1992 introduced the Balanced Scorecard with the aim of providing a balanced view of an organisations performance. Setting up the balanced scorecard, Kaplan and Norton argued that strategies often fail because they are not converted successfully into actions that employees can understand and apply in their everyday work. The Balanced Scorecard is defined as a strategic management and measurement system that links strategic objectives to comprehensive indicators (Kaplan and Norton 1992). The key to the success of the system is that it must be unified, integrated set of indicators that measure key activities and processes at the core of the organisations operating environment. It takes into account not only the traditional hard financial measures but three additional categories of soft quantifiable operational measures. These include: Customer perspective that is how an organisation is perceived by its customers Internal perspective in which issues an organisation must excel Innovation and learning perspective in which areas an organisation must improve and add value to its products or services or operations. Kaplan and Norton argue that measurements taken across these four categories are seen to provide a rounded Balanced Scorecard that reflects organisations performance more accurately and which helps managers to focus on their mission, rather than merely on short term financial gain. Accordingly it also helps to motivate staff to achieve the strategic objectives. This thesis undertakes a case study of Barclays Bank of Ghana ltd. to ascertain its effectiveness in achieving the vision and strategy of the company. Statement of the Problem Most key performance measurement indicators talk about how well organisations have performed in the past. Although this is important, it is more important to consider measures which give an early indication of what is likely to happen in the future and as to whether or not the vision and strategy is likely to be achieved. For example, a report may show an increase in the number of units sold in the previous month. This indicator reports on past performance. By itself, it is not a good indication of what is likely to happen in the current month or in future months. In managing strategic objectives, there is the need to look for measures that give an early warning of what is likely to happen well into the future. As such, measures need to be grouped according to how much warning they give us and how reliable they are. Measures need to be balanced in terms of the objectives of the various stakeholders. This will guard against sub-optimization; that is achieving gains in one area at the expense of another. The measures need to clarify and gain consensus about vision and strategy of the organisation. Such measures also need to link strategic objectives to targets and annual budgets, identify and launch strategic initiatives enhance periodic systematic strategic reviews and obtain feedback to learn about and improve the strategy of the organisation. According to Kaplan and Norton (1992), the measures an organisation uses will strongly affect the behaviour of managers and employees and will lead to performance needed to succeed. It is in this light that this research work is being undertaken. 1.3The Research Objectives From the arguments raised above, this study is being embarked upon to describe and analyse the role the balanced scorecard plays in the achievement of a companys vision and strategy. The study will be specifically focused on Barclays Bank of Ghana Ltd. Therefore, the specific objectives of the study are the following: To find out if the balanced scorecard is being used by Ghanaian companies to measure performance and to direct such companies towards the achievement of organisational goals considering the fact that it has been around for the past sixteen (16) years. To examine the extent to which the balanced scorecard drives performance of organisations and the extent to which it leads to the achievement of the companys vision and strategy. Based on the findings, make recommendations for implementation towards the use of the balanced scorecard approach to drive performance and to achieve the vision and strategy of Ghanaian companies. 1.4The Research Questions The above objectives raise the following research questions: Are mission statements of organizations translated into action plans? Is the Balanced Scorecard useful in translating those mission statements into action plans? What is the impact of the Balanced Scorecard on a companys vision and strategy? What is the impact of the balanced scorecard on performance of the organization before and after the introduction of the balanced scorecard? 1.5Chapter Organisation The study is divided into five Chapters which include, after this introductory chapter, Chapter 2, which is a review of the literature relating to Balanced Scorecard, Chapter 3, in which Barclays mission, vision, businesses and services, organisational structure and policies and practices on the use of the balanced scorecard are discussed, Chapter 4 which discusses the research methodology upon which this thesis is built as well as an analysis of the data collected and Chapter 5, which contains conclusions and recommendations for further study. 1.6 Overview of the Balanced Scorecard Definition: The Balanced Scorecard is defined as a strategic management and measurement system that links strategic objectives to comprehensive indicators (Kaplan and Norton 1992). As mentioned earlier, the BSC has four perspective as Customer, Learning and growth, Internal business Process, and Financial. This is illustrated in figure 1 below: When these perspectives or variables are coordinated effectively, they result in the achievement of the organisations vision and strategy as demonstrated in figure 2 below which also shows the linkage between strategy and operational terms: Source: Kaplan and Norton 1992 Kaplan and Norton (1992) have identified a number of stages of the implementation of the Scorecard. These are a mix of planning, interviews, workshops and reviews. The type, size and structure of an organisation will determine the detail of the implementation process and the number of stages adopted. Before looking at the main steps involved in implementing the balanced scorecard, it is important to take a look at the figure below which pictorial description of the link between the BSC and performance measures. Figure 3: The Balanced Scorecard links performance Measures Source: Kaplan and Norton 1996 Objectives, Measures, Targets, and Initiatives For each of the perspective of the BSC, four things are monitored (or scored) namely: Objectives these are major objectives to be achieved. For example profitable growth. Measures there are the observable parameters that will be used to measure progress toward reaching the objective. For example, the objective of profitable growth might be measured by growth in net margin. Target these are the specific target values for the measures, for example, 10% annual decline in manufacturing disruptions. Initiatives these are projects or programs to be initiated in order to meet the objective. Implementing the Balanced Scorecard The main steps involved in the BSC implementation include: Preparation As the scorecard is inextricably linked to strategy, the first requirement is to clearly define that strategy and ensure that senior staff in particular, are familiar with the key issues. Before any other action can be planned, it is essential to have understanding of: The strategy The key objectives or goals to achieve the strategy The values of the organisation (example of values are on appendix A) The three or four critical success factors (CSFs) that are fundamental to the achievement of each major objective or goal. Decide what to measure Managers should identify the organisations major strategic goals. As a guide, there should be a total limit of 15 to 20 key measures linked to those specific goals significantly fewer measures (KPIs) may not achieve a balanced view and significantly more may become unwieldy and deal with non-critical issues. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) KPIs can be defined as quantifiable measurements, agreed to beforehand, that reflect the critical success factors of an organization. They will differ depending on the organization (Reh, year unknown). KPIs chosen by the organization should be specifically designed to help focus the organization (through its employees) on what it needs to do in order to succeed. Bauer (2004) notes that KPIs must emanate from the vision level and cascade through the organization as shown in Figure 4 below: Source: Bauer, 2004 KPIs need to be measurable, so it is necessary for a KPI to be clearly defined, and then to be defined the same way over a number of years in order to perform comparisons between years measured. Once KPIs have been established, measurement is focused on targets for each KPI. Because there are many things that are measurable in an organization it is easy to get sidetracked by those that are not critical success factors. However for a KPI to make an impact on the long term sustainability of the organization, only critical success factors should be considered for this purpose. Bauer (2004) says that selection of the wrong KPIs can result in counterproductive behaviour and sub optimized results. Reh (year unknown) also notes that once measurable KPIs have been defined, the organization is in a position to use them in an individuals performance agreement as part of a performance management system. They can be utilized as a reward indicator and a motivator. As a clearly defined target, with predetermined measurement criteria, it becomes a small task to link the attainment of targets into a performance appraisal. This is the method that the organization utilizes to evaluate and reward the performance of the individual employees within its organization. Based on the four main perspectives suggested by Kaplan and Norton, a list of goals and measures may include some of the following: Financial (Shareholder) perspective Goals could include increased profitability, growth and increased return on assets Measures could include cash flows, cost reduction, economic value added, gross margins, profitability, return on capital/equity/investments/sales, revenue growth, working capital, turnover, etc. Customer perspective Goals could include new customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. Measures could include market share, customer service, customer satisfaction, number of new/retained/lost customers, customer profitability, number of complaints, delivery times, quality performance, and response time. Internal perspective Goals could include improved core competencies, improved critical technologies, streamlined processes, and better employee morale. Measures could include efficiency improvements, development/lead/cycle times, reduced unit costs, reduced waste, amount of recycled waste, improved sourcing/supplier delivery, employee morale and satisfaction, internal audit standards, number of employee suggestions, sales per employee, etc. Innovation and learning perspective Goals could include new product development, continuous improvement, training of employees etc. Measures could include number of new products and percentage of sales from these, number of employees receiving training, hours per employee, number of strategic skills learned, alignment of personal goals with the scorecard. Each organisation must determine its own strategic goals and activities to be measured. Several organisations have seen Kaplan and Nortons template as not meeting their particular needs and have either modified it or have devised their own Scorecard. Public sector organisation, for example, may have different aims and objectives and may have to tailor the Scorecard to reflect this. Finalise the implementation plan Further discussions, interviews and workshops may be required to fine-tune the detail, and agree strategy, goals and activities to be measured, ensuring that the measures selected focus on the critical success factors. Other important issues that must be resolved before implementation include setting targets or rates or other criteria for each of the measures, and defining how when and where they should be recorded. Implement the system An implementation plan should be produced and the whole project communicated to staff. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, as staff should be informed at the beginning of the project and kept up to date on progress. The way in which the purpose of the Scorecard is communicated is vital. Staff should be made to feel that they have an important part to play in achieving corporate goals. Conversely, they should not feel threatened by the measures. The system for recording and monitoring the metrics should be in place and tested well before the start date, and training in its use should be given to all users as far as possible. The system should automatically record all the data required, though some of the measurements may not be logged manually. Publicise the results The results of all measurements should be collated on a regular basis such as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or as appropriate and may eventually comprise a substantial amount of possibly complicated data. It will be necessary to decide whether to make the full data available to senior management only, to divisional or departmental heads, or to all staff, or whether to provide partial information on a need-to-know basis. Determine the method of publicising the results such as through meetings, newsletters, the organisations intranet or other means. Utilise the results Any form of business appraisal is not the end in itself, but is a guide to organisation performance and may point to areas (management, operational, procedural, etc.) that require strengthening. Action on the information obtained is an important as the data itself. Indeed, management follow-up action should be seen as an essential part of the process of appraisal. Review and revise the system After the first cycle has been completed, a review should be undertaken to assess the success or otherwise of the information gathered and action taken, and whether modification is required to any part of the process. The benefits of the Balanced Scorecard Kaplan and Norton (1992) cited the following as the benefits of the usage of the Balanced Scorecard: The BSC focuses the organisation on the few key things needed to create breakthrough performance. The BSC helps to integrate various corporate programs such as quality, re-engineering, and customer service initiatives. The BSC breaks down strategic measures towards lower levels, so that unit managers, operations, and employees can see what is required at their level to achieve excellent overall performance. 2GC Active Management Ltd (2004) has also identified the following benefits from the use of the Balanced Scorecard. The companys interests become primary Staff tend to have a clearer corporate direction Workers tend to develop better communication and listening skills and teamwork is improved. Understanding of other departments issues is improved. There is now more focus on intangibles rather than just financials. Interaction between managers in a cross functional capacity is improved. Improvement in clearer individual responsibilities (with collective ownership). Weaknesses and areas of opportunity are highlighted. The shortfalls of the Balanced Scorecard Stephen Smith (2006), Senior Vice President and Managing Executive, Rummler-Brache Group in an article on Problems Implementing a Balanced Scorecard stated that there is really nothing wrong with the concept of the BSC. However, the main problem is that, the BSC does not provide practical guidelines for deployment, and some executives view it as a quick fix that can easily be installed in their organizations. According to him, implementing a balanced metrics system is an evolutionary process, not a one time task that can be quickly checked off as completed. Accordingly, if executives do not recognize this from the beginning and fail to commit to the long term, then the organization will realize disappointing results. Smith (2006) identified the following issues that can cause the BSC initiative to fail: Poorly defined Metrics Metrics need to be relevant and clear. They should be depicted with visual indicators and are easily understood. In addition, Smith says that, metrics need to be collected at the ideal frequency for making decisions, and defined in such a way that the measurement can be consistently applied across the firm, even if their targets of performance differ. This is because, a system that has inconsistently defined metrics will be vulnerable to criticism by people who want to avoid accountability. Lack of efficient data collection and reporting Most organisations do not have the system to collect metrics data unlike financial data. As such, for most organisations, if collecting metrics data consumes too much time and energy, they will not be captured. For this reason, it is important to prioritize key performance indicators to ensure that investment spent in metrics will be most relevant to improving organisational performance. Lack of formal review structure Scorecards work best when they are reviewed frequently enough to make a difference. If a metric value changes on a daily basis and the variables within the control of management can be affected on a daily basis, then they metric should be reviewed on a daily basis. Also, metrics review meetings should follow a standard agenda, with clearly defined roles for all attendees and expectation that follow through on any agreed upon actions will be monitored at each meeting. No process improvement methodology The value of the BSC system relies on the premise that once performance problems are identified, there is an efficient and effective method for diagnosing and addressing root causes. Solutions can then be developed and performance gaps can be closed. If the organisation does not have the standard methodologies and toolkits for addressing process problems, the amount of effort required to derive a problem solving approach for each new performance gap could eventually damage the performance improvement program as it will be seen as taking too many resources away for daily operations. When that happens, there can be no adaptation and performance will continue to deteriorate. Smith (2006) suggests that, using time-tested process improvement methodologies, perhaps in combination with problem solving methodologies (for example, Six Sigma) can greatly alleviate this problem. Too Much Internal Focus One major criticism of the BSC is that it encourages an internal focus. This is not as much an indictment of the principle as it is the way companies put the principle into practice. To help overcome this problem, it is important to always start with an external focus the view of an organisations SuperSystem. The goal is to achieve a balance of enterprise level metrics as one assesses the organisations market, shareholders, competitors, employees and stakeholders. Smith (2006) believes that organisations can drive measurable results in adopting this more holistic approach to developing a balanced metrics system. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Performance measurement or management is not a recent development. It has been in existence since the ancient Egyptian days and has been a necessary part of organizational life and is as old as organisations. The ancient Egyptians had to encourage their workers to build the great pyramids and, unwittingly, they utilized performance management systems to do so. Their system revolved around whipping or maltreating those workers who did not perform to expectation for the achievement of organizational goals. The result of the performance management systems in place is evidenced by the splendid pyramids that they built. There is evidence that other ancient civilizations such as Rome and AD China also had performance management systems (Furnham, 2004). However, over time, as our understanding of human nature and the environment in which we exist has changed, the importance of managing performance to align individual goals to a common vision has been recognized as being vital to an organizations success. The necessity of an effective holistic performance measurement and appraisal system, therefore, became apparent. Performance measurement can be traced back to the mid 1800s with the cost and management accounting profession (Radnor McGuire, 2004). This came about due to recognition that tasks that occurred within these, mainly industrialized, organizations could be measured in terms of the time taken to perform a task as well as the budget required to perform the task. Performance measurement was not necessarily linked to individual performance appraisal but rather to assessing the profitability of the organization as a whole. Performance measurement was seen to be concentrated on measuring specific activities (Radnor McGuire, 2004). Performance measurement seems to have been quite a clear cut choice for businesses to implement for two reasons firstly, it was driven by the cost and management accounting profession with their focus on measuring financial indicators, particularly in terms of direct labour costs and direct material costs (Neely, Gregory Platts, 1995) and secondly, because it i s easier to measure performance than to manage it. After much work from the cost and management side in refining the available measures (resulting in the introduction of activity based costing (abc) in the mid 1980s (Cooper, cited in Neely and co, 1995)) and from the financial accounting side in terms of measures such as Return on Investment (ROI) and Return on Equity (ROE), it became clear that accounting indicators on their own were not necessarily clear predictors of the success or failure of an organization. By the early 1980s the growing trend to move away from viewing capital assets as the most important to understanding that intellectual or human capital would be the way of the future, had been identified (Peters Waterman, 1995). Those companies that had a strong belief in their people, not necessarily only their financial indicators, were turning out to be the top companies. Examples of such companies would be Hewlett-Packard with their the HP way, which included mutual trust and confidence expressed in terms of, for instanc e, their flexible working hours and open door policy (Peters Waterman, 1995), and Disneys description of staff as cast members with all staff being recognized on a first name basis from the President down, and all staff being part of the show (Peters Waterman, 1995). These examples show how working with people was infiltrating to the very core of a companies internal operations and how this commitment was reaping rewards in terms of the companies bottom line as well as the achievements of its goals and strategies. By the mid to late 1980s traditional organizational performance measurement systems had many critics (Neely, 1999). For example, it seems that a focus on purely accounting performance measure might have promoted a culture of short-termism (Neely and co. 1995) resulting in managers trying to achieve financial targets to meet their performance measurement objectives, at the expense of long-term sustainability. It was at around this time that Kaplan Norton (1992) developed and proposed a balanced scorecard to include the measurement of indicators other than financial ones. They proposed four areas of importance including financial but in addition, customer, internal business processes and learning and growth. They felt that these provided a more holistic picture of an organizations performance. Kaplan Norton (1996) then postulated that these scorecards could then be linked to and be drivers of strategy. Taking factors other than financial ones made organizations performance management systems more complex and hence the increased need to carry out further research into this field. Since the mid-1990s there has been a marked increase in research of both an academic and a practical nature (Thorpe Beasley, 2004; Neely, 1999) into the areas of organizational performance measurement and performance management of both the organization as well as the individual. There are many reasons for the current trend to focus on performance management as a whole. It is clear that in todays dynamic business environment, to be successful, organizations require some form of measurement system. Maritz (1995) says that the underlying cultural support of an organisation provides a basis for excellent performance by an individual within that organization. A high performance culture facilitates and rewards potential through factors such as a strong system of values and a credible leadership. As suggested by some theories, the new paradigm recognizes that, todays world is complex and characterized by randomness and uncertainty and that, small events often have massive and far-reaching consequences (Daft, 1999). Kaplan and Norton (1992) say that, just as one cannot fly an airplane with just one instrument gauge, one cannot manage a company with just one kind of performance measure. Accordingly the BSC serves as an instrument panel in the cockpit of an airplane. It is a set of interrelated gauges that links seemingly disparate information about a companys finances and operations. Together, they give a complete view of a companys performance and strategic direction. Views of Balanced Scorecard Leading Indicators Some companies track their progress exclusively with financial indicators revenue, profit and so on. Balanced Scorecard advocates say that such trailing or lagging indicators are critical, but need the addition of leading indicators metrics that reflect how well an organisation is executing its strategy. For example, if changing customer mix in some way will increase revenue, then customer mix targets should be clearly set to track how well the business in doing. It is not sufficient to measure the lagging indicator revenue. The leading indicators concept is a mainstay of the BSC approach, and much credit should be given to the BSC boosters for promoting the idea. It is an idea well worth embracing, whether one is in support or not in support of the BSC. Balanced Metrics Some companies do track both leading and lagging indicators, but they may not have enough typesof leading indicators. For instance, they may get stuck in the rut of customer service metrics. That is important but not to the exclusion of other leading indicators such as innovation or employee development. The BSC mandates leading and lagging measurement from multiple perspectives. Strategy Implementation Foundation It is one thing to declare a strategy, but quite another to track how well the strategy is being executed. The BSC is one way to help track it. Most strategies can be fleshed out with metrics across at least some of the four prescribed categories of metrics. If goals and accountability are attached to the metrics, then a creditable strategy implementation engine can be said to be in place. Casey (2004) maintains that, the balanced scorecard can help track how well an organisation implements its strategy but it is not a strategy development template on its own. His criticism is that, companies must have their strategy, and that such strategy ought to be expressed as measurable goals. However, simply populating a BSC template with goals does not mean that the organisation knows where it is going or how to get there. Casey (2004) says that doing so is a recipe for misalignment and that the BSC provides no strategy development template, nor does it claim to. Kaplan and Nortons position is that, what cannot be measured cannot be achieved. As such, the measures used affect the behaviour of managers and employees within an organisation. Executives also understand that the traditional financial accounting measures like return on investment and earnings per share can give misleading signals for continuous improvement and innovation which are activities todays competitive environment demands. The traditional financial performance measures worked well for the industrial era, but they are out of step with the skills and competencies companies are trying to master today. Managers and academic researchers have tried to remedy the inadequacies of current performance measurement systems. Whereas some have focused making financial measures more relevant, others have decided to forget about the financial measures but rather focus on r like cycle time and defect rates with the believe that the financial measures will follow. The reality however is that, managers do not have to choose between financial and operational measures or rely on one set of measures to the exclusion of the other as no single measure can provide a clear performance target or focus attention on the critical areas of the business. Kaplan and Norton (1992) observed in their research that managers want a balanced presentation of both financial and operational measures. Based on the above, Kaplan and Norton (2002) devised the BSC a set measures that gives top mangers a fast but comprehensive view of the business. The BSC includes financial measures that tell the results of actions already taken and complements the financial measures with operational measures that are the drivers of future financial performance. The BSC therefore tailors the measures to fit a companys particular challenges. That way, one can be sure of getting the performance expected to succeed. The BSC requires managers to think of their companys mission and strategy from four key perspectives. This is discussed below based on the theories of Kaplan and Norton (1992). Customer perspective Todays typical corporate mission says something general about customers. The BSC requires specific measures of what customers get in terms of time, quality, performance and service, and cost. Internal business perspective This perspective focus on the core competencies processes, decisions and action that have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction. For example, ECI developed operational measures for submicron technology capability, manufacturing excellence, design productivity, and new product introduction. The companys managers then made sure to decompose the measures to department and workstation levels, where much of the action took place. Innovation and Learning This perspective focuses on measures which indicate future success. They measure continual improvements to existing products and processes and introduction of new products with expanded capabilities. For example, Milliken Co. implemented a ten-four improvement program, requiring reduction in key adverse measures (defects, missed deliveries, and scrap) by a factor of ten over four years. Financial perspective Financial perspective provides measures which indicate whether executives have correctly identified and constructed their measures in the foregoing areas, but they can also help determine future direction. For example, a chemical company created a daily financial statement. Putting income and expense values on every production process helped plant supervisors see where process improvements and capital investments could generate the highest returns. Gnanapoo sees the balanced scorecard as a management system and not only a measurement system that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. She adds that it provides feedback around both the internal business processes and external outcomes in order to continuously improve strategic performance and results. In her opinion, when the BSC is fully deployed, it transforms strategic planning from an academic exercise into the nerve center of an enterprise. First of all the balanced scorecard is a way of Measuring organizational, business unit or department success; Balancing long and short term actions; Balancing different measures of success and Financial Customer Internal Operations Human Resource Systems Development (Learning growth) A way of tying strategy to measures of action Gnanapoo maintains that the objective of any measurement system should be to motivate all managers and employees to implement successfully the business units strategy. Those companies that can translate their strategy into measurement system will be able to execute their strategy because they communicate their objectives and their targets. The communication makes managers and employees focus on the critical drivers enabling them to align investments, initiatives and actions accomplishing strategic goals. Casey (2004) in an article on A Balanced View of Balanced Scorecard looks at the various views of the balanced scorecard. Hendricks and Cos (2004) initial review before undertaking their research into whether to or not to adopt the BSC indicated that (1) there had been little examination of the factors associated with the adoption of the BSC, and (2) there still is the need to demonstrate that the adoption and implementation of the BSC is associated with improved financial performance. As such they carried out a research specifically examining these two BSC issues. Their research was motivated by an observation made in a review of the accounting performance measurement literature: the use and performance consequences of these (BSC) measures appear to be affected by organizational strategies and the structural and environmental factors confronting the organization. Future research can make a significant contribution by providing evidence on the contingency variables affecting the predictive ability, adoption and performance consequences of various non-financial measures and balanced scorecards (Christopher D. Ittner and David F. Larcker 1998.) Specifically, they examined contingency factors including business-level strategy, firm size, environmental uncertainty, and investment in intangible assets. They examined these contingency factors because their discussions with Canadian business executives who were intimately involved with the adoption and implementation of a BSC at their respective organizations highlighted the criticality of many of these factors to the adoption decision. Their research sample size consisted of 579 Canadian firms, chosen from PC Compustat, with annual sales greater than $10 million. They obtained key informant responses from 179 firms, of which 42 (or 23.5 per cent) reported that they had adopted the BSC approach. Business strategy While it has long been argued in the accounting literature that accounting control systems should be designed according to the business strategy of the firm, this premise has yet to be examined with the BSC. Hendricks and Co utilized Miles and Snows comprehensive business-level strategic typology that inter-relates organizational strategy, structure and process (Raymond E. Miles and Charles C. Snow 1978). This typology identifies four organizational strategies: Prospectors who continually search for innovative market opportunities and experiment regularly with new responses to emerging trends; Analyzers who operate routinely and efficiently through formal structures and processes, while simultaneously watching competitors for promising new ideas which they then rapidly adopt; Defenders who, given their narrow product market domains, are highly expert in their organizations area of operation but do little to seek out new opportunities outside their primary domain and Reactors who are unable to respond effectively to known change and uncertainty in their organizations environment. Given the broader scope and inclusion of nonfinancial, forward-looking measures in the BSC, they stated posited that the use of the BSC would more likely benefit firms that followed a Prospector or Analyzer strategy, and likely not benefit firms that followed a Defender or Reactor strategy. Therefore, they hypothesized that the propensity to adopt the BSC is positively related to the organizations choice of a Prospector or Analyzer strategy. They found that BSC adoption was significantly associated with strategy and that firms that followed a Prospector or Analyzer strategy were more likely to adopt the BSC than other firms. One interpretation of this finding is that the BSC may be more useful for some strategy types. Firm size Like business strategy, previous accounting research has suggested that a firms size can affect the design and use of management control system. As firms grow, problems in communication and control increase, so these organizations are more likely to adopt complex administration systems. As a result, larger organizations will likely depend on more sophisticated information and control systems that use diverse measures. The BSC represents an integrative management tool that is useful for coordinating cross-function and cross-level decisions and activities. They found that BSC adopters were significantly larger than non-adopters. Environmental uncertainty Environmental uncertainty has long been viewed in practice and research as a central problem for organizations. Previous accounting research has found that the uncertainty was related to greater usefulness of broad-scope information, and that the demand for broad-based information systems incorporating nonfinancial measures was positively associated with perceptions of environmental uncertainty. The BSC, which incorporates both non-financial and future oriented information, would be particularly critical for firms where environmental uncertainty is high. They found that BSC adopters had significantly higher demand volatility (measured as the coefficient of variation in annual sales changes) than non-adopters. Investments in intangible assets While a definitive classification of intangibles remains to be offered, there is agreement on the importance of effectively managing these assets from a control perspective. Indeed, the effective management of intangible assets-which includes, among others, product innovation, company brand, structural assets, and monopolies can be an important driver of business value. The BSC is a notable management tool, since it specifically requires the use of nonfinancial measures directly reflecting the organizations learning and growth decisions, activities and outcomes. Therefore they hypothesized that the propensity to adopt the BSC was positively related to the firms investment in intangible assets but did not find support for this hypothesis when they measured intangibles as the ratio of intangible assets to total assets. Given that the financial accounting model is criticized as being overly conservative with regard to the measurement of intangibles. CHAPTER 3: Background of Barclays Bank Barclays Bank is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services, with an extensive international presence in Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs 147,000 people. Barclays Bank moves, lends, invests and protects money for over 42 million customers and clients worldwide. Barclays is made up of two major businesses: Global Retail and Commercial Banking (GRCB) and Investment Banking and Investment Management (IBIM). Frits Seegers is Chief Executive of GRCB, which comprises UK Retail Banking, Barclays Commercial Bank, Barclaycard, GRCB Western Europe, GRCB Emerging Markets and Absa. Robert E Diamond Jr is President of Barclays PLC and CEO of Investment Banking and Investment Management, which spans Barclays Capital, Barclays Global Investors and Barclays Wealth. Barclays vision is to become one of the handful of universal banks leading he global financial services industry. This means offering a full range of retail and wholesale services to customers and clients throughout the world. These services include retail, business and private banking, credit cards, investment banking, investment management and wealth management. Barclays strategy follows a simple premise: anticipate the needs of their customers and clients, then serve them by helping them achieve their goals. Barclays is organized into the following business groupings: Investment Banking and Investment Management comprising: Barclays Capital Barclays Global Investors Barclays Wealth. The organization of Investment Banking and Investment Management gives a single point of strategic direction and control to a group of global businesses which enjoy substantial synergies Global Retail and Commercial Banking comprising: UK Banking; UK Retail Banking and UK Business Banking Barclaycard International Retail and Commercial Banking Absa The grouping of all our retail, commercial and cards businesses under Global Retail and Commercial Banking (GRCB) gives these businesses a single point of direction and control, thereby increasing the banks capability to drive growth and synergies globally and to enter new markets. The Chief Executive (CE) of Barclays Plc is Mr. John Varley. He was appointed as Group Chief Executive on 1st September 2004, prior to which he had been Group Deputy Chief executive from 1st January 2004. The first Barclays branch in Ghana was commissioned on 14th February 1917 under the name Barclays Bank of Ghana Limited (BBG) and has since been closely associated with all phases of the countrys development. Share Structure Initially BBG was wholly owned by Barclays Plc but in 1972, the government of Ghana acquired 40% in Barclays Ghana. This later reduced to 10% and eventually in June 2003, Barclays PLC acquired the remaining10% shares of the government of Ghana, making Barclays Ghana a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays Plc. Organisational Structure The Barclays Brand One of the greatest strengths of BBG is its brand. Built over many years of hard work and dedication, the Barclays brand today has come to represent trusted and reliable financial services. The depth of appreciation that Barclays has for the financial market is what distinguishes Barclays from others. Branches/Customer base Currently, Barclays Bank of Ghana Limited has a branch network of over 140 branches and still counting. The bank has over 150 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and over 350,000 customers in Ghana. Vision The vision of Barclays Ghana is to be the leading contributor to Ghanas future Mission The mission of Barclays is to be one of the most admired financial services organisations in the world, recognised as an innovative, customer-focused company that delivers superb products and services, ensures excellent careers for our people and contributes positively to the communities in which we live and work. (Barclays Employee Manual) Staff Strength BBG currently has over 2500 employees with about 5000 Direct Sales personnel. Products / Innovation Barclays has been the market leader in the area of major innovations in Ghana. Some of the innovative products are SME Business Account, the Microbanking Product, Scheme Loans, Housing Mortgage, Abapa a mass market product, Vehicle and Asset Finance, Premiere Banking among many others. The products are tailored to meet the motor vehicle and other capital equipment financing needs of the Corporate Banking segment of the market. The bank is already widely testing its Retail Vehicle and Asset Finance product with existing individual and small enterprise customers and expects to hit the market with a full blown offering for this segment in the second quarter of the year. IT Platform In 2002, Barclays launched Ghanas first fully automated telephone banking operation. It was the first to introduce online banking for its corporate clients with Business Master International. Pay Direct, an electronic payroll system was another first in the country. Prestige Banking BBGs strength in product innovation is not restricted to technology only. Prestige Banking is a product specifically targeted at the upper (wealthier) end of the market. It was the first time any bank in Ghana had deliberately segmented its target markets and created products specifically targeted at each segment. Services Barclays Ghanas list of Corporate Banking products and services include credit facilities, cash management and money transmission services, trade finance, deposit and investment Business Master International (online banking). The others are payroll management (Pay Direct), integrated debt finance and risk management, business insurance, wealth management and security services. Barclays Ghana Treasury provides Global Treasury Services and advisory services to their customers. It also acts as a primary dealer for customers who purchase Treasury Bills. Other Services provided by Barclays Ghana include Salary Processing, Statement Requests, Inter-bank Clearing, ATM/Visa Card Processes and ATM Availability. The Managing Director The Managing Director of BBG is Mrs. MARGARET MWANAKATWE and she happens to be the first female to occupy the topmost position in BBG. Her international experience includes lecturing on the MBA programme at Maxims European Institute and working as a Financial Analyst and Management Accountant in Whitbread PLC, McDonnel Douglas Information Systems respectively. Barclays Africa and Middle East Barclays Bank of Ghana comes under Barclays Africa and Middle East which also falls under GRCB. The vision of Barclays Africa and Middle East is simply to be the leading bank in South Africa and ultimately, the pre-eminent bank on the African continent. Barclays Africa and Middle East believes that having the vision is not enough and as such, it is very important to know how and what to do to achieve it. For this reason, the leaders of Barclays Africa and Middle East have identified the Five Cs which is synonymous to the Balanced Scorecard. In other words, it is the re-designing of the BSC to suit the needs of BIE. These are specific and provide the guidelines needed to achieve the vision. For BIE to become the leading bank the focus must be on the following: Figure 5: The Five Cs COMPANY Hit the numbers CUSTOMER Put customer first COLLEAGUE Be a high performing Colleague/leader CONTROL Be in control COMMUNITY Engage in the community CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSIONS THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES In Chapter 1, the purpose of this research was detailed as to describe and analyse the role the balanced scorecard plays in the achievement of a companys vision and strategy. The study will be specifically focused on Barclays Bank of Ghana Ltd. Therefore, the specific objectives of the study are the following: To find out if the balanced scorecard is being used by Ghanaian companies to measure performance and to direct such companies towards the achievement of organisational goals considering the fact that it has been around for the past sixteen (16) years. To examine the extent to which the balanced scorecard drives performance of organisations and the extent to which it leads to the achievement of the companys vision and strategy. Based on the findings, make recommendations for implementation towards the use of the balanced scorecard approach to drive performance and to achieve the vision and strategy of Ghanaian companies. THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS The above objectives raise the following research questions: Are mission statements of organizations translated into action plans? Is the Balanced Scorecard useful in translating those mission statements into action plans? What is the impact of the Balanced Scorecard on a companys vision and strategy? What is the impact of the balanced scorecard on performance of the organization before and after the introduction of the balanced scorecard? The study will be conducted in Ghana with a case study Barclays Bank of Ghana Ltd. During the study, interviews will be conducted with officers and managers of the bank. Apart from personal interviews, this study will also make use of questionnaires to gather more information. This study will also involve substantial level of desk research from books, journals and other publications on the internet and libraries. The key text for this research will however be articles published by Kaplan and Norton in the Harvard Business Review (HBR). More specifically, study intends to undertake the following: Conduct interviews with head of Performance Management department of Barclays Bank. The study will also send out questionnaires which will assist in gathering more information on the effectiveness of the balanced scorecard in achieving the vision and strategy of the bank. Write a thesis that combines an understanding of the relevant theory and previous researches with the results of the researchers study. Case Study Methodology and Research paradigm A case study can be defined as an empirical enquiry that: investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin 1984). This definition is supported Stake (1995). Mitchell (2000) states that the case study refers to an observers data: that is, the documentation of some particular phenomenon or set of events which has been assembled with the explicit end in view of drawing theoretical conclusions from it. An advantage for utilizing the case study methodology is that it allows for an in-depth understanding of a specific phenomenon within a bounded system. Of particular relevance is the uniqueness of the Balanced Scorecard and this is applicable to Barclays Bank of Ghana Ltd. Case studies can be either quantitative or qualitative in nature, but due to the interpretive nature of this research, a qualitative methodology (Guba Lincoln, 1994) has been adopted. There are a variety of case study purposes such as descriptive, explanation, evaluation and exploratory (Winegardner, K.E. year unknown). Descriptive research seeks to identify themes within a case through a rich or thick description encompassing as much of the case study detail as possible. It defines the purpose of descriptive research as the portrayal of an accurate profile of persons, events, or situations; this in turn requires extensive knowledge of the research subject in order to identify appropriate aspects on which to gather information. Exploratory research answers questions of how and why. This study is a combination of these two main purposes, with a strong focus on describing the BSC situation and why it would benefit or has benefited Barclays Bank of Ghana Ltd and its individuals. Sampling Procedures: The study proposes to use systematic sampling for the purpose of this research. Systematic sampling has been chosen for the following advantages it has over other forms of sampling techniques: The sample selection is easier in that, a random number is picked referred to as the random start and the rest of the sample automatically follows. It is more convenient when dealing with a very large population and a large sample is needed. The sample is distributed evenly over the listed population. Data Collection The data for this case study was collected using multiple sources and techniques (Soy, 1997). For this case study, the research was carried out through a process of document analysis, unstructured and structured interviews and questionnaires, and participant observation. Staff Opinion Data was collected from some staff of BBG using questionnaires. Interviews were also conducted with the performance analyst face to face and record made of responses. Interview questions were developed based on research of the available literature. Questions covered aspects of BSC including its ability to motivate employees to work towards the achievement of the vision and strategy of the bank. It also sought to examine the knowledge of staff of the mission statement of the bank. This is very important as knowledge of the mission statement by employees will go a long to ensure that they work to achieve corporate goals and objectives. An added advantage for using the questionnaires is that it enables the researcher to bring out rich details. Questionnaires were distributed printed copy to staff through hand delivery and collected on due date by the researcher. The researcher further collected information by noting ad hoc comments made during unstructured interviews with staff. Observation Smith (2003) defines Observation as describing or representing a setting. The observation method used in this case was unstructured and informal. It consisted of the researcher taking notes at any time when he felt it was necessary or of importance for instance, during a staff meeting. The main reason for collecting data using the observation method was to enhance the validity and reliability of the study. Because much of the staff information was collected in the format of questionnaire with written answers, the researcher wanted to ensure that the written answers corresponded to the behaviour and verbal communications of the staff in their every day environment. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION Barclays Bank of Ghana has modified the Balanced Scorecard to suit its needs. Instead of the traditional four (4) perspectives: financial, customer, internal business processes, learning and growth, BBG measures performance from five (5) perspectives normally referred to as the five (5) Cs as follows: Colleague Staff are expected to be a role model colleague Company Staff are expected to grow the company Community Staff are expected to engage in their communities Customer Staff are expected to radically improve customer service Control Staff are expected to be in control as control is always a key consideration in all that they do It is expected that when these 5Cs are properly coordinated, the vision and strategy would be achieved. Barclays Africa and Middle East has the vision of being the leading bank in South Africa and ultimately, the pre-eminent bank on the African continent. 1.8REFERENCES 2GC Active Management, https://www.2gc.co.uk/pdf/2GC-FAQ2.pdf. Retrieved on 19th June 2008. 12Manage, the executive fast track, https://www.12manage.com/methods_7S.html, retrieved on 19th June 2008. Barclays website, https://www.aboutbarclays.com/content/detail.asp?NewsAreaID=111, retrieved on 19th June 2008. Bauer, K. 2004. KPIs The Metrics that Drive Performance Management. DM Review. Canada National Statistics Companys website https://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/power/ch13/probability/probability.htm, retrieved on 20th June, 2008 Casey W. (2004), A Balanced View of Balanced Scorecard, The Leadership Lighthouse Series, https://www.executiveleadershipgroup.com/A%20Balanced%20View%20of%20Balanced%20Scorecard%20-%20Pt%201%20Ver%201.5.pdf Daft, R.L. 1999. Leadership: theory and practice . New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Furnham, A. 2004. Performance Management Systems. European Business Journal. Gnanapoo J.E (year unknown), Balanced scorecard A strategy management tool https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/8/720/balanced-scorecard-a-strategy-management-tool5.asp Goleman D and Others (2002), Business The Ultimate Resource, Bloomsbury Reference Book, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Guba, E.G. and Lincoln, Y.S. 1994. Competing Paradigms in Qualitative Research. In Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, S (eds). Handbook of Qualitative Research. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Hendricks K., Menor L. and Wiedman C. 2004, The Balanced Scorecard: To adopt or not to adopt? Ivey Publishing. Ittner C.D. and Larcker D. F. 1998, Innovations in Performance Measurement: Trends and Research Implications, Journal of Management Accounting Research. Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P. (1992), The Balanced Scorecard Measures that drive performance, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P. (1993), Putting the Balanced Scorecard to work, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P. (1996), Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Maritz, F. 1995. Leadership and Mobilizing Potential. The art of the possible and the science of the probable Human Resource Management. Miles R.E. and Snow C. C. 1978, Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process, New York: McGraw-Hill Mitchell, J.C. Case and Situation Analysis. In Gomm, R. Hammersley, M. and Foster, P. (eds). Case Study Method. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Neely, A. 1999. The Performance Measurement revolution: why now and what next? Internal Journal of Operations and Production Management. Neely, A, Gregory, M. and Platts, K. 1995. Performance measurement system design. A literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Operations and Production Management. Peters, T. and waterman. R.H. 1995. In Search of Excellence. Lessons from Americas Best -Run Companies. London: HarperCollins Publishers. Porter M.E. (1980), Competitive Strategy Techniques for analysing industries and competitors, The Free Press, First Free Press Edition. Radnor, A. and McGuire, M. 2004. Performance Management in the Public Sector: fact or fiction? International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management Reh, F. J. Year unknown. Key Performance Indicators How an organisation defines and measures progress toward its goals. (Online) Available at: https://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/keyperfindic.htm (Retrieved on 30th July, 2008). Smith, S. 2006. Problems implementing a Balanced scorecard, (Online) Available at: https://bpminstitute.org/articles/article/article/problems-implementing-a-balanced-scorecard.html Soy K, 1997. The Case Study as a Research Method. (On-Line). Available https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~ssoy/usesusers/l391d1b.htm (Retrieved 30th July 2008). Stake, R.E. 1995. The Art of Case Study Research. California: SAGE Publications Inc. Thorpe, R. and Beasley, T. 2004. The Characteristics of Performance Management Research. Implications and challenges. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. Winegardner, K. E. (Year unknown). The Case Study Method of Scholarly Research (online). Available: https://cpub.brown.edu:8543/cpubsh/Raymond%20Hyatt-SO0105SO2/materialadd2 Retrieved on 30th June 2008. Yin, R. 1984. Case Study Research. Design and Methods. California: SAGE Publications Inc.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Newtons Influences Of Isaac Newton And John Locke And The...

The Enlightenment was a period of time during the second half of the 18th century of new concepts and ideas aimed to advance European society by using rational thinking and logic. The ideas presented during this period focused on changing the way we view our world and the people who live in it. The two scholars who formed the foundations of the Enlightenment, Isaac Newton and John Locke, concentrated on two different subjects, but they both greatly influenced our way of thinking. Another leader in the enlightenment who introduced another facet into our way of thinking is Pierre Bayle. Bayle mainly focused on religion and whether religious intolerance is justified. Adam Smith applied another way of thinking to the science of economics. All†¦show more content†¦He questioned whether or not humans have a set personality and discusses how experience plays a role in who a person becomes. Locke sticks to one main method of viewing questions and ideas throughout his published work. He always presents a rationale behind his beliefs. This method is different from the way concepts were presented before the enlightenment. People relied more on tradition than on logic and reasoning. Many of the philosophes of the Enlightenment used this way of thinking in their work. Pierre Bayle used reasoning to discuss his views on religious tolerance. Pierre Bayle was an important philosophe who was considered one of the greatest non scientific minds of his time. He compiled his thoughts on religious tolerance in his work A Philosophical Commentary. Bayle believes that it is not right to pressure someone into changing their religion. He presents both real and imaginary examples to prove his point. This work showcases how entwined rationale was with the concepts presented throughout the Enlightenment. Like Bayle, many philosophes chose to thinking logically and rationally instead of following the customs of the time. One of these philosophes, Adam Smith, applied this way of thinking to economics. Philosophe Adam Smith is known by many as the father of economics. His philosophy revolved around whether a closed or open market would be the most successful in society. He discusses thisShow MoreRelatedRenaissance and Revolution Did Copernicus1485 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"rebirth† and describes Europe, esp. Western Europe, from 1300 into the 17th and 18th centuries. Why did Western Europe need to be reborn? (HINT: The Roman Empire fell in 476 CE) 5. What lost some importance during the Renaissance? 6. What common influence did Machiavelli share with artists like da Vinci and Michelangelo? 7. Given your answer above, why does it make sense that the Renaissance began in Italy? (Keep in mind that it also began there because Italy was a major trading center with theRead MoreEssay on HUMAN BEINGS AND NATURE DURING THE REVOLUTION OF THE MIND3395 Words   |  14 PagesHUMAN BEINGS AND NATURE DURING THE REVOLUTION OF THE MIND Enlightenment is mans release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is mans inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another. Dare to Know! Have courage to use your own reason!- that is the motto of enlightenment. -Immanuel Kant, 1784 (1) From theRead MoreModernization Of The Modern Western World2525 Words   |  11 PagesWest can be traced to the scientific revolution. A period of scientific advances in the areas of math, astronomy, and physics, the scientific revolution sought to bridge the gap between the physical and metaphysical. During this era, the Catholic Church held authority over the masses of illiterate and uneducated commoners. The Church, because of its central role in everyday life, controlled the development science and secular knowledge. However, the scientific revolution began to undermine the authorityRead MoreThe Eighteenth Century : Age Of Enlightenment2647 Words   |  11 PagesPopularization of Science: - Bernard de Fontenelle New Skepticism: -Pierre Bayle Impact of Travel Literature: -Did other cultures effect society back in Europe and the way they thought about their government? Legacy of John Locke and Isaac Newton: The Philosophes and Their Ideas: -Why were social reformers most important if their work was not accepted by the censors? -Did censors arrest them because they did not want uprisings from the ideas people might get? Montesquieu

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Overpopulation Is A Global Catastrophe - 1096 Words

Naturally, as our population grows in size our growth rate increases exponentially. As a result, we face the issue of overpopulation, one of the many dangerous trends discussed in Anthony Barnosky and Elizabeth Hadly’s Tipping Point for Planet Earth. Currently, if we do not make any changes, it is expected that we will reach a population size over twenty-seven billion people by the year 2100. Along with this massive increase in population size, we will also face a rise in food and water shortages, an increase in population density, and an overall loss of quality of life. In order to prevent these potential effects, Barnosky and Hadly suggested three possible solutions to combating overpopulation—a global catastrophe, a one-child policy, or an increase in education, job, and contraception availability among girls. Any one of these solutions will potentially help us prevent overpopulation; however, exactly which solution it ends up being all depends on our preparation and the actions we take now. Ideally, we would like to avoid a global catastrophe that would decimate the population. But, if we are unable to lower our growth rate another world war, or something like a pandemic could occur. While no correlation between population density and nation level conflict has been made, the connection between overcrowding and increased internal conflict has been (Tir 1998). Thus, it would be preferable to take advantage of the other solutions like the one-child policy that ChinaShow MoreRelatedContent Analysis Essay1326 Words   |  6 Pageswith another. The sections include world population, economy, disaster costs, global health, climate change and global warming, environmental issues, water crises, education and employment, migration, science and technology, and outlook. 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These issues have taken a damage on our environment and its resources. Overpopulation is a serious issue that will eventually have a greater negative impact on many countries, and this must be identified, analyzed, and controlled immediately. This issue caused a large crowd of people and the limited resources around the world.Read MoreOverpopulation can be described as the failure of the world’s resources to sustain the population.1600 Words   |  7 PagesOverpopulation can be described as the failure of the world’s resources to sustain the population. The limited natural resources have increased challenges for countries facing this. This paper covers the effects of overpopulation in the world today. The current worlds population is approximately six billion people, and the amount of time that it takes for the population to increase by another billion is decreasing with each billion. 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The effects of global warming are all around us and are becoming more prominent. There are already efforts in place to stop it and programs to â€Å"go green.† This climate change

Midterm Exam Free Essays

What went wrong with Saturn? Answer Saturn sold cars below the prices of Honda or Toyota, earning a low 3% rate of return. Saturn sold cars below the prices of Honda or Toyota, earning a low 3% rate of Question 3 Economic profit is defined as the difference between revenue and . Answer total economic cost Question 4 The primary objective of a for-profit firm is to maximize shareholder value Which of the following will increase (VOW), the shareholder wealth minimization model of the firm: VOW(shares outstanding) = Met=l (n t)/ (l+eke)t + Real Option Value. We will write a custom essay sample on Midterm Exam or any similar topic only for you Order Now Answer Decrease the required rate of return (eke). Question 6 O out of 4 points The moral hazard in team production arises from lack of proper assignment of individual tasks a conflict between tactically best interest and one’s duty Question 7 will be projects with Answer high risk Question 8 The approximate probability of a value occurring that is greater than one standard deviation from the mean is approximately (assuming a normal distribution) Answer 15. 7% Question 9 coefficient of variation; standard deviation; expected value Correct Answer: efficient of variation; standard deviation; expected value Question 10 The level of an economic activity should be increased to the point where the zero. Answer net marginal benefit Question 1 1 is A change in the level of an economic activity is desirable and should be undertaken as long as the marginal benefits exceed the marginal costs Question 12 The standard deviation is appropriate to compare the risk between two investments only if Answer the expected returns from the investments are approximately equal Correct Answer: the expected returns from the investments are approximately equal Question 13 Songwriters and composers press music companies to lower the price for music downloads because Answer songwriter royalties are a percentage of sales revenue Question 14 The factor(s) which cause(s) a movement along the demand curve include(s): Answer decrease in price of the good demanded Question 15 Those goods having a calculated income elasticity that is negative are called: Answer inferior goods An increase in each of the following factors would normally provide a subsequent increase in quantity demanded, except: Answer level of competitor advertising Question 17 Which of the following would tend to make demand INELASTIC? No one really wants the product at all the proportion of the budget spent on the item is very small When demand is a percentage change in is exactly offset by the same percentage change in demanded, the net result being a constant total consumer expenditure. Answer unit elastic; price; quantity Question 19 Auto dealers slash prices at the end of the model year in response to deficient demand/excess inventory but restaurants facing the same problem slash production because Answer rice elasticity of supply in autos is smaller than the absolute value of price elasticity of demand but the reverse is true for restaurants Correct Answer: of demand but the reverse is true for restaurants In regression analysis, the existence of a significant pattern in successive values of the error term constitutes: Answer autocorrelation Question 21 In regression analysis, the existence of a high degree of intercalation among some or all of the explanatory variables in the regression equation constitutes. How to cite Midterm Exam, Papers Midterm Exam Free Essays Midterm Exam Instructor: Name: Mayling Jou Student ID: D0042335 Department: BIBA (sophomore) Due Date: November 8th, 2012 Part I) Employee death sparks outrage at sourcing factories in China (2009). 1. Was Mr. We will write a custom essay sample on Midterm Exam or any similar topic only for you Order Now Sun’s reaction to the accusation of the theft something that only might be expected in China? I think the suicide of Mr. Sun was not only an escape for the accusation of theft something, but this reaction involves more than the theft of an intellectual property. Behind the simple fact of a theft, there are many other factors that made him kill himself, such as shiftwork and late night work, excessive working hours over a short period, long hours with inadequate breaks, Hazardous physical working conditions, etc. This is not only happening in China, but also in other countries. This article about Foxconn (China) has spread worldwide because of the increasing sells of the famous company Apple. However, I read some articles about suicide other countries like United Kingdom, where an â€Å"engineer, who killed himself, wrote in a suicide note saying ‘the pressure of work has turned my mind into a ticking time bomb’. Hazards magazine reported in 2003 that the work-related suicide toll in the UK was likely to exceed 100 deaths per year, caused by factors including overwork, stress and harassment†. Other similar stories have been happened in Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zeeland etc. 2. Is the theft of intellectual property a problem everywhere? Why or why not? Does every culture view the importance of intellectual property in the same way? Yes, it is a problem everywhere. The piracy of intellectual property that is protected by copyright law  is  a crime. The theft of intellectual property also involved the plagiarism. Nowadays, the Internet has contributed with this problem. A common situation about this is, a group of students that decide to â€Å"copy and paste† the essay from an author. Some people say that using the ideas without attributing them is a form of theft. However, most people don’t think it is a crime. With the globalization and the fast increasing of innovation and competition, some companies want to have the same or similar software or technology as the competitor. As a clear example are China and United States. There is an article from the New York Times that says: â€Å"For the United States, the No. 1 problem with China’s economy is probably intellectual property theft. Technology companies, for example, continue to notice Chinese  government agencies downloading software updates for programs they have never bought, at least not legally. No wonder China has become the world’s second-largest market for computer hardware sales — but is only the eighth-largest for software sales. † Not every culture views the importance of intellectual property in the same way. Some companies that can’t create a new technology and instead, they take the idea from others companies. Some people think that buy legitimate software or application is really expensive and, they cannot afford it. So, they would rather download it for free or get it for a cheaper price. They argue that intellectual property tends to be governed by economic goals when it should be viewed primarily as a social product. 3. Why is theft of intellectual property such as concern in foreign sub-contractors? What can be done to control it? It is really important for every business to protect itself against intellectual property theft in today’s business. With all the global markets competition, it’s important for the company to know how to identify, protect and enforce its Intellectual property rights. The company needs to protect its information assets as securely as possible by using some techniques that can prevent any theft of intellectual property. In other to control the theft of intellectual property in foreign sub-contractors, we can mention about: †¢ Review and prepare all legal contracts making sure that the company has the protection it needs. †¢ Make sure all parties, as well as their roles and responsibilities are identified in the business contract. †¢ Spell out venue, choice of law and jurisdiction, particularly if the subcontractor that the business is working with is located out of the country. Part II) Work Councils and â€Å"Inform and consult† In the EU: HP Acquires Compaq. 1. What do the EU directives on works councils and â€Å"Inform and Consult† require in a situation like this? To whom do these directives apply? The EU Directives require companies with more than 1,000 employees throughout the EU and, with at least 150 employees in each one the two countries, which can lead the establishment of works councils to receive information and  consultation in all the decisions of the company. All this is really important, because it provides values that cut across national borders. In addition, the larger employers not only need to establish works councils, but must also establish a Europe wide council. This means that any decisions, such as work restructuring, plant or office closings, or even the movement from one country to another (outsourcing, layoffs, workforce agreements), all require firms to inform and  consult with their councils previously to the implementation of those kinds of decisions. So, this is applied for all multinational firms. 2. What is it about European culture that has led to the development and implementation of these sorts of practices and policies? Why haven’t they developed in countries like the US? European culture has a different mentality as United States does. For Europeans, the workers are a fundamental part when the big decisions are made. All decisions are discussed by a group. Additionally, they have kept a tool-making, smart structural decision; engineering culture, etc. In some European management discuss between them detailed information about enterprises’ financial and business plans. United States instead, was simply too hard to replicate in other countries because United States or other countries have a different way to treat the workers. In United States, some management complained that workers did not truly cooperate, while workers complained that this kind of policies and practices gave them no real power to affect decisions. The workers prefer to work at the fast speed in the bad state; they lack credible information about the state of the firm. How to cite Midterm Exam, Papers Midterm Exam Free Essays Human Communication 100 Fall 2004 Midterm Exam Multiple Choice: Choose only one answer and mark the corresponding letter on your scantron. Each question is worth 2 points. 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Midterm Exam or any similar topic only for you Order Now Another word for decoding is __________. A. interpretation B. speaking C. creating D. noise 2. Imagine that you are listening to a speech about AIDS and HIV. One of the speaker’s main points describes ways to respond to the devastating news that you or someone in your family is HIV Negative. You are confused by this, because you know that HIV Negative means that someone isn’t infected with the virus that leads to AIDS. What is happening in this situation? A. The speaker obviously plagiarized the speech, because he/she doesn’t know the correct terms. B. The channel of the message is faulty, or else the correct term would be sent and received. C. The speaker’s encoding and the listener’s decoding are interfering with communication. D. External noise is keeping the message from being sent and received accurately. 3. The terms feedback and context are introduced in which of the communication models? A. communication as action B. communication as interaction C. communication as reaction D. communication as transaction 4. Which of the following is an example of intrapersonal communication? A. talking to friend about biology class B. telling your roommate about a personal problem C. mentally rehearsing what you have to do that day ordering a pizza over the phone 5. Which of the following is an attribute of interpersonal communication? Interpersonal communication is linear. Interpersonal communication is a monologue. Interpersonal communication involves responding to people’s roles. Interpersonal communication involves mutual influence. 6. According to Maslow’s framework on the process of becoming self-aware, a person whose communication skills are effective and are second nature is working at which level? unconscious incompetence conscious incompetence conscious competence unconscious competence 7. Danielle consistently describes herself as a confident, outgoing woman. Her description coincides with which of the following terms? self-concept self-image self-expectations self-fulfilling prophecy 8. Jason spends hours every day working at the gym. He also takes great care in keeping his sports car well maintained and spotless. According to James’ theory of the self, Jason is taking care of his ____________________. 14 material self 15 social self 16 spiritual self 17 emotional self 9. Jose was raised in a Cuban-American community. Although he had many college friends from other co-cultures, he proudly maintained his Cuban roots by sprinkling his speech with Spanish phrases. In addition, he enjoyed sharing examples of cultural norms from his family and neighborhood in his communication class. These examples show which kind of influence on Jose’s self-concept? A. communication with others B. association with groups oles we assume C. self-fulfilling prophecy 10. The stage of perception in which we put information into patterns is called _____________. A. attention B. reframing C. interpretation D. organization 11. Which of the following statements is most accurate concerning stereotypes? A. All stereotypes are negative. B. We stereotype people because of our nature to simplify and categorize. C. People who use stereotypes are usually doing so intentionally. D. It is fairly easy to rid ourselves of harmful stereotypes. 12. When asked to describe himself, Bernard talks about his sports car, career, and home. Bernard’s response demonstrates which of the following? A. other-oriented communication B. ascription orientation C. achievement orientation D. ethnocentric communication 13. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis suggests which of the following? A. Language and thought are exclusive of one another. B. People regularly conceive of ideas for which they have no word. C. Language is controlled by thought. D. Language does not impact our worldview. 14. When Carol and Marcia talked about going home for spring break, Carol thought of home-cooked meals, free laundry, and time to spend with old friends. Marcia thought only of the bickering and fussing between her parents. Which of the following statements describes this situation? A. Carol and Marcia are bypassing when they discuss where they are going to spend their vacations. B. Carol and Marcia have different denotations for the word â€Å"home. † C. Carol and Marcia have different connotations for the world â€Å"home. † D. Carol and Marcia are polarizing the word â€Å"home. † 15. Tommy went to Taiwan for a vacation. Since he couldn’t read the restaurant menu, he asked the waiter to bring him a traditional Taiwanese meal. It was delicious. When he was done he asked the waiter what the meat was, because he hadn’t tasted anything like it before. The waiter told him it was dog meat. Tommy became sick to his stomach, and rushed to the bathroom. Tommy’s reaction reflects the power of words to ______________. A. make and break relationships B. affect and reflect culture C. affect thoughts and actions D. build barriers 16. When words reflect unqualified, often untrue generalizations that deny individual differences among people, they become the language barrier of ____________. A. bypassing B. polarization C. allness D. denotation 17. Jack announces at the fraternity meeting that there will be a dance next weekend, and everyone is invited to bring their girlfriend. This is an example of _________________. A. sexist language B. heterosexist language C. homophobic language D. generic language 18. According to Mehrabian’s research, the most significant source of emotional meaning in our communication is ______________. 1 our voice A. our words B. our face 19 our posture 19. According to Mehrabian, nonverbal communication conveys 93% of the _______________. 1 meaning of our messages A. emotional meaning of our messages B. literal meaning of our messages C. subjective meaning of our messages 20. Estella wanted her grandmother to know how much she appreciated her grandmother’s monetary gift for her birthday. She have her a big hug, and said with enthusiasm, â€Å"Thanks Gram – I really can use this! † Estella’s voice and hug are examples of which function of nonverbal behavior? to repeat A. to complement B. to substitute C. to regulate 21. Displays of culture such as clothing, jewelry, and makeup are called __________________. A. artifacts gestures B. illustrators C. vocalics 22. After Aisha got off the phone her face looked like it had fallen two inches. She looked down, and walked to her room slowly. Maya said to her, â€Å"What happened? † In reading Aisha’s facial expressions, Maya was using Aisha’s ________________________. A. affect displays B. regulators C. adaptors D. emblems 23. Cultures in which the members evaluate â€Å"close† proximity as negative and bad, and â€Å"far† proximity as positive and good are ________________. A. high contact low contact B. developing nations C. industrialized nations 24. Listening involves the following processes: A. awareness, rejecting, decoding, remembering, and reacting 1 selecting, attending, understanding, remembering, and responding 3 selecting, acknowledging, and comprehending B. attending, sorting, interpreting, filtering, and rehearsing 25. Which of the following is a recommended strategy for dealing with emotional noise? A. Focus primarily on the speaker’s emotions. B. Avoid expressing your emotions. C. Use self-talk to manage your emotion s. D. Immediately respond to the listener with the emotions you are feeling. 26. As she was listening to Teri’s account of her family vacation, Serena was mentally making a list of the shopping she had to do that afternoon. Which of the following best describes the cause of Serena’s failure to listen? A. self-focus emotional noise B. criticism C. information overload 27. Information processing rate can be a barrier to listening because ____________________. A. people are normally capable of processing information faster than most speakers speak. B. people are hardly ever capable of processing information as fast as most people speak. C. there is such a wide variety of processing abilities among people that no matter how fast or slow you speak, it will not be appropriate. D. recent research shows that there is little connection between speaker rate and listening effectiveness. 8. Poor listening often takes place because receivers make faulty assumptions about the nature of the information they are taking in: Sometimes we assume the information is too simplistic, other times we assume it is too complex. Which of the following personality types have a problem tuning out information they assume is too complex? A. Strong uncertainty avoiders 25 Weak uncertainty avoiders B. Ethnocentris ts C. Machiavellians 29. Kip, an electrical engineer, was recently sent by his company to Saudi Arabia to work for his organization’s Middle Eastern affiliate. Kip’s Saudi supervisor ordered Kip around, often used threats as a motivational tool, and became angry when Kip asked him questions. Kip ended up quitting his job. What cultural difference probably caused Kip to misinterpret his supervisor’s management style as rude and insulting? A. Individualism B. Power distance C. Collectivism D. Uncertainty avoidance 30. Being mindful requires that we are ______________________________________. A. consciously aware of cultural differences rather than ignoring the differences. B. think of what we will we say once the speaker is finished talking. C. consciously aware of our feedback. D. focused on preserving our relationship with other people. 31. The use of silence as a verbal ritual is frequently employed in which of the following? A. Masculine culture B. Feminine culture C. Low-context culture D. High-context culture 32. Beancake portrayed traditional 1933 Japanese culture as ________________________. high-context A. strong uncertainty avoidance B. large power distance C. All of the above 33. The Johari Window __________________________________________. A. stays relatively consistent for most people in most relationships. B. changes from relationship to relationship, but stays the same for the duration of that relationship. C. differs from person to person for each relationship, and changes during the stages of relationship. D. A and B are true, but not C. 34. According to the textbook, the normative amount of emotional expression shown by individuals from the United States is ______________________________. A. more than most other cultures. B. less than most other cultures. C. about the same as most other cultures. D. falls in the middle of most other cultures. 35. A common pattern in United States culture is for one person’s self-disclosure to be followed by a similar self-disclosure from the other person. This is the characteristic of self-disclosure known as _____________________________. reciprocity A. appropriateness assessment B. reflexivity 36. Altman and Taylor’s model of social penetration includes __________________________. A. how people reduce uncertainty about each other in the early stages of a relationship. B. how people make use of verbal and nonverbal communication to form impressions of the other C. ow much and what kind of information we reveal in various stages of a relationship D. how men and women communicated differently in friendship relationships. 37. Eileen and Roberto study together for their communication class. They find themselves discussing a wide variety of topics, but have kept their personal disclosures minimal and the interaction superficial. This relationship would be characterized as having ___ ____________. great depth but little depth. A. great breadth but little depth. B. neither much depth nor breadth. C. great depth and breadth. 38. A tendency to seek out individuals who represent the same level of physical attractiveness as oneself is __________________________. affection. A. inclusion. B. short-term attraction. C. matching hypothesis. 39. Which of the following theories studies the driving human motivation to increase predictability by marginalizing the unknown in one’s circumstances? Social penetration A. Uncertainty reduction B. Expectation violation C. Primary socialization 40. Nonverbal and verbal cues that indicate liking are referred to as _________________. immediacy. A. proximity cues. B. complementarity. C. nclusion cues. True/False Questions 41. Frank Dance’s helical model of communication suggests that communication can be reversed. F 42. Because many nonverbal behaviors may occur at the same time, it is sometimes difficult to interpret nonverbal behavior accurately. T 43. According to the textbook, your self-image is how you view yourself in a particular situation. T 44. †Vote f or Bush or pay more taxes! † is an example of polarization. T 45. â€Å"Fag† would be considered a trigger word for many people. T 46. Generally speaking, gestures that are friendly in one culture will be friendly in another. F 47. Attending to a message means spending a considerable amount of time processing a particular message. F 48. Women are better at shifting attention between simultaneous messages than men. T 49. Asking appropriate questions is one of the methods given for listening with empathy. T 50. A worldview is the general cultural perspective that determines how the culture perceives various forces in explaining why events occur the way they do. T Extra credit question: 51. Pejorative words used to cause explicit group devaluation are __________________. A. ethnocentric B. ethnophaulisms C. ethnolinguistic D. ethnic identities How to cite Midterm Exam, Essay examples Midterm Exam Free Essays For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of well-being, which in turn depends on the maintenance of the natural world and natural resources. As the earth’s human population has increased, natural ecosystems have declined and changes in the balance of trial cycles have had a negative impact on both humans and other living systems. Paul Hawked provides 1 2 steps towards a sustainable society. We will write a custom essay sample on Midterm Exam or any similar topic only for you Order Now First, Hawked argues that state and national governments should reclaim their power to regulate corporations by rewriting and renewing current corporate charters. Second, Hawked agrees that companies and consumers should be forced to include all the environmental and social costs in making, producing, using, and disposing of products in the cost of goods. Third, we should tax the amount of non-renewable resources, the amount of fossil eels, the amount of waste, and the amount of environment destroyed or abused. Fourth, Hawked says that governments should lease companies the right to use and control certain resources such as fisheries, forests. By making these companies’ profits dependent on how productive these resources are, they will have a real incentive to protect and even restore these environments to health. Fifth, companies would compete to create industrial design processes in which they greatly reduce their waste. Instead of depending on polluting the environment with their wastes, companies should figure out owe to reduce wastes and actually make them a source of profits. Sixth, consumers would lease the right to use products such as us or cars from companies and the companies are responsible for recycling and disposing of those products when the consumer is done using them. Seventh, here Hawked encourages consumers and citizens to put pressure on their politicians and governments to create and enforce strict environmental, health, and social standards. Eighth, Hawked argues that local, state, and national governments must once again be active overseers and regulators of corporations and businesses. Currently corporations argue that governments should not interfere in business and disrupt the magic of free enterprise and the market. Ninth, people need to be taught to understand and consider the larger environmental and social impacts of their actions. Fifth public better understand the environmental risks and benefits of their actions, they would have real incentives to take actions that would protect the environment, their health, and the well-being of their society. Tenth, Hawked tells that we need to do local, state, national, and global surveys of the environment and the impact Of our activities on nature. Eleventh, Hawked thinks that environmentalists will only successfully win the support of the poor and Third World peoples if they convince them that such environmental and economic reforms will improve their health and standards of living. Twelfth, Hawked concludes that these economic and environmental reforms cannot be solely based on economic incentives and profits. These reforms must also be focused on the individual, social, cultural, environmental, and religious benefits of protecting and restoring the environment. Ways of living more sustainable can take many forms. Green building, sustainable agriculture, or sustainable architecture, or using science to develop new technologies, green technologies, renewable energy, to adjustments in individual lifestyles that conserve natural resources. 2. Explain Andrew Dobbin’s notion of â€Å"Ecological Citizenship. † Start out with a relevant quote from Dobbin’s essay and proceed to explain the terms involved and the overall significance of this notion. Citizenship is being a part of the society. Ecological citizenship is the state, character or behavior of a person viewed as a member of the ecosystem with attendant rights and responsibilities, especially the responsibility to maintain ecological integrity and the right to exist in a healthy environment. From the reading, † Ecological citizenship deals in the currency of non-contractual responsibility, it inhabits the private as well as the public sphere, it refers to the source rather than the nature of responsibility to determine what count as citizenship virtues, it works with the language of virtue, and it is explicitly non-territorial. (89) However, ecological citizenship, like ecologist, moves in radically new directions. As a means to address global unsuitability, citizenship must exist in an entirely different non-territorial political space, and the space in which a redefined citizenship can be located is our individual ecological footprint. In other words, ecological citizenship is an essential prerequisite of a sustainable society. â€Å"The PRI uncial ecological citizenship obligation is ensure that ecological footprint makes a sustainable, rather than an unsustainable, impact. (1 1 8) Ecological citizenship is presented as an example and inflection of post-cosmopolitan citizenship. It is contrasted with environmental citizenship. The idea of ecological footprint is a composite measure, which informs sustainable development, ecological economics and urban studies. It is quickly becoming a very practical tool for measuring human impact on the Earth’s resource base. The ecological footprint is presented as the ecological citizenship, it is used to cause and effect that call forth post-cosmopolitan obligations. . Michael Mandates criticizes the practice of â€Å"individualizing responsibility. † Explain what does that mean. Michael Mandates mentioned in his article, † My claim in this chapter is that an accelerating individualizing of responsibility in the United Stat es is narrowing, in dangerous ways, our â€Å"environmental imagination† and undermining our capacity to react effectively to environmental threats to human wellbeing. Those troubled by overcompensation, consumerism, and communication should not and cannot ignore this narrowing. Confronting the individualizing of responsibility patently undermines. â€Å"(374) The result is to narrow our collective ability to imagine and pursue a variety of productive responses to the environmental problems before us. When responsibility for environmental problems is individualized, there is little room to ponder institutions, the nature and exercise of political power, or ways of collectively changing the district option of power and influence in society. Many people think that environmental problems are for other people or the government to do something about. But, the environmental issues impact on the quality of life of each and individuals of us, as well as all future generations. Many people also question, â€Å"What difference can I make? † The answer to this is critical: it is the combined impact of everyone’s activities which will make a preference, just as democracy only works if enough people take the time and effort to cast their individual votes, which lead to what the majority desire. If everyone takes care of their immediate surroundings and minimizes their own individual resource use, then together these actions will make a difference. . What are the principles Of thought practiced by CEO-Feminism according to Ecological feminism is based on the premise that there Karen J. Warren? Exists a connection between the domination of women the neglect and exploitation of the natural world. According to Karen J. Warren, she gives us a new way of looking and understanding things. She claims that an oppressive conceptual f ramework is the set of values and attitudes that shape the way in which we look at the world. There exists a characteristic in our oppressive conceptual framework, which is called the logic of domination. Warren’s issue isn’t so much that this sort of system is used in the framework, but the way in which it is used that ultimately make women inferior. Her point is that this very same framework, which leads to the logic of domination, is also used to oppress the natural world. It is a feminism that critiques male bias wherever it occurs in ethics (including environmental ethics) and alms at providing an ethic (including an environmental ethic), which is not male biased-and it does so in a way that satisfies the preliminary boundary conditions of a feminist ethic. (11) Based on her idea, this framework identifies women with nature. Since nature is deemed inferior to man, then women alike are deemed inferior since they are parallel to nature. In conclusion, in order to abolish both the oppression of women and nature this conceptual framework must e abolished. At the end of the chapter she said, â€Å"A re-conceiving and re- visioning of both feminism and environmental ethi cs, is, I think, the power and promise of coefficients. â€Å"(1 5) Coefficients combines the philosophy of feminism with the principles of ecology and environmental ethics. Coefficients generally claims that the patriarchal structures of our society are what cause environmental degradation. 6. What is, according to Hans Jonas, the categorical imperative, I. E. The absolute commandment, of our age? Is this an anthropocentric view? Discuss and explain. The main idea of this reading is shown at the beginning, † Care for the future of mankind is the overruling duty of collective human action in the age of a technical civilization that has become ‘almighty,’ if not in its productive then at least in its destructive potential. (77) There’s a major impact on the environment in the distant future. We are on the verge of population explosion. While the population has reached a record high, the resources to meet the increasing population have not increased in the same ratio. On the contrary, we are destroying the limited resources at a rapid peed, and very soon we would have used up all the non-renewable resources totally. Unless we take concrete preventive steps in this direction, the incidences and the impact of these disasters would only multiply and would seriously affect the lifestyle and standard of living of future generations. It’s time for actions. ‘ ‘The further observation that in whatever time is left the corrections will become more and more difficult and the freedom to make them more and more restricted. This heightens the duty to that vigilance Over the beginnings which grants priority to well-?grounded ears over against hopes, even if no less well grounded. (91) We are in the present generation are forewarned about the imminent damage we have been inflicting on our environment and our own health. Future generations will have to bear the dire consequences by the environmental devastation. Such damage poses long-lasting threats that affect the health and wellbeing of future generations. It is about time that we gave thoughtful consideration to protect future generations . It is about time that we rise and speak for the interests of future generations, so that they are able to live on a healthy planet. How to cite Midterm Exam, Papers Midterm Exam Free Essays NAME: _______________________________ BSAD 180: Managerial Finance Midterm Exam I. Multiple Choices (40%) ( b)1. The primary goal of financial management is to: a. We will write a custom essay sample on Midterm Exam or any similar topic only for you Order Now maximize current dividends per share of the existing stock. b. maximize the current value per share of the existing stock. c. avoid financial distress. d. minimize operational costs and maximize firm efficiency. e. maintain steady growth in both sales and net earnings. ( c ) 2. The interest rate expressed as if it were compounded once per year is called the _____ rate. a. stated interest b. ompound interest c. effective annual d. periodic interest e. daily interest ( b )3. You are comparing two investment options. The cost to invest in either option is the same today. Both options will provide you with $20,000 of income. Option A pays five annual payments starting with $8,000 the first year followed by four annual payments of $3,000 each. Option B pays five annual payments of $4,000 each. Which one of the following statements is correct given these two investment options? a. Both options are of equal value given that they both provide $20,000 of income. . Option A is the better choi ce of the two given any positive rate of return. c. Option B has a higher present value than option A given a positive rate of return. d. Option B has a lower future value at year 5 than option A given a zero rate of return. e. Option A is preferable because it is an annuity due. ( d )4. Your parents are giving you $100 a month for four years while you are in college. At a 6% discount rate, what are these payments worth to you when you first start college? a. $3,797. 40 b. $4,167. 09 c. $4,198. 79 d. $4,258. 03 e. 4,279. 32 ( c )5. The time value of money concept can be defined as: a. the relationship between the supply and demand of money. b. the relationship between money spent versus money received. c. the relationship between a dollar to be received in the future and a dollar today. d. the relationship of interest rate stated and amount paid. e. None of the above. ( b)6. Marko, Inc. is considering the purchase of ABC Co. Marko believes that ABC Co. can generate cash flows of $5, 000, $9,000, and $15,000 over the next three years, respectively. After that time, Marko feels ABC will be worthless. Marko has determined that a 14% rate of return is applicable to this potential purchase. What is Marko willing to pay today to buy ABC Co.? a. $19,201. 76 b. $21,435. 74 c. $23,457. 96 d. $27,808. 17 e. $31,758. 00 ( b)7. What is the effective annual rate if a bank charges you 7. 64% compounded quarterly? a. 7. 79% b. 7. 86% c. 7. 95% d. 7. 98% e. 8. 01% ( a)8. A General Co. bond has an 8% coupon and pays interest annually. The face value is $1,000 and the current market price is $1,020. 0. The bond matures in 20 years. What is the yield to maturity? a. 7. 79% b. 7. 82% c. 8. 00% d. 8. 04% e. 8. 12% ( a)9. Wine and Roses, Inc. offers a 7% coupon bond with semiannual payments and a yield to maturity of 7. 73%. The bonds mature in 9 years. What is the market price of a $1,000 face value bond? a. $953. 28 b. $963. 88 c. $1,108. 16 d. $1,401. 26 e. $1,401. 86 ( a)10. What is the net present value of a project that has an initial cash ou tflow of $12,670 and the following cash inflows? The required return is 11. 5%. YearCash Inflows 1 $4,375 2 $ 0 3 $8,750 4 $4,100 a. $218. 68 b. $370. 16 c. $768. 20 d. $1,249. 65 e. $1,371. 02 II. Essays/Calculations (60%) 1. You are planning to save for retirement over the next 30 years. To do this, you will invest $1,000 a month in a stock mutual fund account. The return of the account is expected to be 1% per month. When you retire, you will put your money into a safer account that will earn 0. 5% per month. How much can you withdraw each month from your account assuming a 25-year withdrawal period? 2. Miller Corp. has a premium bond making semiannual payments. The bond pays an 8% coupon, has a YTM of 6%, and has 10 years to maturity. The Modigliani Corp. has a discount bond making annual payments. The bond pays a 6% coupon, has a YTM of 8%, and also has 10 years to maturity. If interest rates remain unchanged, what do you expect the price of these bonds to be 1 year from now? In 5 years? In 10 years? Please also illustrate your answers by graphing bond prices versus time to maturity. 3. Define the following terms: (a) Pure discount loan. b) YTM. (c) Call bond. 4. You are ready to buy a house and you have $20,000 for a down payment and closing costs. Closing costs are estimated to be $5,000. The interest rate on the loan is 5. 5% per year with monthly compounding for a 30-year fixed rate loan. You are able to buy the house at $165,000. What is the monthly payment? Suppose that you have an annual salary of $50,000. What is the ratio of the mortgage payment to your monthly income? 5. You receive a credit card application from Muwa Bank offering an introductory rate of 1. 9% per year, compounded monthly for the first 6 months, increasing thereafter to 22. 99% compounded monthly. Assuming that you transfer the $5,000 balance from your existing credit card and make no subsequent payment, how much interest will you owe at the end of the first year? 6. The Brennan Co. just paid a dividend of $1 per share on its stock. The dividends are expected to grow at 8% for two years. After that, the growth rate will equal 6% per year indefinitely. The cost of equity is 12%. The YTM on 30-year T-bond is 10%. What is the fair price of the shares today? How to cite Midterm Exam, Papers