Management Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management Psychology - Essay Example Convents. Institutions to take care of diseased and mentally retarded persons. Culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the nation or organization from the rest. The main function of culture is to create a distinction between nations and organizations. Culture conveys a sense of identity for organization members. Culture facilitates the generation of commitment to something larger than one's individual self interest. Culture also enhances the stability of the social system. Culture id the social glue that helps the organization held together by appropriate standards for what employees should say and do. In the articles, Goffman addresses the details of a total institution with reference to mentally retarded persons, prisons etc. There are a lot of problems in the system of total institution. Some of the major cultural mistakes include: When one wants to change an aspect of the culture of an organization one has to keep in consideration that this is a long term project. Corporate culture is something that is very hard to change and employees need time to get used to the new way of organizing. For companies with a very strong and specific culture it will be even harder to change. The following stages can be used to bring the change: Changes in culture can lead to tensions between organizational and individual interests, which can result in ethical and legal problems for practitioners. This is particularly relevant for changes in employee integrity, control, equitable treatment and job security. These are the various

CAPM ana Capital Budgeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CAPM ana Capital Budgeting - Essay Example The estimation of the cost of capital in turn is based upon the CAPM. However, not only does recent discourses in academic literature challenge the validity of the CAPM model, there is lack of consensus regarding the adequate measure of the market risk premium, a central input required for computing the cost of capital using the CAPM. However, in spite of these short comings, the CAPM has survived as the predominant quantitative model in its class for over 40 years since its inception. It is precisely this paradox the paper in concern addresses. In particular, Jagannathan and Meler (2002) offer an explanation to the following question: in spite of the various short comings of the CAPM model in computing the cost of capital, why do majority of managers report using the model to make critical decisions? The answer they offer is that in the real world, computing the exact cost of capital may not be crucial for optimal decisions. Hence, although the CAPM may not provide the exact value o f cost of capital, but it still remains useful for managers. Assuming rationed organizational and managerial capital which implies that not all projects with positive NPVs can be invested in, the paper shows that utilizing a hurdle rate greater than the cost of capital and the typical NPV computations, the value of waiting for an option can be accounted for. Therefore, the exact value of cost of capital no longer remains an imperative for optimal decisions. The idea that discounting values are set much higher than the cost of capital has significant support in financial literature. Stein (2001) for instance shows that aspects like agency costs arising out of asymmetric informational situations among share owners and managers leads to setting of discount rates that are much higher than the actual cost of capital. Empirical literature also lends further support to the claim by establishing the existence of a large number of hurdle rates that are set higher than the cost of capital (Po terba and Summers, 1995). Truong, Partington and Peat (2008) have also established that there are a number of hurdle rates used in the capital budgeting procedure in Australia. The critiques of using CAPM in capital budgeting fundamentally stem from two particular difficulties. First, the time horizon of the basic model is limited to a single period. But in reality, investment appraisals of firms typically involve decision making over multiple periods. Thus, this raises the question of applicability of the CAPM in investment appraisal in the real world. Secondly, computing discount rates specific to particular projects can prove difficult owing to for instance, difficulties arising in identification of appropriate proxy betas as proxy companies usually undertake multiple activities simultaneously. Disentangling the beta specific to a project may prove near impossible because these require certain information that may be extremely difficult to obtain. (Head, 2008) Additionally, it ha s been shown that although the NPV criterion can be utilized to make accept/reject decisions, these are valid and optimal only if the discount rate is not computed using the CAPM (Magni, 2009). In light of the discussion above what emerges essentially is that the CAPM generates estimates of cost of capital

Draft Letter Going to War in Vietnam Essay Example for Free

Draft Letter Going to War in Vietnam Essay It was a very hot and humid day. I will never forget that awful day. I just had gotten home from work; the traffic that day was horrible. The mail was in top of my dining room table, and there it was on top of all the mail, the only thing o saw on the envelope was draft and I was the addressee. My reaction was â€Å"Oh My God†, my heart was pounding very heart it felt like it was about to jump out of my chest, my ears were burning. All I could think was that we are told that we are helping people and fighting for our freedom. Instead innocent people are being killed; I have lost most of my freedom. What options do I have, leave the country, or hide for the rest of your life. Or go to war not only means serving your country, but helping people along the way. What were my advantages or disadvantages? None of those options were good, at that point I was in shock, and I just could not believe that this was happening to me, till this day I do not remember ever opening that letter. The advantage I saw was, if I went to war the money I will be getting. With that money I could help my family, have a better future, and it can help me open a lot of doors. The disadvantage is that I can get killed, injured, my family would be devastated, but at the same time they would feel proud. To some, including me the Vietnam War was a crime, an attempt by the United States to suppress a heroic Vietnamese national liberation movement that had driven French colonialism out of its country. To others, the Vietnam War was a forfeit, a just war needlessly lost by timid policymakers and a biased media. For many including myself, the Vietnam War was a tragic mistake brought about by U.S. leaders who exaggerated the influence of communism and underestimated the power of nationalism. Another advantage would be that I would come back as a hero, either alive or in a box. I will still be considered a hero, that is, if I live in a community that is very patriotic. But in my case I do not live in a community like that. The disadvantage would be that my community would not even know that I have gone to war. All I could think was that the draft discriminated against the poor, the less educated and ethnic minorities. Many of us were drafted into the Army against our will nearly all of us are kept in its grasp against our will all in order to carry out this illegal, immoral, and unjust war. We are forced to fight and die in a war we did not create and in which we don’t believe. There are advantages and disadvantages in every war that can either be minute details or change the whole course of war. I would go to war even knowing that I may get killed, injured. Morally is the right thing to do. As a citizen we have a duty to this country whether or not we believe in the cause of war. Initially, people going to Vietnam bought the domino theory. They willingly went because they were defending freedom and democracy and the American way, those who were sent to Vietnam knew that they did not have the support of the American people, knew that they were there in support of a failed policy, and knew that they were not defending freedom or democracy, but were pawns in an ongoing political struggle. My conclusion after writing this is that never think for a moment that you are the only one side that is suffering you might be physically safe from the effects of war. But war is an insidious enemy and all the more damaging when it is implications reach you, others through a dead and suffering.

Water Supply And Pollution In Singapore

Water Supply And Pollution In Singapore Water is the most essential needs for living things, some countries like Mexico and Egypt are able to obtain clean water easily, however it is a life or death issue in many countries in the world. One of the counties that used to have a water problem is Singapore. Singapore is an island and urban city state which had problems with water in its early days. It is because Singapore does not have natural lakes and there is only little land to collect rainwater. However, in the last 4 decades Singapore has proven itself to be a country that successfully deals with water. This essay will discuss about the water related problems in Singapore, how the PUB (Public Utilities Board) as the Singapores national water agency overcome those problems, and some leadership factors that contribute to the success of PUB in solving the problems. Problems and solutions Water pollution has never been a new phenomenon and it has always been part of the ecological system. It can be caused by erosion, siltation of the streams, flood, dead animal, also the increase of human activities, etc. This phenomenon happened in many parts of the world, it happens especially in the developing country and industrial countries. Singapore had also dealt with this problem, water pollution in Singapore was caused by four major factors. First, commercial and industrial location, back in 1960s majority of manufacture was located on south and south west part of the country. These manufactures did not dump their industrial waste into the place that were provided therefore, after a few years Government made a new policies and regulation then asked the manufactures to comply with the requirement. (Hung, C. 1976) Second, hawker and market, a survey in 1969 proved that there were 18000 hawkers island wide. Most of them were using water for their business and contributing a substantial pollution to the rivers. It was estimated that about four million gallons of water waste were discharge to the streams each day. Hence, to overcome this problem those hawkers were resided to the hawker centers where the waste could be drained in the septic tank. (Hung, C. 1976) Next, farm waste, it was also big issues due to water pollution in 1960s since there were large number of farmers rearing pigs and poultry. Primary Production Department estimated that there were 600,000 pigs in Singapore these pigs produced 3 million gallons of excrement per day. Many farmers at that period discharged their farm waste to the river thus, it caused the river to be polluted. In order to control this problem, the small scale of farm would have to be encouraged and farmers were pushed to reuse the water in the farm since water in such farm is for the cleansing of the pig excrements. (Hung, C. 1976) Last but not least, the kitchen waste had also been a problem to the society in 1970s because the water waste was discharge to the open drain also the garbage was dumped into the rivers. Even though those are households waste, these wastes also contributing pollution to the river. To reduce this problem, the government tightened up the regulation such as, disallow the resident for washing their clothes on the concrete apron behind the house, discharges from wash hand basins which usually go into the open drains are prohibited. (Hung, C. 1976) Furthermore, the water engineers in Singapore always monitor the level of the river pollution. They will detect and trace the cause if there is an increase in the level of pollution. In 1979, Singapore was able to monitor 42% of the whole country. (Liu, O. 1979). Water supply has also been a big issue for Singapore, since it is a small country that only has limited water resource Singapore has to carefully plan and encourage the citizen to use the water wisely otherwise, this country could experience a water shortage. Back in 1990, Singapore was experienced an unusual period of dry weather which was caused the reservoir stocks to dropped to 68 percent from 95 percent (Public Utilities Board Annual Report 1990, 31 December 1990, pp 12). In order to prevent history to repeat itself, in recent days Singapore has four major water sources which are called National Taps. National Taps consist of water from Johor, water catchment from reservoir, desalinated water and recycled water called NEWater. Almost half of Singapores water demand was fulfilled by the imported water (water from Johor) the water agreement between these two countries was begun in 1927. These countries made another agreement in 1961, 1962 and 1990, the 1961 agreement will expire o n 2011 while the other two will expire on 2061. Singapore has some water catchment areas those are located in Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, and so on. Water catchment is about collecting water especially rain water and processing the water so that it can be consumed by the society, when this water from water catchment are being used the used water is collected then treated again to produce NEWater. NEWater is the Singapores brand for their recycled water and it also another Singapores water resources. In the present, NEWater is mostly used by industry due to its cheap price and cleanliness moreover, it able to cover 30 percents of the industrys water needs. Another water supply comes from desalination process whereby sea water is collected and treated so that the salt is extracted and the water becomes drinkable water. However, this type of water is not famous among the people compared to the other three sources it is because this type of water is more expensive due to its technology to transform sea water become into drinking water. The challenges that PUB has to deal with are not only how to cope the demand of the society but also how to reduce the demand. As there is an increase in the number of population in Singapore, the demand for water has also increased. In 1950s when the population of Singapore was about 1 million, the daily consumption of water was only 142,000 daily per capita the consumption of water increase by more than 100 percent in 1960 when the population had increased to 1.6 million by 1970s when the population reached 2.4 million, the demand for water had gone up to 262 liters per person per day. However, this is not the only factors that make the demand for water increase. Industrial development and better standard of living are the other factors which make the demand for water raise. In 1950 there were only about 580 industrial organizations with 10 or more workers. In 1970s, the number of industrial company went up to more than 2,900 companies. This made the water consumption increased fro m 50,000 cubic meters to 170,000. Water is still relatively cheap compared the other commodities and with the increase in living standard, people tend to be more liberal with the use of water. (Liu, O. 1979). Today, the population has increased to about 4.6million while water demand has grown 1.3 million cubic meters per capita. To anticipate this problem, PUB tries to seize the use of water through pricing, campaign, promoting and encouraging ownership. Pricing of water is an efficient and effective mechanism in encouraging customers to use water wisely. The water is priced to recover the full cost of its production and to make people realize that the natural supply of this precious resource is decreasing. . The water tariffs and water conservation tax were restructured over a 4-year period, starting in 1997 and it is valid for domestic and non-domestic consumers (except for domestic consumers using more than 40 cubic meters per month. Before 1 July 1997, the first 20 cubic meters of domestic consumption for each household was charged at S$0.56 per cubic meters. The next 20-40 cubic meters were charged at S$0.80 per cubic meters. Non domestic consumption of more than 40 cubic meters per month was charged S$1.17 per cubic meters. From year 2000 onward, domestic consumption of up to 40 cubic meters per month and nondomestic uses were charged at a consistent rate of S$1.17 per cubic meters. For domestic consumption of more than 40 cubic meters per month, the tariff became S$1.40 per cubic meters, which is higher than non-domestic consumption. The earlier cheaper block rate for the first 20 cubic meters of domestic consumption was eliminated. Furthermore, PUB also tries to lower the water usage by conducting a campaign for example, in 24 June 1995 PUB launched a campaign called Save Water Campaign at Bedok waterworks. This campaign was held to make the Singaporean realize that water conservation is vital to their future and also to encourage the community to use the water more prudently and effectively. During the campaign month, seminars on water conservation were given to students and workers, PUB had also invited the students, workers, and community groups to visit the water plants. Moreover, water rationing was also exercised during this campaign. The purpose of this training was to let the Singaporean experienced the difficulties and inconvenience of water shortage. Additionally, PUB also made many advertisements through mass media to make people aware about the campaign. Advertising materials such as, posters stickers, leaflets were distributed island wide. The campaign slogan and logo was also printed in the PUB bill envelopes on that month 155 litres of  water  daily per Singaporean Hung, C. (1976). Water pollution and its control in Singapore. P.100-112

Blakes View on Oppression of Children by Adults Essay -- William Blak

Blake's View on Oppression of Children by Adults Blake was a poet who wrote in the Romantic period. He had idealistic views about life, and believed that the traditional country way of life was the best way to live. He despised the industry that was establishing itself in England because it was the opposite of the ideal country lifestyle that Blake idealised. The idea that Blake believed that children were oppressed is an interesting one, because, there are a number of poems which suggest different ideas about this topic. The poems that I will be using to address this issue are ‘The Echoing Green,’ ‘Nurses Song,’ from innocence and the ‘Nurses Song,’ from experience. ‘The Echoing green,’ is quite a positive poem. The image of the sun rising: ‘The sun does rise,’ on the first line symbolises new life beginning and immediately establishes a positive tone to the poem. In the second stanza Blake writes, ‘Such, such were the joys When we were all, girls and boys, In our youth time were seen On the echoing green.’ This image shows that the memories of the old people when they were children are of the ‘joys†¦On the echoing green.’ This doesn’t suggest that they as children were oppressed. The use of the word ‘joy,’ shows that people were happy to see them playing, and that they were happy too. Blake uses an image of children sitting about their mother’s knee, he writes, ‘Round the laps of their mothers Many sisters and brothers.’ This image of children around their mother’s knee is an image of security and safety. The fact that they feel they can sit about the knee of their mother, in this stereotypical image of a happy family doesn’t suggest that the children in this poem are oppressed... ...y has a negative view of the childish desire for play which clearly has an effect on the children. The fact that they the are whispering shows that they are afraid of the nurse, and that they cannot express their true thoughts and desires freely, which is why they whisper, and therefore shows that Blake feels that children are oppressed. I feel that the two poems from innocence which are ‘The Echoing Green,’ and ‘The Nurses Song,’ display Blake’s ideological view of country life which I referred to in my introduction, and show his desire for childhood to be enjoyed. But the ‘Nurses Song,’ form experience shows the reality of life: that it is hard, and people, like the nurse in the song aren’t happy and full of joy, like the memories of the old people in ‘The Echoing Green,’ and therefore, Blake’s poetry confirms the view that children are oppressed by

Media Censorship Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Censoring Essays

Media Censorship Today there is much controversy over whether there should or shouldn’t be censorship of the media. Censorship should not be imposed on citizens by the government or other agencies; adults have a right to view or listen to what they choose. Additionally, if children’s media is censored, parents are the ones who should monitor and regulate it. Parents should be the ones to monitor children’s viewing of television and also what they hear on the radio, CD’s, and tapes. Censorship includes the examination and blocking of books, periodicals, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports, and other communication media that is shown to, or available to the public. Media censorship is sometimes put into place because content is immoral or obscene, heretical or blasphemous, seditious or treasonable, or injurious to the national security. It is supposedly used for the protection of the family, the church, and the state. Additionally some religious groups, opposed to the violence shown in different types of media, say censorship works. Still more that believe in civil rights think that it is an unnecessary violation of the right to freedom of speech for all humans. Censorship of the media for children is necessary, but should not be handled by government or other groups. Instead it should be directed and controlled by parents. Censorship for children is necessary because the average American view’s 100,000 acts of violence on TV before reaching t...

The Surprise Party

The Surprise Party At eight o’clock of the evening of my lucky birthday, I was alone at home grumbling and frowning, shouting furiously and pitying myself for my misfortune. I thought it was going to be a special day filled with presents and fun, but all I received was a â€Å"Happy Birthday†. All of a sudden, the electricity cut off and there was a complete darkness in the house. I couldn’t do anything therefore I decided to go to sleep and end this unlucky day. Out of the blue in that quiet night, I heard a sudden noise coming from downstairs. I was startled and terribly shocked. I suspected that someone broke into the house. Immediately, I tried to phone my parents, but I had no answer. I phoned the police but my mobile was without credit! After a couple of minutes of fear, I started to calm down. Although in the meantime I heard more noises of people talking, I made some courage and started heading for the basement. As I slowly reached more and more the basement, I guessed there were more than one person, but I found it hard to believe. There couldn’t be a lot of people in our basement! Courageously, I opened the door of the basement. There was a complete darkness. There wasn’t a single noise. However, as I approached, I heard some laughter and confirmed that there were people. All of a sudden, the lights were on and there were my parents and friends cheering at me. It was a surprise party!! On a table where there were the cake and the food, there were the precious presents that I wished for a long time.