Morbibity and mortality by race in US by agesexand location Essay

Morbibity and mortality by race in US by agesexand location - Essay Example The report from CDC presented detailed 2005 data on deaths and death rates according to a number of social, demographic, and medical characteristics. The data provided information on mortality patterns among residents of the United States by such variables as age, sex, Hispanic origin, race, marital status, educational attainment, injury at work, state of residence, and cause of death. Information on these mortality patterns is important for understanding changes in the health and well-being of the U.S. population Mortality data in their report can be used to monitor and evaluate the health status of the Nation in terms of current mortality levels and long-term mortality trends, as well as to identify segments of the U.S. population at greater risk of death from specific diseases and injuries. Differences in death rates among various demographic subpopulations, including race and ethnic groups, may reflect subpopulation differences in factors such as socioeconomic status, access to medical care, and the prevalence of specific risk factors of a particular subpopulation. Based on the statistics as of 2005, there were 2,448,017 deaths were reported in the United States according to the death certificates state agencies received and filed. Life expectancy at birth remained the same as in 2004- 77.8 years. Age-specific death rates decreased fo

One girl one dream Essay Example for Free

One girl one dream Essay This knew that this wasnt the end of the man, he would be back, but next time I will hopefully be a bit more prepared. Eleza is that you? Cried a soft voice Mum? Mum is that you? I didnt think it was possible Eleza I knew you would come back she replied I have to go mum sorry, I cant get close to you because it will rip you apart when I leave again, sorry I shouted while running away down the street No Eleza no! I cant cope without you screeched mum That was the last time I ever saw my mum. Gun shots were fired shortly after I had left, and I just assumed that the police heard her and found out where she was hiding. I knew that the police would be after me soon so I searched refuge on the out skirts of the village, fortunately a couple were also on the run from the police so I went into a home with them, it wasnt an amazing home but at least it provided a roof over my head and food for my empty stomach. Why are you running from the police? I questioned the couple, because of our religion, people here do not support our beliefs and say that we dont belong in this community they stopped, they were going to say more but they could see that I was too tired to listen and so they rested my head in the cloth and rug bed they had made up for me, I thanked them. I started to shiver as it got later into the night so I moved my bed closer to the raging fire to keep warm. I woke up the next morning still feeling incredibly tired because I didnt sleep very well. The couple were very kind to me, for breakfast they gave me a cup of milk and also a piece of bread. Once I had finished eating my food I told the couple what my situation was and what my plans are, they took it as quite a surprise but understood completely and even offered to help out. Knowing that they were old enough to earn a living I stayed along side them for many days. Later on that evening we gathered around the beaming fire and chatted for hours and hours, that was until there was a knock at the door, shh, Eleza hide quickly said the couple silently. I tip toed towards the wooden toy chest and climbed in. open up! demanded a strong deep voice, The woman opened the door to the strange dark clothed man. on the floor, now! he shouted again The did as he said, I couldnt see everything but I could see through a little hole in the side of the chest. Even before the couple could have a chance to speak, the man shot them both in the head. As that bullet pierced into their skull I cringed and couldnt bare the sight, I wanted to cry but any noise could give me the same shot to the head. The strange dark man left, dragging the 2 bodies behind him. I broke out of the toy chest and went to the bathroom; I splashed water onto my face to revive my self, I knew it wasnt worth getting worked up about as I already had a mission to complete. But this incident just made me more determined to get back at the mayor. Whats next? Chapter 11 Screaming with silent rage I crept through the village of murderers. My mind was spinning and I had headaches slicing in and out my skull. I noticed the mayor walking down the street, I followed not too far behind, by the looks of it he was walking towards the forest, I wanted to go see if Oscar was ok but didnt want to chance getting caught. I gave up on following the mayor because he walked into a building and then just disappeared out of sight. I then focused on getting into the forest to see the construction so far. It had been raining the night before so the way up the hill was wet and slippery, I fell many times, but easily managed to get back up again. When I finally reached the top of the hill I saw that the construction hadnt progressed much at all. I went around back to see more, Eleza.. PST.. Eleza over here came a whisper from behind. hey, how are you here, I saw you had a arrow in your back, you cant be alive! I stepped back in shock, that was a tranquiliser, the guard saw me and assumed I was trying to steal the blueprint, so shot me simple mistake, Im sorry I scared you like that. are you still willing to help me then? I wanted to get this over with so I wasnt going to laze about. dont worry about the building Eleza, since youve been gone I have spoken to the mayor and many arguments were fought, but I have managed to convince them to make the building eco friendly. It will cost a lot more money to make but you are the reason why many animals in this forest will be preserved and protected well done! thank-you for doing this for me, how can I repay you for this? I felt incredibly happy that someone was inspired by me. come down to the mayors office with me tonight, I think he wants to talk to you replied the boy. are you mad! I will be killed! I shouted no seriously I can honestly say that you are safe with me, please trust me as I trusted you before pleaded the boy I felt that if I didnt go then it would be mean because he had helped me out a great deal and I should help him in return. ok then, but if anything should go wrong then may your thoughts be guilty for ever I accepted to see what the mayor wanted. I went off into the forest to get ready for tonight, I found Oscar beneath a big branch where we once stayed. He followed me down to the lake, I took a swim to clean off so not to get bad impressions with the mayor. The time passed and by the time I had dried off and got back to the construction site it was already time to go. come on then we best get a move on I said while already walking. We reached the mayors present house on time, we knocked on the door and waited for a response. Helping out- chapter 12 Enter please spoke a well mannered butler Just stay calm and when the mayor wants to talk then let him demanded the boy Hello Eleza, I have heard many stories of you, I understand that you like to stand up for what you believe in, am I right? said the mayor in a strong voice Yes, you are correct I answer in the simplest way possible I want you to do a favour for me, I will pay for your food and sleeping place, you wonder why, but I really do think that you have the courage we need, do you think you can manage to stand up for what you believe in even if the opposition is bigger?. I thought for a while before proclaiming my reply, I would love to take hold of the responsibility of helping out, but do not understand why you would choose me to do this, I was being chased by your men the other day, how can I know that I can trust you? I still wasnt convinced but if what he was saying was true then I would be overwhelmed and hopefully do a good job. Ok, I guess I should tell you now, I havent been completely straight with you, I will look after the forest here for you, but you must leave to southern Africa to do a job for me, flight is paid for, and you will be helping the green team to help decrease the amount of de forestation, and also in your free time you will be helping the smaller children in the schools but if you do not accept this then your precious forest will be burned to the ground for my house to be bigger! So the choice is yours. It wasnt much of a choice so I just did what I had to and agreed to go. I will go but Oscar must be able to fly over with me! Im sorry but it is illegal for wild animals like Oscar to fly over on the plane with you I knew he was right so I just gave in, but made sure that he is promised to be looked after by the mayor. I looked back and went to talk to my friend, Ive never been to Africa, is this a nice place to be? I havent ever been either, but I do know that it is a third world country, with children that need your help replied my friend. The mayor went out the room and talked to another man about the trip, I was shacking but not because I was scared, just because I was filled with many emotions, I was actually quite excited. Journey and arrival chapter 13 I set off early the following morning and endured 12 long tiring hours on the flight to northern Africa, then another 9 hours on a train to my destination. When I got off the train my legs were numb and floppy. When I arrived I was directed into a small long building and was told what I should do. The mayor explained that he is only here today then will be flying home tomorrow, and then he introduced me to my mentor. Eleza, I hope that your stay here will be pleasurable, my name is Mandisa please come meet our youngest residents in our village. I was taken into a classroom where little children stared at the teacher, they gave her all their attention, there was no shouting, it was just calm nice place to learn. I didnt want to disturb them so instead I went into the village centre and saw just how hard it was for them to survive. Could I have a cup of water please? I asked a local The man said nothing, he walked over to a well and scooped out a bucket of water, I went over to him, he handed me the bucket. Is this what you drink everyday? I wondered I looked into the bucket; the water was cloudy with dirt floating on the surface. This wasnt what I was expecting, I was hoping that the people hadnt been drinking this for too long, this water isnt drinkable and could kill if the wrong bits are drank. It is the end of the school day now, come with me to see the children said Mandisa I followed her to the classroom again and met up with the kids, meeting them made me feel important, I felt like I was a vital part of their lives, and that I could make a difference to their lives. Hello, my name is Keon, whats your name? questioned a young boy Eleza, I am here to help you and your class friends out. Yay, no-ones ever come to our village before, other than Aitan, your mayor Is your mum going to pick you up from school? I just wanted to talk to him, I wanted to make friends. My mum is gone Keon fell silent and faced the ground she is gone, but my dad is in the fields. I have to go; my older sister has a disease and needs all the support she can get. Before I could get a chance to comfort him he was gone. I walked down the road and met up with Mandisa. Come; come quick, its Keons sister! She is in desperate need of help. I didnt rely, I just ran with her to his home. There was a huge gathering of people out side of the house; me and Mandisa stepped into the sweltering house mounted of sad people, the mood was unbearable and cries came from the room that Keons sister lay. I ran into the room and looked into the eyes of the girl, I could see that she was in a cycle of eternal pain; I knew this was an incurable disease and couldnt help but feel sorry for the girl, at such a young age, (2 years younger than me and 3 years older than Keon.) I left the house and went to the little mud cottage where I was staying, I sat on the bed and relaxed, I cant stand emotional moments, it just brings back bad memories that Id rather not think about. There was a knock at the door, Hello, Eleza are you in there? sobbed a voice from behind the door, I went over to the door to find Keon looking at me then grasped my waist and burst into tears I hugged him for over 10 minutes before he let go and sat next to me on the bed and told me the tragic news about his sister. His father kindly invited me to the funeral then took Keon back home to get some sleep. I was shattered and was shocked by how much happened to me in one day, and was glad when the day came to a close. But I was eager to see what tomorrow had in store for me. African life chapter 14 Eleza, Eleza time to get up whispered a soft voice in my ear I couldnt talk because my lips were so dry and crisp they remained sealed, I leapt out of bed. They gave me a towel and a bucket of water to wash my face with. The first job of the day was to cover a simple lesson of spelling; I walked to the classroom with the children and was introduced to them all. I then started off the lesson by asking each individual child what they think their abilities are, this helped me to know what their level of learning is currently. The teachers didnt have books to teach from, just a teacher that goes by memory. I didnt get an education so I wasnt doing anything too complicated; I just went over what I already knew. The school day wasnt very long because the children got too hot in the classroom, after the class Mandisa met me outside. She told me that I was here to make a difference to the peoples lives and that I should try to make some tasks up for myself to complete. I thought for just a few moments then decided what I was going to do next. Keon showed me around the village and pointed over to the forest, or what remained of it anyway. I told him that I will protest against the men but I couldnt use force. I think I have a plan, what is the cutest creature in your forest? I questioned The baby monkeys are cute, they live high in the trees Keon replied Lets go then I shouted to him while running through the forest. Keon knew that there was only a slim chance that my plan would work and so he didnt get his hopes up. It took a while to spot any wildlife in the forest because the noise of the chainsaws had frightened them half to death, I crept up quietly to one of the babies, the mother was higher in the trees so she didnt see me coming, Keon gently lifted down the monkey and handed it to me, then we walked for miles and miles to find the campsite of the tree murderers and once there Keon gave a good firm knock on the door and waited for a response. Whos there came a voice behind them I turned around quickly and addressed them, We are begging you please stop cutting down the trees, so many animals die because you have taken away their home and family, here is a monkey that is calling out for your help I had to make up a sad story about the monkey or it wouldnt take effect. I am just against it as you but we must do this otherwise we are out of jobs and wont be able to afford to survive. I could see that the man wasnt the kind to give up easily and so I diverted to the second plan,you know, we will always have a place for you in the village and even though you have had you arguments with them, Im sure if you stop cutting the trees down they will be happy to take you in. if this didnt work then we were screwed. This is something I will consider, it wont be immediate but you idea will not be discarded, dont come back, we will move Im due course. The turned and walked away into their house, we went back to the village and carefully put the baby monkey back exactly where we found it. I went back to my where I slept the night before and rested there. As I lay I thought about all the changes I could make to this village if I put my mind to it, I wasnt an adult, but the village treated me as one and made me feel wanted. This was when I knew, my dream has become a reality, I wanted to make a difference to the world and help those in more need than me. For once in my life I feel that I have done my parents proud and just wish that they could be here beside me. Everyday for over a month I got up and helped around the village, and every evening I would visit Keons mother and comfort her because the loss of her daughter was still on her mind. I had gone through so many adventures in my life and only in 1 year I had gone half way across the world and have witnessed life and death pass me by, and yet am still at a young age of 14, but my birthday is next week and the village kindly offered to have a little bonfire to celebrate, Keon even offered to sing a traditional African song called Kpanlogo this song had a strong meaning behind it but he wanted to sing it because it had a great tune to it. Free life takes a change chapter 15 Keon was now a big part of my life and was like a brother to me, his mum was a thoughtful woman and she welcomed me into her family. I took the job of permanently teaching his class and in the process I even taught myself new things and the children told me about the animals and wildlife that surrounds them. That night Mandisa walked up to me with tears building up in her eyes, she told me that the mayor said that I couldnt stay any longer, he needed help back home. So unfortunately my time in Africa came to an end. I was heartbroken to leave my new family, I felt like someone when I was there and didnt want to go.

Benefits and Strategies of Human Resource Development (HRD)

Benefits and Strategies of Human Resource Development (HRD) Introduction Human resource development coordinates the functions of training and development experiences in the organizations. In recent years the scope of human resource development (HRD) has expanded from simply providing training programmes to facilitating learning throughout the organization in a wide variety of ways. There is an increasing recognition that empoloyees can and should learn continuously, and they should learn from experience, from each other as well as from formally structured training programmes. Nevertheless, formal training is still essential for most organizations. 1.1 Training Defined. It is a systematic modification of behaviour through learning which occurs as a result education, instruction, development and planned experience. It is a learning experience in that it seeks a relatively permanent change in an individual that will improve the ability of performance on the job. Employee training is present-day oriented focuses on individuals, current jobs, enhancing specific skills and abilities to immediately perform their jobs. Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour as a result of practice or experience. Development focuses on future jobs in the organization. It seeks to improve a persons overall career prospect. It comprises series of planned training activities and experiences designed to improve managers performance. Activities include attending short courses, job rotation, understudying senior mangers, attachments, completion of long-term academic qualification in the management field. Education refers to activities that are aimed at developing the knowledge, skills, moral values and understanding required in all aspects of life. Its purpose is to provide the conditions essential to people to understand their environment and make a contribution to it. 1.2 SCOPE OF TRAINING Organizations provide training for many reasons: To orient new hires/employees To improve current performance for workers who are not performing well To prepare employees for future promotions, changes in design, processes, or technology in their present job To help organization achieve its purpose by adding value to its key resources (people). It means investing in people to enable them perform better and to empower them to make the best use of their natural abilities. To reduce the learning time for employees. Competitive pressures change the way organizations operate and skills that employees need. 1.3 Training as Related to Other HR Functions HRP identifies the skills and number of employees needed. Recruitment and selection function locates individuals with these skills in the labour market. Information on projected HR needs and probable qualifications helps determine amount and level of training to be provided. Performance evaluation specifies whether employees are performing to the desired standards and if not the employer discrepancies identified may signal the need for additional training. Performance evaluation may be used as criteria for evaluating training effectiveness. Training is pivotal in implementing organization-wide culture change efforts, e.g. developing a commitment to customer service, adopting total quality management etc. 1.4 Training benefits Minimizes learning costs Improves individual, team, and corporate performance in terms of output, quality, speed and overall productivity. Improves operational flexibility (multi-skilling) Attracts high quality of staff by developing their competences Increases commitment of staff. Help to manage change by increasing the understanding reasons to change Help to develop positive culture in the organization Help to provide high levels of service to customer. 2.0 Strategy and HRD Training can help an organization succeed in a number of ways. Ultimately it is employee knowledge and skills that produce the organizations products and services. Training facilitates the implementation of strategy in the following ways: Providing employees with the capability to perform their jobs in the manner dictated by strategy. Assisting in solving immediate business problems such as when managers in an action learning programme studies a real problem faced by their organization and recommend the solution. Helping the organization to keep ahead in a highly competitive and turbulent environment. The training function therefore, must foster a continuous learning culture and stimulate managers to reinvent their organization. Recent changes in the environment of business have made the HRD function even more important in helping organizations maintain competitiveness and prepare for the future. Technological innovations and the pressure of global competition have changed the ways organizations operate and the skills that their employees need. The tight labour market of the lat 2000s has increased the the importance of training in several ways: First, higher employee turnover means that more new employees need training. Second, it has been suggested tha frequent and relevant and relevant development experiences are an effective way to gain to gain employee royalty and enhance retention of top quality staff. Training must be tailored to fit an organizations strategy and structure. For instance, an organization whose strategy involves providing exceptional service through a committed, long -service cadre of a well qualified employees will need more complex training and career development systems than an organization that competes on the basis of simple, low-cost services provided by transcient, unskilled employees. The later will need a highly efficient orientation and basic training. Team- based high involvement organizations find that extensive training in team skills, as well as in individual job skills is necessary to make an innovative organization structure function as in tended. When strategy changes, training is needed to equip employees with the skills to meet new demands Training is seen as pivotal in implementing organization-wide culture -change efforts such developing a commitment to customer serviced, adopting a total quality management, or making a transition to self-directed work teams. PLANNED TRAINING A deliberate intervention aimed at achieving the learning necessary for improved job performance. Purposes: To identify and define training needs involves analyzing corporate, team, occupational, and individual needs to acquire skills knowledge or to improve competencies. Define the learning required Define the objectives of the learning learning objectives should be set which define not only what should be learnt but also what trainees must be able to do after their training programme. Plan training programmes these must be developed to meet the needs and objectives by using the right combination of training techniques and locations. Decide who provides the programme either from within or from outside the organization Implement the training ensure that the most appropriate methods are used o enable to acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes they need. Identification of Training Needs (Training Needs Assessment) It is an investigation that is undertaken to determine the nature of performance problems in order to establish underlying causes and how these can be addressed trough training. It can be undertaken to identify and justify developmental needs trying to prepare people to take extra responsibilities in future. Purpose and Methods of TNA The choice of methods and sources of information depends partly on the purpose of the training. If it is to improve employees performance and identifying performance deficiencies in the present job, the trainer must begin by looking at present performance to identify the performance deficiencies. Sources of information for this include supervisors and clients complaints, performance appraisal data, objective measures of output or quality or even conducting special performance tests to determine current knowledge and skill levels of employees. Individual or group interviews with superiors, incumbents or even clients. Once performance deficiencies have been identified, next step is to determine whether these deficiencies can be addressed by training. In some cases motivation, constraints, or poor task design can be the cause. If training is planned for current employee destined for promotion or transfer, needs assessment is more complex. The training specialist must measure the demands of the future job and then attempt to assess the ability of employees to meet those demands. If training is destined for new hires, the method must be slightly different. Training is designed on the basis of careful analysis of job content and the assumed characteristics of the trainees. Three Levels of Needs Assessment. Company level: Involves organizational analysis looking at how the training fits within the context of company strategy. Concern should be at issues pertaining to changes that have occurred in the organization e.g. organizational structure, process technology, production problems, human resource plans reputation with competitors, personnel statistics, customer complaints, employee behaviour, retention and motivation strategies Job/Task Analysis: use of job description job specification kind of skills, and knowledge required to perform the job be clearly established Individual levels: identify who should be trained current level of individual skills, knowledge and abilities performance standard of individuals training programme attended. IDENTIFY TRAINING OBJECTIVES Translate the needs identified at those levels into measurable objectives that can guide the training effort. PLAN TRAINING PROGMME It should contain objectives of the training programme Objectives should be the criterion behaviour i.e. the standards or changes of behaviour on the job to be achieved after training. It should have clear contents of what to be covered Length of the programme Where it will take place Techniques to be used Who will provide the training TRAINING METHODS On -the-job training: conducted at the work site and in the context of actual job. Learning by trial and error Sitting next to experienced worker Coaching: Experienced managers guide the actions of of junior or less experienced mangers. Job rotation-involves moving employees to various positions in the organization in an effort to expand their skills, knowledge, and abilities. It can be either horizontal or vertical (promoting employee to new position). It is a good method for broadening individuals exposure to company operations and for turning a specialist into a generalist. Job rotation provides an opportunity for a comprehensive evaluation of the employee by his/her supervisors Assistant to positions: Employees with potential are sometimes given opportunity to work under seasoned and successful managers in different areas in the organization. It helps to get exposure to a wide variety of management activities and are groomed for assuming duties of the next higher level. Committee assignment: It provides an opportunity for the employee to share in decision making, to learn by watching others, and to investigate specific problems. Committees can either task forces (which are temporary in nature), or permanent one. Advantages: the transfer of training to the job is maximized. costs of separating training facility and full- time trainer is avoided trainee motivation remains high because what they learn is job related. OFF-THE JOB TRAINING It is a formal method considered as an incentive, mostly organized in exotic places or in colleges and universities. This approach may not provide as much transfer to actual job as do on -the job programs. Methods include: Lectures and seminars: The traditional form of instruction revolves around formal lecture courses and seminars. They help individuals to acquire knowledge and develop their conceptual and analytical abilities. Simulations: Training technique using exercises based on actual work experiences. Exercises include case study analysis, role playing, business games etc. Team Building: It is the process of enhancing the effectiveness of teams. It helps employees develop capacity of work groups to interact more effectively and develop skills. LEARNING THEORIES They attempt to explain how learning occurs. Stimulus- Response school Cognitive School The Stimulus -Response School (Behaviourial school) Learning is the development of links between stimulus and response. Theorists interested in demonstrating how links can be encouraged, and the way in which experience of other stimuli can change bonds. Specifically, people must be stimulated by learning by the learning process. This school is based on conditioning theories Classical conditioning by Pavlov(1941) Operant conditioning by Skinner, 1953) Classical conditioning Behaviour is learned by repetitive association between a stimuli and a response. Stimulus observable condition that can give rise to behaviour. Response objective manifestation of behaviour Conditioning a process whereby an association is formed between a stimulus and a response Pavlov did an experiment with a dog using an unconditioned stimulus (meat) and a conditioned stimulus (bell). Experiment Before conditioning: Meat( unconditioned stimulus) Dog salivates(un Res) During conditioning: Meat + Bell (cond. Stimulus) Dog salivates (cond. Res.) After conditioning: Bell ringing (cond. Resp Dog salivates Implications: the experiment shows that learning can be transferred to higher order conditioned stimulus other than those used in original conditioning. However, it is difficult to trace exactly the cause effect relationship of the such behaviour. Operant Conditioning ( Skinner- 1953) A type of learning that involves an increase in the probability of a response occurring as a function of reinforcement. Suggests that people emit response that are rewarded Human beings learn behaviours that are rewarded and they will engage in those behaviours. Implications: In organizations, behaviours are learned, controlled , and altered by consequences managers use. Operant conditioning is used to influence behaviours by designing suitable reward systems. Cognitive Learning Theory It involves gaining knowledge and understanding by absorbing information in the form of principles, concepts and facts, and then internalizing it. Learners are regarded as powerful information processing machines Social Learning Theory It states that effective learning requires interaction. People participate in groups of people with shared expertise, and these are the primary sources of learning. Principles of Learning Goal Setting Individual behaviour is influenced by their conscious goals Hard goals result in better performance Learning objectives must be clearly conveyed to trainees Goals must be difficult enough to challenge individuals but not to discourage them Finishing the programme must be supplemented with evaluations, tests, quizzes or any reward. Reinforcement It consists of giving reward following performance of activity that increases the likelihood to perform the activity again. Trainee should know what specific behaviours are expected of him/her Reinforcement be related to these behaviours Reinforcement be prompt and continuous when trainee begins to learn new behaviour. Reinforcements must be effective and should very from individual to individual. Feedback (Knowledge of Results): Feedback with a directional function provides information about behaviour necessary to improve performance Feedback with motivational function provides information about outcome of behaviour that needs to rewarded Behaviour Modeling: People tend to pattern their behaviour with that of their associates, parents, friends, and acquitances etc. Much of the human behaviour is learned by observing others. EVALUATION: It is an attempt to obtain information (feedback) on the effects of a training programme, and to assess the value of the training in light of that information. Evaluation helps to know whether the progamme was worthwhile in terms of cost-benefit terms. It is difficult because it is difficult to set measurable objectives and to collect results the information on the results. Evaluation levels: Reactions: the reactions of participants to the training experience Learning: At this level it requires the measurement of how trainees have learnt as a result of their training new knowledge and skills acquired. Job behaviour: measuring the extent to which participants have applied their learning on the job. Assessing the amount of transfer of learning that has taken place from off the job courses. Organization: attempting to measure the effect of changes in the job behaviour of trainees on the functioning of the organization. E.g. improvements in output, productivity, quality, turnover. . PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Designing appraisal system Should reflect the needs of those concerned (organization) to collect information for personnel decision making and distribution of rewards. Should be related to longer- term needs of the organization e.g. kind of staff and how they will be developed. Should act as a consultation process: There should be a degree of compromise between the people involved in pursuit of the commitment to the system. Organizational structure and culture dynamically related and should be considered in designing of the system. E.g. a highly structured bureaucratic company will have a different system as compared to a company with a decentralized flat structure. WHO SHOULD BE APPRAISED? Self Appraisal: Reduces defensiveness Individual becomes motivated and committed Disadvantage: Leniency error. Peer Evaluation: May be accurate Appropriate for developmental purposes Useful when supervisor has no chance to observe the employee Can work well in teamwork. Disadvantage: Friendship bias. Immediate superior: Has knowledge of the tasks performed by individual Superiors Superior: He can countersign supervisors appraisal of the employee in approval indicating the process is fair He may directly carry out the appraisal 360- Degree appraisal: An appraisal device that seeks performance feedback from such sources as oneself, bosses, team members, customers and suppliers. It has more accurate feedback, empowering employees, and reduces the subjective factors in the evaluation process Assessment Centres: Assessment centers are most often used in appraising potential superiors and managers. Assessment centres use tests, group exercises and interviews to appraise potentials. MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES (MBO) It is an approach to performance appraisal which emphasizes the need to assess performance with reference: agreed output, tasks to be accomplished or standards of performance. It involves three steps: The employee meets the supervisor and agrees on a set of goals and standards to be achieved during a specific period of time. Goals should be quantifiable and agreed targets. Monitoring progress : employee left free to determine how to achieve the goals At the end of the set period, supervisor and employee meet to evaluate whether goals were achieved and decide together for the new set of goals. Feedback of Results (PA Interview) Before employees are told to improve their performance after appraisal, they must know how they are currently doing. Feedback Interview is a discussion between the supervisor and the employee concerning the employees past performance and how it wiil be improved in the future. Approaches to Feedback Interview Tell and Sell: -The supervisor tells the employee how good or bad the employees performance has been. He attempts to persuade the employee to accept his judgement. The employee has no input in the evaluation The discussion is directive and one sided. Problems Can lead to defensiveness, resentment, and frustration. Subordinate may not accept results and not be committed to achieving goals. Tell and Listen: Supervisor tells the employee what has been right or wrong, and gives him/her a chance to react. Employee participates in the interview by reacting to supervisors statement. Problem Solving: The employee has much more control over the interview He evaluates his/ her performance and sets own goals for future performance Supervisor is helper rather than judge There is an open dialogue in which goals for improvement are established mutually Advantages: It can lead to employee commitment to established goals

foolear Importance of the Fool in Shakespeares King Lear Essay

Importance of the Fool in King Lear    William Shakespeare's genius came from how closely he intertwined the two seemingly mutually exclusive realms to appeal to all socio-economic groups in his audience. The character of the Fool provides the closest intercourse of the two realms between King Lear's royalty and Poor Tom's poverty, while still maintaining their separation. The Fool's role in King Lear was to counteract the King's follies in order to bring him to his senses. With his honesty, wit, and clever wordplay that interweave foreshadowing and practical advice, the Fool entertains not only the King, but the audience as well, and brings some light and humour into this tragedy. All the characters in King Lear, apart from the Fool, are interconnected and of great importance to the story of King Lear and his daughters and the story of Edmund, Edgar and Gloucester. The character of the Fool did not have influence over Lear's decision to divide the kingdom, nor did the Fool have any connection with the subplot. Perhaps, for this reason many directors argue over the importance of his character. One should be able to realize that the presence of the Fool did not influence the overall impact of the play and that the two major plots would have occurred with him or without him. The character of the Fool should not be excluded from the play as this would damage the balance of tragedy versus comedy that was deliberately set up by Shakespeare, which would result in a loss of audience. There is a saying that goes, "Only fools and children tell the truth". Shakespeare does a great job of illustrating this saying through the Fool's character. The Fool is being loyal and honest to his master Lear no matter how painful the truth may... ...y reveals much of that friendly connection that the audience is asking for. Therefore, for all these reasons, I believe that the character of the Fool should not be taken out of the play even though it doesn't have a role in the two major plots of the play. Works Cited and Consulted Bradley, A.C. "King Lear." 20Lh Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Jane Adelman. New Jersev; Prentice-Hall, 1978. Colie, C.L. "The Fool in King Lear." 20th Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Jane Adelman. Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1997. Hunter, Robert G. Shakespeare and the Mystery of God's Judgments. University of Georgia Press, 1996. Knights, L.C. "On the Fool". 20th Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Jane Adelman. New Jersey; Prentice-Hall, 1978. Snyder, Susan. "King Lear and the Prodigal Son." Shakespeare Quarterly. Autumn 1966. pps. 361-369.

Understandanding the Role of the Social Care Worker

1.Understand working relationships in a care setting.1.1 Explain how working relationships are different from a personal relationship; a working relationship is different because of boundaries, in a personal relationship you have a different approach to your partner than you would to your colleague.1.2 Describe different working relationships in a social care setting; you work with a varierty of different people in the work settings; i.e doctors, family members and colleagues.You work with a doctor when an individual becomes ill or has a fall. You work with family members to let them know about their family member in your care. You work with colleagues as part of the job to care for a large number of indviduals.2 Understand the importance of working in ways that are agreed with the employer.2.1 Describe why it is important to adhere to the agreed scope of the job role;It is important to adhere to the agreed ways of the job role set by the employer as this sets out boundaries in your job role, enables you to know your role and responsibilities. Knowing your own level of competence and skills, knowing your job description.2.2 Outline what is meant by ‘agreed ways of working'; By following the companies policies and procedures based on safety guidelines.2.3 Explain the importance of full and up to-date details of agreed ways of working; By recieving a up to-date job description and reading it you know if you are the right person for the job. You would know if you had the right qualifications and experience the company is looking for and you would know what they expected from yourself.3 Understand the importance of working in partnership with others3.1 Explaine why it is important to work in partnership with others; It is important because if nobody worked in partnership the nobody in the care setting would know how to communicate and pass on information on each individual and they would be less confident in the work place.3.2 Identify ways of working that ca n help improve partnership working; Team work. Questionaires can increaae communication skills. Ringing other landings. Make what you say clear so you can get your point across.3.3 Identify skills and approaches needed for resolving conflicts; The ability to be quiet an listen. To be able to listen to other peoples points and opinions and to be considerate of them.3.4 Explain how and when to access support and advice about; Partnership working: in the workplace generally speaking, support and advice about working through and learning how to resolve conflicts would come from a person with more experience in the company such as head of department.Resolving conflicts: openly discuss differences in a calm and rational manner. For example, when having heated professional discussions with colleagues avoid rising to challenges or suggestions that you are incorrect or ask colleagues to listen to you and respect your opinions, but also respect their opinions.

The Quakers vs. The Puritans essays

The Quakers vs. The Puritans essays The Quakers were considered to be more liberal of all the new religious practices found in America. The Quakers didnt have any education on their practices because they saw no need for it. Everybodys own interpretation of the written word was as valid as the next persons. The term Quakers was actually considered derogatory they preferred to be called Professors of the Light or Friends, which was the most common term. The term Quaker was used to describe the people who tremble at the word of the Lord. The Quakers belief was extremely different of that of the Catholic Church, and the beliefs that were held by the Pilgrims and the Puritans. The Quakers believed that all possessed an Inner light. By finding this inner light you would have the Lords own hand helping you. You would be able to achieve spiritual perfection in a sense. This belief pertained to everyone in Gods eyes everyone was equal. The Quakers were critical in the early history of New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. William Penn was the son of a wealthy landowner and held some power in the English navy. Penns father was a friend with the king and the Duke of York, and several other people of importance at that time. Penn was somewhat of a disappointment because he got thrown out of Oxford University for hold unorthodox religious opinions. Penn was very passionate about the Quaker faith, he wrote forty-two books about his connection to his faith. Penn was awarded a great deal of land (Pennsylvania) by Charles II. The charters that Penn had, allowed him complete freedom in the designing of his own form of government. Some of the things that Penn guaranteed to the settlers were Freedom from persecution, no taxation without representation, and due process of law. Pennsylvania emerged as one of the most liberal colonies and seemed to hold the most vie ...

How to Write an Accounting Research Paper

How to Write an Accounting Research Paper Writing a research paper for Accounting is no different than writing a research paper for another discipline. However, there is no agreed-upon writing style format within this discipline, so be certain to follow your professor’s instructions. If no preference is stated, then follow APA guidelines, utilizing a 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Writing a research paper for Accounting involves several steps: Select a topic – If your professor has not provided you with a topic and you cannot readily think of one, then watch the news or read a newspaper. Some areas to consider for research are treasury stock, managerial, or financial accounting. The topic should be one that has relevance, not only to you, but to your targeted reading audience as well. Conduct some background research – Peruse at least three resources in order to develop an argument or thesis statement for your research paper. Develop an outline – Begin by providing your thesis statement above the outline. The thesis statement should consist of one or two sentences that clearly describe the purpose of your research paper. It is the controlling statement for your paper. The outline shows how you plan to develop your paper, step-by-step. Write your draft – Your paper should contain an introduction, body, conclusion, and references. Begin your paper with an introduction. It should include your thesis statement and should also explain the importance of your argument. The main part of your paper is the body where you will provide evidence to support your thesis statement, that is, the main premise or argument of your paper. The conclusion summarizes the main points in your paper with a clear connection as to how the points support your thesis statement. Unless specified by your professor, you are expected to cite sources from peer-reviewed journals. These sources should be listed on a separate references page in addition to being cited within your Accounting research paper. Revise your outline and draft – Expect to revise both your outline and draft as you write your paper. As you research, more ideas and information will surface. This will necessitate adding and/or deleting ideas as well as reorganizing the sequencing of ideas in a logical and coherent manner. Proof-read and edit your final draft. Make certain that mechanical errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation have been addressed. Recheck word-choice and sentence structure. You may need to pull out that thesaurus to avoid using the same words too many times. Avoid writing in first or second person. Do not use â€Å"he† or â€Å"she.† Instead, refer to â€Å"an individual† or â€Å"a person.†

A Lesson Plan on Rational Number Lines

A Lesson Plan on Rational Number Lines Students will use a large number line to understand rational numbers and to position positive and negative numbers correctly. Class: Sixth Grade Duration: 1 class period, ~45-50 minutes Materials: Long strips of paper (adding machine tape works well)Display model of a number lineRulers Key Vocabulary: positive, negative, number line, rational numbers Objectives: Students will construct and use a large number line to develop an understanding of rational numbers. Standards Met: 6.NS.6a. Understand a rational number as a point on the number line. Extend number line diagrams and coordinate axes familiar from previous grades to represent points on the line and in the plane with negative number coordinates. Recognize opposite signs of numbers as indicating locations on opposite sides of 0 on the number line. Lesson Introduction Discuss the lesson target with students. Today, they will be learning about rational numbers. Rational numbers are numbers that can be used as fractions or ratios. Ask students to list any examples of those numbers that they can think of. Step-by-Step Procedure Lay out the long strips of paper on tables, with small groups; have your own strip at the board to model what students should be doing.Have students measure two-inch markings all the way to both ends of the paper strip.Somewhere in the middle, model for students that this is zero. If this is their first experience with rational numbers below zero, they’ll be confused that the zero isn’t located on the far left end.Have them mark the positive numbers to the right of zero. Every marking should be one whole number - 1, 2, 3, etc.Paste your number strip on the board, or have a number line started on the overhead machine.If this is your students’ first attempt at understanding negative numbers, you’ll want to begin slowly by explaining the concept in general. One good way, especially with this age group, is by discussing money owed. For example, you owe me $1. You don’t have any money, so your money status can’t be anywhere along the right (positi ve) side of zero. You need to get a dollar in order to pay me back and be right at zero again. So you could be said to have -$1. Depending on your location, the temperature is also a frequently discussed negative number. If it needs to warm up considerably in order to be 0 degrees, we are in the negative temperatures. Once students have the beginning understanding of this, have them begin marking their number lines. Again, it will be hard for them to understand that they are writing their negative numbers -1, -2, -3, -4 from right to left, as opposed to left to right. Model this carefully for them, and if necessary, use examples such as the ones described in Step 6 to increase their understanding.Once students have their number lines created, see if some of them can create their own stories to go along with their rational numbers. For example, Sandy owes Joe 5 dollars. She only has 2 dollars. If she gives him her $2, she could be said to have how much money? (-$3.00) Most students may not be ready for problems like this, but for those that are, they can keep a record of them and they could become a classroom learning center. Homework/Assessment Let students take their number lines home and have them practice some simple addition problems with the number strip. This isn’t an assignment to be graded, but one that will give you an idea of your students understanding of negative numbers. You can also use these number lines to assist you as students learn about negative fractions and decimals. -3 8-1 5-4 4 Evaluation Take notes during the class discussion and the individual and group work on the number lines. Don’t assign any grades during this lesson, but keep track of who is seriously struggling, and who is ready to move on.

Bibliography- Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bibliography- - Essay Example The Geneva Conventions basically constitutes of international humanitarian regulations that seek to control the behavior of soldiers during armed conflict. Durham, Helen.  The Changing Face of Conflict and the Efficacy of International Humanitarian Law. The Hague u.a: Nijhoff, 1999. Print. Why did it come about? During the First and Second World Wars, prisoners from different nations across Europe were taken captive and brutally mistreated. The Second World War is perceived by most to be the worst war in history in terms of civilian casualties. The fact that so many innocent people in so many nations suffered from unspeakable brutalities inspired the proposals concerning respecting human dignity in the Geneva Convention. The source describes the fact that many countries were concerned about the cruelty meted out on defenseless men as well as civilians and began looking for ways in which they could maintain basic human dignity even in times of war (Durham 34). The Geneva Convention was the result of joint musings between nations on the right way to address violations of human rights that were common during war time. What is its purpose? Focarelii, Carlo. â€Å"Common Article 1 of the1949 Geneva Conventions: A Soap Bubble?† The European Journal of International Law 21.1 (2010): 136 The Geneva Convention binds all the states that signed it to a pledge that states that all civilians as well as prisoners of war captured in their nations in times of conflict shall be treated humanely. The source describes the Geneva principles as regarding the maintenance of the sanctity of human life were immediately accepted by the attending nations (Focarelli 136). This agreement essentially allowed the nations that signed it to pledge their agreement to ensuring that civilians as well as prisoners of war in any future conflicts would have their basic human rights respected. There were further endorsements by more than one hundred nations during the 1950’s and 60â €™s. The disintegration of the USSR during the early 90s would bring additional ratifications. The source further states that it is vital for all nations to understand the different policies that they have to ratify in order to implement the policies that were agreed upon during the Geneva Convention in 1949 (Focarelii 136). In the Geneva Convention, the member nations basically swore to maintain the prisoners of other nations in the best circumstances possible. To this day, it is basically this pledge of both negative and positive reciprocity that upholds the significance of the Convention. Have all nations upheld the Geneva Convention? Bennet, Angela. The Geneva Convention: The Hidden Origins of the Red Cross. London: Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2005. Not all nations have maintained this promise, but most nations actively work towards ensuring that they follow all the statues of the Geneva Convention. Apart from seeking to maintain human dignity, the convention also introduced equa lity in the treatment of different peoples. The source affirms that in the Second World War, American prisoners captured by Germans were often treated better than those of the USSR (Bennet 124). This trend was quite common in

Economic Comparison of China and USA Performance Research Paper

Economic Comparison of China and USA Performance - Research Paper Example This paper provides succinct economic comparative analysis of recent growth indicators of China and the United States. The result of economic comparison is essential in identify the right country for investing, as the behavior of the economic factors tends to predict political, social, and economic environment in this countries. The National Bureau of Statistics of China report indicates that from 2011 to 2013 the GDP growth rate averaged at 2 percent. This trend was higher in June 2011 at 2.50% and recorded low in March 2012 at 1.5%. Further, the report indicates that the Chinese economy is the second largest in the world after United States. The economic trends in China have changed in the past thirty years from market-oriented economy to a private sector economy. The Bureau of Economic Analysis report shows that United States is world largest national economy. It has a GDP of USD 16.66trillion, GDP per Capita of USD49, 601. The US A population living below the poverty line 14.8% and has workforce of 155.6 million out of which 11.26 million are unemployed. The GDP growth per sector shows that service industry is leading 79% whereas agriculture and industry trail at 1.2% and 19% respectively. The World Bank report indicates that the China’s economy is $10.1 trillion compared to $14.6 trillion for the U.S. based on the purchasing power parity. It appears that China is narrowing the gap fast and it might overtake U.S in the near future. In the past 10years, the China’s GDP averaged at 10.5% compared to the U.S 1.7%. ... Other factors which illustrate Chinese economic performance includes people living people the poverty line 13.1%, and average gross salary USD 457. USA The Bureau of Economic Analysis report shows that United States is world largest national economy. It has a GDP of USD 16.66trillion, GDP per Capita of USD49, 601. The US A population living below the poverty line 14.8% and has workforce of 155.6 million out of which 11.26 million are unemployed. The GDP growth per sector shows that service industry is leading 79% whereas agriculture and industry trail at 1.2% and 19% respectively (The World Bank, 2013). The average annual gross salary is USD 45, 790. In the year 2012, US spent USD 2.3trillion. The major import partners are China 19%, Canada 14%, Mexico 12%, Japan 6.4%, and Germany 4.7%. Largely, the consumer goods top the list of the US imports. On the other hand, US exports USD 1.56 trillion with the major export partners being Canada 19%, Mexico 14%, China 7%, and Japan 4.5%. Other economic factors defining the economic growth of United States are Education Cost whose GDP is 1%, health or social care 8%, and Federal Government including military spending 5%. Analysis of the Economic Performance The World Bank report indicates that the China’s economy is $10.1 trillion compared to $14.6 trillion for the U.S. based on the purchasing power parity. It appears that China is narrowing the gap fast and it might overtake U.S in the near future. In the past 10years, the China’s GDP averaged at 10.5% compared to the U.S 1.7% (The World Bank, 2013). This trend seems to suggest that China has many emerging opportunities that contribute to its fast economic growth as opposed to United States. A comparison between the US workforce and the China’s

Coronary heart disease in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coronary heart disease in the UK - Essay Example Cardiovascular diseases cause a lot of health problems in the UK. In 2011, the country experienced approximately 160,000 deaths due to these diseases. Majorities of deaths from heart diseases are brought about by heart attacks; the UK records around 103,000 heart attacks every year. The UK experiences approximately 152,000  strokes every year, which cause more than 40,000 deaths (Department of Health 2010). Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of deaths in the UK and around the world. The disease causes approximately 73,000 deaths in the United Kingdom every year (Mozaffarian et al. 2015). It is estimated that one in  a group of six men and one in  a group of ten women dies as a result of coronary heart disease. In the UK, there are about 2.3 million persons living with the disease. Around the world, approximately 2 million people are affected by coronary heart disease. As people grow old, they become more likely to get CHD; Men are more likely to suffer from the disease when they are much younger as compared to women (Mozaffarian et al. 2015). The high number of deaths caused by coronary heart disease requires immediate intervention in order to curb its spread. It is important to study the condition in order to know its causes, symptoms and establish how to treat it. The building up of fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries that directs blood to the heart causes coronary heart disease. The fat deposits cause the arteries to narrow leading to a reduction in the supply of oxygen to the heart (Shah 2006). The decrease in the supply oxygen causes pain in the chest or even heart attack. The heart is a muscular pump that moves blood to the lungs and the other parts of the body. The blood supplies the body with oxygen and other vital nutrients while taking away carbon dioxide and other waste materials. The heart gets a supply of blood through the coronary

Case Study 10.1 - Project Scheduling at Blanque Cheque Construction - 1

10.1 - Project Scheduling at Blanque Cheque Construction - Case Study Example A project manager may make use of the below approaches to estimate how long a project will last, rather than basing it on how long he is pressured to make it last. The expert opinion uses the consensus method to arrive at an estimate. The project manager will engage the services of at least three experts who have an understanding of the type of project to be undertaken or have managed similar projects before (Kerzner 6). After a briefing by the project manager on the project requirements, the experts discuss it among themselves and each submits their own separate estimates according to their understanding. Each produces a task list containing effort estimates for each task. The project manager then hands back a list of the estimates to the experts without revealing to which one of them each belongs. He asks the experts to consider the risks and estimates of the others’ results and recalculate their work. The experts then discuss the project to determine if any assumptions or issues have changed after the last discussion. After studying the combined estimates, the experts revise their estimates and submit the results independently again. If the discrepancies are still not practical, the project manager hands the results back again, or invites more experts. The aim is to make the difference between the lowest and the highest estimates as low as possible. The cycle may be repeated severally until most of the results are in or close to agreement. Once in agreement, an average of the experts’ estimates is used as the project duration. However, rather than spending much time on the estimation procedure, the project manager may use the results of several experts in the early stages. For example, if three experts determined the estimate as 2000 hours and one estimated at 4000 hours, he may need to ignore the overestimated duration but with the knowledge that he bears the risk of the duration accepted actually doubling. Past history is one of

How Does The Rising Rate Of Inflation Bring Down The Prices Of Houses Essay

How Does The Rising Rate Of Inflation Bring Down The Prices Of Houses In The United States - Essay Example Since two-thirds of households in the US or even more have possession of the houses that they reside in, the weight of Owner–Equivalent Rent in the CPI is significant; it accounts for around 23.8% of headline CPI and around 30.8% of the traditional core CPI which excludes energy and food. The rents languished due to an increase in the sale price of houses in the recent years. Since the year of 2000, it can be found that OER has increased approximately 26% while the government’s price index of existing homes has increased 80%. This indicates that the sale prices of existing homes and new homes rose by 5% or even more per year faster than rents since the twist of the millennium (Cecchetti, â€Å"Housing in Inflation Measurement†). Consumer Price Index Levels (1950-2003): Source: (Cedar Spring Software, Inc., â€Å"Price Inflation†). The above chart indicates how the effects of continuous inflation build up over the years. It consists of the index values of C PI for the month of December of each year. The value of index of 180 indicates that prices have risen 80% which is measured from a â€Å"base of 100†. With the help of index values, one can determine that goods and services which cost $3,000 at the end of the year 1992 will cost $3,897.00 at the end of the year 2003. The supposed household cannot wait for the inflation to be at a normal level. They must make sure that their interest and income keep pace with the long-term inflation or else they would become poor (Cedar Spring Software, Inc., â€Å"Price Inflation†). Percent Changes in Inflation (1950-2003): Source: (Cedar Spring Software, Inc., â€Å"Price Inflation†). The above chart depicts changes in the inflation rate and not the actual price changes. A line that trends downward which is above... The researcher of this essay focuses on the issue of the connections between the inflation and housing in the United States. The researcher states that although inflation occurs regularly in the economic system, it becomes a matter of concern when it reaches at higher levels. The rate of inflation, that is discussed and analyzed in the essay provides the measure of price changes, which occur for many goods and services. When it comes to individual goods, the changes in the prices vary greatly. The prices of number of goods such as gasoline, health care, housing and automobiles have significantly increased during the last decades. On the other hand, the prices of the commodities such as computing power and calculators have decreased. Different methods are used to measure the inflation rate, but the most common approach to measure inflation in the United States is Consumer Price Index (CPI) which includes the steps, described in the essay. The researcher then focuses on the calculating of the real inflation rates in the United States and provides graphics and charts on the topic of Percent Changes in Inflation and Consumer Price Index Levels. It is then concluded by the researcher that the stock market and the housing market had gone down, thereby reducing the supply of money and creating a crisis of liquidity, thus sinking the United States into a deflationary period where the prices were in fact lower than 2008, reaching a deflationary short of -2.1% in the month of July of the year 2009.

Need to Invent an Appropriate Technique to Extract Hydrogen from Research Paper

Need to Invent an Appropriate Technique to Extract Hydrogen from Non-polluting Sources - Research Paper Example Human activities are increasing the natural levels of those gases, by emitting carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas; methane and nitrous oxide produced by agricultural activities and changes in the use of land use; and by some industrial gases that do not occur naturally but are long-lived in the atmosphere. Emissions of poisonous gases from vehicles are also constantly polluting the air. In fact, a large proportion of harmful gases in the atmosphere are being emitted from the vehicles. With the development of civilization, the rate of transportation has also increased. Today, most of the vehicles are run by fossil fuels, like petrol, diesel, coal etc. the burning of these fuels emit hazardous gases in the atmosphere and enhances the risk of global warming. In order to protect the Universes from the curse of global warming, the immediate need is to reduce the emission of those gases that are responsible for global warming. In order to red uce the emission level, the prime requirement is to discover alternative sources of energy other than fossil fuel. The vehicles, therefore also need to be run by the energy whose production does not need petrol, diesel or coal. Scientists are experimenting with several alternatives to the traditional source of energy for the vehicles. Fuel cell cars seem to be an appropriate solution to the problem of global warming.   In the last twenty years, scientific knowledge has led to the understanding that anthropogenic, human-made actions were responsible for the changes in global climate. Those changes are a consequence of the emission and accumulation of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere.  

Case Study 10.1 - Project Scheduling at Blanque Cheque Construction - 1

10.1 - Project Scheduling at Blanque Cheque Construction - Case Study Example A project manager may make use of the below approaches to estimate how long a project will last, rather than basing it on how long he is pressured to make it last. The expert opinion uses the consensus method to arrive at an estimate. The project manager will engage the services of at least three experts who have an understanding of the type of project to be undertaken or have managed similar projects before (Kerzner 6). After a briefing by the project manager on the project requirements, the experts discuss it among themselves and each submits their own separate estimates according to their understanding. Each produces a task list containing effort estimates for each task. The project manager then hands back a list of the estimates to the experts without revealing to which one of them each belongs. He asks the experts to consider the risks and estimates of the others’ results and recalculate their work. The experts then discuss the project to determine if any assumptions or issues have changed after the last discussion. After studying the combined estimates, the experts revise their estimates and submit the results independently again. If the discrepancies are still not practical, the project manager hands the results back again, or invites more experts. The aim is to make the difference between the lowest and the highest estimates as low as possible. The cycle may be repeated severally until most of the results are in or close to agreement. Once in agreement, an average of the experts’ estimates is used as the project duration. However, rather than spending much time on the estimation procedure, the project manager may use the results of several experts in the early stages. For example, if three experts determined the estimate as 2000 hours and one estimated at 4000 hours, he may need to ignore the overestimated duration but with the knowledge that he bears the risk of the duration accepted actually doubling. Past history is one of

Need to Invent an Appropriate Technique to Extract Hydrogen from Research Paper

Need to Invent an Appropriate Technique to Extract Hydrogen from Non-polluting Sources - Research Paper Example Human activities are increasing the natural levels of those gases, by emitting carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas; methane and nitrous oxide produced by agricultural activities and changes in the use of land use; and by some industrial gases that do not occur naturally but are long-lived in the atmosphere. Emissions of poisonous gases from vehicles are also constantly polluting the air. In fact, a large proportion of harmful gases in the atmosphere are being emitted from the vehicles. With the development of civilization, the rate of transportation has also increased. Today, most of the vehicles are run by fossil fuels, like petrol, diesel, coal etc. the burning of these fuels emit hazardous gases in the atmosphere and enhances the risk of global warming. In order to protect the Universes from the curse of global warming, the immediate need is to reduce the emission of those gases that are responsible for global warming. In order to red uce the emission level, the prime requirement is to discover alternative sources of energy other than fossil fuel. The vehicles, therefore also need to be run by the energy whose production does not need petrol, diesel or coal. Scientists are experimenting with several alternatives to the traditional source of energy for the vehicles. Fuel cell cars seem to be an appropriate solution to the problem of global warming.   In the last twenty years, scientific knowledge has led to the understanding that anthropogenic, human-made actions were responsible for the changes in global climate. Those changes are a consequence of the emission and accumulation of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere.  

What Is the Marketing Mix and Why Is It Important Essay Example for Free

What Is the Marketing Mix and Why Is It Important Essay The marketing mix is defined as the set of controllable marketing variables that the company blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. The marketing consists of the four P’s which are product, price, place and promotion. The product is something that satisfies the customers need. Marketers need to know about their product so that they can market to their target customer. Price is the amount of money that the customer pays to get the product. The marketer needs to know the cost of the product and understand how much the customer is willing to pay to obtain that product. Place stands for the distribution of the product and describes the processes that are taken place to get the product from the suppliers and producers of the product to the market place where it is ready for purchase. Promotion is the way that the marketer can communicate and persuade their target customer to purchase their item. Promotion includes advertising, personal selling, direct marketing and synchronous marketing. This is important to a marketing manager as they are wanting the consumer to purchase their product. There are three other P’s that have been added to the marketing mix and these form the extended marketing mix. These include people, processes and personal evidence. People are a key tool in marketing as they are able to form relationships with customers to promote sales or if trained incorrectly can turn people away from a sale. The process in marketing is important for customer relations also. If one step in the process such as the delivery of a good is done poorly, the consumer will be a â€Å"bad ambassador† for the company. Physical evidence entails examining every aspect that customers use in their perceptual field to assess such a service. This is also an important field in marketing as the customer controls the purchase. For an effective marketing campaign, all aspects of the marketing mix should be considered to achieve the company’s marketing objectives by delivering value to customers. When looking at the 7 P’s, we notice that these all come from the sellers’ side, not the consumers. Therefore, the marketing experts have also created 4 C’s in terms of customer’s wants and needs. These include Customer needs and wants, Cost to the customer, Convenience and Communication. The customers’ needs and wants are important as the need of the customer is the first step in the product purchase process. If there is no need or want from the customer, there will be no purchase. The cost to the customer is also important.

Foreign Exchange Risk in Banks Overview and Analysis

Foreign Exchange Risk in Banks Overview and Analysis Objective of the Project:- The objective of this project is to understand the various types of foreign exchange risks. And the potential impact of the foreign exchange risks on the institutions involved in foreign exchange trading. Background:- In this project, I have calculated the value of risk involved in foreign exchange transactions at United Bank of India. Methodology:- The data used in this project is obtained from secondary research. Historical method is used to calculate the Value at Risk (VaR). The Value at Risk is thus calculated is used to find the actual amount at risk in terms of INR. Findings and Conclusion:- By finding the total risk, we get to know the total amount that the organization can lose in the worst possible scenario. It happens if the allocation of fund is not based upon the possible value at risks. In carrying out this project, I have found that the bank has allocated more funds for its forex operations than required. Recommendations:- At present the bank is operating at the 99% confidence level to calculate the value at risk. As they are working at 99% confidence level, due to this they need to employ more capital for their forex operations. United Bank of India should operate at 95% confidence level. This will help them cut down funds employed for their forex operations. Introduction to Foreign Exchange The creator of the universe has not distributed resources needed by the civilised world evenly on our planet earth. What is available easily at one place is hardly available at another place. This has resulted in an environment of interdependency among the countries. The interdependency among countries has given rise to international trade. The growth of international trade of goods and services has necessitated a method of exchange. Let us evaluate a transaction involving supply of goods from India to United Kingdom. The value of goods is known to the Indian supplier in INR. Thus the Indian supplier will price the goods so that he can make profit in INR. At the same time the purchasing power available with the UK customer is in GBP (Great Britain Pound). Therefore the customer will want to know the price in GBP. Now, if buyer and seller decide to settle the transaction in USD. Therefore to complete such transactions, the parties to the transaction need to know the value of one currency in terms of another. This mechanism of converting one currency in terms of another is known as â€Å"Foreign Exchange†. Foreign Exchange is defined in Foreign Exchange management Act 1999 as:- Ø All deposits, credits, balances payable in any foreign currency and any drafts, travellers cheque, letter of credit and bill of exchange expressed or drawn in Indian currency and payable in foreign currency. Ø Any instrument payable at the option of the drawee or holder thereof or any other party thereto, either in Indian currency or in foreign currency or partly in one and partly in the other. In short, Foreign Exchange is the method of conversion of one currency into another. As foreign currency is treated as a commodity, it is traded in a market. Trade constitutes a small portion of the â€Å"Foreign Exchange Market†. The cross border movement of capital forms the major portion. Major participants of Foreign Exchange Market include commercial banks, central banking institutions, investment banks, foreign exchange brokers and merchants. The commercial banks become the vehicles for conversion, as most of the foreign exchange operation takes place through the account maintained with these banks. Objective of the Project A Project Report on FOREIGN EXCHANGE risks in Bank. Foreign Exchange is a very large financial market. At times foreign exchange market becomes very volatile. This is responsible for the various risks in foreign exchange market. Everyone involved in the foreign exchange trading should we aware of foreign exchange risk. To ascertain Foreign Exchange risk in Bank we need to execute the following tasks:- Various types of foreign exchange services available at Banks. The various types of foreign exchange risks. The various foreign currencies which has significant demand. The possible Hedging strategies that can be deployed to manage foreign exchange risks. Determination of Value at Risk (Var). Research Methodology Data / Information Collection. Study of data collected to calculate the value at risk (VAR). Calculation of mean return. Calculation of Standard Deviation. Data/Information Collection Data and information is collected from the various sources. These sources include data from the Bank, magazines, journals, books and newspapers. The information thus collected is used to calculate the Value at Risk. Value at risk (VaR) Risk is about odds of losing money and VaR is based on that common sense fact. Here risk is the odds of really big loss. Big loss is different for every investor depending on the investors appetite. But every investor whether big or small does wants to know his/her losses in the worst case. VAR answers the question, What is my worst-case scenario? To calculate VaR we need three components. These three components are: a time period, a confidence level and a loss amount or loss percentage. Using VaR investor will get to know things like: What is the most I can expect to lose with 95% confidence over a period of 10 days? What is the maximum percentage I can expect to lose with 95% confidence over a period of 10 days? We consider a relatively high level of confidence, mostly 95% or 99% confidence level. Time period taken can be anything like a day, 10 day, a month or a year depending upon what investor is looking for. A one day VAR of $10mm using a probability of 5% means that there is a 5% chance that the portfolio could lose more than $10mm in the next trading day. There are three methods of calculating VaR: the Historical method, the parametric method also known as variance-covariance method and the Monte Carlo simulation. The Historical Method: The historical method simply re-organizes actual historical returns, putting them in order from worst to best. It then assumes that history will repeat itself, from a risk perspective. We then put these data in the histogram that compare the frequency of return. Tiny bars in histogram represent the less frequent daily return while the highest point in histogram represents the most frequent daily return. Parametric Method:This method assumes that the stock returns are normally distributed. In this method we estimate only two factors an expected return and a standard deviation. These two factors allow us to plot a normal distribution curve. Monte Carlo Simulation: The third method involves developing a model for future stock price returns and running multiple hypothetical trials through the model. A Monte Carlo simulation refers to any method that randomly generates trials, but by itself does not tell us anything about the underlying methodology. Every run of Monte Carlo Simulation gives different result. But differences between these results are likely to be very narrow. Calculation of Value at Risk (VaR) To calculate the value at risk, at first we need to collect the historical data. Historical data is the historical exchange rate of a particular foreign currency against INR. The foreign currencies which we are considering here are United States Dollar (USD), Great Britain Pound (GBP), Euro and Japanese Yen (JPY). We are considering these currencies because they are the major currencies as exchange is easily available for these currencies. We will calculate the value at risk the investor faces in case he/she invests in any of these currencies. At first we will consider the case in which an investor is investing in United States Dollar. The investor will buy United States Dollar in exchange of INR. USD/INR The historical exchange rate for USD/INR for a period of 22 days starting from 15th April 2011 to 6th May 2011 is as follows: From the everyday exchange rate the periodic return is found by using the formula given below: Natural Logarithm (Present date exchange rate/ previous date exchange rate) The Value at Risk from the above data is calculated by using the given formula in excel: PERCENTILE (array of the periodic return,5%) Here the array of the periodic return is the everyday return of the period for which historical data is taken. The second attributes i.e., 5% tells that 95 times out of 100 the loss will not exceed the calculated VaR. Therefore we can say with 95% confidence that the loss will not exceed the Value at Risk (VaR) thus calculated. From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 95% confidence level is: 0.35% From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 99% confidence level is: 0.46% Euro/INR The historical exchange rate for Euro/USD for a period of 22 days starting from 15th April 2011 to 6th May 2011 is as follows: Euro/USD Euro/INR Historical exchange rate for Euro/INR is determined from the historical exchange rate of Euro/USD and USD/INR. Exchange rate of Euro/INR = Exchange rate of Euro/USD * Exchange rate of USD/INR In this case again the periodic return is found by using the formula given below: Natural Logarithm (Present date exchange rate/ previous date exchange rate) The Value at Risk from the above data is calculated by using the given formula in excel: PERCENTILE (array of the periodic return, 5%) Here the array of the periodic return is the everyday return of the period for which historical data is taken. The second attributes i.e., 5% tells that 95 times out of 100 the loss will not exceed the calculated VaR. Therefore we can say with 95% confidence that the loss will not exceed the Value at Risk (VaR) thus calculated. From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 95% confidence level is: 1.21%. From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 99% confidence level is: 1.53%. GBP/INR The historical exchange rate for GBP/USD for a period of 22 days starting from 15th April 2011 to 6th May 2011 is as follows: GBP/USD GBP/INR Historical exchange rate for GBP/INR is determined from the historical exchange rate of GBP/USD and USD/INR. Exchange rate of GBP/INR = Exchange rate of GBP/USD * Exchange rate of USD/INR In this case again the periodic return is found by using the formula given below: Natural Logarithm (Present date exchange rate/ previous date exchange rate) The Value at Risk from the above data is calculated by using the given formula in excel: PERCENTILE (array of the periodic return, 5%) Here the array of the periodic return is the everyday return of the period for which historical data is taken. The second attributes i.e., 5% tells that 95 times out of 100 the loss will not exceed the calculated VaR. Therefore we can say with 95% confidence that the loss will not exceed the Value at Risk (VaR) thus calculated. From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 95% confidence level is: 0.49% From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 99% confidence level is: 1.03% JYP/INR The historical exchange rate for USD/JYP for a period of 22 days starting from 15th April 2011 to 6th May 2011 is as follows: USD/JYP JPY/USD Historical exchange rate for JPY/USD is determined from the historical exchange rate of USD/JPY. Exchange rate of JPY/USD = 1/ (Exchange rate of USD/JPY) JPY/INR Historical exchange rate for JPY/INR is determined from the historical exchange rate of JPY/USD and USD/INR. Exchange rate of JPY/INR = Exchange rate of JPY/USD * Exchange rate of USD/INR In this case again the periodic return is found by using the formula given below: Natural Logarithm (Present date exchange rate/ previous date exchange rate) The Value at Risk from the above data is calculated by using the given formula in excel: PERCENTILE (array of the periodic return, 5%) Here the array of the periodic return is the everyday return of the period for which historical data is taken. The second attributes i.e., 5% tells that 95 times out of 100 the loss will not exceed the calculated VaR. Therefore we can say with 95% confidence that the loss will not exceed the Value at Risk (VaR) thus calculated. From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 95% confidence level is: 0.60% From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 99% confidence level is: 0.93% Calculation of Standard Deviation Standard deviation is a measure of how far apart the data are from the average of the data. If all the observations are close to their average then the standard deviation will be small. In finance, standard deviation is applied to the annual rate of return of an investment to measure the investments volatility. Standard deviation is also known as historical volatility and is used by investors as a gauge for the amount of expected volatility. Suppose that an investor has INR 45,000 to invest and is considering buying the USD. Currently one USD is valued at INR 45. The investor assesses a 0.75 probability that the USD will appreciate against INR over a coming period, so that one USD will be equivalent to INR 46 and a 0.25 probability that the USD will depreciate against INR to become equal to INR 44. INR 45,000 (at one USD equal to INR 45) = 45,000/45 = USD 1000 The payoffs from the proposed investment are as follows:- If the USD appreciates (One USD becomes equal to INR 46): USD 1000 *46 = INR 46,000 If the USD depreciates (One USD becomes equal to INR 44): USD 1000*44 = INR 44,000 PAYOFF (INR) RATE OF RETURN PROBABILITY EXPECTED RATE OF RETURN VARIANCE (1) (2) (3) (4) = (2) x (3) (5) 46,000 (46 45)/45 = 0.022 0.75 0.0165 (0.022 0.011)^2 x 0.75 = 0. Foreign Exchange Risk in Banks Overview and Analysis Foreign Exchange Risk in Banks Overview and Analysis Objective of the Project:- The objective of this project is to understand the various types of foreign exchange risks. And the potential impact of the foreign exchange risks on the institutions involved in foreign exchange trading. Background:- In this project, I have calculated the value of risk involved in foreign exchange transactions at United Bank of India. Methodology:- The data used in this project is obtained from secondary research. Historical method is used to calculate the Value at Risk (VaR). The Value at Risk is thus calculated is used to find the actual amount at risk in terms of INR. Findings and Conclusion:- By finding the total risk, we get to know the total amount that the organization can lose in the worst possible scenario. It happens if the allocation of fund is not based upon the possible value at risks. In carrying out this project, I have found that the bank has allocated more funds for its forex operations than required. Recommendations:- At present the bank is operating at the 99% confidence level to calculate the value at risk. As they are working at 99% confidence level, due to this they need to employ more capital for their forex operations. United Bank of India should operate at 95% confidence level. This will help them cut down funds employed for their forex operations. Introduction to Foreign Exchange The creator of the universe has not distributed resources needed by the civilised world evenly on our planet earth. What is available easily at one place is hardly available at another place. This has resulted in an environment of interdependency among the countries. The interdependency among countries has given rise to international trade. The growth of international trade of goods and services has necessitated a method of exchange. Let us evaluate a transaction involving supply of goods from India to United Kingdom. The value of goods is known to the Indian supplier in INR. Thus the Indian supplier will price the goods so that he can make profit in INR. At the same time the purchasing power available with the UK customer is in GBP (Great Britain Pound). Therefore the customer will want to know the price in GBP. Now, if buyer and seller decide to settle the transaction in USD. Therefore to complete such transactions, the parties to the transaction need to know the value of one currency in terms of another. This mechanism of converting one currency in terms of another is known as â€Å"Foreign Exchange†. Foreign Exchange is defined in Foreign Exchange management Act 1999 as:- Ø All deposits, credits, balances payable in any foreign currency and any drafts, travellers cheque, letter of credit and bill of exchange expressed or drawn in Indian currency and payable in foreign currency. Ø Any instrument payable at the option of the drawee or holder thereof or any other party thereto, either in Indian currency or in foreign currency or partly in one and partly in the other. In short, Foreign Exchange is the method of conversion of one currency into another. As foreign currency is treated as a commodity, it is traded in a market. Trade constitutes a small portion of the â€Å"Foreign Exchange Market†. The cross border movement of capital forms the major portion. Major participants of Foreign Exchange Market include commercial banks, central banking institutions, investment banks, foreign exchange brokers and merchants. The commercial banks become the vehicles for conversion, as most of the foreign exchange operation takes place through the account maintained with these banks. Objective of the Project A Project Report on FOREIGN EXCHANGE risks in Bank. Foreign Exchange is a very large financial market. At times foreign exchange market becomes very volatile. This is responsible for the various risks in foreign exchange market. Everyone involved in the foreign exchange trading should we aware of foreign exchange risk. To ascertain Foreign Exchange risk in Bank we need to execute the following tasks:- Various types of foreign exchange services available at Banks. The various types of foreign exchange risks. The various foreign currencies which has significant demand. The possible Hedging strategies that can be deployed to manage foreign exchange risks. Determination of Value at Risk (Var). Research Methodology Data / Information Collection. Study of data collected to calculate the value at risk (VAR). Calculation of mean return. Calculation of Standard Deviation. Data/Information Collection Data and information is collected from the various sources. These sources include data from the Bank, magazines, journals, books and newspapers. The information thus collected is used to calculate the Value at Risk. Value at risk (VaR) Risk is about odds of losing money and VaR is based on that common sense fact. Here risk is the odds of really big loss. Big loss is different for every investor depending on the investors appetite. But every investor whether big or small does wants to know his/her losses in the worst case. VAR answers the question, What is my worst-case scenario? To calculate VaR we need three components. These three components are: a time period, a confidence level and a loss amount or loss percentage. Using VaR investor will get to know things like: What is the most I can expect to lose with 95% confidence over a period of 10 days? What is the maximum percentage I can expect to lose with 95% confidence over a period of 10 days? We consider a relatively high level of confidence, mostly 95% or 99% confidence level. Time period taken can be anything like a day, 10 day, a month or a year depending upon what investor is looking for. A one day VAR of $10mm using a probability of 5% means that there is a 5% chance that the portfolio could lose more than $10mm in the next trading day. There are three methods of calculating VaR: the Historical method, the parametric method also known as variance-covariance method and the Monte Carlo simulation. The Historical Method: The historical method simply re-organizes actual historical returns, putting them in order from worst to best. It then assumes that history will repeat itself, from a risk perspective. We then put these data in the histogram that compare the frequency of return. Tiny bars in histogram represent the less frequent daily return while the highest point in histogram represents the most frequent daily return. Parametric Method:This method assumes that the stock returns are normally distributed. In this method we estimate only two factors an expected return and a standard deviation. These two factors allow us to plot a normal distribution curve. Monte Carlo Simulation: The third method involves developing a model for future stock price returns and running multiple hypothetical trials through the model. A Monte Carlo simulation refers to any method that randomly generates trials, but by itself does not tell us anything about the underlying methodology. Every run of Monte Carlo Simulation gives different result. But differences between these results are likely to be very narrow. Calculation of Value at Risk (VaR) To calculate the value at risk, at first we need to collect the historical data. Historical data is the historical exchange rate of a particular foreign currency against INR. The foreign currencies which we are considering here are United States Dollar (USD), Great Britain Pound (GBP), Euro and Japanese Yen (JPY). We are considering these currencies because they are the major currencies as exchange is easily available for these currencies. We will calculate the value at risk the investor faces in case he/she invests in any of these currencies. At first we will consider the case in which an investor is investing in United States Dollar. The investor will buy United States Dollar in exchange of INR. USD/INR The historical exchange rate for USD/INR for a period of 22 days starting from 15th April 2011 to 6th May 2011 is as follows: From the everyday exchange rate the periodic return is found by using the formula given below: Natural Logarithm (Present date exchange rate/ previous date exchange rate) The Value at Risk from the above data is calculated by using the given formula in excel: PERCENTILE (array of the periodic return,5%) Here the array of the periodic return is the everyday return of the period for which historical data is taken. The second attributes i.e., 5% tells that 95 times out of 100 the loss will not exceed the calculated VaR. Therefore we can say with 95% confidence that the loss will not exceed the Value at Risk (VaR) thus calculated. From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 95% confidence level is: 0.35% From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 99% confidence level is: 0.46% Euro/INR The historical exchange rate for Euro/USD for a period of 22 days starting from 15th April 2011 to 6th May 2011 is as follows: Euro/USD Euro/INR Historical exchange rate for Euro/INR is determined from the historical exchange rate of Euro/USD and USD/INR. Exchange rate of Euro/INR = Exchange rate of Euro/USD * Exchange rate of USD/INR In this case again the periodic return is found by using the formula given below: Natural Logarithm (Present date exchange rate/ previous date exchange rate) The Value at Risk from the above data is calculated by using the given formula in excel: PERCENTILE (array of the periodic return, 5%) Here the array of the periodic return is the everyday return of the period for which historical data is taken. The second attributes i.e., 5% tells that 95 times out of 100 the loss will not exceed the calculated VaR. Therefore we can say with 95% confidence that the loss will not exceed the Value at Risk (VaR) thus calculated. From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 95% confidence level is: 1.21%. From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 99% confidence level is: 1.53%. GBP/INR The historical exchange rate for GBP/USD for a period of 22 days starting from 15th April 2011 to 6th May 2011 is as follows: GBP/USD GBP/INR Historical exchange rate for GBP/INR is determined from the historical exchange rate of GBP/USD and USD/INR. Exchange rate of GBP/INR = Exchange rate of GBP/USD * Exchange rate of USD/INR In this case again the periodic return is found by using the formula given below: Natural Logarithm (Present date exchange rate/ previous date exchange rate) The Value at Risk from the above data is calculated by using the given formula in excel: PERCENTILE (array of the periodic return, 5%) Here the array of the periodic return is the everyday return of the period for which historical data is taken. The second attributes i.e., 5% tells that 95 times out of 100 the loss will not exceed the calculated VaR. Therefore we can say with 95% confidence that the loss will not exceed the Value at Risk (VaR) thus calculated. From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 95% confidence level is: 0.49% From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 99% confidence level is: 1.03% JYP/INR The historical exchange rate for USD/JYP for a period of 22 days starting from 15th April 2011 to 6th May 2011 is as follows: USD/JYP JPY/USD Historical exchange rate for JPY/USD is determined from the historical exchange rate of USD/JPY. Exchange rate of JPY/USD = 1/ (Exchange rate of USD/JPY) JPY/INR Historical exchange rate for JPY/INR is determined from the historical exchange rate of JPY/USD and USD/INR. Exchange rate of JPY/INR = Exchange rate of JPY/USD * Exchange rate of USD/INR In this case again the periodic return is found by using the formula given below: Natural Logarithm (Present date exchange rate/ previous date exchange rate) The Value at Risk from the above data is calculated by using the given formula in excel: PERCENTILE (array of the periodic return, 5%) Here the array of the periodic return is the everyday return of the period for which historical data is taken. The second attributes i.e., 5% tells that 95 times out of 100 the loss will not exceed the calculated VaR. Therefore we can say with 95% confidence that the loss will not exceed the Value at Risk (VaR) thus calculated. From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 95% confidence level is: 0.60% From the above data the Value at Risk (VaR) calculated at 99% confidence level is: 0.93% Calculation of Standard Deviation Standard deviation is a measure of how far apart the data are from the average of the data. If all the observations are close to their average then the standard deviation will be small. In finance, standard deviation is applied to the annual rate of return of an investment to measure the investments volatility. Standard deviation is also known as historical volatility and is used by investors as a gauge for the amount of expected volatility. Suppose that an investor has INR 45,000 to invest and is considering buying the USD. Currently one USD is valued at INR 45. The investor assesses a 0.75 probability that the USD will appreciate against INR over a coming period, so that one USD will be equivalent to INR 46 and a 0.25 probability that the USD will depreciate against INR to become equal to INR 44. INR 45,000 (at one USD equal to INR 45) = 45,000/45 = USD 1000 The payoffs from the proposed investment are as follows:- If the USD appreciates (One USD becomes equal to INR 46): USD 1000 *46 = INR 46,000 If the USD depreciates (One USD becomes equal to INR 44): USD 1000*44 = INR 44,000 PAYOFF (INR) RATE OF RETURN PROBABILITY EXPECTED RATE OF RETURN VARIANCE (1) (2) (3) (4) = (2) x (3) (5) 46,000 (46 45)/45 = 0.022 0.75 0.0165 (0.022 0.011)^2 x 0.75 = 0.