Prevent From Engaging In Premarital Sex Theology Religion Essay

Prevent From Engaging In Premarital Sex Theology Religion Essay In Malaysia, premarital sex is still a big NO-NO in our culture for various reasons. Sex comes with responsibility. Thus it does not matter if it is premarital sex, extra-marital sex, marriage sex or even unconsented sex. If you engage in premarital sex, be prepared to take all consequences including dealing with your God, pregnancy, the potential gossips and condemnations from the world, etc. Sexuality is not an instrument of enjoying lustful pleasure for human beings, at least. In premarital sex, many a times, immature human beings explore the sexuality, jut out of curiosity, and might be are unaware of the consequences. Society has forbid premarital sex from the very outlook that adolescence is the time to form oneself as mature and responsible human being and not at all a time to procreate. We have to start saying No! to premarital sex. We should keep in mind that engaging in premarital sex is not the best way to convey your love towards the one you loved. We should push the thought to the back of our minds and remember that we would definitely feel sorry later if we engaged in premarital sex. One of the ways to prevent premarital sex is to start from education. Sex education should begin at home and as early as possible in a childs life. The parents must have a close relationship with the child to make him feel comfortable to talk about his anxiety and concerns. From the healthy discussion between the parents and the child, the topic of premarital sex can be brought up easily. The parents may give the child piece of advice on dealing with the relationship between couples. Keep an open mind and be ready to answer any questions openly and honestly. Learning the truth about sex is much better then learning false info from peers. The parents have to help their child when their child is in a relationship. The parents should not get panic and freak out when their child is in a relationship. They should help the child in avoiding temptation. For example, the child can go on supervised group dates and invite the partner over when an adult is home where premarital sex is less likely to happen. One-to-one time with the partner alone should be strongly discouraged as this may lead to unwanted accidents to happen. The child should be aware of the serious consequences of premarital sex such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS. Currently, there is no known cure for AIDS. Though most parents may know this information, keep it in mind when discussing sexual behaviours with children. Educate your children with this information. It may mean life or death. Luckily, parents are not the sole providers of sex education. Schools can lend a hand by helping parents teach children about sex. Both of them should work hand in hand in handling this problem. The children and teenagers should be taught to protect themselves from premarital sex. They must understand that nobody can force them to do anything that they feel not comfortable with. They must realise how important it is to respect themselves, not using their bodies to fulfil the sexual desires of their partner. The school and the parents should tell the children to say No! firmly. The teenagers must remember, If you dont walk away, you will be sorry. The teenagers should strictly refrain themselves from reading, listening or viewing to those unsavoury media culture such as pornography and movies with sexual scene. Instead, they should choose something which is pure and healthy. For instance, they can involve in various healthy activities and sports which can build up their self-esteem. They should draw a line wisely to set limit on the expressions of affections. The girls should never give out false signals by wearing tight and revealing clothes which may cause them to fall into sexual immorality. The boys should always refrain themselves from making any rash decisions and they should always think of the consequences they may face after involving in sexual immorality. You must lead your heart rather than letting it to lead you. The teenagers should always be careful about the uses of alcoholic beverages. They may lose their inhabitations under the influence of the alcohols. If the couples find themselves uncomfortable with the intimate situation, they must do something that breaks the mood. It is difficult to avoid premarital sex from happening, but with a bit more effort it will become easier. Never compromise to your principles and say No! firmly to premarital sex. Conclusion Is premarital sex good or bad? Well actually, that depends on us to decide it. We can tell that premarital sex is against God, and it is unsafe physically and emotionally. Although sex is pleasurable, it is designed by God to be enjoyed by two married people. Sex is a holy gift from God wherein we celebrate it after marriage. A person should think long and hard before involving in premarital sex. Premarital sex seems to be a norm in nowadays. This should not be allowed among the teenagers. They should be aware of the bad sides of premarital sex. In a pleasure of a moment, they are being blinded by the sexual desire. In the moment of lust and passion, their future is destroyed. In the moment of foolishness and self-gratification, they will fall into the dark abyss. Sexual desire is like a fire and wont stop until it burns itself. Sex is for married couples and when done out of marriage it cause a lot of harm to the doers. The effects are not immediate but later in life they are devastating. The scars of premarital sex are painful and difficult to get rid of. They will leave an indelible mark in your life and it will always follow you even in your marriage. They will shame you, degrade you and interfere with your life. Imagine meeting your previous sex partners whilst with your husband and children. How would you feel? You will wish to hide but youll have no place to do so. So, think about it before it is too late. Premarital sex should strictly be banned from teenagers life. Parents have great responsibilities in educating their children about the essence of marriage and proper sex education should be given to the children. Parents should make an endeavour in teaching their children about sex, letting them know that it can be pleasurable, but there are so many risks involved sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and HIV, and unwanted pregnancy all which can be prevented. The teenagers will be in matured mind. As a result, the teenagers will know that marriage is not only about having sex, but having a harmonious family and a heavy responsibility as well. Teenagers should always keep in mind that, if a boy or girl truly loves you, they will want the best for you. They will not want you to suffer fear of disease, unwanted pregnancy and the psychological difficulties of premarital sex. They will want to experience love with you only in the very best place of all the love nest of marriage. So, say No! to premarital sex before it is too late.

The effectiveness of employee performance appraisal

The effectiveness of employee performance appraisal Performance Appraisal and Reward system is viewed as the systemic model that correlates supervisory feedback with the employee behaviour, attitude and motivation (Gomez-Mejia, 2007: p. 21-24). Historically, the Performance Appraisal and Reward system has been viewed as the feedback and critics framework to help the employees in enhancing their productivity and performance by virtue of constructive feedbacks, reviewing and rewarding past performance, setting the future goals, employee motivation, training and growth planning and problem solving/grievance handling (Hall et al. 1989: p. 54-67). However, the Performance Appraisal and Reward system in the modern world has been viewed as the tool for evaluation of productivity and efficiency of employees to determine their standing against the salary increments, bonus, promotions and layoff policies (Andres et al., 2010: p. 1599-1607). This has resulted in very narrow viewpoints about the system by employees (Reinke, 2003: p. 23-27) whereb y some take it negatively as well (Daley, 2007: p. 290-293). But Cook and Crossman (2004: p. 526-541) explained that the satisfaction with the Performance Appraisal and Reward system is better in employees that play the role of both appraiser and appraisee. They further explained that best results are obtained when 360 degree feedback system (appraising the managers) system is practiced by the organisation. This is the problem that the author proposes to address in this research. In the modern era when employees exhibit pessimism about the Performance Appraisal and Reward system (Daley, 2007: p. 290-293) because they consider it as the mere tool for deciding increments, bonuses, promotions and continuity in the company (Andres et al., 2010: p. 1599-1607), what makes it so vibrant in companies like KFC resulting in high employee motivation and reduced attrition (Huck, 2010: p. 1-3)? The proposed topic is: The effectiveness of Employee Performance Appraisal System (EPAC): A case study on KFC. 1.2 Background of the Organisation Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is the highest revenue earning chain restaurant of Yum! Restaurants which is ranked at number 239 on the Fortune 500 list that exceeded global revenues of 11 Billion US Dollars in year 2008. KFC is regarded as the fastest growing brand in chain restaurant segment in the world that operates like a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) producing good Chicken dishes under the name finger lickin good. (Huck, 2010: p. 1-3) The company was founded as Kentucky Fried Chicken by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, though the idea of KFCs fried chicken actually goes back to 1930 (Shuker, 2008: p. 8-11). In UK alone, KFC employs more than 22000 people in more than 780 stores across the nation (Huck, 2010: p. 1-3). KFC was regarded as the second best employer on the Britains Top Employers 2010 list. It achieved 3.5/5 stars in Pay and Benefits, 4.5/5 stars in Training and Development and 5/5 stars each in Career Development, Working Conditions and Company Culture in the five attributes rated by CRF Institute in the Britains Top Employers 2010 survey. (Huck, 2010: p. 1-3) KFC has an excellent employee performance measurement system, promoted by parent company Yum! Restaurants. The Champ Card peer rewarding system has been elementary in achieving high motivation and reducing employee turnover. (Corporate Executive Board, 2006: p. 4) 1.3 Purpose of Research Employee Performance Appraisal System (EPAS) is the mechanism of longitudinal (over a period of time) performance management of employees (Smither, 2001: p. 1-7). If designed appropriately, it can result in effective bonding between supervisors and subordinates by virtue of open discussions, appraising strengths and weaknesses of subordinates and the work systems in which they operate, identification of trainings requirements, awareness of future goals, confidence boosting, rewards and recognitions, motivation, etc (Smither, 2001: p. 1-7). The end result can be boost in organisational productivity (Gomez-Mejia, 2007: p. 21-24) and even enhancement of the revenues and profits (Boice and Kleiner, 1997: p. 197-201). But the Performance Appraisal system needs to be designed very effectively and efficiently to ensure that the desired outcomes supporting boost in productivity and hence the revenues and profits can be tangibly achieved (Boice and Kleiner, 1997: p. 197-201). Gabris and Ihrke (2000: 41-44) argued that ineffective measurement systems are going to be questioned by the employees and hence may be unacceptable to them. If ineffective measurement systems are followed, the EPAS will not be perceived to be useful and hence the relationship of participants in review meetings will determine the results and not the actual performance of the employees (Bradley and Ashkanasy, 2001: p. 83-85). In this research, the author wants to learn about how exemplary performance appraisal systems, like the one practiced by KFC, are designed and how are they accurately linked with employee motivation, productivity, and the overall organisational performance. The rewards and recognition system studied by Corporate Executive Board (2006: p. 4) emphasised on the peer relationships, spot reward system for quick wins and celebrating individual and group successes in vibrant ways (like clapping for colleagues, announcing quick wins, giving away Champ Cards, etc.). These attributes are highly advocated by Gabris and Ihrke (2000: 41-44). 1.4 Research Questions Following are the proposed Research Questions for the study: What are the areas of employee performance evaluated by KFC in their EPAS? What are the criteria and performance measures applied in KFCs EPAS? How effective is KFCs EPAS in measuring employees performance? How KFCs EPAS affects motivation and future growth of the employees? What are the scope of improvements in KFCs EPAS? 1.5 Research Objectives Following are the proposed Research Objectives of this study: To study the features of KFCs EPAS and learn the underlying causal factors that contributed to its phenomenal success across the world. To map the learning points from KFCs EPAS with empirical evidences in academic literatures and understand how the academic world have been advocating about such causal factors. Identify new learning points that has not yet been identified by the academic world and discuss about them. Present the value additions from KFC case study to already existing theoretical background in the academic literatures. Present a critical analysis of how KFC can further improve their EPAS by identifying the traits advocated by academic literatures but not prevalent in KFC EPAS. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction Gomez-Mejia (2007: p. 21-24) explained that supervisors feedback through performance appraisal systems can result in two types of responses of the employees Cognitive response and Behavioural response. He analysed that dysfunctional feedbacks (ambiguous, one way, inconsistent, judgemental, misdirected, coinciding with salary increments, etc.) can cause uncooperative cognitive response and reduced employee performance and functional feedbacks (job related, two way, explicit, consistent, clear, not linked with salary increments, etc.) can result in goal oriented cognitive response and improved employee performance Gomez-Mejia (2007: p. 22). Hence, the most effective systems of appraising performance are: functional, relevant, uniform and consistent. Pragmatism is important because it helps to ensure that the system will be easily understood by employees and effectively put into action by managers (Gomez-Mejia (2007: p. 22-24). Drawing upon arguments by Briscoe Schuler (2004: p. 5-57) performance can be viewed as a combination of several factors, such as motivation, ability, working conditions and expectations. It has been established that there are certain factors that affect employees performance more than others. These factors, according to Dowling et al (1999: p. 4-29), include the compensation package, the nature of task, support from higher management, the working environment and the overall corporate culture. In this chapter, the author has presented an organised literature review to analyse how the case study of KFC can be supported by the theoretical foundation already established by empirical theories. In essence, the research instrument can only be designed with the help of such theoretical foundation as explained by Saunders et al. (2007: p. 44-50). 2.2 Elements of Employee Performance Evaluation Traditionally, performance appraisal of employees has been viewed as the psychological test bed for employees that comprises of critics ratings, decision making on rewards and recognitions, deciding amount of salary increments, deciding future expectations, deciding continuity in the company, deciding promotions, measuring the alignment with departmental and organisational goals, etc (Elmuti et al., 1992: p. 42-48). The modern performance appraisal system is linked with quality improvement philosophies of the organisation that was originally conceptualised by Deming (Elmuti et al., 1992: p. 44-45). However, Levy and Williams (2004: p. 881-889) argued that the modern performance appraisal theories have travelled a long way to transition from mere enforcement tool of organisational objectives and quality targets to the system that influences the overall corporate culture and social system. This shall be very much evident in the case study of KFC where the EPAS is viewed to be contribut ing positively to the congenial and highly vibrant work environment in the organisation (Huck, 2010: p. 1-3). 2.3 Link between EPAS, Performance Measures and Staff Motivation EPAS can directly contribute to staff motivation if it is perceived to be fair, transparent, clear, consistent, continuous, bilateral and development oriented (Kavanagh et al., 2007: p. 132-137; Boice and Kleiner, 1997: p. 197-201). As reiterated by Boice and Kleiner (1997: p. 197-201) and Gomez-Mejia (2007: p. 21-24), discrete, one-sided, ambiguous, misdirected, and judgemental appraisals are perceived to be unfair and result in negative cognitive response, demotivation and reduced performance of employees. Boice and Kleiner (1997: p. 198-199) argued that surprises during annual performance reviews may result in retaliation by employees given that they deserve the right to avail continuous feedback. OConnor et al. (2010: p. 729-735) described that performance measures need to be realistic, practical and transparent to the employees such that positive cognitive and behavioural responses can be achieved. The objective of performance appraisal system should be to motivate the employees to achieve highest performance levels against the measures and not get threatened by the measures perceiving that they may be used against them if supervisor is not happy OConnor et al. (2010: p. 729-735). 2.4 KFCs EPAS in measuring performance and motivating their staff KFC has highly congenial and highly vibrant work environment. KFCs EPAS is designed on peer recognition model in which employees can recognise each other by giving away champion cards against quick wins. This is also carried out vertically in which juniors can reward seniors and vice versa. Such on the job recognitions are mapped with the corporate goals and values. This system in KFC meets the SSMART objectives: supports organisational goals and values, simple and sincere, meaningful, adaptable, relevant and timely. (Huck, 2010: p. 1-3; Corporate Executive Board, 2006: p. 2-4) 2.5 Effects of KFCs EPAS on KFC performance and competitive advantages The reports by Huck (2010: p. 1-3), KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Annual Report (2009: p. 8-9) and Corporate Executive Board (2006: p. 2-4) revealed that the key competitive advantage of KFC is the high employee retention and productivity against close rivals like McDonalds. KFC has been rewarding their high performing employees consistently and have been able to retain talents by virtue of their on-the-spot recognition scheme. 2.6 Conclusions The EPAS system should ensure congruence between organisational goals and employee performance and hence cannot be achieved in discrete form (like annual reviews). It has to be continuous and on-the-job. The model by KFC is closely linked with the theories presented by Gabris and Ihrke (2000: 41-44), Kavanagh et al. (2007: p. 132-137) and Boice and Kleiner (1997: p. 197-201) that advocated transparency, consistency, bidirectional, fostering trust relationships, strengthening the colleagues on-the-job, setting of good examples, celebration of quick wins, heart to heart recognition by individuals, and celebration of group success as the key objectives of EPAS that can finally result in high employee motivation and corporate productivity. 2.7 Conceptual Framework The author proposes to conduct interpretive study in which the outcomes of the primary research shall be categorised, classified, and tagged appropriately such that wise interpretations can be drawn and compared with the theoretical foundation of past empirical studies. The author shall compare responses to all questions with the literature review, one-to-one, such that close correlation with the past theories can be framed. Gaps in KFCs EPAS against past theories and vice versa will be identified such that the conclusions and recommendations can be drawn. This approach is called qualitative interpretive study as described by Saunders et al. (2007: p. 44-107). Also Wolcott et al. (2002: p. 85-90) termed this approach as critical thinking research. This is further explained in the next chapter. 3.0 Research Design 3.1 Introduction AERA (2003: p. 2-11) emphasised that Research Design is the collection of various attributes of conducting the research that helps in making the study more focussed, purposive, unbiased, valid, reliable and ethical. Further to this, Bryman and Bell (2003: p. 3-45) described that Research Design begins with the philosophical approach that the author wants to take and leads to appropriate choices of methodology, approach, methods, instruments, sampling methods, data collection and analysis methods, pilot design and ethical considerations. The discussions follow. 3.2 Research Philosophy and Methodology Bryman and Bell (2003: p. 3-45) described that two philosophies are most prevalent in social and business research studies positivism and interpretivism. Positivists try to prove theories through research whereas interpreters try to learn theories through research. Hence, positivists always begin with hypotheses formulation and try to accept and reject them based on outcomes of study whereas interpreters begin with research questions and try to address them through learning from research. Hence, positivists always prefer scientific and objective research whereas interpreters prefer observational research, action research, descriptive research and critical thinking research. (Bryman and Bell, 2003: p. 3-45) Saunders et al. (2007: 44-107) described that positivists normally prefer quantitative research because it only takes numbers as inputs and comprises of scientific methods (like mathematical modelling, experimentation, statistical analysis, etc.) (Bryman, 2004: p. 59-77) whereas interpreters prefer qualitative research because it can take any form of inputs (text, numbers, pictures, etc.) and comprises of interpretive, analytical thinking and observational methods (Bryman and Bell, 2003: p. 3-24). The author perceives that positivists can frame hypotheses because they are seasoned experts in their respective subject matters and are very confident about what they want to prove. The author is an amateur in performance appraisal and hence wants to conduct this research to learn the best practices of EPAS from KFC and map them with literatures. Keeping this approach in mind, the author has selected interpretive philosophy with qualitative research. 3.3 Research Approach 3.3.1 Inductive Approach Qualitative researchers welcome any form of valid inputs (like text, numbers, pictures, voice recording, observations, experiences, etc.) and hence carry out inductive approach of learning (Bryman and Bell, 2003: p. 21-45). Given that the author has selected qualitative research, he wants to adopt inductive learning approach. 3.3.2 Deductive Approach Quantitative researchers only entertain numerical inputs that are applied in experimental setups or mathematical and statistical models to derive the outputs. The model of learning is in the form of P à   Q, where P is independent variable and Q is dependent variable and à   denotes the processor between P and Q. This is called deductive approach of learning. (Bryman and Bell, 2003: p. 21-45) The author has not adopted this approach because the methodology chosen is Qualitative. 3.4 Research Methods 3.4.1 Techniques and instruments Qualitative research is conducted using grounded theory, ethnography, phenomenology and action research techniques. Grounded theory employs learning from past theories, ethnography employs human observation and analysis, phenomenology employs learning from human experience and action research employs learning by participation and involvement. Grounded theory doesnt employ any specific instrument, ethnography employs observation charts, phenomenology employs structured and semi structured questionnaire and action research employs cause-effect charts. (Thompson and Walker, 1998: p. 63-69) The author wants to study EPAS by capturing human experiences (employees at KFC) and hence has proposed the choice of phenomenology with structured questionnaire. As described by Thompson and Walker (1998: p. 63-69), structured questionnaire helps in reducing bias and improving validity because the respondents are closely tied to the context of the questions. These reasons supported the authors choice of structured questionnaire. 3.4.2 Data Sampling, collection and analysis The author has chosen purposive sampling against quota sampling, convenience sampling and snowball sampling. Purposive sampling deals with mapping each possible candidate with pre-determined qualification criteria. Quota sampling deals with purposive sampling for multiple populations with different pre-determined criteria sets, convenience sampling deals with choosing respondents by virtue of ease of access and snowball sampling deals with testing purposive sampling against multiple pre-determined criteria sets and expanding the one that is most relevant. The data collection shall be cross sectional (not tagged with historical significance) and the data analysis shall be interpretive with critical thinking approach. This is further explained in the Reflections chapter. (Cooper and Schindler, 2003: p. 34-109). 3.4.3 Pilot Study As reiterated by Saunders et al. (2007: p. 52-63), pilot study can be very useful to enhance the quality of the instrument and test the interpretations of respondents and validity of the questions asked. It also helps in measuring time taken in conducting interviews. The author proposes to conduct pilot study among few friends and request for constructive feedback to enhance the questionnaire. 3.5 Conclusions The author has proposed to conduct the study employing interpretive philosophy, qualitative methodology, inductive learning approach, phenomenology technique, purposive sampling, cross sectional data collection and interpretive data analysis with critical thinking approach. 3.5.1 Validity and Reliability The validity and reliability shall be assured by carefully designing the structured questionnaire instrument and conducting pilot study to test and enhance it. The structured questionnaire instrument shall be based on the review of most relevant literatures and will be aligned with the research questions and objectives. 3.5.2 Generalisability Although the findings shall be applicable to KFC (due to case study approach), the author shall closely map the findings with the outcomes of the literature review to achieve generalisations. 4.0 Access and Resource Implications 4.1 Access to Subjects The author has access to employees in KFC given his association with the organisation. The study shall be conducted on selected employees of KFC outlets in London after obtaining permission from the Restaurant Managers. 4.2 Ethical Considerations The research shall be conducted in transparent manner keeping the rationale of study very clear to all respondents and the Restaurant Managers. The willingness to participate will be obtained from all respondents prior to starting the study. No deception shall be carried out in any form or shape. In addition, the author shall ensure that the emotional aspects, beliefs and ethnic/religious origin will be highly respected in the process of conducting the study. Moreover, the author shall honour the intellectual properties of literature sources by using Harvard referencing. 4.3 Resources The author proposes to conduct the study alone although volunteers are always welcome. The author plans to conduct face to face interviews and hence will have to bear travel expenses to all outlets and distribute the questionnaire in printed format. The theoretical foundation established from literature review shall be the primary resource that will help in accurate mapping with primary research and critical thinking. 5.0 Proposed Action Plan The author proposes the following action plan for the study. The weeks are proposed to be counted from the day the author gets a go-head from his supervisor to proceed with the study. The overall project shall be completed in eight weeks including weekends whereby the author has planned to dedicate about four hours per day to the study except the Week 6 in which the author may have to work for eight to ten hours a day to secure access to all respondents and conduct the interviews. The author has planned to conduct this entire research alone although volunteers to extend helping hand will always be welcomed. Activity Weeks WK1 WK2 WK3 WK4 WK5 WK6 WK7 WK8 The chapter 1 comprising of research context, aim and objectives, research questions and research structure design will be completed. The author shall conduct extensive research on various journal articles, past research reports, peer reviewed internet sites, books etc. and prepare the list of relevant literatures that shall be included in the References section. The author shall complete Literature Review Chapter (2) and Research Design and Methodology chapter (3). The author shall conduct purposive sampling to select respondents, design the questionnaire and conduct the interviews. (parts of chapter 4) The author shall interpret the responses, map with literature review, discuss the mappings critically and them present the conclusions and generalisations. (Parts of Chapter 4 and the entire Chapter 5). 6.0 Reflections on Learning As explained by Evans (2007: p. 1-4), the research is closely implicated with the ethics, values and cultural identity of the researcher. The philosophical considerations of the research is closely linked with what the researcher wants to achieve out of the study. Evans (2007: p. 104) and Cornish et al. (2007: p. 1-16) further described that the researcher may like to conduct research to study a problem area in depth that he/she wants to address in future, to closely study and understand the subject matter where he/she wants to build his career, discover the solutions to problems that has been bothering him/her for a long time, prove the existence of some theories or correlations between some variables that he/she has discovered during his/her experience in this world, to promote the light of education and learning, etc. The learning methods in research has often clashed in the past like the epistemological oppositions between Interpretivism and Positivism that has been prevailing f or ages (Lorenz, 1998: p. 309-316). The interpreters have been largely depending upon human analytics skills and positivists have been largely depending upon scientific evidence of existing phenomena in natural sciences (Lorenz, 1998: p. 309-316). But Bowden (2005: p. 4-52) and Irez (2007: p. 17-27) presented very unique reflection that can diminish all conflicts and standoffs among different believers. He explained that every researcher wants to know the truth and hence it doesnt matter how he/she knows the truth as long as he is able to get to it. The truth always more important than beliefs of individuals (Irez (2007: p. 18-19). If this is the case then why shouldnt we forget all the conflicts and employ the best of all philosophies and methodologies? He analysed that this thought approach may be correlated with the philosophy of Realism which is neither linked with positivism nor with interpretivism. Every research is in fact the relationship between subjects and aspects of the world. This is what comprises of the truth. One may like to know the truth by engaging with the subjects (interpretivism) or with the aspects of the world (positivism) or with both (realism). This can be understood from the following figure presented by Bowden (2005): Figure 1: The concept of Realism presented by Bowden (2005) The outcome may be descriptive, analytical or critical thinking. In descriptive outcome, the researcher may like to describe the outcomes to build a new theory, in analytical outcome the researcher may like to analyse the outcomes with respect to past theories and in critical thinking outcome the researcher may like to critically think on existing perceptions or existing ways of thinking and compare with the research outcomes to evolve the similarities and differences. (Bowden, 2005: p. 4-52; Wolcott et al., 2002: p. 85-103) As described by Wolcott et al. (2002: p. 85-103), critical thinking is a human skill that is developed by cognitive thinking and analysis (learning from the tangible evidences with a wider out of box thinking approach). It neither involves open ended interpretations nor a blind belief on experimentation or simulation results. The researcher applies cognitive thinking to all the outputs by comparing with multiple valid evidences (inputs) without showing any bias towards a particular type of input. The author has adopted critical thinking approach in this study. In this approach the author shall first develop theoretical foundation about the EPAS framework by browsing through various research reports, journal articles, books, peer reviewed Internet sources, etc. and short-listing the most relevant resources with respect to the research questions and research objectives. The structured questionnaire shall be an outcome of the theoretical foundation formed with the help of the literature review and shall be closely aligned with all the research questions. The responses of structured questionnaire will be closely mapped with the literature review by interpreting and analyzing the outcomes of each question independently and comparing with the theoretical foundation. The differences and similarities between the literature review outcomes and the structured questionnaire outcomes will be evolved by following critical thinking approach and finally the conclusions, recommendations and generalisations will be presented. The author believes in knowing the truth and hence is highly influenced with the realism philosophy. However, interpretivism has been selected in the research design because the author is not a subject matter expert of EPAS and hence wants to learn it by following the inductive learning approach. In future, the author wants to develop his career as human resources manager and hence wants to learn the best practices of EPAS thoroughly given that the author perceives it to be the most difficult challenge in human resources management given that the recipients are the agents that are highly impacted by the EPAS framework. In general, the author wants to develop his skills pertaining to focussed research, discovering the sources of information, finding the truth, critical analytics and deriving specific and general conclusions. These skills are very important in human resources management field because all policies and procedures (like the EPAS framework) are results of reflections from the employee surveys and measurement of their performance at work (Bradley and Ashkanasy, 2001: p. 83-96). The framework itself is meaningless if the criteria of measurements, evaluations and decision making is not understood and accepted by both the parties the appraisers and the appraisees. If the author achieves the role of Human Resources Manager, he perceives that two way communications based on research efforts and fact finding efforts will be key to success and accurate data and information will be the key driver to successful HR planning and implementation, especially in designing the EPAS framework. These skil ls can be generated with the help of this study. Finally, the author wants to reiterate that he will take the learning to his professional world and apply them as actionable outcomes, not only to practice his profession efficiently and effectively but also conduct more academic research studies in future. This study is expected to be very useful for students as well as professionals.

The Origin of Dreams Essay -- Sleep Sleeping Psychology Papers

The Origin of Dreams It is late and you are tired. You slide between the soft sheets and tug on the comforter until it reaches your chin. Your head sinks gratefully into the pillow, the smooth folds of pillowcase caressing your cheek. Your heavy eyelids fall closed. Slowly, all the muscles in your body relax. Your body is comfortable and ready for sleep, but your mind remains active. You think over the day’s events, the funny moments, the people you saw, the things you forgot to do. You think about what you will do tomorrow and the next day and next month and so on. Your breathing deepens and your heart rate slows. You realize you are no longer directing the pattern of your thoughts: they are moving off on a path of their own. But you are too tired to care. You drift to the edge of the world of sleep. After about 90 minutes of peaceful inactivity, your brain becomes extremely alert, but you do not awaken. You have entered the period of sleep know as Rapid Eye Movement, where dreams most often occu r. Random, disconnected scenes unfold before you like images on a movie screen. You see your parents waving to you from across a crowded room. You are transported to a large, sunlit meadow, where you are playing with a kitten, your first childhood pet. You can hear the kitten’s quiet purring, and you are filled with sensations of happiness and tranquility. Then you see your own body floating high above the ground, propelling itself effortlessly. You don’t understand these feelings and images, but they all seem to make perfect sense, and you don’t question them. Upon waking, recollection of the previous night’s journey will seem hazy and clouded, if you can remember it at all. This series of events occurs every night i... ...Dreams† http://psych.ucsc.edu/dreams/ Accessed 11/24/02 â€Å"dream† Encyclopedia Britannica http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=117531 Accessed 11/24/02 Eccles, John ed. Mind and Brain Washington: Paragon House, 1982 "electroencephalography" Encyclopedia Britannica http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=32861 Accessed 12/4/02. Foulkes, David. Dreaming: A Cognitive-Psychological Analysis Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1985 Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 1998 â€Å"mind† Encyclopedia Britannica http://search.eb.com/article?eu=54131 Accessed 12/5/02 Pfenninger, Karl H. and Valerie R. Shubik The Origins of Creativity Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001 â€Å"sleep† Encyclopedia Britannica http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=117529 Accessed 11/24/02

Austin Museum Of Art :: essays research papers

The Austin Museum of Art was the first of the three galleries attended. At the time, the museum had a touring â€Å"Rock and Roll† exhibit, which had its focus on the influence of the Rock –and-Roll culture on art. The pieces were arranged in a chronological order and started with the Pop Art of the early 1960’s. Located in the section were two silk screens, one of Mick Jaggard and the other of Prince, done by Andy Warhol. There were a few other pieces in this time period that helped to point out a major turning point in both art and photography. It was now okay to use other people’s photographs in an art piece. Also, it symbolized a beginning of the manipulation of the photograph. No longer were the artists bound to having their work on paper, there were new and limitless areas to explore now in photography. These were the main works that caught my attention in the museum, but there were many other pieces. Other works went through the abstract and full of color 1960’s, until the newer more mechanical art of the 1980’s and 90’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After attending the Austin Museum of Art, the students headed for a smaller, more informal gallery. The Dumont Gallery contained works from various photographers that were entered into a contest earlier in the year. Now the pictures were traveling around the state of Texas, and had even made a stop at the MSC in College Station. The pieces in the exhibit made visible the numerous ways in which art and photography can be presented. There were huge photographs, Polaroids, pictures developed onto clothing, series photographs, bound pictures, and a large amount whose methods of production could not be identified. There was one group of photographs done by the same artist that truly caught my attention. The artist, while a young woman did not have a very interesting life, and often sought refuge in the Nancy Drew mystery novels. Now, she has often caught herself talking to people about her life and actually telling the events that happened in the books instead of her l ife. It was because of those events that she did a series of photographs were she dressed up like Nancy Drew and posed in her pictures that played out the different stories from the books. She decided, why not be her if you think you are her.

Information Privacy and Governance :: Personal Information, Privacy Law

A number of high profile organisations have been subjected to great reputational damage resulting from a proliferation of personal information breaches (Protecting Personal Information, 2010). Organisations have made substantial use of their customer's personal information without doing much to protect the information. Organisation's collecting personal information have had little impetus to consider the best privacy protection solutions and people have not done anything drastic to initiate such action (Loss of privacy is price one pays to live in online world, 2011). It may take strong government regulation to propel organisations in this direction (Loss of privacy is price one pays to live in online world, 2011) leading to the pending implementation of the Protection of Personal Information Bill (POPI) (POPI: Threat or opportunity, 2010:22) in South Africa. The POPI Bill will address the right to privacy enforcing stringent measures on all public and private entities in South Africa to ensure that the personal information of individuals is protected. The Law Commission’s findings revealed that privacy laws are lacking in South Africa, despite the fact that the right to privacy is enshrined in the Constitution (Theophanides, 2010). POPI will pave the way for the constitutional right to privacy and will regulate the manner whereby personal information is processed providing individuals with the authority to protect their personal information (Theophanides, 2010). To prepare for POPI compliance, organisations will have to initiate an organisation-wide privacy protection programme. A very interesting market development has been the rise of a privacy GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) market niche (Kim, 2010). The three keywords, Governance, Risk and Compliance that emanate from this current context are commensurate with GRC, one of the latest acronyms to embrace the financial world (Conte, 2007:62). This acronym GRC has infiltrated the business community over the last years (Racz et al., 2010a:106) and is an executive-level concern of many enterprises today (Krey et al., 2011:350). GRC is an integrated approach overseeing people, processes and technology in order to deliver stakeholder value while managing risk and complying with regulations and laws (Anand, 2010:57). Many organizations get their first experience of a GRC program when they begin to implement a privacy program because privacy is an enterprise issue that spans legal, IT, compliance and business operations (Privacy and GRC: What the New Ponemon Study and the GAPP is Telling us, 2011). The POPI Bill is not exclusively an IT or legal or a process or security issue but a combination of all of these (POPI: Threat or opportunity, 2010:22). Information Privacy and Governance :: Personal Information, Privacy Law A number of high profile organisations have been subjected to great reputational damage resulting from a proliferation of personal information breaches (Protecting Personal Information, 2010). Organisations have made substantial use of their customer's personal information without doing much to protect the information. Organisation's collecting personal information have had little impetus to consider the best privacy protection solutions and people have not done anything drastic to initiate such action (Loss of privacy is price one pays to live in online world, 2011). It may take strong government regulation to propel organisations in this direction (Loss of privacy is price one pays to live in online world, 2011) leading to the pending implementation of the Protection of Personal Information Bill (POPI) (POPI: Threat or opportunity, 2010:22) in South Africa. The POPI Bill will address the right to privacy enforcing stringent measures on all public and private entities in South Africa to ensure that the personal information of individuals is protected. The Law Commission’s findings revealed that privacy laws are lacking in South Africa, despite the fact that the right to privacy is enshrined in the Constitution (Theophanides, 2010). POPI will pave the way for the constitutional right to privacy and will regulate the manner whereby personal information is processed providing individuals with the authority to protect their personal information (Theophanides, 2010). To prepare for POPI compliance, organisations will have to initiate an organisation-wide privacy protection programme. A very interesting market development has been the rise of a privacy GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) market niche (Kim, 2010). The three keywords, Governance, Risk and Compliance that emanate from this current context are commensurate with GRC, one of the latest acronyms to embrace the financial world (Conte, 2007:62). This acronym GRC has infiltrated the business community over the last years (Racz et al., 2010a:106) and is an executive-level concern of many enterprises today (Krey et al., 2011:350). GRC is an integrated approach overseeing people, processes and technology in order to deliver stakeholder value while managing risk and complying with regulations and laws (Anand, 2010:57). Many organizations get their first experience of a GRC program when they begin to implement a privacy program because privacy is an enterprise issue that spans legal, IT, compliance and business operations (Privacy and GRC: What the New Ponemon Study and the GAPP is Telling us, 2011). The POPI Bill is not exclusively an IT or legal or a process or security issue but a combination of all of these (POPI: Threat or opportunity, 2010:22).

Business Task 1 on individual report Essay

Business Task 1 on Individual report Introduction Part A: Analysis of the structure of industry Identification and description of the structure of the industry                   Despite its future economic prospects, the United Arab Emirates continues to suffer from corporate governance issues. The development of corporate governance in the region has largely been influenced by religion (Gellis et al., 2002). The rules governing the practice of corporate governance have been significantly influenced by Islamic Sharia. This reflects the cultural and religious characteristic of the region (Islam and Hussain, 2003). Islamic Sharia specifies a number of core values such as trust, integrity, honesty and justice which are similar to the core values of corporate governance codes in the West. However, a survey of corporate governance in a number of Gulf countries such as United Arab Emirates suggests that the region continues to suffer from corporate governance weaknesses. 2.0 Reasons for the structure including use of suitable evidence and data                   The structure of the above sectors and reasons for the structure and effects on the performance of firms has been vital subject of debate in the finance literature. Empirical evidence suggests that privately held firms tend to be more efficient and more profitable than publicly held firms. This shows that ownership structure matters. The question now is how does it affect firm performance and why this kind of structure? This question is significant since it is based on a research agenda that has been strongly promoted by La Porta et al. (1998; 1999; 2000).                   According to these studies, failure of the legislative framework to provide sufficient protection for external investors, entrepreneurs and founding investors of a company tend will maintain large positions in their firms thus resulting in a concentrated ownership structure. This finding is interesting because it implies that ownership structure can affect the performance of the firm in one way or the other. It is indisputable; the lack of regulations in corporate governance gives managers who intend to mishandle the flow of cash for their own personal interest a low control level. The empirical results from the past studies of impacts of ownership structure on performance of corporate have been inconclusive and mixed up (Turki, 2012).                   In response to corporate governance issues and their impact on corporate performance, Shleifer and Vishny (1997); and Jensen (2000) have suggested the need for improved corporate governance structures so as to enhance transparency, accountability and responsibility.                   Corporate governance reform and the introduction of innovative methods to limit abuse of power by top management have been justified by recent large scale accounting and corporate failures such as Enron, HealthSouth, Tyco International, Adelphia, Global Crossing, WorldCom, Cendant and the recent global financial crisis.                   According to Monks and Minow (1996) numerous corporate failures suggest that existing corporate governance structures are not working effectively. Corporate failures and accounting scandals initially appear to a U.S phenomenon, resulting from excessive greed by investors, overheated equity markets, and a winner-take-all mind-set of the U.S society. However, the last decade has shown that irregularities in accounting, managerial greed, abuse of power, are global phenomenon that cannot be limited to the U.S. Many non-U.S firms such as Parallax, Adecco, TV Azteca, Hollinger, Royal Dutch Shell, Vivendi, China Aviation, Barings Bank, etc. have witnessed failures in corporate governance and other forms of corporate mishaps.                   In addition to corporate governance failures, global standards have declined significantly and unethical and questionable practices have become widely accepted. The net impact has been a reduction in the amount of faith that investors and shareholders have in the efficiency of capital markets. There is no universally accepted corporate governance model that the interest of shareholders and investors are adequately protected as well as ensuring that enough shareholder wealth is being created (Donaldson and Davis, 2001; Huse, 1995; Frentrop, 2003).                   Much of the debate on corporate governance has focused on understanding whether the Board of Directors has enough power to ensure that top management is making the right decision. The traditional corporate governance framework often ignores the unique effect that the owners of the firm can have on the board and thus the firm’s top management. The traditional framework therefore ignores that fact that the owners of the firm can influence the board and thus top management to act of make particular decisions. Corporate governance studies are therefore yet to identify and deal with the complexities that are inherent in corporate governance processes (Jensen, 2000; Shleifer, 2001; Frentrop, 2003; Donaldson and Davis, 2001; Huse, 1995).                   Investment choices and owner preferences are affected among other things by the extent their degree of risk aversion. Owners who have economic relations with the firm will be interested in protecting their interests even if it is reasonably evident that such protection will result in poor performance. According to Thomsen and Pedersen (1997) banks that play a dual role as owners and lenders would discourage high risk projects with great profit potential because such projects may hinder the firm from meeting its financial obligations if the project fails to realize its expected cash flows. The government also plays a dual role in that it serves as both an owner and a regulator. Therefore owners who play a dual role in the firm often face a trade-off between promoting the creation of shareholder value and meeting their other specific objectives (Hill and Jones, 1992).                   Existing corporate governance frameworks have often ignored these issues in UAE. Rather, much of the emphasis has been on the effectiveness of the board in ensuring that top management is working towards meeting the goals of shareholders. Present corporate governance frameworks lack the ability to monitor owners and their influence on top management. The framework lacks the ability to align the role played by firm owners, board of directors and managers’ interests and actions with the creation of shareholder value and welfare motivation of stakeholders. Discussion of the possible future structure of the industry                   The United Arabs Emirates, and mainly Abu Dhabi, is enduring to increase its economy by reducing the total proportion impact of hydrocarbons to Gross Domestic Product. This is currently being done by growing investment in sector areas like: services in telecommunication, education, media, healthcare, tourism, aviation, metals, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, transportation and trade.                   Significant investments have been made by United Arab Emirates to establish itself as a regional trade hub. United Arab Emirates is also member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In addition, there are ongoing negotiations to establish free trade agreements with other regions and countries such as the EU. These factors will contribute positively to the region’s integration into the global economy. United Arab Emirates is currently working towards diversifying their economies from the oil sector into other sectors. This diversification is expected not only to increase trade among member countries but also to increase the region’s trade with other countries and regions (Sturm et al., 2008). How the structure affects strategy decisions                   Ownership structure has an impact on firm performance in United Arab Emirates energy production owned sector. This region has witnessed significant economic growth over the last few decades. The region is also facing turbulent times with respect to corporate governance practices, resulting in poor firm performance. Corporate governance issues are not limited to the United Arabs Emirates as part of GCC Countries. From a global point of view, corporate governance has witnessed significant transformations over the last decade (Gomez and Korine, 2005). As a result, there has been an interest in the research attention accorded to corporate governance. The credibility of current corporate governance structures has come under scrutiny owing to recent corporate failures and low corporate performance across the world.                   The risk aversion of the firm can be directly affected by the ownership structure in place. Agency problems occur as a result of divergence in interests between principals (owners) and agents (managers) (Leech and Leahy, 1991). The board of directors is thereby regarded as an intermediary between managers and owners. The board of directors plays four important roles in the firm. These include monitoring, stewardship, monitoring and reporting. The board of directors monitors and controls the discretion of top management. The board of directors influences managerial discretion in two ways: internal influences which are imposed by the board and external influences which relate to the role played by the market in monitoring and sanctioning managers (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; 2000). B: Contribution of the sector to the economy of your chosen country Analysis of contribution of sector                   United Arab Emirates remain major global economic player because it has the highest oil reserves. UAE together with the other Gulf Cooperation Council accounts for over 40% of global oil reserves and remains important in supplying the global economy with oil in future. As a result, investment spending on oil exploration and development of new oil fields is on the rise (Sturm et al., 2008).                   Global oil demand is currently on the rise. This growth is driven mainly by emerging market economies, as well as the oil producing UAE as part of GCC countries. In addition, Europe and the U.S are witnessing depletions in their oil reserves. This means that these regions will become increasingly dependent on the Gulf region which includes UAE for the supply of oil (Sturm et al., 2008). The importance of the United Arabs Emirates as a global economic player is therefore expected to increase dramatically in the near future Use of appropriate data and other evidence                   By the year 2011, the GDP of United Arab Emirates totaled to 360.2 billion dollars. Subsequently in 2001, yearly growth of GNP varied from about 7.4% to 30.7%. As part of the chief crude oil suppliers, the United Arab Emirates was at first cut off from the universal recession by high prices on oil that rose to a record 147 US dollars per barrel in the month of July in 2008. Nevertheless, the nation was ultimately influenced by the excavating worldwide recession which resulted to a decline in oil demand, reducing the oil prices to a reduced amount not exceeding a third of the peak of July 2008. In the last 2008 months, the trembles rumbling through global economies were lastly experienced in this section. Oil (million barrels) Proved reserves, 2013 Total oil supply (thousand bbl/d), 2012 Total petroleum consumption, 2012 Reserves-to-production ratio 97,800 3,213 618 95 Natural Gas (billion cubic feet) Proved reserves, 2013 Dry natural gas production, 2012 Dry natural gas consumption, 2012 Reserves-to-production ratio 215,025 1,854 2,235 116 UAE summary energy statistics C: Critical appraisal of sustainability targets on business plan of your chosen organisation                   Oil firms in United Arab Emirates is still quite immature. Most businesses are controlled by a few shareholders and family ownership is prevalent. Most large and small businesses are family businesses (Saidi, 2004). The state is also significantly involved in the management of companies (Union of Arab Banks, 2003).                   This is contrary to the status quo in Western democracies where firms are owned by a diverse group of shareholders which makes ownership to be completely separated from control. The ownership structure in United Arab Emirates suggests that stewardship and monitoring aspects of non-executive directors (NEDs) is absent in firms based in United Arab Emirates. Ownership concentration has remained high in the region because of practices such as rights issues which enable existing wealthy shareholders, and influential families to subscribe to new shares in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) (Musa, 2002).                   According to a study of the corporate governance practices of five countries by the Union of Arab Banks (2003), ownership of corporations is concentrated in the hands of families. In addition, corporate boards are dominated by controlling shareholders, their relatives and friends (Union of Arab Banks, 2003). There is a no clear separation between control and ownership. Decision making is dominated by shareholders. The number of independent directors in the board is very small and the functions of the CEO and Chairman are carried out by the same person. The high concentration in firm ownership therefore undermines the principles of good corporate governance that are prevalent in western settings (Yasin and Shehab, 2004). This evidence is consistent with findings by the World Bank (2003) in an investigation of corporate governance practices in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region which also includes the Gulf region. 1.0 Objective of empirical evidence                   The empirical evidence on the impact of ownership structure on firm performance is mixed. Different studies have made use of different samples to arrive at different, contradictory and sometimes difficult to compare conclusions. The literature suggests that there are two main ownership structures in firm including dispersed ownership and concentrated ownership. With respect to concentrated ownership, most of the empirical evidence suggests that concentrated ownership negatively affects performance (e.g., Johnson et al., 2000; Gugler and Weigand, 2003; Grosfeld, 2006; Holmstrom and Tirole, 1993). Different studies have also focused on how specifically concentrated ownership structures affect firm performance. For example, with respect to government ownership, Jefferson (1998), Stiglitz (1996), and Sun et al. (2002) provide theoretical arguments that government ownership is likely to positively affect firm performance because government ownership can facil itate the resolution of issues regarding the ambiguous property rights.                   However, Xu and Wang (1999) and Sun and Tong (2003) provide empirical evidence that government ownership has a negative impact on firm performance. On the contrary, Sun et al. (2002) provide empirical evidence that government ownership has a positive impact on firm performance. It has also been argued that the relationship between government ownership and firm performance is non-linear. Another commonly investigated ownership type and its impact on firm performance is family ownership. Anderson and Reeb (2003), Villanonga and Amit (2006), Maury (2006), Barontini and Caprio (2006), and Pindado et al. (2008) suggest that there is a positive link between family ownership and firm performance. Despite the positive impact some studies argue that the impact of family ownership is negative.                   The impact of foreign ownership has also been investigated. Most of the evidence suggests that foreign ownership has a positive impact on firm performance (e.g., Arnold and Javorcik, 2005; Petkova, 2008; Girma, 2005; Girma and Georg, 2006; Girma et al., 2007; Chari et al., 2011; Mattes, 2008).With respect to managerial ownership, it has been argued that the relationship is likely to be positive (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; Chen et al., 2005; Drobetz et al., 2005). Despite this suggestion Demsetz and Lehn (1985) observe a negative relationship between dispersed ownership and firm performance. Institutional ownership has also been found to have a positive impact on firm performance (e.g. McConnell and Servaes, 1990; Han and Suk, 1998; Tsai and Gu, 2007). Furthermore, some studies suggest that there is no link between insider ownership and performance .                   Very limited studies have been conducted on the impact of ownership structure on firm performance in GCC countries like UAE. For example, Arouri et al. (2013) provide evidence that bank performance is affected by family ownership, foreign ownership and institutional ownership and that there is no significant impact of government ownership on bank performance. Zeitun and Al-Kawari (2012) observe a significant positive impact of government ownership on firm performance in the Gulf region.                   The pervasive endogeneity of ownership has been cited as a potential reason why it is difficult to disentangle the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance. In addition, the relation may be a function of the type of firm as well as the period of observation in the life of the firm. This study is motivated by the mixed results obtained in previous studies and the limited number of studies that have focused on UAE as part of GCC countries. The objective of the study is to explore in more details the factors that motivate particular types of ownership structure and the potential impact of ownership structure and firm performance in the Gulf region 2.0 Empirical Evidence                   The empirical evidence will focus on how different ownership structures affect firm performance. Firms are often characterized by concentrated and dispersed ownership. Concentrated ownership is expected to have a positive impact on firm performance owning to the increased monitoring that it provides (Grosfeld, 2006).                   Dispersed ownership has been found to be less frequent than expected. Empirical evidence suggests that most firms are characterized by various forms of ownership concentration (La Porta et al., 1999). Given this high level of ownership concentration, there has been an increasing concern over the protection of the rights of non-controlling shareholders (Johnson et al., 2000; Gugler and Weigand, 2003). Empirical evidence shows that ownership concentration at best results in poor performance. Concentrated ownership is costly and has the potential of promoting the exploitation of non-controlling shareholders by controlling shareholders (Grosfeld, 2006). Holmstrom and Tirole (1993) argue that concentrated ownership can contribute to poor liquidity, which can in turn negatively affect performance. In addition, high ownership concentration limits the ability of the firm to diversify. There are various forms of concentrated ownership such as government ownership , family ownership, managerial ownership, institutional ownership and foreign ownership. In the next section, the literature review will focus on how these separate ownership structures affect firm performance. 2.1.1 Government Ownership                   The impact of government ownership on firm performance has attracted the attention of many researchers because the government accounts for the largest proportion of shares of listed companies in some countries and also because government ownership can be used as an instrument of intervention by the government (Kang and Kim, 2012). Shleifer and Vishny (1997) suggest that government ownership can contribute to poor firm performance because Government Owned enterprises often face political pressure for excessive employment. In addition, it is often difficult to monitor managers of government owned enterprises and there is often a lack of interest in carrying out business process reengineering (Shleifer and Vishny, 1996; Kang and Kim, 2012). Contrary to Shleifer and Vishny (1997) some economists have argued that government ownership can improve firm performance in less developed and emerging economies in particular. This is because government ownership can f acilitate the resolution of issues with respect to ambiguous property rights.                   The empirical evidence on the impact of state ownership on firm performance is mixed. For example, Xu and Wang (1999) provide evidence of a negative relationship between state ownership and firm performance based on data for Chinese listed firms over the period 1993-1995. The study, however, fails to find any link between the market-to-book ratio and state ownership (Xu and Wang, 1999). Sun and Tong (2003) employ ownership data from 1994 to 2000 and compares legal person ownership with government ownership. The study provides evidence that government ownership negatively affects firm performance while legal person ownership positively affects firm performance. This conclusion is based on the market-to-book ratio as the measure of firm performance.                   However, using return on sales or gross earnings as the measure of firm performance, the study provides evidence that government ownership has no effect on firm performance. Sun et al. (2002) provide contrary evidence from above. Using data over the period 1994-1997, Sun et al. (2002) provide evidence that both legal person ownership and government ownership had a positive effect on firm performance. They explain their results by suggesting that legal person ownership is another form of government ownership. The above studies treat the relationship between government ownership and firm performance as linear. However it has been argued that the relationship is not linear.                   Huang and Xiao (2012) provide evidence that government ownership has a negative net effect on performance in transition economies. La Porta et al. (2002) provide evidence across 92 countries that government ownership of banks contributes negatively to bank performance. The evidence is consistent with Dinc (2005) and Brown and Dinc (2005) who investigate government ownership banks in the U.S. 2.1.2 Family Ownership                   Family ownership is very common in oil firms in UAE. There is a difference between family ownership and other types of shareholders in that family owners tend to be more interested in the long-term survival of the firm than other types of shareholders(Arosa et al., 2010).. Furthermore, family owners tend to be more concerned about the firm’s reputation of the firm than other shareholders (Arosa et al., 2010). This is because damage to the firm’s reputation can also result in damage the family’s reputation. Many studies have investigated the relationship between family ownership and firm performance. They provide evidence of a positive relationship between family ownership and firm performance (e.g. Anderson and Reeb, 2003; Villalonga and Amit, 2006; Maury, 2006; Barontini and Caprio, 2006; Pindado et al., 2008).                   The positive relationship between family ownership and firm performance can be attributed to a number of factors. For example, Arosa et al. (2010) suggests that family firms’ long-term goals indicate that this category of firms desire investing over long horizons than other shareholders. In addition, because there is a significant relationship between the wealth of the family and the value of the family firm, family owners tend to have greater incentives to monitor managers (agents) than other shareholders (Anderson and Reeb, 2003). Furthermore, family owners would be more interested in offering incentives to managers that will make them loyal to the firm.                   In addition, there is a substantial long-term presence of families in family firms with strong intentions to preserve the name of the family. These family members are therefore more likely to forego short-term financial rewards so as to enable future generations take over the business and protect the family’s reputation (Wang, 2006). In addition, family ownership has positive economic consequences on the business. There are strong control structures that can motivate family members to communicate effectively with other shareholders and creditors using higher quality financial reporting with the resulting effect being a reduction in the cost of financing the business .                   Furthermore, families are interested in the long-term survival of the firm and family, which reduces the opportunistic behavior of family members with regard to the distribution of earnings and allocation of management, positions.                   Despite the positive impact of family ownership on firm performance, it has been argued that family ownership promotes high ownership concentration, which in turn creates corporate governance problems. In addition, high ownership concentration results in other types of costs (Arosa et al., 2010). As earlier mentioned, La Porta et al. (1999) and Vollalonga and Amit (2006) argue that controlling shareholders are likely to undertake activities that will give them gain unfair advantage over non-controlling shareholders. For example, family firms may be unwilling to pay dividends .                   Another reason why family ownership can have a negative impact on firm performance is that controlling family shareholders can easily favour their own interests at the expense of non-controlling shareholders by running the company as a family employment service. Under such circumstances, management positions will be limited to family members and extraordinary dividends will be paid to family shareholders (Demsetz, 1983; Fama and Jensen, 1983; Shleifer and Vishny, 1997). Agency costs may arise because of dividend payments and management entrenchment (DeAngelo and DeAngelo, 2000; Francis et al., 2005). Families may also have their own interests and concerns that may not be in line with the concerns and interests of other investor groups (Shleifer and Vishny, 1997).                   Schulze et al. (2001) provide a discussion, which suggests that the impact of family ownership on firm performance can be a function of the generation. For example, noting that agency costs often arise as a result of the separation of ownership from control, they argue that first generation family firms tend to have limited agency problems because the management and supervision decisions are made by the same individual. As such agency costs are reduced because the separation of ownership and control has been completely eliminated. Given that there is no separation of ownership and control in the first generation family firm, the firm relationship between family ownership and performance is likely to be positive (Miller and Le-Breton-Miller, 2006). As the firm enters second and third generations, the family property becomes shared by an increasingly large number of family members with diverse interests. The moment conflict of interests sets in the relatio nship between family ownership and performance turns negative in accordance to (Chrisman et al., 2005; Sharma et al., 2007). Furthermore, agency problems arise from family relations because family members with control over the firm’s resources are more likely to be generous to their children and other relatives (Schulze et al., 2001).                   To summarize, the relationship between family ownership and firm performance may be non-linear. This means that the relationship is likely to be positive and negative at the same time. To support this contention, a number of studies have observed a non-linear relationship between family ownership and firm performance (e.g. Anderson and Reeb, 2003; Maury, 2006). This means that when ownership is less concentrated, family ownership is likely to have a positive impact on firm performance. As the family ownership concentration increases, minority shareholders tend to be exploited by family owners and thus the impact of family ownership on firm performance tends negative. Small countries have a relatively weak diamond of competitive advantages (Vlahinić-Dizdarević; 2006). D. Analysis 1.0 Potter’s Diamond Model                   The competitive forces advantages or analysis ought to be fixed on the main competition factors and its impact analysis on the business (Porter 1998, p.142). The state, and home wealth cannot be inherited -3554730607695Faktorski uvjeti 00Faktorski uvjeti -27546301293495Vezane i podrÃ… ¾avajuće industrije 00Vezane i podrÃ… ¾avajuće industrije -332041536195Ã…  ansa 00Ã…  ansa – it ought to be produced (Porter 1998, p.155). This wealth is influenced by the ability of industry to continually upgrade and innovate itself, and this is achievable exclusively by increase means in production – in all parts of fiscal action. The model of Porter concerns aspect which circuitously or openly affects advantage of competition. The aspect structure a place where given manufacturing sector like in this case, oil sector, state or region a learn and act on the way of competing in that environment. (Porter; 1998, p. 165). left0                   Each diamond (oil) and the field of diamond (oil) as the whole structure consists of main influences that makes the oil sector competition to be successive. These influences entail: every ability and resource vital for competitive advantage of the sector; data forming the opportunity and providing the response to how accessible abilities and resources ought to be ruled; each interest group aim; and the is most crucial, oil sector pressure to innovating and investing. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths The oil sector has many years producing oil and so is well established. Comparatively lots of sub-sectors for industrialist stability and support. Weaknesses Comparatively out of date scientific foundation. Inadequate well educated professionals and residents in comparison to the new industry needs. Lesser costs of work cost in oil sector due to low salary from regular salaries in UAE. Opportunities The likelihood for resources application of EU agreement funds, as is the state resources Reasonably good quality of 11 % graduate students share that are likely to be absorbed into this oil sector. Contribution in motivational and investment projects that help in developing the economy of UAE every time. Threats Expansion of oil production capacity of economies of South-Eastern that have competed with low prices of products and little costs of production. Loan jobs and production globalisation. 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Preserving the Past for the Present and Future

Logan Shetlar Mrs. Deggner Expository Writing 201 30 March 2012 Preserving the Past for the Present and Future Many people have little to no knowledge about human’s prehistoric past, especially that of humans in the Americas. As you cruise down east bound Interstate 70 and make it through St. Louis, you start to drive by one of North America’s largest prehistoric city structures, Cahokia. According to the Cahokia Mounds Historical Site, this city covered six square miles, had 120 mounds, and was home to anywhere between 10,000 to 20,000 people from the years 700 to 1400 AD (Keller).Cahokia use to be a major regional trade center with huge mounds that had large palaces for city rulers, plazas, different neighborhoods, and even gaming fields, but much of this has been lost from natural wear of the land and also human destruction. I-70, although a hugely important interstate nearly connecting coast to coast, cuts right through some of the city, and new housing developments slowly threaten the area (Ritterbush). This human destruction happens all over and continuously erases some of human history from right beneath our feet.Archaeological sites should be preserved in order to protect unwritten human history, create economical benefits, and teach future generations about the human past and allow for future studies. Much of the reason why many people do not realize there is even a problem with the destruction of archaeological sites is that the sites are prehistoric, meaning they date back to times before written records, and most people have not heard of the sites.People in charge of a building project, such as project developers, may not realize they are about to build on top of an ancient prehistoric site, which is why there has been a federal law that now requires an archaeologist to come out to check land that may be developed. An archaeologist job is to work in the field and scientifically record and recover any artifacts they may find, usually se veral feet in the ground. The archaeologist then records all their findings and takes the material items back to a lab where they are cleaned, processed, and recorded (Professional Archaeologist).Needing to hire an archaeologist from the State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) inevitably costs money, which makes for a group of people who dislike the law and the idea of preserving sites. Costs vary from the size of the project and weather or not sites are found, and if the law is not followed, federal permits and money can be lost, along with additional fines. All of this can be problematic, and a possible setback in the building plans for the project developers, but it is a very important step (Getting the Archaeological Green Light).In an interview with Prof. Lauren Ritterbush, she told me about the Blue Earth Village, which she has personally worked at in the Manhattan area that has been nearly lost due to human developments. The Blue Earth Village, just east of Manhattan, Kan sas, is an early Kansa Indian village dating back to the 1790s. Modern buildings here, such as houses and a cattle show barn, have covered much of the village that was there prior, but what little is left allows archaeologist a chance to research it and provide the Kansa Indian people with information about their ancestors.If SHPO had been in place when this area was being developed, archaeologists would have been able to excavate the area and record new information about the area. Many archaeological sites also provide economic benefits, such as tourism, to the areas around the world and here in the states. Egypt’s economy relies heavily on tourism, considering the country is home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the pyramids, and other archaeological hot spots. In the year 2008, Egypt profited over 11. 8 billion dollars from tourism in the country.Tourism is also responsible for nearly 12 percent of the labor force in Egypt, making these archaeological sites hugely profitable (Dziadosz). For an example a little closer to home, take the Cahokia site mentioned in the beginning of the paper; the museum society there brings in thousands of new visitors each year. According to an article for the International Journal of Business and Management, tourism is a multi-industrial moneymaker that not only creates jobs, such as people who work in the museum at Cahokia, but also gets people to spend money in the area.The people that visit these sites need a hotel to stay in, gas to get their and back home, and food to eat; all providing profits that trickle back into the local economy. (Ardahaey 3). Much of the money that the these preservation sites receive are through donations (apparent on almost any website pertaining to archaeology by the â€Å"donate† page), so any money they make will go directly back into the economy through hiring new employees and allowing more of the sites to be preserved (Ken Keller).Some people may argue that stores, su ch as Wal-Mart, will do more economically for an area, but you cannot put a price tag on the knowledge that can be learned from the sites themselves. Getting an education is one of the most important parts of life in the 21st century, and for many generations to come. We all go to school till we are at least 16 years old and many of us go onto higher education, devoting nearly all of our first 25 years of life to school and gaining an education. Preserving sites give a chance for future generations to learn from the site hands on and lead to possible new discoveries as future technologies are improved.Many people do not really know what an archaeologist really does, or how their work affects anyone in anyway. One misconception of archaeologists is that their work is unimportant. In one of Shana Leslie’s online articles, she states â€Å"Modern archaeologists work closely with specialists in a variety of fields – from medical doctors to environmentalists to policy plan ners† (Leslie). Archaeologists are able to determine what an area’s climate was like thousands of years ago by testing different layers of soils or how a whole group of people began to die out from their bones (Ritterbush).Another important part of the knowledge gained from the work of archaeologist is how humans have evolved over time. Not that human beings have physically changed, but the way we live and the technologies we are able to use and come up with have greatly changed. Archaeologists are able to date their finds and look at how people lived from hundreds of thousands of years ago, to just a couple thousand, which provides incite as to how we went from people using stone tools and living in natural shelters to the iPad using, web surfing, technologically advanced people we are now.The science and knowledge gained from archaeologist field and lab work can affect people in nearly any type of profession, and help teach the future generations about our human past. While the problem of losing archaeological sites to human development is not a news-breaking event, it is still largely important and creates multiple views. People who work in project management and on building planning teams deal with the necessary set backs that may occur from needing SHPO to come in and check their land. SHPO costs money and time, and depending on if a site or sites re found, could increase both of these, making some dislike the archaeological efforts. Many people also have opposing views on the economic values of archaeological sites, believing that the sites could be put to better uses such as farm land or being built up for businesses. Still some people are just unaware of the importance of an archaeologist’s job and the sites they work on. For several reasons, archaeological sites should be preserved because they offer knowledge about prehistoric human history, create economical benefits, and teach future generations about the human past and allow fo r future research.Nearly all of what we know today about life before written records, from locations like Pompeii to the city of Cahokia just east of St. Louis, comes from the work of archaeologist. While archaeological research may cause troubles for project planners who look to build on undeveloped land, the work that these scientist do can provide new information about life before we knew it. The sites found also offer economical benefits as they attract tourists to visit the location and spend their money.These benefits to the economy are incentive to continue and preserve archaeological research as it brings in more money and helps educate future generations. The work of archaeologist helps to advance the knowledge of the human past, provide new information in other professions, and ensure future generations the chance to continue to learn from these sites. For those reasons, there should be more support of archaeologists preserving archaeological sites. Work Cited Ardahaey,  F.. â€Å"Economic Impacts of Tourism Industry. †Ã‚  International Journal of Business and Management   6.   (2011):  206-215. Research Library,  ProQuest. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. Dziadosz, Alexander. â€Å"Egypt Tourism Numbers to Fall Less than Feared. † | Reuters. Thomas Reuters Corporate, 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. http://af. reuters. com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE59J0PG20091020? sp=true. | Keller, Ken, Eric Young, and Gary Kronk. â€Å"Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. † Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. http://www. cahokiamounds. org. Leslie, Shana. Archaeology – 10 Common Misconceptions About Archaeologists – Shana Leslie, Freelance Writer – SEO Copywriting & Professional Writing Services. † Shana Leslie, Freelance Writer. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. http://www. shanaleslie. com/item. asp? iid=28. Ri tterbush, Lauren. Personal Interview. 13 Mar. 2012 Professional Archaeologists of Kansas. Getting the Archaeological Green Light for Your Projects. Kansas: Professional Archaeologists of Kansas, 2012. Print. Professional Archaeologists of Kansas. Professional Archaeologists. Kansas: Professional Archaeologists of Kansas, 2012. Print.