Social Policy and Its Application to Social Services Provision

Private problems become public issues when an individual’s problem/problems spill out into the community for example youth homelessness. Youth homelessness is greater than you might think in May 2008 it was thought that there were over 75000 youths at risk of becoming homeless, mostly due to the breakdown of the family or the introduction of a step family, 65% of these young people experienced violence as their family broke down and 20% experienced sexual abuse. The really sad thing about the number of youths at risk of homelessness is, in order to be detected as at risk something extreme has to happen e. g. the young homeless person was arrested for causing a disturbance or ends up in hospital after a violent incident. Mostly when families breakdown we as a community know nothing about it (their family problems are kept private) this becomes a public issue which may require the creation of a â€Å"policy for dealing with social issues†, when we see young people sleeping rough or the crime rate increases as the homeless person steals to feed them self. Over the years there has been significant research and development of policies which are aimed at combating homelessness among the 16-25 year olds and in 2002 the homelessness Act was endorsed by the Scottish parliament after it was highlighted that the numbers of homeless people sleeping rough in our cities, could affect the tourist trade, which in turn would affect our economy, this act extended the definition of priority need to include new groups of vulnerable people including youths. This Homeless act means that young people are no longer turned away from hostels; in fact there are hostels that are just for young people (these hostels help protect the young people on the streets from abuse i. e. prostitution) This homeless act also made local authorities develop homeless strategies e. g. the housing and support team that we have in West Lothian. Due to new policy the numbers of young people sleeping on the streets is few, and the ease of access to information/services means homeless people have hope and can access services before they actually become homeless, which in turn combats drug/alcohol abuse (which also relieves pressure off the NHS) and crime statics. 2. Social policies come about due to various influences. Nationwide statics are gathered for various reasons and as a result these figures/statics can and do bring around change in policy or even the implementation of new olicies e. g. it was found that the number of people binge drinking and requiring hospital treatment was on the rise, so the government created a policy that it was illegal to have happy hours in bar’s and it was illegal for shops to have two for one offers on alcohol. Another way the government is influenced to change or create policy is through pressure groups. Pressure groups don’t have to be official bodies or organisations like â⠂¬Å"fathers for justice†, they can be a group of people who are concerned about an issue in their community e. . a group of concerned parents petitioning the government about the lack of services for teenagers in their area (youth club) due to the planned closure of the community centre. Social policies can also come about if there is a threat to society e. g. terrorism, after 9/11 the pass port policy changed, before 9/11 children were able to travel on their parents passport, after 9/11 the policy changed and now everyone needs a passport regardless of age. Before 9/11 we could travel within our own country (Glasgow-London) without a passport now we can’t. Policies have also changed after public outcry. After the abduction, rape and murder of a child in England by a convicted paedophile, who had been housed in the area on his release from prison. The policy that gave these people anonymity was reviewed and changed, so that anyone who is concerned about an adult, who is working with children, can ask the police if they are a risk. 3. The mixed economy of care came about due to the governments of the 1980s being concerned that the place for the care of people should be provided from within their communities and that the â€Å"sense of community† would be lost as people stopped â€Å"looking after their own†. People would stop contributing charitably to the community and the people in it ( popping in on a neighbour to give her a break from her ill husband or running to the shop for an older person as well as fund raising and legacies), as it would become taken for granted that the state would provide everything i. e. ousing and Health Care as well as meals on wheels and respite, as a result, people would not feel like it was their job to help themselves, their community or their neighbours, that it was the states job, and so the fear was the sense of community would be lost to dependency on the state. The mixed economy of care means that different services collaborate/works together in order to provid e a service for an individual which not only meets their needs, but makes sure that the care being provided doesn’t over lap i. e. one care plan is made for the individual and all the required services work within this plan. Our government as it is now (2009) has picked up where the 1980/90s left off (they carried on where the last government left off instead of returning to state provided care) and is working towards a â€Å"mixed economy of care†, it has identified 4 sectors of care provision i. e. statutory, private, voluntary and informal. The statutory sector is care what is provided by the state for example benefits, cars for the disabled and access to health care e. g. occupational health (home adaptations). The private sector offers care as part of a business for example private nursing care, respite and private pensions. The voluntary/charity sector provide care that is funded through fundraising and donations and offers things like lunch clubs (help the aged), meals on wheels (WRVS) and hospital transport (red cross). The final sector, the informal sector comes by way of care provided by a non professional/specialist; this could be family, the community (neighbours) or friends who give up their time to look after their community and the people in it. The informal sector saves the government and NHS millions of pounds every year as their contribution relieves the need for official respite services and health care and it’s free. The Community Care Act 1990 came about as in order to fulfil the recommendations /objectives that the white paper (1989) Caring for People had identified (the enabling of older people to live independently for as long as possible in their own home, practical support for carers, guidelines for quality individual needs assessments and accountability for service providers and the quality of care they provide) new legislation was needed, thus the community care act (1990) was passed. Nowadays we see people living and working in our community who, not so many years ago, would have lived their lives in institutions or sanatoriums without any human rights or even choice, but now with implementation of individual/ person centred care plans/assessments, designed with the individuals needs, rights, circumstance and abilities in mind, as well as making access to different care services more easily available e. g. upported accommodation/residential nursing care, benefits, disabled employment (Remploy), occupational therapy, day care and befriending, not only are the individuals needs being met, the human rights of these individuals are being recognised. The individuals who were once locked away from the rest of society without any rights, choices or quality of life are now (with a little help from the care in the community act) living, working (Remploy) and contributing in and to communities (Volunteering in a charity shop). 4. Funding for different care services comes from various sources for example the services that are state/government services e. g. benefits, NHS departments (occupational therapy) and pensions are funded mostly through income tax, VAT, and national insurance, but not all of these services are completely free for example an older person who requires residential care will have to contribute financially if they have enough of an income or assets to cover the cost, they will also receive little or no help financially if they have a private pension i. e. they will have to pay for glasses and prescriptions. Funding for the local authority care services is much the same as central government funding comes firstly from the annual government grants as detailed in the 2009, amendment of the local government finance act 1992 Scotland order. Funding also comes from council tax income, business rates, licensing (alcohol) and recycling. While all this income generates wealth it does not mean everything is free and individuals will still contribute via user charges. Voluntary/charitable organisations also contribute to care services through fund raising and free care service i. . volunteers. There is also the Scottish post code lottery which has funded community projects as has the national lottery. Legacies also contribute to the financing of a service. 5. European commission was established in 1954 and has members from every country in Europe (two from the UK) its job is to form policy and legislation that protects the individuals’ human rights. They give the country an amount of time t o comply adequately to any new policy/legislation, before the country is taken to the human rights court e. g. he Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment, in employment and occupation. The minimum standard (directive) as stated by the EC included the protection of equal rights. The regulations (which must be implemented immediately) for this act included equal employment opportunities (promotion). Sometimes new legislations/policies cost money to implement and it falls to the local authority to decide how best to do this, finding the money often results in other services suffering through smaller grants e. . the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources (â€Å"Renewables Directive†) the local authorities are obligated to implement these directives within a set time frame. The local authorities have to find the money, this is usually through council tax and money they make through council busin ess e. g. Neighbourhood Recycling, this in turn affects the care service and volunteer services by reducing the budget or funding they receive and possibly a rise in taxes and rates. The guide lines that come from the EC are a bit like expectations for example the government/EC expects local planners, architects and developers to take into account crime prevention when designing streets for example, this is to provide a safe and secure environment (your human right to live in a safe/secure environment) The duty to make this happen falls on local authority that, for example would have street/security lighting and the installation of CCTV as a condition of the planning application or they could create a local policy that says new housing schemes will only receive planning approval if there is security lighting fitted as standard.

Contribution Margin and Break Even Analysis

Many factors come into play in determining business success. One of them is the financial factor. For a company to set financial goals it is crucial that its management know in detail the products or services they sale or provide. This is the analysis of two different scenarios at Aunt Connie's Cookies Simulation (University of Phoenix, 2011) and the financial performance of Jamestown Electric Supply Company (Heiter, et. al. 2008). During both analysis I applied concepts like fixed and variable costs, contribution margin, break-even point, indifference point, and operating leverage. Aunt Connie's Cookies Scenario Simulation  The Aunt Connie's brand grew successfully producing Lemon Creme and Mint cookies. Maria Villanueva is the current chief executive officer of this family-owned company (University of Phoenix, 2011). She faces critical decisions to make because both the lemon creme and mint cookies prices increased and sales volume decreased. Maria should apply several accounting concepts to reach her goal of increasing sales and revenue for the company. Some opportunities and challenges lined up for Aunt Connie's Cookies like large bulk orders and the buyout of a competitor's factory (University of Phoenix, 2011). A confectioner commissioned Aunt Connie's Cookies to fill a bulk order of one million packages of the Real Mint cookies delivered in one month's time. The stipulations of the order weights greatly on the company as the confectioner will only pay $1. 20 per package, which is much cheaper than the mass market selling at $1. 50 per packet. Rejecting the order may seem foolish as Aunt Connie's Cookies has the capacity to produce the order, and could be missing out on a good opportunity if she declines to fill the order (University of Phoenix, 2011). In deciding which cookie's production to reduce, Maria took into account the concepts of contribution margin, unit contribution margin, and operating profits. This decision was necessary to create sufficient capacity to accommodate the mint cookies bulk order. The contribution margin is the amount of money that remians from the revenue obtained after sales to pay for fixed expenses and to contribute to the operating profits after deducting variable expenses. Alternatively, the unit contribution margin of each unit sales, in this case each pack of cookies adds to profit. Finally, operating profit is the profit earned from a company's core business operations, also known as earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). Maria calculated the contribution margin and the unit contribution margin for each type of cookie, determined to reduce the production of lemon creme cookies and to increase the production capacity for the bulk order of real mint cookies. Maria can sell mint cookies at $1. 20 per package, below the selling price of $1. 50 because the real mint cookies provide a greater total contribution margin and that the lemon cream cookies provides a greater unit contribution margin. Maria knew that Aunt Connie's Cookies should produce more of the cookies with the greater contribution margin per unit to maximize the shop's operating profit. If the scenario changed, and the bulk order was for lemon cookies, Maria would have to turn over the order to the confectioner. The unit contribution margin for the lemon cookies is smaller and Maria would have to increase the production capacity to make the same operating profit as for the mint cookies, to the point of going beyond the factory's production capacity. Maria faced the opportunity to buy a peanut butter cookie plant. She could use this plant to make more lemon creme cookies because the near-term demand exceeded 600,000 packs. The challenge for Maria is to make a decision about going forward or not with this business (University of Phoenix, 2011). If the new plant has a break-even volume of creme cookies of 650,000 packs, Maria must ensure that Aunt Connie's Cookie shop sales the same amount of packs or more. If the business sales less, it will make a loss, if it sells more, it will be a profit. The break-even point in volume is the point where the plant's fixed expenses are covered. In the case that Maria considers Aunt Connie's Cookie shop cannot sell that much, she may ensure viability of the plant by (1) trying to reduce the fixed costs (e. g. renegotiating rent, reducing telephone bills, insurance, etc. ), (2) trying to reduce variable costs (e. g. purchasing at lower cost the ingredients used to make cookies), or (3) increasing the selling price of the cookies. Any of these strategies can reduce the break-even point in volume. In the worst of the scenarios, Maria should not buy the peanut butter cookie plant. Key Learning Points. During the simulation I applied several concepts such as contribution margin, break-even point, fixed and variable costs, indifference point, and operating leverage. All these concepts interrelate and form part of the cost volume profit analysis tool. The application of these concepts by managers help organizations attain good financial performance. Cost volume profit analysis (CVP analysis) is a powerful tool that can help managers in understanding better the relationship that exists among the cost, the volume, and the profit in a business. Managers can make good business decision if they concentrate in trying to understand the interaction that exists among (1) the prices of product or services, (2) the level of activity, (3) the volume of product , (4) the variable cost per unit, (4) the total fixed costs and (5) and the mixture of the product or services. Business decision may be about changes to company's pricing policy, selection of a marketing strategy to use, choosing which products to manufacture or services to provide, and even about the acquision of new companies. The break-even point (BEP) is one element of CVP analysis. BEP is the level of output at which the profit is zero. Break even analysis helps managers determine how far sales can decline before their companies start to lose money. The indifference point is the volume at which costs for both labor-intensive operations and equipment intensive operations are equal. When volumes increase, revenues increase. However, the presence of lower variable costs per unit in equipment-intensive operations ensures that the operating profits increase more significantly when compared to labor-intensive operations. Equipment-intensive operations have higher fixed costs and lower variable costs per until when compared to labor -intensive operations. Jamestown Electric Supply Company. Jamestown Electric Supply Company has been in business for 45 years. The company designs, manufactures, and delivers electrical supplies in various forms to different type of businesses. Jamestown invested heavily in research and development of automotive electronic technology to provide its customers with modern functionality, safety, and performance. Jamestown products have outstanding features that create competitive advantage to commodities that customers regard as standard features on all automobiles. Jamestown has hundreds of diverse contracts with different divisions and plants of each of the major automobile manufacturers. Most of the contracts show good gross profit margin on sales, but others do not show acceptable bottom-line profits or show no profit. Although Jamestown's sales, continue to rise, profit declined in the period under analysis from 2003 to 2007 as showed on Exhibit One. Jamestown top managers believe that if sales growth remained positive, the problems with the profit would resolve. Warehousing and shipping managers think that customer service expenses are out of control and causing significant cost increases for the company. Jamestown customer services include overnight delivery of electronic component products, just-in-time inventory deliveries to client's plants, warehousing of client parts, special part support services, and many other customer services designed to gain and maintain clients. Exhibit One. Jamestown Electric Supply Company Income Statements for 2003 to 2007. Electric Supply Company financial performance is in jeopardy and top management have to change its customer service policy and marketing strategy after carefully analyzing the information obtained after performing a CVP analysis. The focus of the analysis should be in understanding the relationship between product price, volume, per unit variable cost, and the mix of products sold by Jamestown Electric. Calculating the contribution margin on the products which Jamestown Electric sales will allow management to know more in detail how much each unit sale will contribute to the company profit. Calculating the break-even point will provide information about which products do not bring either profit or loss, and about how far sales can decrease before Jamestown Electric starts to lose money. James Electric product cost structure has a higher percentage of variable costs than in fixed costs, which involves less operating leverage or risk. One of he options management should consider is to closely monitor the variable expenses incurred by customer service in order to increase the company profits. Jamestown Electrical Supply Company management will definitely benefit from setting a regular schedule to analyze contribution margins either monthly or quarterly to track product margin performance more accurately. Conclusion Managers can help their organizations achieve a good financial performance when they apply basic accounting concepts in their business strategic plans. Knowing the existing relationship between these concepts contribute to ensure their organization's financial success.

Global disaster management Essay

Disaster management became global; financial resources together with the establishment of several associate and group organizations sprang up. Mass media took up the root with each major and minor disaster reported universally. Disaster tradition were formed and disseminated by the mass media. Until this global agenda was affirmed, environmental issues were still in their infancy and the number of research or consulting organizations focused on disasters was exceptionally small. The concern of disaster research units (mainly university-affiliated) and disaster management units in public administrations only became noticeable in the second half of the century in the late fifties. By the start of new millennium, the number of disaster-related organizations had grown exponentially. The U. S. government alone has no fewer than twenty-six major agencies as well as dozens of regional offices dealing with disasters. There are a further ninety-five specialized units established for contradictory disaster situations. To this can be added eighty U. S. domestic non-govermental organizations (NGOs). This number can be used as a rough suggestion of the same process occurring all through the Western world. The sharing of disaster-related global-based agencies likewise grew, comprising over ninety major public agencies with offices all through the world. This guide of the globalization of disaster management also supported the hold of public administration on the area of disasters. It has also led to interagency divergences and problems of management, as well as protective imperatives, turf wars, and competition (International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, 1996). What was evident at the national or state level-at which public administrations subjugated the definition of disaster, who was capable to be a disaster victim, what help would be afforded, and so on-was now extensive at the global level by other forms of public administration in diverse guises. As some critical reports have noted, the results have been at the similar mediocre levels of disaster management (on a larger scale), where in several cases such â€Å"assistance† was more unfavourable than supportive. The most observable of these have been linked with the droughts in Africa, where NGOs and international aid have in fact harmed more people than they have helped.

Contemporary Issues in World Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Contemporary Issues in World Politics - Essay Example International trade is one of the aspects of the global political economy that are prominent with regards to international relations. Foreign investment is one of the resultant aspects of economic globalization. As nations continued to advance technologically after the industrial revolution, better means of transport and communication led to the movement of investors beyond political boundaries, especially during the colonial period (Oatley, 2011). As economies expanded, trade grew and exchange of goods and services between investors from different countries continued to grow. This made international trade a phenomenon of political scrutiny. The political view point depicts foreign trade as different from domestic economic activity (Jeffrey et al. 2000). Foreign trade between different countries generates various political issues that are of interest to the nation state, particularly issues regarding the financial and military security of a country. A nation exporting products to a foreign country increases its monetary wellbeing and also promotes job creation. Nevertheless, national security may be jeopardized especially if the product is used to strengthen a foreign country’s military strength (Gilpin, 2001). For example, the discovery of gun powder by Chinese researchers in the 11th century led to a great transformation of the world order by the 17th century and subsequent centuries. China as a nation state could not achieve the military might of European countries that resulted from the application the invention of gun powder (Friedberg, 2005). On the other hand, importing leads to the development of dependency of the receiving nation on foreign countries. It also leads to a reduction in national reserves thereby contributing to inflation. Moreover, local businesses as well as the labor market are threatened. On the other hand, the importing nation may experience security concerns

To what extent did diplomacy effect the rise of the modern state from Essay

To what extent did diplomacy effect the rise of the modern state from 1648-1815 - Essay Example 1997). This requires a less teleological view of the emergence of the modern state by placing far more emphasis on the interrogation of the ostensible and hidden motivations of the diplomats of each era, who after all were the catalysts for change in the political arena. The ‘Westphalian’ state arose from the chaos of more than hundred years of European power struggle and it was brought about by the fiscal and military exhaustion of the participants. The need to put an end to the human, financial and environmental devastation brought the parties together in a five-year long diplomatic undertaking, with the goal of establishing collective security and a balance of power. Agreement was finally reached in 1648 on a new configuration of Europe that curtailed the power of the Holy Roman Empire and increased the number of member states substantially to allow sufficient numbers of states to form alliances that would constitute a ‘balance of power’ to avoid future c onflicts. The Peace of Westphalia also empowered diplomacy to be the first and foremost means of maintaining security. Also enshrined in the ‘Westphalian peace treaties’ was the ideal that ‘state interests’ prevailed beyond all other reasons, based on the hope that princes would not let themselves be ruled by ‘disorderly appetites’ (Nathan J., 2002). It was thus firmly established that from then on, secular state interests were to be of primary importance and they were to be guarded by loyal, professional servants of this state, who were skilled in states craft and diplomacy. The underlying aim was to achieve that no one state could ever again gain supremacy. Many of the theories underlying the negotiations of Westphalia, had their origin in the politics of the Italian city-states but it was in Munster and Osnabruck that they were consolidated and shaped into rules and regulations, which from then on occupied politicians and theoreticians alike (Cruz, L. 1997). The value the Italians had placed on diplomacy had depended on ‘balance of power’, counteracting the dominance of Venice with the alliance of the remaining four states, under the watchful eyes of Lorenzo de Medici and Ferdinand of Naples, whose vigilance acted as ‘preventative diplomacy’ (Rucellai and Guicciardini in Sheehan, M., 2002). There were, however flaws in the system set up in 1648 that were not present in the Venetian, particularly in relation to diplomacy and the concept of ‘balance of power’, which in the much larger European theatre lacked clear definition and prominence. Most importantly, however, there was no diplomatic mechanism in place during peace times and no watchful group of sovereigns as there were in Venice (Treasure, M., 2003). This effectively meant that every act of aggression could directly lead to war, in the absence of a diplomatic charter that would prescribe arbitration and despite the fact that ‘recourse to arms was outlawed’, (Nathan, J., 2002) The treaties of Westphalia called for ‘great conferences’ in the case of impending conflict (Grotius cited in Nathan, J., 2002), but the ‘collective response’ was to prove problematic in the coming decades, as few states

Movie Piracy Hurts the U.S. Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 13

Movie Piracy Hurts the U.S. Economy - Essay Example The estimated loss in millions because of movie piracy cannot be substantiated; it hurts the economy because IP protection costs for firms continue increasing, brand value and sales are lost, consumers get low-quality goods and the government continues to lose tax revenue. The first way that movie piracy hurts the economy is that it results in lost sales and brand value for companies, in addition to the costs incurred for increased Intellectual Property (IP) protection. Guaranteed protection of these companies is possible when the proprietors get limited exclusive rights to the economic rewards provided by the market for creating products. According to a report released by the U.S Government Accountability Office in 2010, there are many negative, economic effects arising from piracy and counterfeiting on the U.S economy (3). However, based on this report, the many claims that piracy has led to the loss of many American jobs and the loss of millions of U.S dollars are not valid (U.S Government Accountability Office 11). It is as a result of this statement that critics argue that perhaps there are little or no negative economic effects of movie piracy on the U.S economy. Today, movie piracy is so common that a person does not necessarily need advanced c omputer skills to gain access to illegal movies. Of course, this is a move that has led to companies looking for advanced ways of protecting their IP, which is known as costly affairs. If movie piracy was non-existent, new copyright companies in the entertainment industries would not lose their creative work without getting paid for their work. Essentially, piracy of movies is part of the reason contributing to lost sales and brand value for so many movies in the U.S. The second way that movie piracy hurts the economy is because leads to consumers getting low-quality goods and their safety risks increase.

Unemployment in the US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Unemployment in the US - Research Paper Example The term unemployment benefits is used to refer to the partial, temporary income given to workers who lose their jobs as a result of no fault of their own, and are able and available to work (Florida Department of Revenue). The funds are aimed at improving personal welfare and social security during the given period, and unemployment, in this case, means temporary lack of work (Baicker, Goldin and Katz 228). Unemployment benefits help individuals to level expenditure when affected with loss of jobs, and give those unemployed a chance to get a new, well-matched job. It can be argued that unemployment benefits are providing a vital but often disregarded purpose by reducing the insecurity connected with modern labor markets. Because job insecurity is connected with concerns about potential economic safety, economic support during unemployment may lessen the negative effects of job insecurity on employed individuals well-being. However, unemployment benefit systems have two main drawback s: they are often costly to employers, employees, and the state; and while they reduce the hardship of unemployment, in addition, they tend to increase the underlying unemployment problem. Abuse of unemployment benefits comes in various forms that affect almost every person receiving the benefits. It also affects those that are in employment since it is taxes, which are used by the state and federal governments in order to raise the funds required to pay the said benefits. One of the causes of unemployment in the United States is the high cost of doing business; in a way, those companies and other stakeholders in the job-creation market cannot sustain a large number of employees. In this regard, businesses are not in a position to have all necessary members of staff to cater for their needs and operate various posts in different capacities. This is because all businesses are out to cut the costs of operation and the even

U.S and the world Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

U.S and the world - Research Paper Example Get directly to the point, prove the point critically from the evidence, and conclude your paper. This paper should be between 8-10 pages, the cumulative work from both papers.   One of the key focal points in the American history that aim to solve the enigma of the isolationist policy of American politics is indeed very interesting to study. The birth of a new nation undoubtedly sparked the interest of international nations as well. After the Spanish American war, the Americans wanted peace and stability of mind. Undoubtedly, the US could remain as an isolationist as it continued to expand outward. Even looking back at history, the country’s attempt to remain an isolationist during both World War II was not susceptible. The US verily had to enter both World Wars since it became a leader in the Western frontier. The United States returned to isolationist foreign policy since domestic problems plagued the country. Furthermore, Europe was in chaos itself and the US could not afford to indulge itself in such petty issues. However, one can argue that the isolationist policy did have some ramifications towards American diplomacy. The United States embodied the foreign policy of isolationism into an international role because it wanted to strengthen its capitalistic economy, address reform, acknowledge immigration and continue to pursue its beautiful American dream even though it lost threshold in foreign affairs. The colonies themselves wanted to be domestically involved as many had entered American in search of new provisions. The roots of isolationism were well established years before independence [2]. A brilliant testament towards this theory can be clearly seen through the decision of the Continental Congress to reject help from France during the War of 1812 [4]. The notion of America to remain independent was because of the exerted influence by the forefathers and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

International economics theory to real world issues Assignment

International economics theory to real world issues - Assignment Example It looks comprehensively at the issues plaguing international trade and its promise of increasing wealth for countries. International economics concerns itself with the effects on economic activity of global differences in productive resources and consumer preferences or tastes and the international institutions that affect them. The aspect of international economics seeks to explain the patterns and results of transactions and interactions between inhabitants in different countries. The aspect of international economics includes international trade, migration, and investment. International trade being one of the key pillars of international economics is supposed to be a voluntary exchange occurring with all the participating countries expecting to gain. Free trade increases access to goods and services that may be lacking in some countries (Enderwick 222). For this reason, in international economic, trade bridges the differences in terms of goods and services. It follows the laws and rules of supply and demand to cater for the demand of areas with low supply of certain goods and services from areas with a high supply of said products and services. International trade promotes specialization and the division of labor increasing output and consumption. As a result of international economic interdependence, economic conditions and policies in one country increasingly influence economic conditions in other countries. In addition, international trade abides by some fundamental international economic principles such as standard exchanges. The comprehension of international trade is important in critically understanding its importance and how it is the backbone of today’s increasingly globalized modern, commercial world. It helps in understanding how producers in various countries try to profit and benefit from an expanded market rather than being limited to the market within a single county. It

Police Application Process Essay Example for Free

Police Application Process Essay The different steps in a typical police application process include the following: A written test. There are two written tests in the selection process: The first test is the Alberta Communication Test (ACT) and The Alberta Physical Readiness Evaluation for Police (A-PREP). There is a Screening Interview were the applicants is contacted by a File Manager to arrange a one-on-one interview. The purpose of this interview is to discuss and outline expectations of the selection process. Following the screening interview there is a panel interview, which involves three members of the Service (Recruiting Unit File Manager and two others selected from other areas) they will ask general questions related to the applicants application. Something that every police service uses is the Polygraph Examination. The polygraph is were many applicants have failed and have been asked to leave. The polygraph exam is a test that examines the applicant’s honesty, integrity and suitability for employment, A Psychological Assessment follows which will assist in determining suitability for employment as a police officer. Look more:Â  google recruitment process essay A Security Background Investigation is completed to examine the applicant’s previous record, This may include: A Employment and character reference check and a Credit check. The Selection Committee consists of Senior Officers (three Inspectors and the Chief Human Resources Officer) . The Applicant files are presented to the committee for review and consideration. The Applicant does not attend this stage of the process. The committee selects the most suitable and best-qualified applicants. Following the selection committees decisions there is a final step, which is the Occupational Medical Exam. This is a medical exam conducted by the occupational health provided for the city that the applicant is applying in. I believe the Physical Readiness Evaluation would be the most difficult because someone who may not be physically fit probably wouldn’t be able to complete the A-PREP. Due to the number of different challenges the individual would have to be physically fit.

PR In Travel And Tourism Sector

PR In Travel And Tourism Sector Travel and tourism is consists in selling services, and services are hard to manage. Thats why PR and Promotions are widely used here. In this assignment I will look at real importance of PR and its role for Travel and Tourism industry. I will try to determine criteria for evaluation of PR effectiveness, skills a PR specialist need and types of media available for PR specialists. In last practical part of the assignment I will try to create a PR plan for a luxury hotel and will look at criteria for evaluation of a PR plan. Task 1. Evaluate the importance of PR in Travel and Tourism sector. 1.1 Role of PR as a promotional tool. There are many definitions of PR, such as the process of creating positive image in third partys minds or practice of managing information flow between an organization and the public. All these definitions have a common point: PR is used to shape the favorable image of a product, organization, and individual; to help a business to meet its objectives effectively, efficiently and successfully. The target of PR is Image (positive in most cases, sometimes negative) and the tool used to achieve it is called publicity. Publicity can be positive or negative, and not always can be controlled by the organization. Natural disasters are not controllable by companies managing travel resorts, these disasters however will bring lots of attention of media and damage profits. Scandals and bad rumors about a celebrity person face of a company cannot always be controlled. Some people say that there is no such thing as bad publicity any publicity is good. This statement is arguable, as bad publicity may create bad image of the business. PR is closely related to marketing activities of the organization, the targets and objectives of both departments are interrelated and often very much dependent on results of each other. The objectives of marketing are to introduce product to a customer in the right place at the right time, sell the product on the market. PR helps to achieve these objectives by making public (market) aware of company and its products, creating good image of the company. PR is part of Promotional mix (Advertising, PR, sales promotions and direct selling). PR is closely related to advertising, helps to make people aware of a product/business, getting attention of various public and making sales and profit. Various public includes customers, shareholders, community, general public (potential customers), money lenders However PR and advertisement are different, advertising are controllable, costs more, less credible and PR means less control, lower costs, more credibility. Different uses of PR include press relations, product publicity, corporate communication, sponsorships, influencing specific groups (community). They all work in different way, but all have the aim of building a good reputation, attracting attention, creating good image of a product or a company inside (corporate communication) and outside the company. Important use of PR is defending product reputation through large amount of positive publicity, covering negative image and scandals related to a product/company. 1.2 Importance of PR in travel and tourism. PR is important promotional tool for Travel and Tourism. It has multiple purposes, such as promoting an event or destination, building reputation of a company as green and responsible citizen, detracting attention of public from negative events (accidents, natural disasters). Lets look closer to different uses of PR in Travel and Tourism industry Promotional tool. PR is used alone or with other elements of promotional mix. The aim of promotion is create positive impact on public. An organization may wish to promote new activity, change in objectives, change in management, etc. PR is very important here, as promotion will be going through press releases, press conferences, sponsorships and prizes in competitions, invitation of journalists to try new activities (hotel, attraction, flight) for free. Communicational tool. Internal and external communication is very important areas of business existence and PR is widely used in both of them. Internal communication means communication with companys employees. Is often underestimated, which may result in bad morale and affect quality of products and especially services of the company. Service part is very important for tourism industry, as most of the products here are paired with services. External communication means keeping external parties (customers, shareholders, etc.) informed about changes in business. Is usually done through media releases, conferences with invitation of important guests (where the news are communicated face-to-face). Creating awareness. Awareness means attention and credit from public (customers, investors, money lenders), is important for any business. Awareness may be general, created through advertisement, supporting local charities; orientated to special person/organization as business plan presented to money lenders (bank); a simple note about changes in opening hours in the shop window. Awareness is important part of PR activities as it gets attention from existing and new stakeholders and creates base for building relationship. New hotel or travel resort opening will be served will waste publicity to bring public attention and create awareness. Building credibility. Credibility means successful operation of business. PR is important here as simple advertising will not have the same effect as well done press release (people tend to pay better attention an article than to annoying adverts). Advertising is done and hidden in journalist review of restaurant or attraction, special press release about Eco project. The key of success here is first-hand experience, Tourism industry sells experience mostly. Sky resort will prefer article in national newspaper written as third party experience to simple advert. Crisis management. Managing negative publicity is another important task of PR. Bad things happen and cannot always be controlled. Negative rumors can ruin tourism business, as customer experience and good reputation are vital part of tourism services. Overcoming negative consequences and covering them with positive publicity (press releases, official apologies, consequences management plan) is part of PR. After consequences of tsunami 2011 in Japan were liquidated national tour operators invited travel agents and journalists from around the world to visit Japan, to raise the credit and attention of the public again and bring sales to devastated national tourism. Sponsorship of an event, competition, charity is an effective way of gaining and maintaining good reputation. It has other benefits: is a way to work together with other organizations, establish relationship for mutual benefits, please important stakeholders by presenting them VIP passes to events (such as free VIP Olympic Games passes were presented to travel agencies staff by Games sponsors). Task 2 Evaluate the effectiveness of PR in Travel and Tourism business and skills necessary for effective PR. 2.1 Determine the range of PR and promotional skills. Successful PR activity requires certain skills from people engaged in it. In PR quality of information is more important that its quantity, quality PR is the key to success for a Tourism business. Lets look closer at important for PR person skills: Recognizing good opportunities quickly. Opportunity is a window to success. The crucial point here is to see good, creative, profitable opportunity and maximize it, use it before competitors do it. This skill forms with education and experience; studying, practicing and constantly refining experience is the way to maximize the PR potential. Find information which is really interesting for a presenter (press, media). Not all the information is of value for the media, press is only interested in colorful, well written and hot stories. Recognizing the value of potential story quickly and presenting it to the media in the right way is valuable knowledge for a PR person. The ability to choose the right media and offer information to necessary people is very much also important. Ability to present information well (in internal and external publications). Is basic PR skill, requires ability to write grammatically correct, present information in interesting and creative way (style, layout, language, use graphic components as tables and images). Creativity is an important here. Communicational materials (brochures, newsletters, magazines, reports) are of huge use in any business, helping to research and influence the market (promote, draw attention, build image). Ability to draw attention of right people to organization activity. The Importance of PR events cannot be underestimated. Press conferences, functions, opening parties, exhibitions help to bring attention of important people, to establish relationships, get positive feedback in the media. Presence of important people at an event (such as potential investors or journalists) is crucial here. Ability to build customer relations. This is interpersonal skill and partially formed with experience. However, the base of relationship is natural, personal ability to listen, communicate well and gain empathy of strangers. The ability to find what customers want and need is crucial to building positive customer relations and bringing public attention. 2.2 Effective use of PR in Travel and Tourism. Case study: budget accommodation (youth hostel) in central London As we already know PR is crucial for setting and enhancing image of the company. The use of PR may be positive (new product launch) or negative (crisis management). Lets look closer at the case study. Piccadilly Hostel is large youth hostel in Central London. It has 7 floors, 300 bedrooms (dormitories of 4, 6, 8 and 10 people and private rooms), able to accommodate 700 guests at a time. The hostel is the only business of Piccadilly Hotel Ltd. Marketing function here starts with 4P marketing mix (product, price, promotion and place). Product is quality accommodation in central London, closed to underground station and main tourist attractions. The hostel sets budget price, orientated on youth travellers and people who is simply travelling on a budget, people from all around the world. Promotions hostel is reaching its customers via online advertisement, direct e-mails, social media (Facebook, Twitter), working with international travel agencies and posting on comparison websites such as Trip Advisor. Place the hostel sells most of its beds online, directly on the website or through travel agents. Promotional approaches used are: Sales promotions, direct marketing .The hostel sets price offers in off-peak periods, e-mails vouchers and money off coupons to its former customers, sets price offers for big groups of people and customers who stays for long time. Educational visits. Hostel works closely with various travel agencies and investors groups. The representatives are often invited for short educational tour (observe the hotel facilities) and to try the hotel facilities (stay in the hotel). Advertisement and articles online and in social media. The hostel regularly advertises online, places articles on international travel websites around the world (TripAdvisor, Expedia). Hostel has official accounts on Facebook and Twitter, using them to communicate to fellow customers and post latest price offers and news. Street advertising. Piccadilly Hostel places advertisement on a huge electronic billboard next to closest underground station, where it can be seen by many tourists every day. By combining different means of PR and advertising Piccadilly Hostel gets attention of public around the world and acts as successful business with huge customer base, represents interest for potential partners and investors. Task 3 Understand the use of media in PR applied to Travel and Tourism. 3.1 Types of media used by PR. The term Media relates to print, broadcasting media, electronic and on-line media (relatively new and becoming increasingly popular), face-to-face contact. Printed media. Newspapers, magazines, journals and directories and catalogues always played huge role in advertising and PR activities of Tourism industry. Press releases covering new hotel or attraction, brochures about a companys services (hotel, flight, and travel agency), articles in newspapers and magazines, printed directories for travellers with contact information of attractions and venues have always been of large use in Tourism. Printed press can cover large amount of customers at a time at relatively low cost, it can be addressed to a specific group of customers (business magazines, free newspapers read by large group of potential travellers, etc.). Is mobile, gives opportunity to calculate readers response by special coupons, has additional credibility factor (advertisement in form of news or review article). Press presents experience in interesting, colorful way. Is important for Travel and Tourism industry which relies on selling mostly experience. Broadcasting is often referred to radio and television, although cinema, theatre and relatively new electronic and social media form part of broadcasting media. Each media has own advantages and disadvantages, thats why broadcasting media often used in complex. a) Television has always been widely used in PR for promoting products and services (especially by FMCG companies). It can cover large amount of customers in real time, can be zoned (divided by regions, different PR can be used in different areas), is interactive (provides opportunity for real time responses and sales), is popular, can be viewed at customers home in comfort. b) Radio is owned and listened by large amount of people, is very mobile (doesnt require a special set, can be listened on the go via mobile phone), real time and up to date, broadcasts 24/7. Although radio has disadvantages no picture can be transmitted, which is not good for advertisement of a travel destination. c) Cinema and theatre are important media for Travel advertisement, as customers can be shown a colorful advertisement (restaurant, tourist destination). People cannot skip a cinema ad, and tend to be loyal and less annoyed by advertising as they came to the cinema/theatre to enjoy. Electronic media appeared not long ago, but getting increasingly popular, especially in youth auditory; with advantages as low cost, popularity, coverage of different audiences, real time operation. Websites, social media, direct e-mails provide good mean of communication, PR, sales. Sales and reviews of new product (new flight, attraction) can be done through own website for free or through partners website for a fee (travel agency). Online accounts on social media (Facebook) give opportunity for live updates and real time customer communication at low cost. Review websites as Trip Advisor provide free, real time and credible reviews of tourism business. The popularity of electronic media is rising with growing use of computers and Internet, low cost mobile Broadband and free Wi-Fi hotspots. However, the disadvantage here may be the need of special equipment (computer, tablet, smartphone) and special skills to use it. Sponsorship is a mean of attracting attention to companys services, creating favorable image in the community (customers), widely used in Tourism business. Travel channels, competition sponsorships, celebrities using services of a company, tourist services featured in movies (resort, flight) are good means of PR. Often public doesnt notice the PR part in it, such as movie featuring a resort or celebrity choice of flight/hotel. Sponsorships however are expensive (although very effective) means of PR. 3.2 Uses of PR in Travel and tourism business. Different types of media have different advantages and disadvantages. The choice of appropriate medium means careful work and depends on nature of event or product promoted. The PR person can choose from editorials (printed media), press conferences, product presentation events, educational visits. Editorials are presented in form of news article, although have indirect function of advertising. Paid as advertisement by a company but controlled by editorial media staff. Editorials are liked by Tourism businesses because of credibility factor and presentation in form of first hand (journalists) experience. Editorial doesnt look like advertisement (getting more attention of public) but acts in advertising way (attracting attention, creating good image). Examples are promotional articles about hotels, flights, resorts in newspapers and magazines. Press conferences are used to make a special announcement, demonstrate new product. They are attended by journalists from different media (press, broadcasting, electronic) and used for spreading message across different media simultaneously, in real time. Press conferences have benefits of being personalized, real time events (opportunity of asking questions, establish important contacts). The disadvantage here is the possibility of difficult questions (which need to be answered) and not knowing how many guests will exactly turn up. Press conference is ideal mean of crisis management (such as accidents and natural disasters handling which unfortunately are common for Tourism industry). Product launch is a big and less formal occasion, usually is opening party. Is aimed to bring attention and get reaction in media. It can be a cocktail reception, dinner, seminar, with invitation of journalists, celebrities, partners, potential investors, senior members of community. The presence of TV at the event is welcomed as live translation is good for the host company. New resort openings, new jet demonstrations, festive parties organized by large companies (with invitation of journalists and celebrities) are common for Travel and Tourism. Educational visits are popular in Tourism business. Visits involve inviting journalists; travel agencies/partners staff to experience the product (new hotel, resort) in first hand. They are aimed to bring popularity, increase sales, show product to partners (sellers). Its often followed by advertisement-article describing (usually in good way) the experience. These visits are also used as educational aim for travel agency staff (helps to know better he product they sell). Sales promotion is separate part of promotional mix, however, very closely related to PR and often used as PR tool. Is short-term price incentive to boost sales, making money is main target here. Usually used in off-peak periods, can be used all around the year. Vouchers, discounts, money off coupons, loyalty cards are part of sales promotions. Most air carriers have loyalty programs, giving discounts and presents for frequent customers. Task 4 Create PR plan in Travel and Tourism context. 4.1 Create and explain PR plan using Jeffkins model. Francis Jeffkins created 6 points PR planning model, arguing that planning can be done in 6 simple steps. Effective PR doesnt happen by accident, it needs to be carefully planned. As any plan, PR plan has objectives, strategies and actions. The objectives may change with time, PR planning is constant process and reflects any change in circumstances and always uses any free or low cost opportunity for publicity. Most popular and widely accepted model is Jeffkins model consists in: Situation Analysis (Research) analyzes current situation as SWOT, mission and values of organization, external factors as pressure groups activity and competition. PR plan should fit in overall marketing planning and never go against goals and mission of the company. PR plan research however needs additional research of target audience and its preferences, effective media, etc. Establishing the Marketing Objectives part includes defining objectives (goals), strategies and tactics. Most popular objectives of PR plan are creating awareness (new product, new management, new charity program); build credibility (make people believe that the publicity is coming from third party and not a planned and paid effort of the company self); increase sales; build good image; defend declining image and lower promotional costs. Objectives are never static, they change together with circumstances. Defining the Target Audience (Publics) is defining relevant audience and researching issues important for given audience. Building right message for the right public is crucial for success of PR plan. Important thing here is creating messages that dont deny each other (for different groups interests) and carefully check that a message is not offensive for other, not target, audiences. Media Selection. The media will bring the message to the target audience, choosing the right media means choosing best way to achieve the audience. Media available for PR specialists include printed press, TV and radio broadcasting, conferences and events (charity events, sponsorships, opening parties, press conferences), Internet (quite new but already very powerful mean of communication and PR). Establishing a Budget. PR, as any other activity of organization should be cost effective and budget planning helps to find optimal cost-result way for PR. Some PR activities come for free (as word of mouth) but most are paid and sometimes quite expensive. The costs include salaries of PR staff, agents and media fees, costs of setting up events and sponsorships, etc. There are hidden costs that need to be counted for, as costs of free promotional items (food samples, hotel rooms) and revenue lost because these items were not sold (opportunity cost). Implementation and Control. Implementation is about making PR plan work. Not all press releases or online articles will be published, grand openings and sponsorships need to be reflected about in media to get attention and make PR plan work. Making PR events interesting for media and establishing good relationship with media owners is crucial point of PR plan implementation. Control is an important point as it shows how effective PR plan was (by comparing forecasted results of PR activity with actual ones). The control points may be presented by sales, brand loyalty, market position, attention from the public, etc. Practical task: PR plan for Opening of new branch of luxury hotel. Hilton is international hotel chain providing luxury services for travellers. It plans to open new hotel in London, UK. PR specialists created plan to undermine the opening. Situation analysis. London is huge city with developed network of accommodation for any pocket, including luxury services, the competition is great here. There are still areas in Central London with great potential where no luxury accommodation exists. Hilton is brand recognized worldwide with brilliant reputation. Corporation plans to build luxury accommodation and bring new life to the Central London area, with casino and bars, luxury shopping center, 5 star dining and strictly guarded hotel access to protect privacy of the guests. Target audience includes celebrities, members of worldwide governments, wealthy businessmen, famous music and movie stars. PR campaign will consist of: Press conference before even starting the building works to draw attention of journalists worldwide. Articles about Hilton Corporation featuring plans for new hotel in London in press around the world, TV broadcasting during music shows and concerts to draw attention of general public and make people talk about new hotel. Constant updates in worldwide press and TV about how building, decorating, furnishing works are going to keep the public interested, TV program featuring new hotel when is ready to open. Inviting worldwide famous chefs, barmen to work for new hotel venues, featuring this on the TV worldwide. Grand opening party with concert of the worldwide famous stars; journalists from around the world and other important guests, welcoming of the stars, journalists and guests to stay for free after party. The media used are press, TV for their worldwide coverage and ability to reach target audience: celebrities and stars mostly. Internet will be used as secondary media, featuring new hotel in blogs and celebrity websites (is cheaper that TV) The budget of this PR plan is huge, constant TV broadcasting; final opening party, famous chefs to work at Hilton and free night for the guests will cost fortune. The Hilton Corporation will make sure it has the money to cover building works and PR campaign. 4.2 Identify and explain ways to determine the effectiveness of PR plan. PR is part of Promotional mix and comes in scope with other elements. Thats why checking the effectiveness of PR only as promotional tool may be difficult. The possible ways to see how effective PR is are: Exposures in the media is attention from the public brought by PR. Ways to measure it are online and press comments, search engine ranks, positive discussions in the media, raise in public awareness. PR agencies supply clients with clipping books showing all exposure achieved in a time period (for example last month) in all the media (TV, radio, press, online). However, exposure may be hard to count (is impossible to know exactly how many people seen the TV ad) and quantity of exposure solely doesnt show PR effectiveness (not all the exposure may come from target audience). For example, aircraft presentation will bring exposure from the public in form of online comments and discussions, video viewings online, TV and radio discussions not paid by the company owing the aircraft. All this exposure will be carefully checked and measured to see how effective the presentation was. Awareness from the public is another way to measure PR effectiveness, is change in public attention due to PR event. Is measured in research, checking how well people witnessed PR event (presentation, opening, news) can recall this event. Awareness is effective way to check stand-alone PR activity. However is not so efficient when PR event went together with other promotions (sales promotion, advertising). If hotel opening event was supported by advertising is hard to tell which of these two brought more attention. Attitude change is one of the key objectives of PR campaign and a way to measure its success. Any PR activity will result in attitude change which is monitored in researches. On-line panels, phone or personal interviews will show the shift in public attitude before and after PR event. Promotional campaign showing benefits of ecotourism by travel agency will raise the demand and positive attitude of public to ecotourism. Surveying the people after the campaign will show how effective it was. However, attitude shift may not only be the result of this given PR campaign (but other related news and articles, not related to given campaign). Popularity of ecotourism may be partially the result of government campaign or activity of green groups. Media relations as way to measure success of PR plan are about level of cooperation with different media. Successful PR campaign will raise the attention of journalists and make them want to be part of the campaign now and in future. Thats why journalists, important people from the media and various celebrities are often invited grand hotel openings, new aircraft presentations, new tourist destination launches. The more famous guests are present, the better will be attention in the media. Contribution to profits is most effective way to measure PR plan success. Raising sales and profits are best news for company directors. PR plan is part of overall company activity though and raising sales may not be the result of PR campaign only, is hard to determine exactly which percentage of sales was contributed by PR activity. Any PR plan has own objectives, determining how effectively and efficiently these objectives achieved is the way to see effectiveness of a PR plan. PR plan, however forms part of overall business activity and promotional mix, is hard to measure effectiveness PR plan individually. Conclusion Importance of PR is hard to underestimate, it helps tourism businesses grow and expand, make profit in quickly changing circumstances. It is relatively new, but growing more popular area of science, with demand for good PR specialists. PR is about creating and managing the image of companies, products and whole industries and Travel industry is not an exception.

Introduction to Physiology and Pharmacology

Introduction to Physiology and Pharmacology The aim of this experiment is to prepare a sample of guinea pig ileum and to determine the contractile dose response curve to acetylcholine and dose response curve to carbachol and biological variation. Abstract In this experiment pharmacological effect of acetylcholine and carbachol are studied by using an isolated tissue preparation, which is a guinea pig ileum. The contractile property of the smooth muscle is used for the straightforward measurement of the force it produces as an indication of effect. The ileum is a part of the intestines among the pyloric sphincter and colon. The ileum has a tube of muscle and epithelial layers, innervated by bundles of fibres. The muscle layers have inherited contractility. The contractility is transformed by the nervous inputs in the myenteric plexuses. In the myenteric plexuses the ganglia linking pre and post ganglionic neurons with acetylcholine act to transmit among them. The muscle layer makes the tissue shorter and pulls the tube together. So the muscle lengthens the tissue little bit. Acetylcholine can stimulate the contraction when it is released from the enteric nerve terminals onto the muscle layers. In the enteric nervous system are the muscarinic g-protein coupled receptors. Those receptors mediate a biological response an acetylcholine agonist. The cells of the muscle form gap junctions with each other and so are electrically coupled, allowing for smooth coordinated contractions that underlie peristalsis. The ileum was kept continually in the oxygenated Tyrodes solution. The temperature of Tyrode solution was maintained at 32 Celsius. The contraction or relaxation of the piece of tissue was attached to an isotonic transducer. An instrument, which converted changes into electrical current and that, was used to drive a pen recorder. Method: For the second experiment the time was reduced to 4 minutes from 8 minutes. Description of the results Acetylcholine Average % Max Response Dose Response Height Percentage Maximum Response Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 A 0.00000001 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 B 0.00000003 0.00 1.00 45.00 0.00 0.87 10.47 3.78 C 0.00000010 1.00 10.00 85.00 1.00 8.70 19.77 9.82 D 0.00000030 3.50 115.00 220.00 3.50 100.00 51.16 51.55 E 0.00000100 100.00 110.00 430.00 100.00 95.65 100.00 98.55 F 0.00000300 80.00 100.00 380.00 80.00 86.96 88.37 85.11 Carbachol Average % Max Response Dose Response Height Percentage Maximum Response Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 A 0.00000001 40.00 20.00 0.00 3.28 3.23 0.00 2.17 B 0.00000003 20.00 20.00 0.00 1.64 3.23 0.00 2.15 C 0.00000010 240.00 100.00 5.00 19.67 16.13 5.26 13.69 D 0.00000030 280.00 170.00 40.00 22.95 27.42 42.11 30.83 E 0.00000100 560.00 620.00 80.00 45.90 100.00 84.21 76.70 F 0.00000300 1220.00 540.00 95.00 100.00 87.10 100.00 95.70 Discussion A more sophisticated organ bath could be used as the volume of the bath was filled visually. If it had a mark then the filled amount would be the same and no error would occur. Questions: The ileum is innervated by the enteric, sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system. The Myenteric (Auerbachs) and submucosal (Meissners plexuses) are the two plexuses of the enteric nervous system. The agonists Histamine and ATP cause peristaltis in the gut. (Morphin, cannabis drugs) A vehicle is a pharmaceutical ingredient (usually a liquid) used a medium for dissolving the active drug in a mass suitable for its administration. The transporting agent is used to increase the bulk or decrease the concentration of a mixture. Acetylcholine esterase cannot easily metabolise carbachol. Carbachol is a choline ester and does not well absorb in the gastrointestinal tract. It does not cross the blood brain barrier. Carbachol is a drug that binds and activates the acetylcholine receptor. It is classified as a cholinergic agonist. Applications are for ophthalmic purpose, such as treating glaucoma or for use during ophthalmic surgeries. It stimulates bladder emptying and for chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. Postradiation nausea and vomiting. Yes, the dose range for each agonist is sufficient to obtain a complete dose response curve. Both agonists reached a maximum response. EC50 11 No difference 12 13 14 15 Antiemetic can either reduce nausea or stop people from throwing up. Different drugs types and different strength are in use. The simplest indication is and simple motion sickness and to prevent nausea or for nausea. They antagonize the following receptors : 1-peripheral 5-HT3 receptor blockade on intestinal vagal afferents; 2-central5-HT3 receptor blockade in the vomiting center and chemo trigger zone. Use: because of the 5HT3 receptor antagonists in the chemotherapy it is inducing vomiting. Conclusion: Using tissues helps to overcome some problems. If a whole guinea pig is used applying orally a drug, it may complicate the interpretation of the observations. As a tissue is used in this experiment the following factors, such as absorption from the gut and its distribution throughout the body do not have to be considered when the response of a piece of isolated tissue is controlled. Agonists produce a biological response when applied to a tissue. From this experiment practically I gained that the produced size of response by an agonist depends on the dose. Each drug has a threshold dose. Under this dose no response can be spotted. Increasing the application of the drug over the threshold dose increases the response until it reaches a maximum value. Apart from the increased dose, the response will not increase. Using the term concentration made the comparison between the experiments easier. All the tissues from an animal (in this case guinea pig) may possibly response different to given drugs and make a respond from an amount of different tissues. The response from the guinea pig to acetylcholine and carbachol induced by fixed concentration different levels due to the biological variation.

The Canterbury :: Canterbury Tales Knights Essays

The Canterbury As April comes, the narrator begins a pilgrimage to Canterbury from the Tabard Inn at Southwerk. Twenty-nine people make the pilgrimage toward Canterbury and the narrator describes them in turn. The pilgrims are listed in relative order of status, thus the first character is the Knight. Chaucer describes the knight as a worthy man who had fought in the Crusades. With him is a Squire, the son of the Knight and a 'lusty bachelor' of twenty. The Knight has a second servant, a Yeoman. There is also a Prioress, shy and polite. She is prim and proper, sympathetic and well-mannered. The Prioress wears a broach with the inscription "All things are subject unto love." With the Prioress is her secretary (the Second Nun) and a Monk. The monk is a robust and masculine man who loves to hunt. The Friar, Hubert, is an immoral man more concerned with making profit than converting men from sin. The Merchant from Flanders is a pompous man who speaks endlessly on how profits may be increased. He seems grave, yet there is no better man, according to the narrator. The Clerk follows the Merchant. As an Oxford student without employment, he is impoverished and wears threadbare clothes. The Man of Law is a man who deserves to be held in awe. He knows the law to the letter and gives the impression that he is far busier than he actually is. A Franklin travels with him. He is a man who lives in comfort and is interested simply in pleasure, particularly culinary delight. There are also five guildsmen: a Weaver, a Dyer, a Carpenter, a Tapestry-maker and a Haberdasher. With them they bring a Cook. A Shipman is the next traveler, who comes from the port of Dartmouth, and with him a Physician. The Wife of Bath is next; she is a weaver who wears bright red clothing. She has been married five times (and had several companions as a youth). The Parson is an honorable, decent man who cares for his congregation and adheres to the teachings of Christ. With him is his brother, a Plowman, who is equal ly kind. The final travelers are a Miller, a Manciple, a Reeve, a Summoner and a Pardoner. The Miller is a large man with an imposing physique. The Manciple is from a lawyers' college and knows every legal maneuver. The Reeve is a slender man with a fiery temper.

Ferdinand Magellan :: essays research papers

Ferdinand Magellan was born circa 1480 in Sabrosa, Portugal. His father was Dom Ruy Magellan, a nobleman and sheriff. He was married to Donha Alda De Mesquite. He was born Fernà £o de Magalhà £es, but changed it later. Ferdinand Magellan had 2 siblings: a sister named Isabel and a brother named Diago De Souse. This aspiring explorer and adventurer spent his childhood as a page at the Portuguese court doing errands and chores. He also went to school at a monastery. When he was only 10 years old, Magellan’s parents died. About 5 years later, the King of Portugal died, and Magellan’s brother-in-law, Duke Manuel (sometimes called Emanuel), was made the king. In 1506, Magellan went to the East Indies, taking part in many exploratory and military expeditions in the Spice Islands. By 1510 he had been promoted to the rank of captain. However, his military glory ended after he secretly sailed a ship east without permission. Because of that, Magellan lost his command and had to return to Portugal. Magellan was expecting a decent job when he returned, but was in for a surprise. He only managed to get a lowly job at court, much like the one he spent in his childhood. Magellan asked the king for a higher paying and more respected job, but the king refused. From that experience, Magellan concluded that the King of Portugal didn’t like him one bit. It seems that Magellan got his plan for his famous exploration from his voyages in 1506 to the Spice Islands. It must have sparked the idea that maybe there was a west route to the Spice Islands, instead of the already-proven east route. Magellan proposed this idea to the Portuguese king, but funding from Portugal was refused.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Magellan, fed up with refusals from Portugal, moved to nearby Spain and became a citizen there. It was here that Magellan changed his name from Fernà £o de Magalhà £es to Fernando de Magallanes. He married a woman named Barbosa there. Magellan, determined, brought his plan to King Charles, the king of Spain, in 1517. The King approved of it and provided Magellan with funding! On September 20th, 1519, Magellan set out from Sanlucar de Barrameda with 250 men and 5 ships: the Trinidad, San Antonio, Victoria, Conceptio, and the Santiago. They started by sailing down the west coast of Africa, until they got to the equator. Then Magellan’s fleet turned west, to cross the Atlantic.

Importance of a Budget to a School

A budget can be defined as an itemized listing of the amount of all estimated revenue or income which the school anticipates receiving, along with a listing of the amount of all estimated costs and expenses that will be incurred during a given period of time (Wango Geoffrey, 2009:211). A school budget can be defined as a document or statement outlining a school’s revenue (income) projections against expenditure. A school budget can also be defined as a financial plan of funds that a school expects to receive and the expenditure it will take to achieve its educational objectives.The head teacher is charged with the prime duty of preparing a school budget. The budget is drawn based on the Board of Governors (BOG), School Management Committee (SMC) and Parents Teachers Association (PTA) resolutions on the school development and operations. A well-prepared budget should consist of three key components namely: revenue plan, expenditure framework and educational strategy which is a long term plan. A budget is important to an educational institution in the following ways: First, Budgeting ensures that actions are carried out according to a budget plan.Through the use a budget as a standard, the school ensures that programmes are implemented according to set plans and objectives. The actual performance is measured against budgeted performance. Secondly, a budget facilitates proper administration of financial revenues and other school resources. A budget is the basis for accounting for funds spent to achieve educational objectives. The budget also inspires confidence in the parents, education officials and the school community about the school’s leadership and general management.Fourthly, budgeting facilitates a systematic plan for evaluating the quality and quantity of services needed in a school. Next, a budget helps in the attainment of purposes. The budget states clearly the purposes for which the school was founded. Sixth, a budget confers authority t o head teachers to source for funds and expend it on approved expenditures. Finally, it enables teachers to obtain fairly accurate estimates of receipts and expenditures. These estimates help in balancing the budget and thus prevent budgetary deficits. Importance of a Budget to a School A budget can be defined as an itemized listing of the amount of all estimated revenue or income which the school anticipates receiving, along with a listing of the amount of all estimated costs and expenses that will be incurred during a given period of time (Wango Geoffrey, 2009:211). A school budget can be defined as a document or statement outlining a school’s revenue (income) projections against expenditure. A school budget can also be defined as a financial plan of funds that a school expects to receive and the expenditure it will take to achieve its educational objectives.The head teacher is charged with the prime duty of preparing a school budget. The budget is drawn based on the Board of Governors (BOG), School Management Committee (SMC) and Parents Teachers Association (PTA) resolutions on the school development and operations. A well-prepared budget should consist of three key components namely: revenue plan, expenditure framework and educational strategy which is a long term plan. A budget is important to an educational institution in the following ways: First, Budgeting ensures that actions are carried out according to a budget plan.Through the use a budget as a standard, the school ensures that programmes are implemented according to set plans and objectives. The actual performance is measured against budgeted performance. Secondly, a budget facilitates proper administration of financial revenues and other school resources. A budget is the basis for accounting for funds spent to achieve educational objectives. The budget also inspires confidence in the parents, education officials and the school community about the school’s leadership and general management.Fourthly, budgeting facilitates a systematic plan for evaluating the quality and quantity of services needed in a school. Next, a budget helps in the attainment of purposes. The budget states clearly the purposes for which the school was founded. Sixth, a budget confers authority t o head teachers to source for funds and expend it on approved expenditures. Finally, it enables teachers to obtain fairly accurate estimates of receipts and expenditures. These estimates help in balancing the budget and thus prevent budgetary deficits.

Establishing Strategic Pay Plan

INTRODUCTION The Companies Act, 1956 provides for a variety of companies of which can be promoted and registered under this Act. The three basic types of companies which may be registered under the Act are: †¢ Private companies; †¢ Public companies ; and †¢ Producer companies PRIVATE COMPANY Section 3(1)(iii),a private company means a company, which has a minimum paid up capital of one lakh rupees or such higher paid-up capital as may be prescribed , and by its articles: a) Restricts the right to transfer its share, if any ) Limits the number of its member to fifty c) Prohibits any invitation to the public to subscribe for any share in , or debenture of the company d) Prohibits any invitation or acceptance of deposit from person other than its member, directors of their relative. PUBLIC COMPANY Section 3(1) (IV), public company means a company which: a) It not a private company; b) Has minimum paid –up capital of five lakhs rupees such higher paid – up ca pital as may be prescribed; ) Is a private company which is a subsidiary of a company which is not a private company A public company may be said to be an association consisting of not less than 7 members, which is registered under this Act NOTE every public company existing on the commencement of the companies (Amendment)Act, 2000. with a paid-up capital of less than five lakh rupees, was required to within the a period of two year from such commencement, enhance its paid-up capital of five lakhs rupees.Where a public company failed to do so such company was deemed to be Defunt Company within the meaning of section 560. EMPLOYEE STOCK OPTION SCHEME (ESOS) Employee Stock Option Scheme means the option given to the Whole Time Directors, Officers and Employees of the Company which gives them a right or benefit to purchase or subscribe the securities offered by the Company at a predetermined price at a future date. THE MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948 ACT NO. 11 OF 1948 1* 15th March, 1948. ] A n Act to provide for fixing minimum rates of wages in certain employments. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 is designed to â€Å"prevent exploitation of the workers and for this purpose it aims at fixation of minimum rate of wages which the employer must pay â€Å"The minimum rate of wages fixed or revised may consist of the basic rate of wages to be adjusted according to the variations in the cost of living index number (cost living allowance).It also includes house rent allowance. The Payment of Wages Act 1936 – according ,all organisation employing less than one thousand employees must pay the wages before expire of the seventh day after the last day of wages period and before the expiry of the tenth day in case it employs thousand or more employees . all payment must be made on working days . n case of terminated employees all wages earned by them shall be paid before the expire of the second working day from the day employment is terminates. All wages must be paid in curren t coin or currency or by cheque or credit in the bank by prior authorisation. FIXING OF MINIMUM RATE OF WAGES. Fixing of minimum rates of wages. – ) fix the minimum rates of wages payable to employees employed in an employment specified in Part I or Part II of the Schedule and in an employment added to either Part by notification under section 27: Provided that the appropriate Government may, in respect of employees employed in an employment specified in Part II of the Schedule, instead of fixing minimum rates of wages under this clause for the whole State, fix such rates for a part of the State or for any specified class or classes of such employment in the whole State or part thereof; b) Review at such intervals as it may think fit, such intervals not exceeding five years, the minimum rates of wages so fixed and revise the minimum rates, if necessary: Concepts of Wages: While evolving, wage policy, three concepts of wages, viz, I) minimum wages, ii) fair wages, iii) living wages are generally considered.These are broadly based on the needs of workers, capacity of the employee to pay, & the general economic conditions prevailing in a country. Minimum Wage Minimum wage is one which provides not merely for bare sustenance of life, but also for the preservation of the efficiency of worker. For this purpose, the minimum wage must also provide for some measure of education, medical requirements & amenities. Fair Wage Fair wage is understood in two ways. In a narrow sense, wage is fair if it is equal to the rate prevailing in the same trade & in the neighbourhood for similar work. In a wider sense, it will be fair if it is equal to the predominant rate for similar work throughout the country. Living Wage Living wage is a step higher than fair wage.Living wage may be described as one which would enable the wage earner to provide for himself/herself & his/her family not only the bare essentials of life like food, clothing, & shelter, but a measure of frugal co mfort including education for children; protection against ill health; requirements of essential social needs; &/or measure of insurance against the more important misfortunes including old age. WHAT IS COMPENSATION? Compensation may be in the form of financial returns, tangible services, and benefits received by employees as part of their employment. It does not include other forms of rewards such as recognition and interpersonal relationships etc.Extrinsic Rewards are rewards that an employee receives because of the job itself, including cash compensation, benefits, promotions and job security. Intrinsic rewards come from the work environment and are valued internally by the employee. Job satisfaction, self-esteem, achievement, growth, and professional and personal development are some examples of intrinsic rewards. COPONENTS OF COMPENSATION SYSTEM Compensation systems are designed keeping in minds the strategic goals and business objectives. Compensation system is designed on the basis of certain factors after analyzing the job work and responsibilities. Components of a compensation system are asfollows:TYPES OF COMPENSATION Compensation provided to employees can direct in the form of monetary benefits and/or indirect in the form of non-monetary benefits known as perks, time off, etc. Compensation does not include only salary but it is the sum total of all rewards and allowances provided to the employees in return for their services. If the compensation offered is effectively managed, it contributes to high organizational productivity. †¢Direct Compensation †¢Indirect Compensation Compensation Strategy Strategic compensation is determining and providing the compensation packages to the employees that are aligned with the business goals and objectives.In today’s competitive scenario organizations have to take special measures regarding compensation of the employees so that the organizations retain the valuable employees. The compensation sys tems have changed from traditional ones to strategic compensation systems. OR Compensation Strategy is the organization’s plan for how compensation decisions on the types and amount of pay are made, based on the interests of the employees and keeping with the organization’s mission and competitive position in the market. COMPENSATION POLOCIES A compensation policy provides general guidelines for making compensation decisions. Some employees may perceive their firm’s compensation policies as being fair and unbiased and other may have different opinions.The result of these perceptions may well have an effect an employee’s perception of fairness and result in lower productivity or turnover. Pay leaders. Pay leaders are organizations that pay higher wages and salaries than competing firms. Using this strategy, they feel that they will be able to attract high-quality, productive employees and thus achieve lower per-unit labor costs. Market Rate: it is the aver age pay that most employers provide for a similar job in a particular area or industry. Pay followers: companies that choose to pay below the going rate because of a poor financial condition or a belief that they do not require highly capable employees Labor Market is the geographical area from which an organization recruits employees and where individuals seek employment .Market Rate is the rate of pay established for a â€Å"benchmark job† outside of the organization. It is determined though the collection of pay data gleaned from surveys of numerous organizations Forms of Pay Base Pay is compensation based on time worked, such as an annual salary or an hourly wage and it does not include pay benefits, overtime or incentive pay Performance Pay is a monetary onetime payment made to an employee, team or the whole organization for achieving results established at the beginning of a performance cycle . Merit Pay is a monetary reward given in recognition of outstanding performan ce which increases base pay. It may be paid in a lump-sum or added incrementally to base pay.Indirect Pay is part of an employee’s total compensation package, non-cash items or services provided to employees in return for their contribution to the organization (i. e. , health benefits, paid time off). Sometimes the costs for the items are shared by the PAY STRUCTURE Once job analysis has been done organizations need to decide upon the pay structures. Pay structure refers to the process of setting up the pay for a job in an organization. The process deals with internal and external analysis to estimate the compensation package for a job profile. Internal equity, External equity and Individual equity are the most popular pay structures. Job description provides the in depth knowledge about the job profile and its worth. Pay structures are the strong determinant of employee’s value in the organization.It helps in analyzing the employee’s role and status in the orga nization. It provides for fair treatment to all employees. Pay structures also include the estimation of incentives. The level of incentives also depends on the level of job position in the organizational hierarchy. †¢Internal Equity The internal equity method undertakes the job position in the organizational hierarchy. The process aims at balancing the compensation provided to a job profile in comparison to the compensation provided to its senior and junior level in the hierarchy. The fairness is ensured using job ranking, job classification, level of management, level of status and factor comparison. †¢External EquityHere the market pricing analysis is done. Organizations formulate their compensation strategies by assessing the competitors’ or industry standards. Organizations set the compensation packages of their employees aligned with the prevailing compensation packages in the market. This entails for fair treatment to the employees. At times organizations off er higher compensation packages to attract and retain the best talent in their organizations. Motivation is the activation of an energized goal-oriented behavior. It is seen not only humans, but even animals show a level of motivation to achieve their goals. People with a vision always control their destiny and the life they live.If a person is without a vision in life, he or she is controlled by the will of others and end up living a life not their own, but one that is on terms dictated by others. Everyone takes up a job as they are motivated by some factor or the other. Some are motivated by the challenge they will face in carrying out their job, some are motivated by the level of fame they may earn, others and majority of people are motivated by the money they will earn. The last factor plays a major role in making or breaking a company. People will work better when they are motivated enough with the pay scale, the incentives and the perks they are offered in return of a job well done. Introduction to Equity TheoryEquity theory helps propose the idea about individuals who think of themselves as over-rewarded or under-rewarded. These individuals will experience distress that tries to restore balance. Equity thus measures the contributions and benefits earned by each individual. It is not necessary one need to put in exactly the same contribution as the other partner, as long as there is a balance between contributions and benefits. Thus, every individual employee feels his contribution and work needs to be rewarded with equal pay. If the individual feels underpaid, s/he will come under distress and feel hostile towards the company. To avoid this feeling of hostility, equity theory comes into play. What is Equity?When individuals think their inputs are rewarded according to their outputs and are equal to others around them, they are satisfied. But when they notice others are getting more recognition and rewards, in spite of doing the same amount of work, they become dissatisfied. This leads to feelings of unworthiness and under-appreciation. This is the opposite of equity, wherein the outcome (rewards) are directly proportional to the quality and quantity of work of the employee. When all employees are rewarded equally, the general feeling about the organization becomes fair and appreciable. The following equation will help explain what equity is in a clear and concise manner:Individual’s outcome = rational partner's outcome Individual’s own input rational partner's input Equity Theory Examples As the main focus of the researchers moved towards employees and their motivation factors, following the Hawthorne Study results, there were many theories put forward to understand employee motivation. The following are the five major equity theory examples that have helped in understanding motivation. Maslow's Need-Hierarchy Theory: Maslow put forward five levels of needs of employees. These needs included physiological, safety, eg o and self-actualizing.Maslow put forward an argument that said the lower level needs of employees need to be satisfied before the next higher level need is fulfilled to motivate them. The motivation was categorized into factors by Herzberg; motivators and hygiene. The motivators including intrinsic factors like achievement and recognition help produce job satisfaction. The hygiene or extrinsic factors like pay and job security lead to job dissatisfaction. Vroom's Theory: This theory was based on the belief that employee effort leads to performance and performance leads to rewards. These rewards can be positive or negative. The positive rewards lead to a more positive employee ho is highly motivated. The negative rewards lead to obviously a less motivated employee. Skinner's Theory: This theory states that the positive outcomes will be repeated and behaviors that lead to negative outcome won't be repeated. Thus, managers should try to reinforce the employee behavior, such that it le ads to positive outcomes. Negative reinforcement by managers will lead to negative outcomes. Adam's Equity Theory Model: This theory shows that employees strive to achieve equity between themselves and their coworkers. This equity can be achieved when the ratio of employee outcomes over inputs is equal to other employee outcomes over inputs.Application of Equity Theory of Motivation When a manager is striving to achieve employee satisfaction, motivation levels, etc. then he should consider Adam's Equity Theory. Therefore, he should consider the balance and imbalance that is seen in the inputs and outputs of the employee. When we talk about equity theory, we use the terms input and output. An input is the contribution made on the part of the employee. This input helps determine his/her reward or pay. Some of the inputs made by an individual towards his/her organization include: †¢ Ability to do his/her job †¢ Adaptability around the company environment †¢ Flexibility à ¢â‚¬ ¢ Tolerance †¢ Determination Enthusiasm to complete a task or job †¢ Commitment towards his/her work and organization †¢ Hard work †¢ Loyalty †¢ Time given to the company †¢ Efforts take to complete tasks as required †¢ Personal sacrifice †¢ Trusting superiors when it comes to delegation and management †¢ Support given and taken from colleagues Outputs are the tangible and intangible rewards or pay given to an individual based on his/her inputs. These outputs include: †¢ Salary received in accordance to company policy, experience and work done †¢ Job security †¢ Employee benefits †¢ Recognition for work done †¢ Responsibility entrusted upon an individual †¢ Praise received Examining EquityThe process of assessing internal equity can serve to highlight many organizational problems. First compensation philosophies need to be identified and examined for fit with internal equity adjustment plans. Next, manag ers need to know whether the organization has the funds to implement such a plan. Questions that managers may need to consider are †¢ Is the pay structure properly defined or is it inadequate? †¢ What are employees making in comparison to those with identical skills and equally important experience? †¢ How are employees compensated for internally developed experience versus external experience brought with them to the organization? †¢ Is length of service valued? What is the turnover rate and what, if any, impact does internal equity have on it? †¢ Is the organization unable to attract candidates to a position because it cannot maintain market-competitive salaries? †¢ Has the organization needed to increase compensation for a position, resulting in it being higher paid than the same type of jobs with more skills or responsibilities, thus throwing salaries out of alignment? †¢ Does the organization have consistent hiring and promotion practices? EST ABLISHING STRATEGIC PAY PLANS STEP 1 SALARY SURVEY SALARY SURVEY Organizations have to bridge the gap between the industry standards and their salary packages.They cannot provide compensation packages that are either less than the industry standards or are very higher than the market rates. For the purpose they undertake the salary survey. The Salary survey is the research done to analyze the industry standards to set up the compensation strategy for the organization. Organizations can either conduct the survey themselves or they can purchase the survey reports from a reputed research organization. These reports constitute the last 2-5 years or more compensation figures for the various positions held by the organizations. The analysis is done on the basis of certain factors defined in the objectives of the research. Uses of salary surveySalary surveys are a consultative tool that employers and associations use to obtain salary information that is useful in determining the competitiv e wage rates needed to attract and retain competent employees. Employers can use surveys in different ways; as well as establishing a competitive salary structure, they can use the surveys to support their job evaluation system. When job evaluation and survey data are used jointly, internal and external equity are mutually reinforced. The focus of surveys tends to be on collecting base salary information and they can also be an effective means of researching trends in the design of benefits packages and pay systems. This explains how to identify salary surveys which are relevant to the needs of organizations within the not-for-profit sector, and specifically within community-based agencies.It also provides information on the meaning of some survey terms and discusses the value of survey participation. Objectives of Salary Survey †¢To gather information regarding the industry standards †¢To know more about the market rate i. e. compensation offered by the competitors †¢To design a fair compensation system †¢To design and implement most competitive reward strategies †¢To benchmark the compensation strategies Commercial, Professional and Government Salary Surveys BLS gives: †¢ Area wage surveys †¢ Industry wage surveys †¢ PATC surveys Private consultants Hay Associates, Heidrickand Struggles, and Hewitt Associates publish data covering compensation for top and middle managementTypes of Compensation Surveys There are two types of compensation surveys undertaken by the organizations. †¢Standard Surveys Standard surveys are undertaken by organizations on a regular basis. These surveys are conducted annually based on the organizational objectives. These surveys attempt to cover the same companies every year and provide the same time of analysis. The reports are published annually by the research organizations. The organizations willing to formulate their compensations strategies based on the surveys purchase the reports fr om the research organization. †¢Custom Surveys At times, a few organizations need to know some specific information.The surveys which cater this need are known as custom surveys. The organizations either higher research organizations to conduct theses surveys for them or they themselves conduct the survey by sampling few of the competitors on their own. These surveys do not have any time interval. They are undertaken as the need arises. Survey Reports The survey reports consist of the analysis and conclusion drawn from the evaluative data based on the objectives of the study. The reports also include the data, facts and figures to support the analysis and conclusion. The supportive data and annexure provided in the report form the basis for the un-biased conclusion and validation of the analysis. BENCHMARK JOBSA benchmark job is one well-known in the company industry and one performed by a large number of employees. In addition to surveys, there are other ways to obtain compens ation data. Some professional organization periodically conducts survey, as do several industry associations. The compensation Survey contains pays and benefits information. Compensation data are presented by worker traits and by characteristics of the establishment. The survey attempts to respond to common question from employers such as: What is the average salary for administrative assistants in my area? How have wage cost changed over the past year? How Have benefit cost, and specially health care cost, changed over the past year?What is the average employer cost for a benefit plan as opposed to a defined contribution plan? Useful Online Sources for Collecting and Analyzing Salary Survey Data This section lists websites which can be useful for managers in community-based organizations in Canada who are seeking salary survey data that is already published or available by subscription or who wish to conduct or commission a survey. Some sites offer information at no cost. Others re quire payment. †¢ Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) at www. csae. com †¢ Economic Research Institute at www. erieri. ca; and, www. salariesreview. com †¢ Human Resources Internet Guide at www. hr-guide. com †¢ Peter T.Boland & Assoc. Inc. at http://ptbaconsulting. com/NonProfitSurvey. html †¢ Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Surveys are available at www. statcan. ca †¢ Toronto Board of Trade at www. bot. com †¢ Vault Employer Research at www. vault. com STEP 2 JOB EVALUATIONS JOB EVALUATION Job Evaluation involves determination of relative worth of each job for the purpose of establishing wage and salary differentials. Relative worth is determined mainly on the basis of job description and job specification only. Job Evaluation helps to determine wages and salary grades for all jobs. Employees need to be compensated depending on the grades of jobs which they occupy.Remuneration also involves fringe benefits, bonus and other b enefits. Clearly remuneration must be based on the relative worth of each job. Ignoring this basic principle results in inequitable compensation. A perception of inequity is a sure way of de-motivating an employee. Job evaluation is a process of analyzing and assessing the various jobs systematically to ascertain their relative worth in an organization. Jobs are evaluated on the basis of content, placed in order of importance. This establishes Job Hierarchies, which is a purpose of fixation of satisfactory wage differentials among various jobs. Jobs are ranked (not jobholders) Scope of Job EvaluationThe job evaluation is done for the purpose of wage and salary differentials, demand for and supply of labour, ability to pay, industrial parity, collective bargaining and the like. Methods of Job Evaluation Analytical Methods Point Ranking Methods: Different factors are selected for different jobs with accompanying differences in degrees and points. In the point method, rates assign nume rical values to specific job factors, such as knowledge required and the sum of these values provides a quantitative assessment of a job’s relative worth. We will walk though an example of how the point method works. Select job Cluster Let us assume that we are going to develop a point system for an administrative job cluster. Identify Compensable FactorThe next selects the factors for measuring job value. These factors become the standards used for the evaluation of jobs. Determine Degrees and Define each compensable Factors The next consideration is to determine the number of degrees for each compensable job factor. Degrees represent the number of distinct level associated with a particular factor. The number of degrees needed for each factor depends on job requirements. If a particular cluster required virtually the same level of formal education fewer degrees would be appropriate than if some jobs in the cluster required advanced degrees. Evaluator must divided each facto r into number of degrees. Determine Factor WeightsThe committee must then establish factor weights according to their relative importance in the job to be evaluated. In our example let us example let us assume that the committee believes that education is quite important for the administrative job cluster and sets the weight for education at 35 percent. The weight of the other four factor were determined by the committee: Job Knowledge-25; Contact – 18; Complexity of duties – 17; and Initiate – 5. The percent total is 100 percent. Determine Factor Point Values The committee than determines the total number of point for the plan. The number may vary, but 500 or 1,000 points may work well. Our committee has determined that 500- point system will work fine Job Evaluation Worksheet (500-Point System) Job Factor |Weight |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | |Education |35% |35 |70 |105 |140 |175 | |Job Knowledge |25% |25 |50 |75 |100 |125 | |Contacts |18% |18 |36 |54 |72 |90 | |Complexit y of Duties |17% |17 |51 |85 | | | |Initiative |5% |5 |10 |15 |20 |25 | Factor Comparison Method: The important factors are selected which can be assumed to be common to all jobs. Each of these factors are then ranked with other jobs. The worth of the job is then taken by adding together all the point values. Non-Analytical Methods Ranking Method: Jobs are ranked on the basis of its title or contents. Job is not broken down into factors etc. Job Grading Method: It is based on the job as a whole and the differentiation is made on the basis of job classes and grades.In this method it is important to form a grade description to cover discernible differences in skills, responsibilities and other characteristics. Compensable Factors are the most important characteristics of a given job, on which pay rates are established and relative worth evaluated. They are determined by their ability to further an organization’s strategy and relate directly to the work itself. The four major cr iteria most often used to measure jobs are skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions. Job Evaluation Process: The job-evaluation process starts with defining objectives of evaluation and ends with establishing wage and salary differentials Objectives:The main objective of job evaluation, as was studied earlier, is to establish satisfactory wage and salary differentials. Job analysis precedes the actual programme of evaluation. Job Analysis: It provides job-related data which would be useful in drafting job description and job specification. Job description provides the information relating to duties and responsibilities. Job specification provides information relating to the minimum acceptable quality of an employee Job Evaluation A job-evaluation programme involves answering several questions. The major ones are: i. Which jobs are to be evaluated? ii. Who should evaluate the job? iii. What training do the evaluators need? iv.How much time is involved? v. What should be t he criteria of evaluation? vi. What methods of evaluation are to be employed? Wage Survey: Now that the job hierarchy has been established with the help of evaluation methods, it is time to fix wage and salary differentials. Before fixing such differentials, the wage rate must be ascertained. It is here that wage survey assumes relevance. Employee Classification: The last phase in the job evaluation process is to establish classification. Employee classification is the process of assigning a job title to every employee in the organization. Computerized Job Evaluations †¢ Other methods can be time consuming CAJE or computer automated job evaluation streamlines things †¢ Simplifies job analysis †¢ Increases objectivity †¢ Manages data †¢ Uses structured questionnaire and statistical models STEP 3 GROUP SIMILAR JOB PAY GRADE A pay grade is comprised of jobs of approximately equal difficulty or importance as established by job evaluation. †¢ Point method: t he pay grade consists of jobs falling within a range of points. †¢ Ranking method: the grade consists of all jobs that fall within two or three ranks. †¢ Classification method: automatically categorizes jobs into classes or grades Pay Structure Pay Structure is a hierarchy of jobs within an organization. Jobs are ranked based on content and value to the organization.The pay structure includes all the pay rates for different jobs within a single organization, factoring in the number of pay grades/levels with or without ranges, differences between grades/levels, and the criteria used to determine the differences. Pay Grade Pay Grade is a grouping of jobs of the same or comparable value to the organization. Each job within a pay grade will have the same pay range – minimum, midpoint, maximum. Movement to another grade is through promotions or demotions. Pay Range Pay Range is the upper and lower limit of pay rates to be paid for jobs in a pay grade, from minimum to max imum. Movement through a pay range is a result of experience, seniority, training, etc. Broad banding Broad banding is the condensing of multiple salary grades into several broad and wide ranging grades.Benchmark (or key) job is a standard job from either within the organization or outside the organization used as a reference point for pay comparisons. These jobs have relatively the same job content and there is not much difference in their rates of pay. Hierarchy (or Job Structure )is a ranking of jobs based on their value to the organization STEPS 4 PRICE EACH PAY GRADE THE WAGE CURVE The relationship between the relative worth of jobs and their wage rates can be represented by mean of a wage curve. This curve may indicate the rates currently paid for jobs within an organization, the new rate resulting from job evaluation, or the rates for similar jobs currently being paid by other organizations within the labor market..A curve may be constructed graphically by preparing a scatter gram consisting of a series of dots that represent the current wage rate Developing a wage curve involves the following: †¢ Find the average pay for each pay grade †¢ Plot the pay rates for each pay grade †¢ Fit the line called a wage line through the points just plotted †¢ Price the jobs STEP 5 FINE TUNE PAY RATE Correcting Out-of-Line Rates The wage rate for a particular job may fall well off the wage line or well outside the rate range for its grade, as shown. This means that the average pay for that job is currently too high or too low, relative to other jobs in the firm. You should raise the wages of underpaid employees to the minimum of the rate range for their pay grade. PAY RANGES A grade is a horizontal grouping of different job that are considered substantially equal for pay purpose ? Grades enhance an organization ability to move people among jobs within a grade with no change in pay. ? The objective is for all the jobs that are similar for pay purpos e to be placed within the same grade ? How many pay grades? A. Number of Jobs B. Organization hierarchy C. Reporting Relationships ? Pay ranges refer to the vertical dimension of the pay structure ? Each pay grade will have associated with it a pay range consisting of a midpoint and a specified maximum and minimum. ? Midpoints correspond to the competitive pay policy. ? Midpoints are the control point of range. The midpoints represent base pay for a seasoned employee. ? The midpoint can be determined as soon as the pay grade limit are set. ? Find the Job Evaluation point value in the centre of the pay grade. ? Substitute that point value for x in your equation of the pay line ? Solve the equation for Y. this value is the midpoint of the range. Range spread is a based on some judgement about how the ranges support career path, promotions & other organization system. Range spreads vary between 10 to 150 percent. Once the midpoint (based on the pay policy line) and range spread (based on Judgement) are specified, minimum & maximum are calculated Minimum = midpoint / [1+ (1/2 range spread)Maximum = Minimum + [range spread x Minimum] Pay ranges are a series of steps or levels in a pay grade, usually based on years of service Sample pay grade schedule PRING MANAGERIAL AND PROFESSIONAL JOBS What Determines Executive Pay? †¢ CEO pay is set by the board of directors taking into account factors such as the business strategy, corporate trends, and where they want to be in the short and long term. †¢ CEOs can have considerable influence over the boards that determine their pay. †¢ Firms pay CEOs based on the complexity of the jobs they fill. †¢ Shareholder activism and government oversight have tightened the restrictions on what companies pay top executives. Boards are reducing the relative importance of base salary while boosting the emphasis on performance based pay. Compensating Professional Employees †¢ †¡ Compensating professional employ ees, like engineers and scientists, presents unique problems. †¢ †¡Analytical jobs like these emphasize creativity and problem solving, compensable factors not easily compared or measured. †¢ Determining professional compensation presents another question how is ? performance? to be defined and measured? †¡ †¢ Compensable factors focus on problem solving, creativity, job scope, and technical knowledge and expertise. †¡ †¢ Firms use the point method and factor comparison methods, although job classification is most popular. COMPENSATING BASED PAY MEANINGCompetency–based pay means the company pays for the employees range, depth, and types of skills and knowledge, rather than for the job title he or she holds. Experts variously call this competency -, knowledge–, or skill -based pay. Why Use Competency—Based Pay? [pic] Competency–Based Pay in Practice Main elements of skill/competency/knowledge based pay programs: 1. A syst em that defines specific skills 2. A process for tying the person’s pay to his or her skill 3. A training system that lets employees seek and acquire skills 4. A formal competency testing system 5. A work design that lets employees move among jobs to permit work assignment flexibility [pic] ———————- 10 9. 0 8. 0 7. 0 WAGE RATES 100 200 300 400 POINT VALUE OF JOBS Salary Survey FACTOR COMPARISONRATE Extrinsic Reward Intrinsic Reward Compensation JOB RANKING INTERNAL EQUITY POINT SYSTEM JOB CLASSIFICATION ORGANISATIONAL FAIRNESS MARKET RATE INDUSTRY STANDARDD COMPETITORS RATE EXTERNAL EQUITY Determine Degrees and Define each compensable Factors Identify Compensable Factor Select job Cluster Determine Factor Point Values Determine Factor Weights Validate Point System Object of Job Evaluation Job Specification Job Analysis Job Description Job Evaluation ProgrammeWage Survey Employee Classification ESTABLISHING STRATEGIC PAY PLAN Jo b Evaluation Pay grade grouping Price Pay Grade- Wage Curve Fine–Tune Pay Rates Tune Rates Compensating Executives And Managers BASIC PAY Short-term Incentives Long– term Incentives Executive Benefits/perks Competency-Based Pay Supports High-Performance Work Systems Strategic Aims Performance Management PAY GRADE STRUCTURE 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 100 150 200 250 300 350 I II III IV V PAY POLICY LINE Our Monthly salary (‘000) PAY Our Job Evaluation Points EASTABLISHING PAY PLAN