The solution on Myers Holding Ltd - Corporate Social Responsibility

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Social Responsibility for Myers Holding Ltd. Answer: Introduction Myer is considering as the biggest departmental store group of Australia and it has been closely associated with fashion and style for over 100 years. Over this time, it has also played a very crucial role in the life of all Australians that is from the international merchandising fashions and methods during the depression, celebrating fashion and establishing a memorable, ever changing, and retail experience. The company has a value footprint of around 66 stores in prime retail areas across Australia that is accompanied by its well-recognized brand and assisted by its recently developed digital, mobile, and online platforms (Myer, 2014). This combination facilitates a leading Omni-channel experience for the customers so that they can shop with the company. For this reason, Myer had generated $3.1 billion of total sales in 2014. Myer is a relevant employer and pursues a long history of local engagement of communities and philanthropy. It focuses on providing inspiration to everyone i ncluding customers, 54000 shareholders, 12500 team members, and around 1200 suppliers internationally. The merchandise offered by Myer comprises of eleven key categories of product that are mens wear, womens wear, childrens wear, intimate apparel, youth apparel, fragrance, cosmetics and beauty, electrical goods, home wares, footwear, handbags and accessories, toys and general merchandise (Myer, 2014). Mission Statement Myer aims to provide highest standards of service to the general people and it ensures to consistently meet and surpass the shopping anticipations of the customers. It also focuses on the maximization of shareholder value through its strategies. The company wants to make fuller utilization of its opportunities and therefore it continues to invest so that it can position itself at the front line of a quickly changing retail environment. Furthermore, it also focuses on strengthening its Omni-channel strategy, innovation of customer service, optimization of its exclusive brands strategy etc so that operational capabilities and importance can be delivered for long-term sustainable development (Myer, 2014). Myers vision As a market retailer in Australian retailing, its new owners, Newbridge/TPG, Myer management team and the Myer family, are reinvigorating the company. A crucial part of this journey includes the investment in the Myer brand so that the values and vision of its founder and the Myer family can be an international-quality retail business can effectively offer inspiration to each and everyone with a dynamic vision of the future for Myer. In the current scenario, Myers management is on right track through a well-articulated and clear strategy to develop the business globally (Myer, 2014). Triple Bottom Line Reporting (TBL) There is a growing requirement that businesses have a vital role in assisting Australia to become more sustainable. At Myer, sustainability is defined as a responsible business development and growth that addresses and considers the economical, social, and environmental impacts (TBL) of its strategies and operations. As a result, it is responding by minimizing its environmental risks and impacts by adhering to the compliance requirements of NGER (National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting) Act (Myer, 2014). For example, Myer reports publicly on minimization of greenhouse emissions, assessment of energy usage and energy saving opportunities. The company purposes to enhance the positive results and influences affixed on the stakeholders like investors, customers, suppliers, creditors, environment etc through its triple bottom line reporting. When such stakeholders consider social and environmental performance of the company in the investment and purchase decisions, they obtain robust inf ormation on the companys performance. Furthermore, when Myer reports on social and environmental performance, it achieves benefits like increased reputation, retaining and attracting staff etc that obviously adds to its financial bottom line. Concern for social and sustainable issues Myer wants its team to survive for the better performance of the company as a whole. It wants that its team members be filled with positive morale so that they do not feel bad about coming to work. Therefore, Myer had introduced a social group named as 800Thrive as a concern for social issues. In order to establish a sense of community, this group helps in organizing fun ways so that the team members can interact with each other apart from the day-to-day business activities. Myer also assists in protecting the rights of workers so that a better environment can be created. It has also established a whistleblower policy that encourages employees to report against immoral practices or breaches of its code of conduct. In relation to concerns for sustainable issues, the corporate commitment towards sustainability is clearly observable in the publicly disclosed standards of performance of the company like those provided by its GRI (Global Reporting Initiative). It follows the G4 index of s ustainable reporting that provides an effective understanding of its performance to the stakeholders. Furthermore, it reports about energy use, greenhouse emissions, and recycling of materials so that environmental impacts can be managed for long-term sustainable development (Myer, 2014). It also assures of International Standards Organization (ISO 31000) in its risk management framework so that strategies are frame to identify, evaluate, manage, and monitor risks consistent with AZ/NZS standards. General Financial Information The full-year sales of Myer had been very encouraging in the year 2014 but due to huge investments in the year, its performance and profitability were adversely affected. Moreover, on a comparable basis, Myer had obtained an increase of 1.2% of sales in 2014 that stands at $3143 million. Its NPAT (Net Profit after tax) reported a 22.6% decline in the year 2014 that indicates a drop in its operating gross profit and a formerly identified enhancement in cash CODB (cost of doing business). The operating gross profit margin reported a 57 basis point decline because of effect of the depreciation of Australian Dollar on the company, its exclusive brands, and investment in development of products. The cash cost of doing business of the company also grew by 3.3% and stands at $1033 million due to annualisation of variation in its store wage penalty structure as per the Fair Work Act and intended investment in labor hours of its additional stores. Considering the firm balance sheet and powerf ul cash generation of the company, it has decided to pay a fully marked final dividend of 5.5 cents per share that makes dividend for the whole year to 14.5 cents per share. On a whole, this portrays a dividend payout ratio of around 86% for the year 2014 that makes Myers confident for the upcoming years (Deggan, 2011). Financial Analysis Key Highlights and comparison with the previous year Particulars 2014 2013 percentage change ($) ($) Net Profit 98542 129887 -31.8 Total Assets (a) 19,32,664 19,39,705 -0.36 Total Liabilities (b) 10,39,251 10,34,063 0.5 Total Owners Equity 8,93,413 9,05,642 1.35 Dividend per share 16.6 21.6 23.1 Earnings per share 16.8 21.8 -22.9 Net Cash Flow from Operating Activities 1,91,576 2,25,525 -15.1 Net cash flow from financing activities -95232 -115157 -20.92 Net Cash Flow from Investing Activities -1,04,250 -66,956 55.7 As per the information provided in the above table, a fair estimate can be provide that the net profit decline by 31.8%. This indicates that the performance of the company dipped which is not a good indicator in terms of competition and performance. Further, the total assets declined and the liabilities increased which is not a good combination (Christensen, 2011). Cash flow from operating activities reduced indicating that the operations did not matched the last year performance and hence, a shortfall (Brigham Ehrhardt, 2011). Profitability Analysis Net Profit Margin 2013 2014 Net Income 1,29,877.00 98,542.00 Sales Revenue 31,44,904.00 31,43,027.00 Net Profit Margin [(Net Profit after tax/Sales Revenue)*100] 4.13 3.14 Gross profit Margin 2013 2014 Gross Income 13,04,530.00 12,85,870.00 Sales Revenue 31,44,904.00 31,43,027.00 Gross Profit Margin [(Gross Profit /Sales Revenue)*100] 41.48 40.91 In the profitability analysis, the major emphasis is on the gross profit margin, as well the net profit margin. As per the ratio computation, we can see that there is a decline in the gross profit margin and this can be attributing to an increment in the cost of sales (Horngren, 2013). The decline in net profit margin is due to the enhancement in the cost of overhead for the company like administration and selling expenses (Albrecht et. al, 2011). Liquidity Ratio Liquidity Ratio FY2014 FY2013 Changes Current Ratio 0.9 times 0.9 times NA Quick Ratio 0.14 times 0.17 times 0.03 times Cash Flow from Operations Ratio 0.48 times 0.57 times 0.9 times When it comes to liquidity, the major emphasis is on the current ratio, quick ratio. Liquidity analysis projects the ability of the company to repay the debt and meet the obligations. As per the analysis it is seen that the current ratio is stagnant that means the company has the same potential of the year 2013. It is not close to the standard ratio of 2:1 (Brealey et. al, 2011). This means that the current assets and liabilities varied in the same proportion. Hence, the same ratio is observed. However, the other two ratios, the quick ratio, and the cash flow from operations ratio indicates that both the ratio declined and is nowhere close to the base ratio (Horngren, 2013). The liquidity is weak and the management needs to take strong actions to improve it. Financial Gearing Analysis Financial Gearing Analysis 2014 2013 Percentage change Gearing Ratio 36.3% 36.1% 0.2% Interest cover ratio 131 times 129 times 3 times Financial gearing analysis projects the riskiness of the business (Brigham Daves, 2012). The gearing ratio is not very high for the company indicating that the company has persisted on consistency. This ratio implies the long-term lenders contribution to the capital structure of the long-term scenario. Hence, from the gearing analysis it can be predicted that the company is not a risky venture and hence, investment can be pour in it (Kaplan, 2011). The risk profile of the company is low which is a major advantage and will attract shareholders because the major concern always remains of the riskiness of the business (Graham Smart, 2012). Efficiency Analysis When it comes to efficiency analysis, average inventory turnover period, settlement period for debtors, asset turnover period. As projected from the table, the ratio has not shown a huge change and the difference comprises of few days that can be disturbed by a few debtors or creditors, as it is average ratio (Fields, 2011). The efficiency remain unchanged that operates the performance is in line. Efficiency Ratio 2014 2015 Difference Average Inventory Turnover Period 93 Days 95 Days 2 Days Average Settlement Period for Debtors 4 Days 3 Days 1 Day Asset Turnover Period 225 Days 224 Days 1 Day Comparison with Competitor Myers has a strong competition with the Target Corporation and some of the financial aspect of Target will be use to shed light on the functioning and operations of both. On the very first instance, it can be said that Target is a bigger concern and hence, the assets composition is huge and so the liabilities, equity, etc. As per the comparison, we can see that the liabilities composition in the total assets comprises of 66.2% whereas Myers constitutes only 53.8%. However, EPS and DPS are both negative in numbers for Target meaning it is incurring losses. This sheds light on the fact that the bigger companies face losses but the operations never discontinue (Choi Meek, 2011). However, as per fundamentals and overall scenario, it will be better that Myer will be selected as it has an edge over Target. Particulars Myer Target Difference Total Assets 1,932 41,404 (39,472) Total Liabilities 1,039 27,407 (26,368) Equity 893 13,997 (13,104) EPS 16.8 (258) 274.8 Ordinary Shares Issued 99 (1,205) 1304 DPS 16.6 (256) 272.6 EBIT 160 4,761 (4,601) Corporate Social Responsibility Myer aims to establish a socially responsible business by combining sustainability into its day-to day activities. It recognizes the significance of a meaningful and powerful CSR program. Its CSR initiatives include the following: Customers- Myer continues to develop several strategies so that its customers can be satisfied with the services provided and it rewards them for their faithfulness because they are consider very important for the success of its business (Albuquerque et. al, 2013). In the year 2014, Myer introduced a customer feedback initiative so that its quality of service can be evaluated. Such members of Myer one can provide feedback based on their experience through digital technology. Team members- Myer aims to establish a motivating and rewarding workplace that assists age, language, gender, and cultural diversity. In 2014, it gained a retention rate of around 75% and women comprised of 79.6% of the total members (Myers, 2014). Development and capability services are provided to team members through various courses. It also recognizes and rewards members based on their performance through recognition strategies. Myer gives safety concerns through safety hazard management, safety committees, awareness of team members etc. Even the LTIFR reduced from 14.5 since 2010 to 7 in 2014. Community- Myer continues to establish relationships with local communities and in 2014, it contributed around $2.3 million to them. Since 1924, the Myers Stores Community Fund assists disadvantaged youth, children, and women (Myer, 2014). For such purposes, the team members are offered $600,000 volunteer hours. Myer also supports fitted for work community partnerships by providing clothing donations, mentoring etc for disadvantaged women. Myer and Salvos Stores collectively introduced a national initiative for motivating customer-clothing donation for minimizing textile waste and enhancing clothing recycling. Environment- In 2014, Myer reported a 2.9% decline in energy usage through reporting requirements and system upgrades. It also minimized carbon emissions by 5% in comparison to 2013. For packaging stewardship, it purposes on minimizing consumer packaging and pursuing recyclable materials. Its Floor Ready Program aims to enhance packing design and minimize waste and in 2014, more than 70% merchandise complied with such floor ready requirements. Business- Myer aims for highest ethics, integrity levels in its operations and every member are bound to comply with its code of conduct, and they are inform about the prevailing whistleblower policy (Fields, 2011). In relation to ethical sourcing, Myer aims to produce merchandise in safe conditions where workers rights are respect and environmental effects are managing (Davies Crawford, 2012). Myer also pursues a shrinkage minimization program that purposes to lessen its losses. Furthermore, Myer assures of the quality and safeness of products provided and in 2014 such checks depicted a conformance of 95%. Conclusion The above report clearly implies that Myers is lacking in few ratios while in others it has remained unchanged. However, going by the current movement it can be commented that the management of Myers needs to lay stress on the ratio like liquidity that is one of the significant ratios when it comes to meeting the obligations. The other financial performance are just average and needs attention. However, on the social and environmental concerns Myer also complies with the Global Reporting Initiative (G4) requirements that assist it with easy and tangible methodologies so that its performance can be measured against the prime environmental indicators. This remains one of the unique factors in establishing a strong company. References Albrecht, W., Stice, E. and Stice, J 2011, Financial accounting, Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western. Albuquerque, R., Durnev, A., Koskinen, Y 2013, Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence, Boston University. Development Economics, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 49-54. Choi, R.D. Meek, G.K 2011, International accounting, Pearson. Myers Holdings 2014, Myers 2014 Annual Report and accounts 2013, viewed 13 September 2016, file:///C:/Users/HP/Downloads/financial_report.pdf Brealey, R., Myers, S. and Allen, F 2011, Principles of corporate finance, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Brigham, E. Daves, P 2012, Intermediate Financial Management , USA: Cengage Brigham, E.F. Ehrhardt, M.C 2011, Financial Management: Theory and Practice, USA: Cengage Learning. Choi, R.D. and Meek, G.K 2011, International accounting, Pearson . Christensen, J 2011, Good analytical research, European Accounting Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 41-51 Davies, T Crawford, I 2012, Financial accounting, Harlow, England: Pearson. Deegan, C. M 2011, In Financial accounting theory, North Ryde, N.S.W: McGraw-Hill. Fields, E 2011, The essentials of finance and accounting for nonfinancial managers, New York: American Management Association. Graham, J. Smart, S 2012, Introduction to corporate finance, Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning. Horngren, C 2013, Financial accounting, Frenchs Forest, N.S.W: Pearson Australia Group. Kaplan, R.S 2011, Accounting scholarship that advances professional knowledge and practice, The Accounting Review, vol. 86, no.2, pp. 367383.

Conflicts arise in the Workplace-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Conflicts arise in the Workplace. Answer: Introduction: Respect is one of the most important features of a healthy productive work environment. In a proper functioning work environment every person has a specific job to perform and subsequently every person feels important and a contributor in the success of an organization. In such situations the employees feel valued by their employers and everyone is treated with a sense of fairness and dignity which helps in diffusing potential chances of conflict and stress. In case such a positive work environment is maintained, in difficult times like termination or disciplinary issues the employees can accept situational change positively and might avoid litigation or disruption of workflow. However the lack of respect in the workplace can have a toll on the employees. Work environments which are toxic have chances of leading to decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, high staff turnover, severance packages and even law suits. The challenges in this regard are that there is no clearly articulated legal duty on an employer to treat any particular employee with respect. There are laws for protection but no specific rules to denote what should be the exact behavior at the workplace. Increased instances of toxic work environments and problems in the workplace are a cause for concern and lead to issues which need to be prevented at all times. The discussed scenario: According to the case study provided, there were complaints regarding the morale issues in the workplace. A toxic work environment was discussed based on the employees and their concerns about existent favoritism were also mentioned. The issues of problems between the supervisor in the office and his boss were mentioned. Repeated change of staff and replacement of inexperienced staff for experienced ones were also mentioned resulting in the increased amount of workload and lesser productivity. The issue of favoritism was also mentioned which had a bad impact on the employees and resulted in an increased disinterest towards their work. All these issues contributed to the toxicity of the work environment and damaged the repute. Thus the mentioned issues need to be resolved to maintain positivity and in order to retain the employees. Power struggle: One of the most important issues which have been mentioned is that of a power struggle between the supervisor and his boss. The issues also persisted after the boss left and a new person came. Power struggle is a type of interpersonal conflict which might harm the company. The interpersonal conflict is not uncommon and is because of high competition and variable personalities of the persons that the power struggles arise (Forsyth). In cases when such power struggles are experienced by the other subordinate employees it is better that they step in the struggle and never take sides but try to bridge the gap. The interruption by a third party in certain cases might lead to a thoughtful and understanding approach by both the parties and the conflict might be resolved. No matter whatever the position of the employee who wishes to intervene, it is imperative that he or she steps in for management of the conflict. An appeal should be made to both the supervisor and the boss to reconsider their differences. A combined appeal should also be made to them on behalf of all the employees in order to resolve the conflict of the supervisor and his boss (Saundry, Richard and Wibberley). There needs to be a proper training program or sessions need to be conducted in order to train the supervisors to control and deal with different types of employees (Hillman). Distribution of Workload: Improper distribution of the workload is another issue in the workplace. It is the responsibility of the managers and the supervisors to be clear and concise about their work expectations and focus more on the optimal work performance and best individual achievement rather than divide work unequally which might lead to complacence of the employees. The managers should be trained in order to develop strategies for delegating tasks. The managers should also be trained to improve the performance of the weak employees rather than giving important work to the others and making the weak ones under confident about their work. A work culture of proper team work and collaboration needs to be encouraged (Forsyth). Unbalanced workload needs to be avoided by reviewing the total workload for a project as well as the amount of time required to complete it. It needs to be checked which members handle specific tasks and then the knowledge also needs to be accessed. There needs to be a rough workload redistribution plan based and additional input plan. There should also be a revaluation of the given workload at any instance of time for any sort of imbalance (Hillman). Favoritism: Favoritism in the workplace is extremely common and harmful for the work culture. The family members might be favored, or specific employees might be favored. This is harmful for the culture of the workplace. Favoritism highly influences the sentiments of the people and makes them questions their abilities. This should not be encouraged at any costs. The employees need to be trained and ordered to handle such favoritism and remain undeterred in their work. The first thing the employees need to do is to behave normally even after finding that their boss is favoring somebody else. The worst possible scenarios that is possible due to reacting and getting in the bad books of the boss need to be avoided at any costs. The employees suspecting bosss nature of favoritism needs to be trained to remain positive and act normal in order to prevent any chances of becoming least favorite of the boss (Brubaker). The next best thing that the person needs to do is to clarify with the boss what he or she is expected to do and try to get the feedback regularly. The focus should always be maintained on good performance and proper work done. The management systems should be trusted and in severe cases informed so that these can be addressed as soon as possible (Huan). The employee should also go the extra mile and influence oneself to show dedication towards work. The employee should remind oneself of the unique role they play for the company and request meetings, propose new items for the team, demonstrate respect and proper amount of appreciation for the boss as well. The employee should not get distracted by any feelings of neglect which cause more harm than benefit. The employee should take control of his or her work and make ambitions clear to the boss. Under no circumstances should any employee act emotionally. Emotions need to be kept aside and strategic evaluation of the favorites needs to be done in order to emerge as better employees. Often small favors can be asked for to garner a positive attitude from the boss. However proper research needs to be done before the matter is brought to the notice of the HR or higher authorities (Saundry). Lack of proper trust and issues with the staff with respect to the supervisors: Issues of mistrust and tension can also exist in the workplace. In case such situations arise there should always be clear and detailed instructions verbally. The spread of rumors need to be solved and clarified as soon as they start spreading in order to avoid problems of mistrust. There should be meetings which need to be arranged with those employees experiencing conflict in order to discuss the problems they are facing in the workplace. Without choosing a side they should guide a conversation to a discussion of positive conflict resolution ideas which can be discussed. The employees need to be encouraged to seek out explanations of situations which might show that there needs to be proactive interest in resolving the issues of the workplace. Conclusion: Workplace conflict exists between individuals and groups and might lead to a series of negative influence to the organization. In situations when people work together, the cultural differences, gender differences, style differences and others also occur. The resolution of the conflict and its avoidance in the workplace needs to be performed in order to increase the effectiveness for the work. The effectively managed work conflict has several positive effects for the organization and also for life. It is the responsibility of the employees in the workplace to properly tackle any possible situation that might arise and which has the probability of damaging the productivity of the workplace. The conflict management should be conducted including the steps of assessment or the stage of investigation, the acknowledgement or understanding stage, the proper attitude maintenance, the proper plan of action, the analysis of the results and finally the solution implementation. Thus it may be said that a conflict taking place does not always mean that something bad is going to happen. It also means that there might be innovation and a moir harmonious workplace. In case of a conflict in the workplace, it should not be hidden or ignored, instead it should be faced and resolved. The improved communication skill, developed emotional intelligence, respect towards others and the effort to work for the betterment of the organization are all helpful towards the avoidance of any sort of conflict References: Brubaker, David, et al. "Conflict resolution in the workplace: What will the future bring?."Conflict Resolution Quarterly31.4 (2014): 357-386. Forsyth, Anthony. "Workplace conflict resolution in Australia: The dominance of the public dispute resolution framework and the limited role of ADR."The International Journal of Human Resource Management23.3 (2012): 476-494. Hillman, Donald R. "Understanding multigenerational work-value conflict resolution."Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health29.3 (2014): 240-257. Huan, Lim Jin, and Rashad Yazdanifard. "The difference of conflict management styles and conflict resolution in workplace."Business Entrepreneurship Journal1.1 (2012): 141-155. Saundry, Richard Arthur, and Gemma Wibberley. "Workplace dispute resolution and the management of individual conflictA thematic analysis of five case studies." (2014). Saundry, Richard Arthur, et al. "Reframing Resolution-Managing Conflict and Resolving Individual Employment Disputes in the Contemporary Workplace."Acas Policy Discussion Papers(2014): 1-21. Saundry, Richard, Louise McArdle, and Peter Thomas. "Reframing workplace relations? Conflict resolution and mediation in a primary care trust."Work, employment and society27.2 (2013): 213-231.

Sample Essay on Studying Abroad - How to Choose a Writing Sample

Sample Essay on Studying Abroad - How to Choose a Writing SampleA sample essay on studying abroad is a good starting point for anyone who is planning to go abroad. These are very important documents that anyone who is considering going abroad should have, so that they can write their own samples and not rely on someone else's.Any student who has never written a paper before would have trouble learning how to write an interesting essay, but with the help of a sample essay on studying abroad they can learn what their main objective is, what the main issues are, and also learn about what information they need to include and where. It will also allow them to incorporate different types of vocabulary and more vocabulary will help when it comes to research.The other reason to write a sample essay on studying abroad is because it will save time when writing a larger document. Most students have trouble learning and writing an essay, which is why they should write a large document at the sam e time. It will make writing much faster and help the student to have an idea of what they want to do when they get back home.Finding the right sample essay on studying abroad is easy if you just know what you want to say. You can find them online or in books about this subject, but when it comes to picking the right one it can be hard to know which ones to use because there are hundreds of them out there.One of the most important things you should know when you are looking for a sample essay on studying abroad is whether or not it is written for college students. Since a lot of these essays are meant for foreign students, you should only use ones written by people who are college graduates.Also, since these essays are usually written for college students, you want to pick a sample essay that contains a high percentage of information from the student's name. So if the student is Rebecca and you are looking fora sample essay on studying abroad to help with your application, you will want to get the sample essay written by Rebecca so that you can put in her name.Although college students can use this type of essay, even high school students can, but if you can find a sample essay on studying abroad with a higher percentage of Rebecca's information, you will find it easier to decide on the right one. This is why you should consider doing some research and finding a sample essay on studying abroad that is tailored to college students.

A Killers Mind.

A Killers Mind. Before we can discuss what serial killers do, we must first define what a serial killer is. Some people might place serial killers into the same group as mass murderers. This would be incorrect because they are two totally different types of killers. While both of these individuals may kill many people, the difference lays in the reason they kill and the period over which they kill their victims. An event or a build up of circumstance triggers mass murderers and causes them to act. This may be the result of a stressful situation or frustration either at work or in their private lives. For whatever reason, they may choose to use a weapon and kill people that they feel are responsible for their problems. They may also kill total strangers in a bid to get even with whomever or whatever they feel wronged them. Whatever their reason, they are usually cooperative and quite often docile if they survive the episode.Mugshot of David Berkowitz. Copyright 2003 New Yor...It seems that this one-t ime outburst of violence, once enacted, puts an end to any future events of this type for that individual. While the mass killer may kill many people in one attack, when the attack is over, their mission is complete. The mass killer's victims may not be chosen for any other reason than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.Serial killers are a totally different and more dangerous threat to society. They may not kill many people at one time, but they may kill for many years without being detected. They are able to kill again and again without being caught because they are careful in their choices of victims. They typically pick victims who are vulnerable and un-able to defend themselves such as children, the elderly or women. They also pick victims...

Psychological Type and the MyersBriggs Type Indicator essays

Psychological Type and the MyersBriggs Type Indicator essays Running Head: MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR Psychological Type and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Northwestern State University of Louisiana Psychological Type and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator One of the most enduring typological classifications was devised by Jung and has served as the foundation for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Anastasi, 1997). The Myers-Briggs (MBTI) designates one's personality type, based upon a classification scheme, which consists of four basic scales and two types within each scale. Thus, there are sixteen possible Myers-Briggs personality types. The scheme is based upon the intuitions of Carl Jung, whose gifted insight revealed that all people at all times are best understood in terms of extroversion/introversion, sensation/intuition, and objective/subjective. The latter category has since been subdivided into two classes by revisionists: feeling/thinking, and perceiving/judging. Classifying people did not originate with Jung. In the middle of the fifth century B.C.E., Hippocrates explained the four temperaments in terms of dominant humors in the body: melancholic, sanguine, phlegmatic, or choleric. The melancholic, he claimed, was dominated by yellow bile in the kidneys, the sanguine by humors in the blood, the phlegmatic by phlegm, and the choleric by the black bile of the liver. Hippocrates was simply adding to the ancient Greek insight that all things reduce to earth, air, water and fire. Each of the four elements had its dualities: hot/cold and dry/moist. A persons physical, psychological, and moral qualities could easily be understood by his temperament, his dominant humors, the four basic elements, or whether he was hot and wet or cold and dry. The ancient personality type indicator worked for over one thousand years. Today, most of us have abandoned Hippocrates' personality scheme because we do not find it to have any meaningful use. In the early 1940s, Isabel Briggs My...

Theories and ethnographies on the gift (economic anthropology) Research Paper

Theories and ethnographies on the gift (economic anthropology) - Research Paper Example Therefore, gift in this context can be defined as goods and services that are exchanged with the intention of affirming a social relationship and status. Hence, gifts are a reciprocated system where citizens of any given community will be perpetually indebted to another person. Ethnographers have studied many different interpretations of the gift in traditional societies. The complicated factors of ‘the gift’ in archaic society have attracted debates throughout different fields of study. In addition, several professionals including anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers, as well as economists have researched the issue. A sense of duty bounds these relationships together although these communities may be otherwise hostile towards one another. Marcel Mauss, a French anthropologist and a sociologist, carefully studied the facts on the gift in traditional primitive societies; following Durkheim’s model on the sacred, he theorized that gifts are of a moral, religi ous, and economic nature in natural economic systems; with a sacred quality to exchange and contracts. Mauss presents the idea of a system of obligatory service provision i.e. one provides a service because it is their moral responsibility to do so, this system brings together distinguished characteristics identified based on religion, justification, and economic status. An example is doing voluntary work in the community, Hann et al. (2011) notes, â€Å"... It is groups, and not individuals, which carry on the exchange, make contracts, and are bound by obligations the person represented in the contracts are moral persons- clans, tribes and families; the groups, or the chiefs as intermediaries for the groups, confront and oppose each other† (p.50). He visualized a unique connection between the gift and the recipient and emphasized on the power embedded on the gift that would propel the recipient to reciprocate the act of giving (Mauss, 1925. p.3). With this idea, he stipulate d that the giver not only gives the gift, but part of them is also torn away from them in the process of giving. Due to this, he said that there was no complete separation of the gift from the giver (Mauss, 1925). He further argued that, what they exchange is not exclusively goods and wealth, real and personal property, and things of economic value. They exchange rather courtesies, entertainments, ritual, military assistance, women, children, dances and feasts, in which the market is merely one element and the circulation of wealth, but one part of a wide and enduring contract. Finally, although the social facts and their opposing factors take place under a voluntary guise, they are in essence strictly obligatory, and their sanction is private or open warfare. We propose to call this system of total presentation.† (Mauss, 1926) There is not only an obligation to repay gifts, but also to give and receive them willingly, to refuse to do so could mean refusing to accept the other into one's community and could cause war. However, by giving, the community shows itself as deserving and worthy of respect and generosity. Failure to give will mean to end their partnership and refuse any future gifts. Gift- giving contests have come together on this basis such as the famous North- West Coast Native American Potlatch as well as the Kula Ring in the Trobriand Islands. Malinowski also researched the Trobriand islanders, found the exchange between islanders of the Kula Ring

Avon Products Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Avon Products - Case Study Example The company faced a challenge of flattening revenues and even declining operating income. There were many factors that led to this decline, one of the issues was that the company had grown at a faster proportion than the infrastructure and talent could hold. This called for an immediate intervention to save the company from collapsing. The current CEO who was known as Jung and the executive team launched a basic restructuring of the organization in starting of 2006 (Effron, 2009). Question two Leaning and transparency model was one that was targeted to bring change in the organization. For an organization to bring in change, one of the ways to ensure that change does not impact negatively to the organization is through training of employees. By doing so, employees are able to learn new tactics to use in order to integrate with the new change. In addition, employees are able to acquire skills to enable them to cope with the new requirements of the change. The company investment in exe cutive talent is one way of implementing learning model. The company planned to refurnish new talents as a way of ensuring that the company keeps up with the latest growth of the company. The employee’s new knowledge was also to be used as a model of ensuring that they are able to sustain the current growth of the company. ... The company aim to transform the organization through establishing bodies that would oversee transparency process is another example that assisted me to identify the model. The company aim of changing the top management behavior through teaching them on how to maintain a good image of the company is an aspect that is in learning and transformation model. The company also went ahead to recognize every personnel behavior as critical to the overall success of the business. These transformations were supported by performance reviews that were aimed at keeping an eye on the individual performance (Harris, & Hartman 2001). Question three One of the evaluation information that was obtained is that there is a need to create an efficient communication channel which will ensure that organizations processes are carried out in an efficient manner (Zofi, (2011). Communication plays a great role in tackling problems that might affect the organization. Efficient communication also ensures that ther e is a good relationship between leaders and their subordinates. In addition, communication plays a great role in enabling the organization to solve any issue that might affect the organization performance. This evaluation problem was to ensure that poor communication was eradicated and leaders implement policies that would enable the top management and low ranked employees to communicate frequently an aspect that would positively impact on the performance of the employees. Lastly communication would enable leaders to assess the talent of their employees. This is an important move in ensuring that categorization of talents in the organization is done appropriately (Harris, & Hartman 2001).