Report Critique Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Report Critique - Assignment Example The Turnaround group of analysts considered the six best performing companies in the industry, which is indeed a reasonable number to regard in compiling the report. This piece of writing analyses the way out given by the explanation compiled by the team. The Turnaround research team’s idea of rating Lions Gate Entertainment’s company as the low performing firm is dreadfully precise considering the corporation’s portfolio diversification, leverage level, profitability and market allocation. Nevertheless, the firm performs highly in video production compared to other competitors. The Turnaround team therefore considered the overall industry performance, which is exceptionally plausible. The first six companies in the Motion Picture and Video production industry occupy the market focus. The top six companies comprises of 91.2% market absorption and experiences a fierce competition amongst themselves abandoning Lion’s Gate Entertainment Company with only 4.3% of the market allocation (Davidson et al 1) . High profitability in this established companies are caused by various factors ranging from the barriers imposed by the existing firms, buyers bargaining power, medium supplier power and the economies of scale enjoyed by the firms. The financial capabilities of the top six Motion Picture and Videos production companies have enabled them to acquire highly developed technologies and burly promotional networks thus covering a wider market. The monetary competence boosts the medium supplier power by using celebrities and creative artists in their Video production thus attracting larger crowd. Investors’ self-belief is also elevated on these companies due to a first-rate standing enjoyed by the enormous companies thus encouraging investments. The need to focus on the taste and fulfillment of the population is additionally important in attracting a huge customer base as explained by the team (Davidson et al 2-3). Lions Gate Entertainme nt Corporation should embark on having a large risk tolerance portfolio, which eventually increases investors’ confidence, and widening customer base. However, the increase of portfolio does not directly raise customer base as claimed by the report. The Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation should increase its investment in production in order to increase their profit margin as explained by the team. The larger firms seem to be investing much in video production thus increasing their income. This can also apply in the Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation for higher profitability. The fact that Lions Gate Entertainment Company has lower cost of production is not adequate since the team further explains the higher debt to equity ratio, which directly affects the net profit of the firm. The shareholders do not enjoy the dividends because a larger amount of profit is used to pay the debtors. The Lions Gate Entertainment firm cannot therefore use diversification strategy properly d ue to its fiscal incapacity. Furthermore, the financial inability makes the corporation have a low cost budget, which cannot be interpreted as efficiency due to diseconomies of scale. Although, Lions Gate has expanded its portfolios, it experiences an overall net loss due to its unprofitable subsidiaries thus reducing its dividends. The team suggestion that the

Culture of multilingual students

Culture of multilingual students Annotated Bibliography Sowden, C. (2005). Point and counterpoint. Plagiarism and the culture of multilingual students in higher education abroad. ELT Journal, Volume 59/3 July 2005. doi : 10. 1093/elt/ccio42. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sowdens research investigates multilingual students possessing different cultural values considering plagiarism in academic writing. In the introduction, the importance of avoiding stereotyping and respecting foreign traditions are mentioned as a main criteria. Instead of plagiarism already discouraged by practising oral presentations, students familiarity with concepts should be improved. After considering the fact of multilingual students commiting plagiarism, aclear distinction between the plagiarism of ideas and the plagarism of language is made in the research. Examining the plagiarism of ideas, the research shows that the Asian teaching system called Confucian teaching depends on statements cited just once. Furthermore, students are required to reproduce papers and copy teachers as well as not having own opinion. Finally, the research explains that committing plagiarism is part of the learning method, and valid intertextuality from deliberate copying can be distinguished. Rà ©ka Lelkes Gergely J. Tamà ¡si BBN-ANG-108/s Annotated Bibliography March 5, 2010 Liu, D. (2005). Plagiarism in ESOL students : is cultural conditioning truly the major culprit? ELT Journal, Volume 59/3 July 2005. doi : 10. 1093/elt/ccio43. Oxford : Oxford University Press. Lius article, after claiming that plagiarism was considered mainly aculture-specific concept in the past decade, does not agree with Sowden that the issue of multilingual students commiting plagiarism should be dealt in moderation. Lius research investigates that information about ESOL students found plagiarizing is dubious and inaccurate. He agrees with Sowden that cultural differences and the arreas of learning can not be distinguished. On the contrary, he mentions stereotyping as anegative phenomenon used by teachers for student behaviour. He also mentions the encouraging athmosphere of Chinese education where students are not allowed to plagiarize. This article states that while memorizing the writings, students in China gain knowledge about writing techniques and rethorical styles as well. In conclusion, he adds that the aim of teachers is to provide the highest level of teaching language and academic writing for students. Rà ©ka Lelkes Gergely J. Tamà ¡si BBN-ANG-108/s Thesis Statement March 5, 2010 Thesis Statement Although many people may not have enough leisure time, Ibelieve that reading books instead of watching their movie adaptation is definitely better for three reasons. Rà ©ka Lelkes Gergely J. Tamà ¡si BBN-ANG-108/s Annotated Bibliography March 5, 2010 Ridgway, T. (2000) Listening Strategies I beg your pardon? ELT Journal, Volume 54/2 April. Oxford : Oxford University Press. The article of Ridgway investigates the relationship between oral and written communication. He claims that skills and strategies can be distinguished as two important groups, and the meaning of strategies spreading from language is not clear. Other problem in case of strategies is deciding how useful strategies are in pedagogic practise.

Groups and Teams Essay -- Team Work Group Cycle Essays Papers

Groups and Teams The forming, storming, norming, performing model of team development was first introduced by Bruce Tuckman in 1965. He argued that these phases are all necessary and inevitable for the team growth, overcoming challenges and tackling problems, finding solutions, planning work and delivering results. Tuckman later added a fifth phase, adjourning, which is referred to by some as the mourning stage, which involves completing the task and breaking up the team. (Wikipedia, 2005) All teams, whether social, academic, or professional go through these five phases during team development (more permanent teams may not immediately face the adjourning phase) either consciously or subconsciously and the cycles are repeated throughout the life of the team. In the first phase, forming, quite simply, is forming a new team. A group of individuals are to form a team. The text, Organizational Behavior, 9th Edition, states that a primary concern is the initial entry of members to a team. This stage may be uncomfortable to some. For instance, at the University of Phoenix (UoP) learning teams are formed in the beginning of each class. Most learning teams are formed when students first begin taking classes at UoP and are, for the most part, maintained throughout the students' time at the school. During that first class period it may be uncomfortable for a group of strangers to begin talking and forming a team. The text says that during this stage individuals ask a number of questions such as, ?What can the group do for me ?What will I be asked to contribute ?Can my needs be met (p. 268,  ¶ 2) Individuals are getting to know each other and trying to determine where they fit best. Once the team is formed, the next step the team will encounter i s storming. The storming stage begins when the team is presented with tasks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ?The storming stage of group development is a period of high emotionality and tension among the group members.? (p. 269,  ¶ 1) The team enters the storming stage as different ideas are presented for consideration. Topics that send UoP learning teams into the storming phase are, when and where to meet, which topic to do a presentation or paper on, or deadlines for assignments. During this phase team members become more familiar with the personality types of each other. The storming stage can also be very uncomfortable as feelings a... ...al go through these phases whether they define them in this sense or not. All teams form together, norm together, perform as one, and either adjourn once the task is completed or begin performing another task. While more permanent teams revert back to the performing stage most often, ?even the highest performing teams will revert to earlier stages in certain circumstances? (Wikipedia, 2005). Adding a new member will send developed teams into the forming stage, all teams will face conflict and that may send the team into the storming phase, resolving that conflict shifts the team into norming and eventually the team will begin to perform again as a powerful harmonious unit. References Schermerhorn, J. R., Hunt, J. G., & Osborn, R. N. (2005). Organizational Behavior. 9th edition, Chapter: 9. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Smith, M. K. (2005) 'Bruce W. Tuckman - forming, storming, norming and performing in groups, the encyclopaedia of informal education. Retrieved July 12, 2005 from www.infed.org/thinkers/tuckman.htm. Wikipedia.org. Forming-Storming-Norming-Perfoming. (2005) Retrieved July 12, 2005 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forming-storming-norming-performing

Differences Between Four Hispanic Groups

Despite important differences in historical experiences, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Mexican Americans share a similar socioeconomic status. Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan were among the first to recognize the parallel: â€Å"To a degree that cannot fail to startle anyone who encounters the reality for the first time, the overwhelming portion of both groups constitutes a submerged, exploited, and very possibly permanent proletariat. â€Å"(Marifeli, 1993) The marked debility of their position relative to the citywide standard is clearly reflected in several indicators.Patterns of labor force participation, unemployment rates, and median family incomes indicate that the gaps between native minorities and whites have persisted for decades. Nevertheless, there are discernible differences between the two minority groups. Comparative Community Infrastructures: Migration and Settlement Three features affecting a migrant group's eventual prospects for social mobility in its new locati on are (1) time of arrival, (2) the economic conditions surrounding its initial entry, and (3) the pace of its incorporation. As noted earlier, U.S. society is often viewed as embodying a â€Å"queuing system† in which each of successive groups of migrants establishes a foothold and struggles for social and economic mobility until it attains its particular form of accommodation. Scholars have debated the role played by such factors as the cultural characteristics of the group, discrimination, political activity, and a host of other influences. But it has been generally presumed that in time the descendants of first-generation migrants will find their niche within the larger society. (Chavez, 1991)Before the massive Puerto Rican migration that took place following the termination of World War II, a significant immigrants’ community existed, nourished by several decades of migrant labor. From a purely chronological standpoint, one reason may be that the pre-World War II Puerto Rican community–with its active but still embryonic array of community institutions–had in effect been swamped by the mass migration of the late 1940s and 1950s. (Edwards, 2001) Other features of the Puerto Rican experience may also have contributed to the relatively slow development of political organizations.One important influence was the New York branch of the Commonwealth Office of the Puerto Rican government. Established in 1948 to assist arriving migrants, it was a subsidiary of the island-based government and recognized by U. S. agencies as an official entity aiding Puerto Ricans in the settlement process. The office assumed responsibility for such functions as monitoring a program of contract farm workers; referring arrivals to employment opportunities, housing assistance, and social services; and familiarizing Puerto Ricans with the legal and cultural realities of life on the mainland.The effects of racial discrimination on labor force segmentation-and vice versa–are exemplified in the experiences of Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans. Denied access to educational skills and union power, and often victimized by discrimination in hiring, Hispanics were effectively excluded from primary jobs during the period of transition leading to segmentation in the early twentieth century. (Edwards, 2001) Their confinement to secondary jobs had as much to do with racial oppression as with the class processes that determine how white workers are allocated across segments.Racial dynamics may have other consequences. The political struggle of racially oppressed groups can provide the impetus for the creation of new jobs and may even help to transform industries, affecting the segmentation process from the demand side of the economy. The history of Mexican Americans, the second largest racial/ethnic minority, reveals another kind of interface between segmentation and racial processes. In effect, the communities of Mexican origin that popul ated the U. S. Southwest from the mid-1800s through the first few decades of the 1900s constituted an â€Å"internal colony.† (Barrera, Mario; 1999) Over time, with the penetration of U. S. capital into the region, Mexican labor was funneled into a specific range of low paying jobs. Whether as agricultural day laborers, mine workers, or ranch hirelings, their plight was unvarying: distanced from the rapid industrialization occurring in the North and lacking many of the civil liberties accorded to most U. S. citizens, these workers were subject to dual wage systems, debt peonage, and extreme labor repression. (Carey McWilliams , 1998)After World War II, Chicanos were integrated into the broader U.S. class structure through the labor segmentation process, but they still retain important elements of the colonial relationship. Overwhelmingly relegated to secondary labor, they have remained residentially segregated and politically powerless in many areas. (Tienda, 2002) Unionizati on helped Mexican Americans in employment sectors where they had no trouble getting jobs. But they also hungered for the work reserved for whites—because it was better paying and not as backbreaking and it conferred more status.Mexicans could not get jobs as store clerks, for example, except in places that catered to Mexicans. Many a young Mexican would look at the crisp white uniform of a Texaco service-station attendant or the technological skills needed to drive an urban bus with a degree of longing. Obtaining such a job was a mark of mobility. Again, this longing became an integral feature within the Chicano Movement. Many of the movimiento objectives, irrespective of the separatist rhetoric and emphasis on cultural pride, stemmed from a hunger for job status.Mexicans also looked to government employment as way of â€Å"getting ahead. † To get â€Å"un trabajo del citi† (a municipal job), even in street maintenance, offered security and fringe benefits. Conv incing the city council to put Mexican American employees on permanent status rather than being â€Å"temporary† became one of the first issues of Houston's Latin American Club (LAC). In reality, the Mexicans worked full-time for the city; they just did not get the fringe benefits. (Garcà ­a, 1990) World War II for many Mexican Americans became a major source of upward mobility.Just in the military service alone, some rose high in the ranks as enlisted men, fewer as officers, and were given supervisory duties over other men, including whites. Employment in the more highly technological manufacturing sector, spurred mainly by the defense industry, became the bailiwick of white workers, but Mexican Americans wanted access as well. Mexican American politicians and civil right activists tried to make the agency accountable, but for the most part the policy of keeping out Mexicans from other than menial jobs continued during the war.Most Mexican women stayed behind although many moved to other industrial areas in the boom years of the war and worked in places where Mexicans had never been allowed. In cities in the Midwest and Southwest that had wartime industries, hundreds of daughters of immigrants, who had first settled in the colonias earlier in the century, obtained industrial jobs that were normally done by men. The organizing of Mexican workers in the first four decades of the twentieth century cut across many labor sectors, but it concentrated mainly in mining and agriculture.The breadth of its activity was extensive, but victories were few, primarily because employers had the support of officialdom—local police, judges, city councils, and such. ( Gutià ©rrez, 1995) A report done for the Works Progress Administration indicated, While some gains have been made by the Mexicans as the result of organization, both through their own racial unions and as members of others of mixed racial makeup, these have been won at the cost of considerable viole nce and economic loss due to time spent in carrying on their struggles, during which income stopped.In addition, agricultural and service sectors were not accorded the protection of the National Labor Relations Act. That crucial legislation provided industrial sectors struggle-free unionization by removing many of the obstacles that had stood in their way. Certainly when Mexicans participated in work sectors that unionized, the tide of worker prosperity carried them into the suburbs and material well-being. In Arizona for example, at the time of the Chicano Movement a great sociological divide based on material attainment existed between Mexicans in mining communities and their paisanos in agricultural towns.But the unfinished work of acquiring â€Å"affirmative action† served as a vertebra for the movimiento. Confronting the systematic exclusion of Chicanos from educational institutions and desirable jobs that continued even after the Mexican American generation gave it â₠¬Å"its best shot† became the primary target of the Chicano Movement. (Skerry, 1993) To be sure, other issues were in the forefront, including cultural pride, police brutality, the Vietnam War. But all of these really revolved around the core concern: gaining access to the proverbial piece of the pie. ConclusionFor decades, although scholars have disputed the sources and ends of â€Å"assimilation,† it has generally been seen as a positive force, helping to homogenize numerous ethnicities into a stable, self-reproducing American identity. Characteristics of successful membership in U. S. society include penetration into the economic mainstream, emergence of a significant middle class, and monolingualism in the second generation, allegiance to European cultural traditions, suburbanization, and participation in established political structures. In recent decades, however, that model has been severely tested.First, native minorities fall outside several of the specified par ameters. Earlier in the century, because of their relatively small numbers and because racial hegemony kept them impoverished and invisible, these groups posed no fundamental threat to the assimilationist model. But as the postwar years brought about their population growth, migration to urban centers, and political insurgency, the racial and cultural backgrounds of groups such as Mexican Americans, Cubans and Puerto Ricans challenged the country to broaden its definition of â€Å"American. † Immigrant minorities are providing the second major test of the assimilation model.

Combating corruption Essay

Combating means to take action to reduce or prevent (something bad or undesirable). here in this context we are talking about corruption. So corruption means the misuse of power for own gain. Corruption affects adversely country’s economic development and achievement of developing goals. It promotes in efficiency in utilization of resources, distorts the markets and compromises quality. We know that corruption will not disappear from society. Our efforts are meant to restrict corruption and to protect as much as possible the poor and weak in our societies. In the end all corruption costs are paid by the consumer and the tax payers. They need protection. â€Å"Its the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. I may not be in your power, may not be in you time, that there will be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean You stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from you action, But if you do nothing, there will be no result.† -Mahatma Gandhi TRANSPARENCY: AN EFFECTIVE TOOL From the very beginning I would like to say that transparency is an effective tool in order for democracy to function and to prevent corruption. Transparency of government means that people can see what’s going on inside a government. The question rises here is that why government hide information from us? I think that hiding is a work of evil as old people says. So hiding information by the government from us is an evil work and when evil word is used in reference with government it mostly refers to CURROPTION. Corruption is the function of both opportunities to request and receive brief and the risk of detection. Corruption exists in every sector of a society. It damages the development of a nation by undermining faith in  public institutions, increases the cost of firm and discouraging the foreign and domestic investigations. According to the Transparency International’s 2009 repot corruption is the most rising challenge for business sectors both developing and industrialized counties. At the individual level, it raises the transaction cost and introduces reputational risk as well as opens up for extortion regardless of the sector and level of transaction, CORRUPTION HAMPER DEVELOPMENT. The UN point out that corruption takes many forms that very in degree, from the minor use of influence to in situationalized bribery. Corruption takes place in offline and online environments. Even if It take place in offline, which no doubt corruption does, it may leave trace online such as interpersonal communications, money transfer and indeed the opposite – lack in transaction.