External factors of environment affecting organisations

External factors of environment affecting organisations The word environment means the surrounding atmosphere and conditions for existence. It is very important for organisational leaders to know and understand the environment before they start doing business. The external factors of the environment are factors that are not under the control of an organisation. These factors include social environment, political conditions, technological environment, government regulations and policies, accounting agencies like accounting standard board, resources in economy and cultural environment and demographics of people (Finance Discussion Form 2010). The external environment comprises of all the outside factors that may have an impact on the workings of an organisation. The external environment is divided into 2 parts: directly interactive and indirectly interactive. A directly interactive type of environment has an immediate and firsthand impact upon an organisation. An indirectly interactive type of environment has a secondary and more distant impact on an organisation (Global Business Environment online Journal). The category of directly interactive environmental forces includes owners, customers, suppliers, competitors, employees and employee unions (The External Environment online Article). Conversely, the category of indirectly interactive environmental forces includes social-cultural, political and legal, technological, economic and global influences. Indirectly interactive forces may impact one organisation more than another simply because of the nature of a particular business (Global Strategy online Article). External factors that can affect a business are: social factors: how consumer, households and communities behave and their beliefs e.g. changes in attitude towards health or a greater number of pensioners in a population. Legal factors: the way in which legislation in society affects the business e.g. changes in employment laws on working hours. Economic factors: how the economy affects a business in terms of taxation, government spending, general demand, interest rates, exchange rates and European and global economic factors. Political factors: how changes in government policy might affect the business e.g. a decision to subsidise building new houses could be good for local brick works. Technological factors: how the rapid pace of change in production processes and product innovation affect a business. And ethical factors: what is regarded as morally right or wrong for a business to do e.g. trading with countries which have a poor record on human rights would be seen as unethical (External factors that affect retail industry online Article). Knowledge and understanding of the environment is vital for an organisation to know in order to be successful. Outline of the company I have chosen for the purposes of my essay: PRIMARK Primark Stores Limited is an Irish clothing retailer, operating over 200 stores in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. Within this area of responsibility, Primark stores outnumbered other clothing retailer business, with 161 stores overall distributed in three major regions: 125 in the United Kingdom, 34 in Ireland and 8 in Spain. Primark is known for selling clothes at the budget end of the market. The companys success is based on sourcing supply cheaply, making clothes with simple designs and fabrics, only making them in the most popular sizes, buying stock in huge bulks and varieties and not advertising. The company positions itself as marketing fashionable at cutthroat prices. The original clothing store was established by Arthur Ryan and his collaborator Micaela Mitchell in Dublin Ireland in 1969. After various success in clothing business, great profits and gross income led them to open stores in local and regional areas. It acquired various premises in different business centres within its local and regional areas which eventually generate more profits and income. Hence, these successes brought significant changes on Primarks retail business. The relevance of global trends and consumers demands on lifestyle made Primark Store Limited reinvent its business scheme and management structure (The analysis on the external and internal environment of Primark retailing industry). In the recent years Primark has received many awards for its products including the prestigious Retailer of the Year award for 2 years in a row now (Primark website 2010). Whilst the companys main headquarters are based in Ireland, the chain is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc (ABF), and is ultimately controlled by the Weston family through Wittington Investments (Primark Stores Ltd 2010). The analytical framework I have selected for the company The key environmental issue I have chosen for the basis of my analysis of Primark is PESTEL. The term PESTEL stands for Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Environmental Legal. This term has been used regularly in the past 10 years and its true history is difficult to establish. Various other similar acronyms that have also been used include ETPS, STEP, PEST and STEEPLE (PESTLE analysis 2010). I choose the PESTEL analysis tool as it is used by companies for business and strategic planning, marketing planning, business and product development and research reports. Hence, using this tool, companies can gain an understanding of the environment they operate in and take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the possible threats (Market Orientated Strategic Planning 2010). PESTEL analysis is in effect an audit of an organisations environmental influence with the purpose of using this information to guide strategic decision-making. The assumption is that if the organisation is able to audit its current environment and asses potential changes, it will be better placed than its competitors to respond to changes. The PESTEL analysis is said to be a useful tool for understanding the big picture of the environment in which an organisation is operating and for understanding risks associated with market growth or decline, potential and directing for an individual business or organisation. A PESTEL analysis is also used as a generic orientation tool, finding out where an organisation or product is in the context of what is happening outside that will at some point affect what is happening inside an organisation. The six elements form a framework for reviewing a situation, and can also be used to review a strategy or position, direction of a company, a marketing proposition or idea (PEST Analysis is concerned With the Environmental Influences on a Business). Description discussion of PESTEL Political Factors: These refer to government policies such as degree of intervention in the economy. Political decisions can impact on many vital areas for business such as the education of the workforce, the health of the nation and the quality of the infrastructure of the economy such as the road and rail system. This category also includes areas such as tax policy, employment laws, environmental regulations, trade restrictions and reform tariffs and political stability (Oxford University Press. (2007). Economic factors: These refer to what is happening within the economy e.g. economic growth/decline, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation rate, taxation changes, wage rates, working hours, unemployment level, and recently recovered recession and credit crunch. Sociological factors: These refer to the ever changing social trends in the markets, in which the company operates, culture norms, and expectations, health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes, emphasis on safety and global warming. Change in social trends can also impact on the demand for a firms products and the availability and willingness of individuals to work (The Pest or Pestle Analysis). Technological factors: These refer to the fast developing and advancing world of technology. Change in technology can impact the work and dealings of an organisation. New technologies create new processes and procedures. Things that were not possible a couple of years back are now main stream. Online shopping, bar coding and computer aided design are all improvements to the way companies do business now as a result of better technology. Technology can also reduce costs in the long run, improve quality, and lead to innovation. These developments can benefit customers as well as organisations manufacturing the products. Environmental factors: These refer to what is happening with respect to ecological and environmental issues i.e. climate and weather. Changes in the weather can impact on many industries including farming, tourism and insurance. With major climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider (PESTEL analysis of the macro-environment). Legal Factors: These refer to the legal environment in which an organisation operates. Changes in legislation may have an impact on employment, access to materials, quotas, resources, imports/exports and taxation. In recent years in the UK there have been many significant legal changes that have affected companies behaviour. The introduction of age discrimination and disability discrimination legislation, an increase in the minimum wage and greater requirements for firms to recycle are example of relatively recent law that affect an organisations work and actions (PESTLE analysis 2010). Applying the PESTEL framework to PRIMARK In assessing the political, social, and economic factors external to the environment of Primark, we must consider different issues. Primarks business operations are subject to government policies and regulations. The business firm should conform to the set of policies and regulations stipulated and enforced by the government and policy making body while conforming to the set of regulations and policies, the firm should assume social responsibility as demanded by the global consciousness. Nowadays, business sectors no longer busied themselves to produce bonds of profits and income but deeply involved in social programs to promote social awareness and equality. Cultural and social behaviours of different consumers are important to consider when establishing or venturing business in the global landscape (The analysis on the external and internal environment of Primark retailing industry). Furthermore, economic, environment, laws, and technology are inseparable entities in which influence the business operations. The economic stability of certain region can contribute allot to the business condition of certain firm, like Primark. Technology on the other hand, brought a tremendous effect to the status and development of business operations and marketing programs. It generates new trends in a rapid movement, which if organizations are unaware will impede growth and development (Pest Analysis 2010). Political factors: Primarks business operations are the aid of government policies and regulation for example providing proper working environment for workers. For dealing with workers and for improving their working conditions, the company is part of the Ethical trading Initiative (ETI). Primarks energy consumption in the UK is sourced against the green power generated and sold into the grid by British sugar (Article on Primark PESTEL ANALYSIS online). However, as different political parties come into power they might change existing policies, laws and regulations so Primark would regularly have to assess its strategies with consideration to the political climate to comply with them e.g. if a law is passed raising the minimum wage rate for employees. The government can also pass a restriction law on import and export trade with other countries due to political circumstances and relations with the trading country. This might also have an impact in Primark if they are getting their merchandise manufactured in that country. Economic Factors: In 2008, Primark opened over 12 stores and has now moved its business to Europe. This shows signs of expansion and success Although Primark has mostly low priced merchandise, an increase in tax and VAT in an unstable economy can have a major affect on its sales making them go down. The only Primark can prepare itself for such a situation is by having update knowledge about the current economic state using the PESTEL analysis tool. The recent global recession and credit crunch left a lot of businesses helpless leading them to bankruptcy as the publics spending power was very low due to the circumstances with also led organisations to let people go increasing unemployment. All these factors could have a great impact on Primarks business. Hence, Primark must constantly assess its strategy with consideration to its PESTEL to ensure safety and protection against such events. Sociological factors: Primark has received several awards for being retailer of the year. It has also won awards for being the best retailer of the year in the United Kingdom. However, social trends nowadays change rapidly. A product that is in demand today might not be so popular tomorrow. Primark needs to keep up to date with all these changes and trends. It must try to accommodate and deliver in respect to the change. Ageing and population level are 2 other factors that can have an impact of Primarks sale as the company mainly targets the young consumers aged between 16 to 35 years of age. Hence, Primark must constantly assess its strategy with consideration to its PESTEL to ensure its social stability and quick ability to deliver. Technological factors: Due to the rapid advancement and development in the technology world things that were not possible a few years ago are now very easy and user. Technology has made a lot of complicated tasks very user friendly. The Internet is one perfect example of this. It is now possible to shop online in the comfort of their home. Primark has a lot of online shoppers on their website and benefits from this technological development. Also in Primarks bid for world class, cutting edge management of its ethical auditing programme, it has signed a deal with BSE management systems for the provision of Entropy Software. The investment in Entropy software is a key part of Primarks ethical trade strategy, allowing all suppliers audits, non-conformances and remedial actions to be managed through the Entropy software platform, with much greater global visibility and management control. Environmental factors: As a result of global warming and the adverse weather conditions in the recent times many companies and organisations are doing their part for the environment. Primark supports this campaign by using recycled paper bags instead of plastic bags. Even consumers are very conscience about these factors in saving the environment and support this. One of Primarks fears can be delayed shipment of goods from other countries due to bad weather conditions. Legal factors: The local laws of a country can have an impact on all the organisations that operate there. If new laws are passed in relation to employment, national minimum wage or health and safety in the workplace then Primark will have to comply will all of them. In order to be up to date with all legislation and accommodate all changes Primark has to have knowledge and understanding of these laws and plan in advance. Hence, Primark must constantly assess its strategy with consideration to its PESTEL to ensure that their employment is fair and safe for its employees. Conclusion Primark can without difficulty diversify, giving its competitors a competitive environment with substantial financial power. Primarks offer to its customer is one of high quality merchandise, value for money, back by Primarks service promise. A strong consumer proposition has been developed by Primark brand and embodied in the line Look Good, Pay Less. I conclude this discussion by mentioning that the UK clothing retail industry is facing high levels of competition between various players but the end result shows that the consumers are most benefitted from it (Article on Primark PESTEL ANALYSIS online). Given this analysis we can say that each organization has its own external and internal problems to handle. The process in which we enable to identify and analyze such problems is by using proper management method of analysis PESTEL or STEEPLE. The importance of these methods is squared to the importance of the business itself. Primark must constantly assess its strategy with consideration to its PESTEL analysis tool. External factors can also to some extent affect its internal and business operation. Hence, these methods are helpful for us to understand and underline the positive and negative factors affecting the external environment of an organization like Primark. Word Count: 2605 Words

Video games in teenagers lifes and ergonomics

Video games in teenagers lifes and ergonomics Issues of Video Games in Teenagers lifes and ergonomics The video game sector is the fastest growing entertainment industry. Study in 2008 found that 90% of children play video games every single week. Games for people above 18+ start to be more popular than before, we know very little about the effects that video games may have on childrens development and socialization. Video Games have many positive aspects, but also it can have many negative aspects. The postitive aspects include : Provide a fun and social way of entertainment, cooperation and teamwork while playing with other people, make kids feel comfortable with technology, increase childrens self-confidence and self-esteem as they master games, provide things of common interest and opportunities for socialization, they are also for : develop skills in reading, math, technology and problem-solving encourage participation in related offline activities, such as reading or sports encourage civic participation, improve hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills A scientist thinks age appropriate multi-player video games can allow children to learn how other people think a key aspect of empathy. Games can also help a child become more comfortable with new and ever progressing technology. Which is in my opinion true. If computers are used properly by teenagers they will have only positive impact on their education. Parents of teenagers should be aware of : According to a Harris Interactive poll released in January of 2008, 23% of gamers surveyed reported that they felt addicted to video games. â€Å" Some teens are heavy users of online role-playing games (RPGs) such as World of Warcraft and multiplayer games such as Call of Duty in which they interact with other players in real time. Students will often neglect schoolwork and other aspects of their daily lives when they become immersed in these games. While it remains unclear whether this can be termed an addiction, the American Medical Association has identified video game overuse as a behaviour, and may include it in a future edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.† Children who are heavy users of video games may also be getting less exercise and develop eating fast foods. Make sure that your teen is getting outside and not snacking too much on unhealthful food while gaming. According to the book Grand Theft Childhood by Doctors Cheryl Olson and Lawrence Kutner, children who play primarily M-rated games (whether the rating is due to violent or sexual content) are more likely to be involved in fights or bullying If you are concerned about the amount of time your teen is spending on video games, keep in mind that it is normal for young people to throw themselves enthusiastically into hobbies. Consider the effect your teens gaming is having on his or her life: is he or she socializing less with friends? Are his or her grades declining? Is his or her sleep or general health being affected? . Its important to know what the ratings mean on the video games that child plays. rating symbols suggest age appropriateness for the game, content descriptors to indicate elements in a game that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern. It is important because video games are not all violent, but most of them are, and many of them are pretty gruesome. It has been estimated that up to 89% of games contain some violent content. I am going to cover following topics due to covering issue Violence Living Online Addiction Ergonomics Positive Things about games Violence : People are concerned that violent games might be causing young people to become violent and there is some evidence to support this. Studies have shown that violent games can: increase physiological arousal (the fight or flight response) increase aggressive thoughts and emotions increase aggressive behaviour reduce helping behaviour (where people become less likely to help others). This effects even stronger on people who attend to be already aggressive. Violent games attract young people that tend to be aggressive or are fascionate about being aggressive. There is also some evidence that violent games can change the way people think. One study had two groups playing games, one of them a violent game. After playing the games it was found that the group playing the violent game were more likely to: think it was OK to use alcohol and marijuana be competitive in another task think they were being accused of cheating in another task. Living Online : This type of Games can subtitute real life and can cause young people to addiction. Studies have shown that young people who spend too much time playing computer or video games do not do as well at school. Computer games may also be linked to obesity (being unhealthily overweight) and evidence is emerging to support this. Addiction : People can become addicted to games. People can start to play games for more than 12 hours per day. They might stop doing their homeworks, stop going to school, forget about their job. The most addicting games are online games like GTA, World of Warcraft or Lineage2. They start to compete with each other, form clans and fight with each other, in the beginning it can be 2 hours per day, but than it becomes more. Positive Things about Games : There are also some positive things in cerain issues, and here are also some positive stuff about games. What is it then? People get pleasure for playing games Hand-eye coordination improvement Mental stimulation and require some form of problem solving. Enjoyable social interaction. Educational games is a good way of learning Simulations are good way of training people Ergonomics : Screen should be 70 cm away from the eyes. The top of your monitor should be at eye level. Your desk surface should be at roughly belly button level. When typing, your wrists should be in line with your forearms and not bent up. Go for a walk outside at least once a day.

The One Child Policy and Gender Inequality Essay -- chinese culture,e

Given the high sex ratio in recent China population report, the abnormally excessive male birth exemplifies the persistence of son preference on women’s fertility behavior. Son preference rooted in Chinese agriculture-based economy and historical feudalism, in consistence with the reliance on laborers and continuing the family line. Older people prefer to depend on their sons to get financial and physical support, while daughters are regarded as property of their husband’s family since the day of marriage. However, the wish of having multiple children, especially boys, was challenged by the strict One Child policy in 1979. The One Child policy, also known as Family Planning policy, was implemented across the country as one of fundamental national policies under the administration of Population and Family Planning Commission. Based on the purpose of lowering fertility rates to ease social pressure and improve living standard, a married couple is only allowed to have one child with some exceptions made for some ethnic minorities and rural families. The majority of citizens are classified by ethnics and occupations to fit the specific regulations of compensations and punishments to prevent them from having a second child (Li, J., & Cooney, R, S. 1993). This proposal eventually triggered a profound introspection which chronically melted patriarchal cultures. The broad topic of how government’s decisions altered social norms is discussed within five sociological studies in my essay in allusion to the impacts of One Child policy on gender inequality. Key questions Gender inequality involves ideological preference and physical loss of equal opportunities to gain. The five articles examined the indirect effort of One Child policy on... ...onal Journal of Educational Development, 5, 474-486. Li, J., & Cooney, R, S. (1993). Son preference and one child policy in china: 1979-1988. Population Research and Policy Review, 12(3), 277-296. Liu, F. (2006) Boys as only-children and girls as only-children—parental gendered expectations of the only-child in the nuclear Chinese family in present-day China, Gender and Education, 18(5), 491-505 Merli, M. G., & Smith, H. L. (2002). Has the Chinese Family Planning Policy been successful in changing fertility preferences?. Demography, 39(3), 557-572. Ming,T., & Lynne,R. (2002). The only child and educational opportunity for girls in urban China. Gender & Society, 16(1), 74-92. Zhai, F.,&Gao, Q. (2010). Center-based care in the context of one child policy in China: Do child gender and siblings matter?.Population Research and Policy Review, 29(5), 745-774.

Reader-Response on Soldiers Home Essay -- American Literature

Reader-Response on Soldier's Home The initial reaction I received from reading Soldier's Home, and my feelings about Soldier's Home now are not the same. Initially, I thought Harold Krebs is this soldier who fought for two years, returns home, and is disconnected from society because he is in a childlike state of mind, while everyone else has grown up. I felt that Krebs lost his immature years, late teens to early 20's, because he went from college to the military. I still see him as disconnected from society, because there isn't anyone or anything that can connect him to the simple life that his once before close friends and family are living. He has been through a traumatic experience for the past two years, and he does not have anyone genuinely interested in him enough to take the time to find out what's going on in his mind and heart. Krebs is in a battle after the battle. Imagine your hometown, a small, affluent community where everyone knows each other. This small community is where many of your childhood friends and some of your family also reside. If you left your hometown for a two-year period to go into the military, to go to college, to travel the world, or just to experience life somewhere else, how would you expect your friends and family to treat you when you arrived home after a two-year period? Would you expect a warm welcome from your love ones, would you expect to be able to share your experiences, or major events that took place in your life? Would you expect that everyone has changed at least a little bit, and you have changed somewhat as well? I definitely would not expect or would not want my friends and family to reject me, because I had changed due to my life experiences outside our sma... ...has failed to help him deal with his inner emotions from his military experience. He has been through a traumatic experience for the past two years, and he does not have anyone genuinely interested in him enough to take the time to find out what's going on in his mind and heart. Kreb's is disconnected from the life he had before the war, and without genuine help and care from these people he lived with, and around all his childhood life, it's difficult to return to the routines that everyone is accustomed to. Works Cited Hemingway, Ernest. "Soldier's Home." The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 6th Edition. Ed. Michael Meyer. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's. 2002. 152-57. "Reader Responses to Soldier's Home." Literature and Composition. 10 Feb.,2003. David Toth. 14 Feb., 2003. .

Financial Statement

Financial Statement Companies use several tools such as a balance sheet to make sound business decisions. A balance sheet is a quantitative summary of a company's financial condition at a specific point in time, including assets, liabilities and net worth. The first part of a balance sheet shows all the productive assets a company owns, and the second part shows all the financing methods (such as liabilities and shareholders' equity) Also, called statement of condition. On a balance sheet, assets are equal to the sum of liabilities, common stock, preferred stock, and retained earnings. Another tool used by companies to make decisions is a company's Income statement. An income statement is an accounting of sales, expenses, and net profit for a given period. The purpose of this report is to view the company's performance (profits and losses) over a designated period of time. It lists the company's revenues and its debts during operational and non operational periods. The balance sheet works in conjunction with the income statement: both deals with matters that concern investors. The next tool used is called a retained earnings statement. A retained earnings statement is a financial statement that lists a firm's accumulated retained earnings and net income that has been paid as dividends to stockholders in the current period. Also can be known as, statement of retained earnings. It is important for everyone to understand that retained earnings do not represent surplus cash or cash left over after the payment of dividends. Rather, retained earnings demonstrate what a company did with its profits; they are the amount of profit the company has reinvested in the business since its inception. These reinvestments are either asset purchases or liability reductions. Next in line is the statement of Cash flows. Statement of cash flows is a summary of a company's cash flow over a given period of time. What can the statement of cash flows tell us? It’s simple, because the income statement is prepared under the accrual basis of accounting, the revenues reported may not have been collected. Similarly, the expenses reported on the income statement might not have been paid. You could review the balance sheet changes to determine the facts, but the cash flow statement already has integrated all that information. As a result, savvy business people and investors utilize this important financial statement. A company also uses comparative statements to track gains, losses, and trends over a given time period. This allows that company to forecast future performance in order to make sound business decisions. Viewing and researching how a company did last year, or the year before, or an average over the past five years can ease doubt, assist with finding solutions, and either make or break a company's financial future. References †¢This is the site used for definitions under financial statements, http://www. investorwords. com/1957/financial_statement. html †¢This is the site I read about each topic, some topics are in other topics. http://www. accountingcoach. com/explanations. html Financial Statement In this week, learning and understanding how import the financial account in the company’s financial performance is very important in becoming a manager. This account, records all financial information to which management, creditors, stockholders, potential investors and regulatory agencies understand the financial consequences of a company’s decision and actions. Whether the company has an increasing revenue or losing assets, the company’s credit worthy ness, complying with taxation and regulation of the agencies and government, financial statement is data recorded of the company’s activities (Cleaves, Hobbs, & Noble, 2012).In creating a financial statement, one must understand the three fundamentals. The first one is an income statement which commonly known as profit and loss statement. It shows the number of profits produced by the company over a given time, let say 1 year. By subtracting the sales or revenue from cost of goods sold to yield to profits. Balance sheet is the second statement which deliver a snapshot on a specified date of a firm’s financial position, giving its asset holdings, liabilities, and owner-supplied capital (stockholders’ equity).In an equation form, total debt (liabilities) plus total shareholders is equal to total assets. The total assets characterize the resources own by the company while liabilities and shareholder’s equity suggest how those resources had financed. By law, the company needs to report the amount of the company’s numerous assets in the balance sheet by using the actual cost of obtaining them to show the historical transaction at their cost. There are two types of analysis used in comparing information in the balance sheet, horizontal and vertical.Horizontal or trend analysis pertains to item by item comparison with a number of quarters within a fiscal year or other years. Vertical analysis uses percentage to compare an each item against total asset of financia l statement. The last statement is cash flow recognizes the sources and expenditures of a company’s cash. In measuring cash flow, we can use two approaches, statement of cash flows and free cash flows or financing cash flows.Statement of cash flows identifies the bases and expenditures of cash that describe the change in the company’s cash balance reported in the balance sheet. Once the company has compensated all of its operating overheads and taxes and completed all of its investments, any residual cash is free to be dispersed to the creditors and shareholders. On the other hand, if the free cash flows are negative, manager will have to procure financing from creditors or shareholders (Keown, Martin & Petty, 2014). Financial Statement In this week, learning and understanding how import the financial account in the company’s financial performance is very important in becoming a manager. This account, records all financial information to which management, creditors, stockholders, potential investors and regulatory agencies understand the financial consequences of a company’s decision and actions. Whether the company has an increasing revenue or losing assets, the company’s credit worthy ness, complying with taxation and regulation of the agencies and government, financial statement is data recorded of the company’s activities (Cleaves, Hobbs, & Noble, 2012).In creating a financial statement, one must understand the three fundamentals. The first one is an income statement which commonly known as profit and loss statement. It shows the number of profits produced by the company over a given time, let say 1 year. By subtracting the sales or revenue from cost of goods sold to yield to profits. Balance sheet is the second statement which deliver a snapshot on a specified date of a firm’s financial position, giving its asset holdings, liabilities, and owner-supplied capital (stockholders’ equity).In an equation form, total debt (liabilities) plus total shareholders is equal to total assets. The total assets characterize the resources own by the company while liabilities and shareholder’s equity suggest how those resources had financed. By law, the company needs to report the amount of the company’s numerous assets in the balance sheet by using the actual cost of obtaining them to show the historical transaction at their cost. There are two types of analysis used in comparing information in the balance sheet, horizontal and vertical.Horizontal or trend analysis pertains to item by item comparison with a number of quarters within a fiscal year or other years. Vertical analysis uses percentage to compare an each item against total asset of financia l statement. The last statement is cash flow recognizes the sources and expenditures of a company’s cash. In measuring cash flow, we can use two approaches, statement of cash flows and free cash flows or financing cash flows.Statement of cash flows identifies the bases and expenditures of cash that describe the change in the company’s cash balance reported in the balance sheet. Once the company has compensated all of its operating overheads and taxes and completed all of its investments, any residual cash is free to be dispersed to the creditors and shareholders. On the other hand, if the free cash flows are negative, manager will have to procure financing from creditors or shareholders (Keown, Martin & Petty, 2014).

Out of This Furnace Essay

Out of This Furnace is a historical fiction that was written by Thomas Bell in 1941 and describes the life of immigrant workers in America. Bell grew up in Braddock in Pennsylvania, a mill town that was typical of many of the industrialized areas in America at that time. His novel reflects the hardships his family faced as they struggled to survive in the â€Å"new country† and he utilizes the medium of a fictional story to challenge the capitalist ideals of the government of that period through the trials and tribulations of his immigrant steelworkers. The book focuses on the lives of four individuals and describes how the four individual characters; Kracha, Mike, Mary and Dobie’s lives change as a direct consequence of changes which occurred in general for America immigrants between the mid 1800s and 1920s. Through encompassing the life experiences of four generations, Bell is able to provide the reader with insights into the way in which these individual’s lifestyles and beliefs became more liberal. Alongside this the story of the development of the labor unions is staged and the reader gains impressions into how these unions were viewed and approached by the people they were designed to help. Many workers had no political freedom or even a voice in the company that employed them. However, through all of these hardships, the immigrants continued their struggle for a better life. For many people America, during the economic and evolution of the mid 1800s, represented a country of hope and dreams, a place that could provide them with great opportunities and better economic prospects. As a result of this many European immigrants, many without skills, left their countries of origin in order to work in the many factors and steel mills. Whilst jobs were in abundance the work was hard, laborious and very poorly paid. The Slovaks of Thomas Bell’s Out of this Furnace are representative of these immigrants. The first of the three generations described within the story is Djuro Kracha, a Slovak peasant (p. 3) who left behind his nation of birth in the hope of ending the poverty and oppression he suffered there. Kracha initially works on the railroad before landing a job in a Dubrik mill through a friend. The descriptions of the work he endured provides the reader with the impression that employment at the mill was dangerous, arduous and relentless. The hours of work were long and tiredness of the employees often led to accidents thus evidenced by the death of Dubik’s best friend George who is killed as a blast furnace explodes. Whilst such accidents were typical on a daily basis in the mills of America but no actions were taken to improve safety or the working conditions of the employees in the mill. In Bell’s book, Kracha eventually terminates his employment at the mill in order to become a butcher. This however, does not make his situation any easier and he inevitably turns to alcohol as many immigrants of the time did. The scenes described by Bell in the novel are not limited to the workers themselves but also point out the environmental damage the industrialization created: â€Å"The mills had filled in the shore line for miles up and down the river, destroying trees, obliterating little streams and the pebbly beaches where as recently as the turn of the century campers had set up tents in summer, burying the clean earth under tons of cinder and molten slag. The banks no longer sloped naturally to the water\’s edge but dropped vertically, twenty-foot walls of cold slag pierced at intervals with steaming outlets and marked by dribbling stains. (Bell 153) The second major character within the novel is Mike Dobrejcak, another Slovak immigrant who came to America whilst still in his teens and married Kracha’s daughter, Mary. Although still aspiring and yearning for the American Dream, Mike is a second-generation immigrant who is more aware of the politics of the US and the potential of his vote during election periods. One of the significant themes of Bell’s book is that of the lack of republican form of government for all the people. The countries decisions were made to benefit the financial and business interests of the few. Many of the mill workers did not vote and, for those that did, their input made very little difference. This is reflected in Bell’s description of the division of power: â€Å"There are men in that mill who were born here, whose fathers and grandfathers were born here. They know more English than you’ll ever learn. And what good is their vote doing them? They have to work in the mill and eat dirt like any greenhorn. Let me tell you, I’ve been in America enough to know that it’s run just like any other country. In Europe your emperors and grand dukes own everything and over here it’s your millionaires and your trusts. They run the country to suit themselves, and don’t think they’re going to let you interfere every few years with your miserable vote. Get that into your head. Your vote means nothing. The company man always wins. If he isn’t a company man to start with, he becomes one afterward; the millionaires see to that. (Bell 66-67) Workers were not encouraged to vote, and if they decided to vote, they were strongly encouraged to vote for the politicians the company endorsed, â€Å"Mike had registered as a Republican, anything else would have been suicidal, but had determined to vote for Eugene Debs, the Socialist. He knew the risk. Should he be found out, and that the company had ways of learning how a man had voted nobody in Braddock doubted. e would be fired†. (Bell 189-190). Through Bell’s description of Mike’s opinions, it becomes clear that whilst the workers wanted progress, their view of how this would be achieved contradicted that of the capitalists. The capitalists aimed for generation of wealth and industrialization whilst the workers simply wanted a better way of life and greater equality. Such conflicting aspirations cause a number of disputes between the two representative groups. Mike unfortunately is killed during an accident at work and the story progresses onto describing, through Mary, the reality of families attempting to survive and support themselves after the death of their partners in the mill. The final part of the novel concerns a character called Dobie, the son of Mike and Mary. Dobie’s life and experiences differ greatly from Mikes as he matures during a period of policy reforms and changes. The Unions have become more prominent and workers rights and working conditions have improved. Dobie himself has become a symbol for these changes as he becomes a Union leader and campaigns tirelessly to gain the rights his father and grandfather were denied. Dobie’s stories depict how the mill workers in the US eventually overcame the capitalists and achieve political freedom: â€Å"It was the way you thought and felt about certain things. About freedom of speech and the equality of men and the importance of having one law — the same law — for rich and poor, for the people you liked and the people you didn’t like. About the right of every man to live his life as he thought best, his right to defend it if anyone tried to change it and his right to change it himself if he decided he liked some other way of living better. About the uses to which wealth and power could honorably be put, and about honor itself, honor, integrity, self-respect, the whatever-you-wanted-to-call-it that determined for a man which things he couldn’t say or do under any circumstances, not for all the money there was, not even to help his side win. (Bell 411). Dobie’s story in Out of This Furnace took place during a crucial time in America’s history that, through the creation of a number of legal acts, allowed unions to establish themselves. The first of these, The National Industrial Recovery Act paved the way for psychological acceptance of the concept of union negotiations and bargaining. Dobie confirms this by mentioning that the act removed the fear of unionization that had previously been established by the company and gave the men the confidence to fight for their rights. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) is also of significance in the novel. Through establishing the AFL in Braddock, Dobie was able to cement the concept of a group formed to protect their rights and such groups inevitably allowed for mass strikes and movements. This was further enhanced by the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) which was formed to represent specific industries such as the Steel Workers Organizing Committee. Unlike the AFL, the CIO, explicitly represented unskilled workers and were able to run campaigns that yielded significant results. One example of this during this period in history was the rubber workers in Akron, Ohio who staged a strike on the job in 1936. 70 workers were initially sacked as a result of their actions but this led to a further strike of 1400 workers. Unable to sustain operations the managing company, Goodyear, was forced to negotiate with the workers and changes to hours of work and payment terms were ultimately agreed. One of the most significant acts of this period was the Wagner Act that created the National Relations Board. This board provided the workers with the rights to select their own union representatives and therefore create a fair, unbiased representation for their rights. These legal Acts and the events they sparked allowed much improvement for workers and, although the road to their acceptance and implementation was long and arduous, by the end of the 1930s 1/3 workers belonged to a union and were able to freely and fairly fight for fair pay and working conditions. Out of this Furnace is not simply a story of three generations of mill workers; it is also a reflection of Americanization and the development of political rights for the immigrant workers in America. Within the novel, each generations development and success was related to the previous generation’s failures and learning. As time progresses the mill workers gain a better understanding of American culture and its politics and the domino effect of family generations.

Personal Development Plan †Setting Your Vision (Milestone One) Essay

In the last two weeks of taking this class I have learned a lot about myself, or at least thought a little more about who I am as a person and how I handle different situations. I have endured many things in the last two years that I’m sure many people go through, but should never have to. I have fallen to my lowest, and brought myself back up to my highest. This ranges anywhere from being homeless and sleeping in my truck and having no one around to help me out, to getting my own apartment, attending school again, and getting the best job I’ve ever had that actually pays the bills. With the self-assessments we have taken in the last two weeks I have come to realize I am apparently dangerously close to burning out due to being overly stressed. With everything going on in my life I don’t feel like I am close to burn out. I feel like I could take on a lot more and still be ok mentally and physically. The stress scale that I filled out indicated I had a â€Å"High or very high risk of illness.† This is probably of the most accurate test out of the five tests I took. Between working full time, part time school, bills and supporting my live-in boyfriend who is currently unemployed my stress level is through the roof. This gives me a much deeper respect for families with only one income who live this way constantly, even more so when children are involved. By writing out my development plan I hope to get an even better understanding of myself. How I now handle different situations, and getting feedback and suggestions on better ways. I also hope to learn more about career choices and ways to handle the stresses of work and the many thought processes of management thinking. I don’t want to stay in the position I currently hold forever and would definitely like to move up in the company that I now work for. There are many opportunities for advancement at United Healthcare, but I know that to really succeed and thrive I would need to make a couple of self-adjustments and some self-growth before I could truly  grow and thrive. This is why this development plan is so important to me. By writing out my goals and watching myself grow as a person, intellectually and emotionally I can really gather my thoughts and get them organized and really get my goals situated. This organization would help greatly with my motivation. As we read about motivation theories in chapter two, I agree that in on theory there are basic needs that need to be met in order to keep motivated. I also agreed with another theory that sometimes more than one of those could be wanted at any given time [1]. By doing this plan, I hope to be able to find out what my immediate needs are, or the most important that I feel, and be able to keep those needs satisfied in order to stay motivated to advance in my career as well as schooling.