Surveillance is increasingly being used in the workplace, what are the Essay

Surveillance is increasingly being used in the workplace, what are the cost and benefits for the business - Essay Example This study was conducted to investigate the implications of surveillance systems on companies such as the British Airways. It takes a look at the various ways in which surveillance systems affect consumers and personnel in actual scenarios. Looking at how surveillance is important or not for a business is significant because it proves to be a ‘necessary evil’ that may provide a lot of benefits than what is expected. But with the revision of rights of employees in the workplace, surveillance is now frowned upon as a form of breaching one’s personal space. When misused and abused, the utilization of surveillance in the workplace could lead to more complications such as lawsuits and other legal matters. Companies which are not built to handle these kinds of negative impacts may soon be well out of business, leading to great financial loss and ultimately to the closure of the company. On the other hand surveillance technology, if applied correctly will result to the o pposite; it may lead to customer and employee satisfaction which may lead to an increase on profit and therefore contributing to the growth and financial well-being of the company. This study was conducted primarily through research work with most of the references herein are taken from online sources which proves to be fairly reliable. One of the primary concerns of any business organisation is the satisfaction of their customers. The saying â€Å"the customer is always right† is universally followed by many of business companies around the world. Today, due to better definitions of labour codes a company must not only look upon the satisfaction of the customer but also of their employees. The employees are the backbone of any company for without them a company will be just a heap of unorganized set of ideas waiting to materialize. Though employees are important, there are quite a significant number of unscrupulous ones so a method must be devised to somehow monitor the activities of

Current Events and U.S. Diplomacy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Current Events and U.S. Diplomacy - Assignment Example The means used to fight include the media propaganda, Soviet propaganda, American propaganda and space race. The essay is going to define the presidential doctrine and summarize the global events during the Cold War leading to the formation of the presidential doctrine and describe the Cold War relationship that existed between Korea and the U.S before the presidential doctrine was announced. The paper will also describe the effects that the presidential doctrine has on the global affairs since it was announced during the Cold War and assess whether or not the presidential doctrine had the intended effect of altering the behavior of the Korea since the doctrine was first announced. Colucci (2012) stated that a presidential doctrine comprises of attitudes and key goals outlined by the president of a nation and most of the doctrines are related to the cold war. The global event that led to the formation of the presidential doctrine is the attack on Egypt by Israeli, British and French military forces because Gamal Nasser the Egyptian leader had taken hold of the Suez Canal. Watson (2003) stated that the Unite States of America withdrew their support in the construction of the Aswan Dam on the Nile River because of Nasser’s anti- Western nationalism and his close relationship with the Soviet Union. In response to the war that was happening in Egypt, President Dwight Eisenhower asked for authorization to start new programs of military and economic cooperation with friendly nations around the region. President Eisenhower also requested for the use of U.S troops to protect and secure the political independence and territorial integrity of nations that were fr iendly in the region. Lee (2013) stated that House of Representatives and the United States Senate supported the proposal of Eisenhower although some individuals were not happy with the open-ended policy for American action in the Middle

Challenges Faced by International Firms in Asia and Their Response to Research Paper - 1

Challenges Faced by International Firms in Asia and Their Response to These Problems - Research Paper Example As the paper declares, one of the problems of multinational companies in Asia, among many, is the â€Å"long, thin arm† problem, the assumption that it is adequate to think globally while acting locally and of course the absence of cross border integration in Asia. For the multinational companies to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive scenario that is now the face of global commerce.  According to the paper findings, the political stability within the country that a foreign investor takes interest in is crucial. When there is civil unrest or war, then the risks are raised sometimes to a point that the business venture is not worth undertaking. The government plays a major role in whether the investor in creating the ambiance to attract investor since it is the government that formulates policies on trade and other factors that influence trade. Risks that come with tax also acts as a restraint for multinational firms in Asia with China being the first with the high est tax-related risks. The Chinese government has tried to counter this by having a different taxation system for firms with foreign affiliations. The survey also indicates that firms found India’s taxation system as being the most complex. The feature of the Asian market that encourages foreign firms is that labor, though the cost of which has been rising, is still relatively cheap. When Western multinationals first came to Asia, they were impressed by the low-cost manufacturing operations that were presented by the continent.

Is the UK economy out of recession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Is the UK economy out of recession - Essay Example The wealth of the households residing in UK had increased drastically mainly because of the housing bubble and an increase in stock market. Aggregate demand nurtured the level of employment with its major portion stemming from the public sector. However, the recent financial turmoil undermined the economy and it was forced to sink into a serious recession. The percentage increase in GDP of UK had been stable over the past decade. According to the data it has been observed that a recessionary phase has been experienced almost after 18 years; last time it was observed in 90’s which is evident from Figure 1. As we know that, recessions are marked by a percentage decrease in GDP generally over two to three quarters thus we can draw a valid inference from the figure that UK plunged into the recession in year 2008. The crisis traces its root in the financial sector which is the flagship of the UK’s economy. Since the financial sector is closely interlinked to all the other sectors, it exerted a detrimental effect on the other parts of the economy. As we know that financial sector mainly assist individuals and businesses in borrowing and lending of funds therefore this crisis had its impact on the ability of households and businesses to finance their needs. Public finances were hit hard by this upheaval which limited the ability of UK’s government to use fiscal policy to monitor the situation. The current economic scenario is pointing an auspicious beginning for UK as the financial turbulence which swept across the world has subsided to a quite large extent. After six consecutive quarters of recession from April 2008 to September 2009, UK has finally unfettered from the recession since it has experienced a 0.1% growth in its GDP in the last quarter of the year (Figure 2) (Cook & Hayman, 2010). Technically, it is clear that UK has recovered from a recession. However, this financial turmoil has left a great deal of damage in its wake. Banks have become

Gentrification and how it is affected by Racism Essay

Gentrification and how it is affected by Racism - Essay Example The scenario now known as gentrification is a growing trend today and a headache for the policymakers. This entry of the rich into the urban centers is even changing the culture of these centers. Gentrification is bringing a lot of pain and even fuelling conflicts in many cities. Dimensions in which gentrification takes place are into demographics characterized by increased income and even differentiation along racial lines (Grant). A racism class cannot be complete without learning about gentrification. For years, this has been a very sensitive issue. For years, racism against the blacks and the Asian immigrants has been taking place. According to Jones (p3) gentrification is a class welfare with an aspect of racism in it. Therefore, in learning racism, there is need to learn about gentrification. This topic helps me as an art student understand what racism is all about and what forms racism takes in the society. San Francisco has long struggled to meet housing needs. Policies in San Francisco in the past have always limited the owners of the rental units from raising rents. The result in San Francisco was a low to high fault evictions. These evictions were mostly due to legitimate reason such as improving safety of the old buildings built in the World War I. In the wake of gentrification over the year, property owners are now abusing policies in order to undermine these rent control laws in order to convert the rental properties into higher valued properties. As a result, the low-income and middle-income citizens are being pushed out of the areas they have grown in and moving to other neighbour hoods in the city. (Stover, p5) Another form of gentrification has been in the form of technology. Luxury buses provided for the technology professionals of Valley companies such as Google and Apple are blocking regular buses, and this does not sit well with the locals. (Stover, p8) Another form of gentrification brought about by

Special Education Essay Example for Free

Special Education Essay To effectively talk about the effect of ID’s in the classroom I thought who better to talk to than a teacher that has a classroom full of ID students. Ms. Tornetta Clark, she is an Intervention Specialist in a SED room for grades 1-4 depending upon age. We began our conversation with what lead her to become an Intervention Specialist? Ms. Clark stated that she had always wanted to be a teacher even as a child, so when she went to college she decided to become a teacher she started as an elementary teacher and later decided to get into special education. As time went on she learned that she enjoyed these children even more than the others, it was more gratifying. So now that we have broken the ice so to speak can you tell me what some of the problems associated with assessing the children with ID may be? Tornetta asked me which group of children would I like to discuss, the culturally diverse, gender specific, the psychological these are all type of ID children and different types of assessments, so where would you like to begin? I thought that it would be best for her to tell me about the most difficult one and she choose culturally diverse students. Ms. Clark states that when dealing with the minorities there are additional layers of complexity to consider especially if the child is of another ethnicity than the person that is doing the assessment. Ms. Clark also states that she prefers to do the majority of her assessments on her own simply because she has been doing this for a long time and that she has worked with several different ethnicities. Having worked with the different ethnicities I have the upper hand and a child can feel when they are understood or when someone is placating them. In my many years of teaching I have also realized that children can feel when someone really understands them and cares. In my classroom we start the morning off by saying good morning to everyone by name and then we each can stay one thing that happened last night or over  the weekend or just something that they may want to share each child gets two minutes and we have a timer to ensure everyone get quality time. This is also something that works well on their social skills. Now as far as the assessment on the psychological side most of these test and assessments are done in the clinic or with the therapist, now there have been an occasion or two where I have sat in and I have even administered the assessment. However the same problems still exist these test need to be tailored to each child and they are not they are standard which in my opinion is ridiculous each child is different so each child should be tested differently. Now I asked about gender specific testing but I have only ran across that twice in my many years of teaching, however it does exist and as educators we need to be able to deal with it and continue to tech and maintain our classes. There are or at least it used to be several teachers that were homophobic and thought that school is no place for a child’s sexual preference to come out or even to be discussed. Now in the schools we see it everyday boys holding hands with other boys and girls doing the same so therefore it has to be addressed, it cannot be slid under the carpet anymore. This is something that as educators we also need to be able to deal with especially in our SED classes, these child need more open discussions so that they do feel that they are being included. Our children have a tendency to get picked on and then they end up feeling as if no one understands them and they begin to contemplate suicide, as educators it is our job to do our best to deter those types of feelings and to encourage a child to be true to who they think they are and to not judge others for being different. We attempted to get back to the interview with on last question and that was, what are the characteristics of the teacher’s students with ID that result in eligibility for special education? Ms. Clark informed that the majority of the students that go through some sort of testing do not get into a special education program. However there are reasons for that in some cases it is because the parents do not push and keep up with the appointments as well as follow through with what they need to do as far as information that may be needed to get a child into a program and doctors’ appointments, the letter’s from the doctor’s. There are all sorts of reasons and then there are specific programs that some parents would like to see their child in, but there is a waiting list or there is another program that is comparable but  the parent is reluctant. Also some parent’s may not want their child labeled as a special education student so they are in denial. And last but not lest then there are the neighborhood schools that are full and there are no exceptions to be made so that the child can stay with their siblings, this also goes into the transportation realm of the problems as well, some districts offer transportation to children but if there are siblings they cannot receive transportation so parents do not want their children separated and that is undrstandbale in most cases. Clark tells me that she feels that if one child attends the school in the special education program then the siblings should attend that school as well and they should receive transportation as well. This would probably keep down some of the confusion on the buses anyway, especially if there is an older sibling that can watch out for the younger ones. This is how we were raised the oldest always looked out for the younger ones and made sure that everyone was home safe when mom and dad got in from work. I think that we need to get back to the motto that it takes a village to raise a child and if we did then the school system and the communities would be a better place. After talking with Ms. Clark I thought about how I raised my children and she was correct when she said that it takes a village to raise a child, I was a single parent for several years and I had six children two were in the special education program at the neighborhood school. I took them to school and my mother picked them up from school. The neighbor watched them as they would enter the house and have snack a start their homework until I got home from work. I did the same for her on the weekends when she worked and she also had a child that was special needs and we made it work if the school called and I was unable to go she would go and vice versa. The point is that as parents and educators we need to work together to let our youth know that they are loved and that they are going to be taken care of not just in the schools but at home as well. References Clark, Tornetta: Intervention Specialist. 2013 Personal conversation. June 20.

Financial Performance Analysis of Amazon

Financial Performance Analysis of Amazon Executive Summary Amazon.com, Inc (Amazon) registered strong growth of 36% in 2008 mainly due to increased unit sales and expanded sales base in several categories. Meanwhile during the 3rd quarter of 2009, Amazon managed to report a steady growth despite the recession period. This report reviews and analyse Amazon financial performance as well as comparison with its competitors. All analysis and ratios are derived from data collected from respective companies annual reports and www.reuters.com. Brief Description of the Company Amazon is one of the leading online retailers in the world based in Seattle, Washington, United States of America. The company started its operation in 1995 and has regional involvement in the Asia Pacific, North America and Western Europe. Initially the core business of the company is selling online books however has diversified to products such as apparel, electronic and home improvement products. The company is involved in the internet retailing industry with 7.5% market share in 2008. The e-commerce industry has gone through major phases of growth and decline however, Amazon persevered and surprised everyone. Amazon achieved its first annual profit in 2003 and has continuously performed better each year. Amazons main competitors are the book retailer, Barnes and Nobles (BN) and third party retailing non-book related good, Ebay.com (Ebay). BN and Ebay are engaged in the similar industry as Amazon, which is online business and catalogue retailing of single and diversified product lines In terms of market capitalisation, Amazon has the highest at $59.57 billion and followed by Ebay and BN at $30.59 billion and $1.21 billion respectively. This indicates that Amazon has greater stability and low risk compared to the competitors. Financial Analysis Profitability The companys performance has improved wherein it has performed above the projections made throughout the four years period. Net sales have increased by 29.2% from $14,835 million in 2007 to $19,166 million in 2008 with net income of $476 million and $645 million respectively. The Cost of Sales (COS) has increased throughout the years partly contributed from the free shipping cost and has affected the net income figure. There was a drop in the net income in 2006 due to increase spending on technology and content and in income tax expenses. However, the said figure has increased thereafter. In terms of sales, Amazon has performed double from the competitors throughout the four-year period. Sales increased tremendously primarily due to low prices, vast selection of products and free shipping offers. However, in terms of Gross Profit Margin (GPM), Ebay operated at 74% has outperformed Amazon at 23% in 2008. The reason behind this is due to Amazons high expenditure on Cost of Sales (COS), which is about 70% of its sales value. The high COS was mainly contributed from the free shipping cost incurred. In comparison to Ebay, the company applies different business model from Amazon and have managed to minimise its expenditure on COS at about 20% of its sales value and therefore reflected to a high GPM. GPM proves that eBay is generating a very large percent of net income from each dollar of sales and this contributes greatly to the growing of eBays overall financial strength. Meanwhile, BN showed a better margin because of its smaller size and the retailer aspect. Amazon and BN have a stable Operating Profit Margin (OPM) of 4% compared to Ebay, which fluctuates within the same period. Its constant operating expenses of 20% from its sales value support the stable growth for Amazons OPM. Ebays fluctuation figures are resulted from high expenses incurred from selling, general and administrative. Based on the industry standard, Amazon and its competitors have performed ahead from the standard, which are 14.1% and 0.53% for GPM and OPM respectively. The low OPM standard can be ascribed to the effect of the recent financial crisis. As of the 3rd quarter of 2009, Amazons sales were $14,989 million with net income of $518 million. For the current year, it is projected a further increase of 21% and 19.5% in sales and COS respectively from 2008 primarily to the low prices, vast selection and free shipping offers. With the said sales projection, the net profit is projected at $743 million in 2009. The basis for the projection takes into consideration on the global economic downturn and changes in customer purchasing preferences. Based on the current quarter performance, the same trend was observed wherein Amazon is still having the highest net sales while Ebay still dominating the net income figure. BN was badly hit from the result of economic crisis. In comparison with the competitors, Amazons Return on Equity (ROE) was high in 2005 at 135% but drastically dropped throughout the years to 40% and 20% in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The main reason for the decrease was due to the yearly increase in the businesss equity. As at 2008, Amazons ROE is equivalent to the competitors and is expected to be in line with the competitors in the future. In comparison on the ROE and Return on Assets (ROA), Amazon has the highest growth among its competitors as it has a smaller capital base than Ebay and a higher profit level than BN. The high ROE is indicates that Amazon is continuing to grow. Meanwhile the ROA showed that Amazon is efficient in generating income from its assets compared to its competitors. The industry standard for the ROE and ROA are 3.8% and 1.6% respectively. The lower industry standard might be driven by the economic condition, which has a great impact to the performance and profitability of most companies. There was an increase of 1% for each year from 2006 to 2008 for the Return on Investment (ROI), whereas the Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) was at the highest in 2008 at 29%. These have indicated that Amazon is efficientat using its assets to generate earnings compared to the competitors. Liquidity and leverage analysis The companys current ratios are more or less similar to BN during the four-year period. The companys current ratio was between the ranges of 1.3 to 1.5 for the past four years. This indicates that Amazon is able to lay its hands on $1.30-$1.50 for every $1.00 they owe. In comparison between current and acid test ratio, acid test ratio is lower at average of 1.0 within the years. It will enable the company to cover its short-term liabilities adequately with its liquid assets. This is within some of the industry standards of 1:1, showing that the company will be able to cover its short-term liabilities adequately with its liquid assets. In comparison with the industry, Ebay performed better than Amazon for both the current ratio and acid test ratio. Amazon fell below the standard in the initial years but almost meeting the standard in 2008 at 1.5:1. Although not performing better than the industry average, Amazon has good and stable ratios, which indicates that the company is able to cover its current liabilities. Amazons gearing ratio was high in 2005 at 86% and subsequently reduces within the years to 13% in 2008. Due to the operational efficiency, increased sales and improved liquidity, Amazon was able to reduce its debt and currently the business is funded with internal generated funds. Meanwhile, Ebay has no borrowings and BN has an average of 30% for the gearing ratio. The high borrowing in 2005 has a huge impact on the debt-to-equity ratio, which was 6:0:1. However as the borrowings is paid, the debt equity ratio when down to 0.2:1 in 2008. This indicates that Amazon has 20 cent debt for every $1 equity the company have. As for BN, its debt/equity ratio was at average of 0.5:1 during the four years. Therefore, in comparison, Amazon is less risky than BN. As Ebay has no borrowing, the interest cover for the said company is high compared to Amazon and Ebay. In comparison with the debt-to-equity ratio set by the industry, Amazon has a very low ratio of 0.2 compared to 40.98. As mentioned earlier, the industry ratio is on the high side due to the economic condition. Investment analysis Amazons common shares outstanding plus shares underlying stock-based awards outstanding totalled 446 million on December 31, 2008, compared with 435 million a year ago. As of to date, the said shares amounted to 451 million. Based on Amazons Earning per Share (EPS) trend, it indicated that the markets willingness to pay for the companys earnings has increased. This indicates that the market foresees Amazons long-term prospects over and above its current position. As at 3rd quarter 2009, the EPS was $1.20 and to grow further based on the companys projection on higher earnings in 4th quarter. Analyst predicts that strong online holiday sales will boost the shares of retailers, including Amazon and has recommended that the said shares will outperform in the market (Reuters.com, 2009). In terms of market performance, Amazons share price fluctuates throughout the years and increased tremendously in 2007 at $92.64 due to the launch of its e-book reader, Kindle. However, during the economy downturn in 2008, the share price dropped to $51.28 due to low operating profit as Amazon begins its price reduction for the goods and services. In 2009, the share price gradually increased and after the 3rd quarter results, it continuously went up and as at 11 December 2009, the share price was $134.15. The current Price/Earning Ratio has increased to 80.70 times from 33.80 times in 2008. Analyst predicted that with a strong revenue growth Amazon would be able to gain significant market share from other competitors (Stahl, 2009). Due to the economic downturn, all companies are affected which was reflected in its performance. Similar to Amazon, Ebays and BNs share prices had an initial stable growth but in 2008 it dropped by about 50%. While others are still struggling to recover from the economic situation, Amazon has showed a growth in 2009 and the share price has currently increased by 168% compared to Ebay and BN at 70% and 62% respectively. Cash flow Analysis As at 3rd quarter 2009, the cash and cash equivalents was $2,514, which a reduction from the opening balances at the beginning of the year of $2,769. During the period, the cash used in financing activities was $229 million compared to $1,199 million in 2008 of which the cash outflows results from repurchases of common stock, repayments of long-term debt. Repayments on long-term debt and payments on capital lease obligations were $379 million for the 3rd quarter 2009 and $335 million in 2008. Meanwhile, free cash flowwas $446 million for the quarter. Throughout the years, Amazon has managed to have a positive cash flow from its operating activities. This indicates a good sign that the core operation of the company is generating income. In comparison of Amazons total liabilities to the cash flow generated from operations, the company has enough funds to cover level of investment and takes about 3.3 years to pay back all its financial commitments. With the current cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities balances, the company is likely to be able to meet its anticipated operating cash needs for at least the next 12 months. In comparison between the cash flow from operating activities and net income, it indicated that Ebay has the higher ability compared to Amazon in managing its operating cash cycle through receivables, payables and inventory. The reason is that Ebay takes advantages of its payable days for as long as 361 days. Due to the similar business model, both companies have a negative cash cycle of which cash is generated from its payable and quick settlement payment from the customers. Management of Working Capital In terms of managing working capital, Amazon had maintained its positive cash flow being the highest at 2007 for an amount of $1,450. This indicates that the company is able to pay off its short-term liabilities and operating expenses accordingly. In comparison between the competitors, Ebay has the highest working capital of $4,023 million in 2007 while BN has the lowest at $841million in 2006. The high working capital for Ebay has enabled the company to be successful in its expansion programme and improve their operations. For the 3rd quarter ending 31st December, Amazons working capital is $1,832 million and is expected to increase further due to higher expectation of sales in the coming quarter. Working capital provides information on the companys underlying operational efficiency. In terms of efficiency, Amazon is efficient in using its assets in generating sales compared to its competitors, which are reflected in the asset turnover ratio. This indicates Amazons improved efficiency in inventory and asset management that is partly supported from the low pricing strategy and low profit margin. In comparison to the competitors, BN has the lowest account receivable days due to its retail business model, which is based on the cash transaction. Based on the account payable days, Ebay has taken advantage on the free source of finance for the business at 361 days compared to Amazon at 62 days. In respect of the inventory days, Amazon is able to turn the inventory quickly as low as 12 days compared to BN at 140 days. BN has high stock inventory days due to the reason of its retailing business model and product which requires some time to be sold. Due to the same business application, both Amazon and Ebay have a negative cash operating cycle, which indicates efficiency in cash management. In term of the industry standard, the three companies are performing above the indicative ratios, which are supported by the significant growth in the industry. Based on the industry standard, Amazon and the competitors are performing ahead from the standard. For the assets turnover ratio, Amazon was the highest at 2 times compared to 0.7 times industry standard. This indicates the companys efficiency at using its assets in generating sales. The reason Amazon performed better than the competitors is relatively derive from the pricing strategy wherein low profit margin company tends to have high asset turnover. Amazon Future Prospects Based on Amazons current performance, it is projected that the company will have a strong growth supported by the low pricing strategy and free shipping. Moreover, the latest acquisition of Zappos.com and improvised version of Kindle are expected to increase Amazon sales which leads to higher profitability. Due to the growth of Amazon, its annual earning is expected to grow over the next two to three years with sales reaching $2.38 million and $2.86 million respectively. Due to robust financial performance during the current economic condition, it has enhances investors confidence. Share prices are expected to increase with earnings of $2.57 and $2.38 per share in 2008 and 2009 respectively. In line with the said growth, Amazon will benefit in gaining additional market share despite tough competition from other online sites such as Ebay. References Amazon.com Annual Report 2008 Available from: http://amazon.com (accessed on 11th November 2009) Amazon.com 3rd Quarter 2009 Report Available from: http://amazon.com (accessed on 11th November 2009) Ebay.com Annual Report 2008 Available from: http://ebay.com (accessed on 11th December 2009) Barnes and Noble Annual Report 2008 Available from: barnesnobleinc.com ((accessed on 11th November 2009) BBC News (2008), Amazon Shares Fall Despite Growth. (Online) Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk (accessed on 5th December 2009) George Stahl (2009), Amazon Shares Hit All Time High. The Wall Street Journal (0nline), Available from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125630854623203899.html (accessed on 4th December 2009) John Pacskowski (2009), Spare Change for Amazon Shares. The Wall Street Journal (Online), Available from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125630854623203899.html (accessed on 4th December 2009) Richard Waters and Jonathan Birchall (2009), Amazon Share Surge Recalls Tech Boom Days (Online) Available from:http://ft.com (accessed on 5th December 2009) Reuters.com (2009), Nasdaq rises with Online Retailers Dos Dips on Oil. (Online), http://ul.reuters.com (accessed on 3rd December 2009) www. reuters.com (accessed on 1st December 2009)