Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Banking - Essay Example Although a preferred means of solving the inherent challenges in the current banking industry, the reality is that it has its own disadvantages, as discussed in this essay. According to economists, there are a number of benefits of banks consolidation. One of these advantages is increased efficiency in the banking sector. Consolidation eliminates geographical restrictions in the banking industry, exposing it to high levels of competition, driving out all inefficient banks from the industry. This is not the only way of ensuring efficiency in the banking sector; moving to larger banking organizations too increases their levels of efficiency due to economies of scale and scope of work. Since consolidation increased the diversification of the loan portfolios by banks, thus lowering the probability of a future banking crisis. Mergers and acquisitions in the banking industry are economical, providing banks with an opportunity to minimize their expenditures. In the event of a merger, there is closure of overlapping branches, laying off any unnecessary staff, and sale of unwanted capital goods, thus minimizing some of the operational expenditures while at the same time creating some of income for the bank. Merging also increases sales volumes of banks’ products, especially when done from a central branch. One of the major advantages of consolidation in the banking sector is market diversification, creating new geographical markets. With these new markets is an increase in business revenues. Bank mergers additionally create stronger market power, changing the pricing offered by the banks. Although argued as a means of beating the inherent operation problems in the industry, consolidation faces a myriad of drawbacks. Critics of this form of banking fear on the elimination of the smaller banks from the banking industry due to acquisitions. Not only do the investors lose in such instances; small businesses too lose their source of funding. Large business organizatio ns seek funding from large banks while small businesses seek for funding from the small banks. If large banks acquire the small banks in an effort to minimize competition, small businesses lose their source of funding. If this trend persists, the banking industry risks suffering from domination by a few banks. This makes the banking industry less competitive, reducing the quality of services provided to the customers. Some of the economists however argue that this does not have any significant effects on the industry, since there is freedom of entry into the market, and thus balances the equation of competition. Differences in the working cultures of the merging banks could lead to failure of these mergers. In their initial stages of merge, different businesses suffer from increased operational costs, for instance resultant from communication differences. Although experts argue on the efficiency of creating bank mergers, the reality is that when a merger takes place, managers face m ore vast and complicated organizations, exceeding their usual capacity. They may lack the essential expertise required in the field, reducing such bank’s efficiency. Some of the experts argue that the creation of stronger markets provides the banks with an opportunity to exploit their customers. Strong markets mean that there are reduced

Nucor Competitive Strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Nucor Competitive Strategy - Case Study Example The problems Nucor faces are manifold. First, Nucor should worry about how to compete in the domestic and global markets in the steel industry. Additionally, Nucor also has a basically weak managerial hierarchy and human resources system, and it is flawed for multiple reasons-which will be discussed further at length in the "Worry List" section. Although Nucor has a four-fold strategy that is designed to implement growth, this strategy, too, is riddled with dilemmas all unique unto itself (new acquisitions, new plant construction, continued plant upgrades and cost reduction efforts, and joint ventures). Nucor must address policy issues within its operations and whether they are expedient to uphold, or whether new policies should be instituted to foster a more conscientious and people-driven company than it already is. The workforce compensation practices seem to be excessive, which will be explained in-depth in the "Worry List." Finally, common-sense issues, like pricing and markeing , and the actual production logistics of how steel is made, are obviously factors that must be seriously evaluated if Nucor is expected to remain not only a vital competitor but a leader in the steel industry in the U.S. and abroad. In order to continue... issues, like pricing and markeing, and the actual production logistics of how steel is made, are obviously factors that must be seriously evaluated if Nucor is expected to remain not only a vital competitor but a leader in the steel industry in the U.S. and abroad. In order to continue being a superior organization, Nucor must as a company reevaluate its primary focus and then set its goals according to the following suggested solutions. First, regarding competition, Nucor must seriously decide where it wants to be in relation to other steel companies and take action to corner the global market on the need for exported steel, an look into supporting measures that would strengthen Nucor having an edge on the industry-a competitive advantage if you will-by making sure that U.S. and international law encourages and protects free trade, which stands to benefit Nucor Corporation. In order to be domestically competitive, Nucor should consider adjusting some of its underlying policies related to management, human resources, and compensation in order to stay abreast of the changing times. One problematic aspect about Nucor which must be altered is its seemingly laissez-faire approach to management which affects the two other aspects of the company (hu man resources and compensation). Additionally, the delicate dance of new acquisitions by the company has prospects, but there are also other entities to consider. Is the company culture and hierarchy being set forth in new acquistions manageable, and reasonable If not, this must be tweaked also. Further, the liabilities involved in new acquistitions as well as the construction of new plants and their impending operations and workforce must be evaluated. Although this company compensates its employees well for the no

Cyber Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cyber Ethics - Essay Example The topics under discussion are the downloading of songs (copyrighted and patented music content) and online published books or e-books. The idea of downloading these materials is considered illegal in the technological environment. On the other hand ethics in the society would argue that downloading of these materials is legitimate to some level and is considered right since it serves the society in an advantageous way through offering education. The revolution of the internet has seen the need for the multiple millions of online users to gain access to information (Palfrey, 2009). Cyber ethics are divided and different in different countries around the world. The involvement of the worldwide governments in the internet age is important in bridging the gap to information access. Do not think an interested, talented and passionate music artist, or a bright, intelligent genius individual should be denied access to information or material that would help them better their talents or im prove on their research skills (Palfrey, 2009). One instance of this is exemplified by the Google’s YouTube website which restricts the viewing of Videos to certain locations around the globe. This is a perfect example of denial of access to information. ... The decisions made by every single user (students) regarding the use of copyrighted material are dependent on the ownership of the particular service or good (material). Let us say, for example, one user legally purchases an artist’s album form ITunes or for the accredited stores. Well, after purchase ownership changes (Palfrey, 2009). One would argue form the above example that after the transfer of ownership after purchase of the good, the owner has all the right to do anything they want with the material they bought or purchased. The social norms and laws give the understanding for this notion. Is it questionably wrong or illegitimate to lend a friend an e-book or an album I purchased with my own funds? I do not think so. This is one of the debatable facts regarding the morals of downloading material form the internet and copy updating through pasting from one user PC to the other PC. Downloading songs over the internet has been revolutionized to the extent there is a negli gible number of artist who sell tangible albums for their audio songs on sale. Sales and marketing of commodities is being carried out on the internet in major abundance. The demand on the other hand is high, bringing the idea of online piracy to supplement the high demand for the needed material. The advantage of gaining access to information is that one derives the satisfaction of getting something thy want at a particular time and the preferred way they need it. It is majority human nature not to buy a song if they know where they can get one for free. The need for access to information, knowledge, and culture are central to human freedom and human development towards future access to technology and accurate

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Example for Free

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Posttraumatic Stress Disorder side effects may take years to show up, they are debilitating to the victims everyday life. A soldier with PTSD may experience emotional outburst, find it hard to communicate with others. Panic attacks, sleeping disorder, and flashbacks are a few of the major side effects. The soldier often will feel guilty which makes it difficult for them to adjust back into civilian life. Not knowing how to reunite with friends and family often lead to sever depression and suicide. An incident that may remind the soldier or their trauma can send them into a sever panic attack which may take days or weeks to recover from. It is said a soldier with PTSD is never truly home, there are always demons around every corner. The military teaches our soldiers how to fight, how to kill and how to survive. But who teaches them how to live with themselves? Soldiers are returning in large volumes with PTSD but are not being treated for their disorder. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a traumatic event. A traumatic event is a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood. The fight or flight response is what we know happens when one is afraid. Your body is releasing adrenaline, raising you heart rate and releasing glucose to muscles allowing you to respond quickly. Once you are out of the fearful situation you release a hormone known as cortical allowing your body to calm down. In a sever trauma you may not release enough cortical so your body stays under a great deal of stress. Then the victim may produce a high level of catecholamine which is a stimulating hormone. When reminded of the trauma this hormone kicks in. Mason JW, Giller EL, Kosten TR) One out of ten Americans involved in a sever trauma event causes a cascade of psychological and biological changes known as post-traumatic stress disorder. Soldiers returning from wars throughout the years were not able to adapt back in to civilian life. Doctors now understand the severity of this disorder and our addressing to the best of their abilities. To receive the diagnosis the victim must have been in a situation in which they were afraid for their safety, feel horror, or feel helpless. The more terrifying the trauma is, increases the chances of the victim developing PTSD. Victims diagnosed with PTSD can prevent them from working; affect their relationships, and causes great difficulty being a good parent. (Allen IR PTSD) Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It helps one deal with a tense situation in the office, study harder for an exam, and keep focused on an important speech. In general, it helps one cope. But when anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it can become a disabling disorder. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is not a black and white diagnosis, some the symptoms may be present right away however in others it can manifest years later. For some, the symptoms can be managed with therapy and others the symptoms are disabling. Many traumatic life experiences cause many emotions, such as guilt, anger, and fear. However it normally starts to improve in a short period of time, when these feelings or symptoms do not improve or get worse you may have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Reliving the trauma can cause flashbacks and nightmares. Flashbacks are the Soldier or Victim actually mentally transporting back in time to the actual event. They can see, hear, smell, taste, and feel every sensation they experienced during the actual trauma. In their mind they are reliving the event in every shape and form. Nightmares is when the victim is sleeping as their brain slows down and enters into a dream state the trauma comes back to them in a nightmare. Just as in the flashbacks in their mind they are right back in that horrific trauma. Many times they will wake up yelling, swinging their arms, threatening or injuring anyone nearby. PTSD victims also may experience hyper arousal which is a state where a minor act will bring them back to the trauma. It can be as little as a child crying, thunderstorm, or a smell, this can cause a massive reaction from the victim. Men have been known to hi the ground, roll under cars, or even become very violent with a near by person. Another symptom of PTSD is always being on guard, getting startled easily, irritable, and anxious. Victims find it hard to concentrate on their current life they are always ready for that bomb to go off. This will cause lack of sleep which in return causes physical pain, muscle tension, and even heart problems. Many will never talk about their issues; it is too painful to speak out loud what is causing them so much pain on the inside. This causes many family problems and the issues just keep spiraling out of control. For some it may even lead into the thoughts or act of suicide. Many may think that since the increased amount of PTSD victims are returning from war the VA administration would step in and support them. Knowing all of this the support is not there. The VA’s track record nearly to void benefits for the victims, they are not or willing to deal with the large influx of affected Iraq veterans, who are left to deal with their illnesses alone. Judging by its recent actions, VA does not seem interested in changing to fit the needs of the new veterans. The benefits have increased in the recent years from one point seven billion to four point three billion, however the victims that are mostly benefiting from the increase is Vietnam veterans, not Iraqi veterans. (Uhl). Iraq veterans remain widely overlooked, and are coming back in record numbers with severe mental illness. This is a serious problem, since it’s expected that the number of PTSD sufferers from Iraq will exceed the number from Vietnam. Treatment and support are critical to your recovery. Although your memories won’t go away, you can learn how to manage your response to these memories and the feelings they bring up. You can also reduce the frequency and intensity of your reactions. Although it may seem painful to face the trauma you went through, doing so with the help of a mental health professional can help you get better. There are different types of therapy which are necessary to get back on the right track. There is cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps you change the thought patterns that keep you from overcoming your anxiety. Exposure therapy, where one work with a professional, to help confront memories and situations that cause the distress. Cognitive Processing Therapy, which is where you process your emotions about the traumatic event and learn how to challenge your thinking patterns. Another type of therapy is psychodynamic psychotherapy, where you focus on identifying current life situations that set off traumatic memories and worsen PTSD symptoms. (National Center for PTSD).

Analysis of key Recruitment Documents :: Business and Management Studies

Analysis of key Recruitment Documents The two main recruitment documents at Sainsbury's are the job description and the person specification. A job description lists the main tasks required in a job. Sainsbury's have job descriptions for every job they have from the caretaker to the managing director. The job description describes two types of information: it describes the tasks of the job and it describes the behaviour necessary to actually do these tasks satisfactorily. In drawing up a job description the personnel department at Sainsbury's has a number of alternatives. These are: * The line manager can draw up a description of what the job entails * The existing job holder can do it * The Human Resources Manager can interview the job holder and the line manager to find out what the job involves. I It is better to combine these approaches. The list of tasks and the relative importance of each one, is vitally important for a number of reasons: * In carrying out appraisals of employees as the manager cannot appraise employees if the employees do not know what the job involves * When analysing the job for training needs the manager must be able to see what tasks a job involves so that s/he can determine ehat training may be required When Sainsbury's draft the job description, the main features are: * The job title * The location of the job * A brief outline of what Sainsbury's does * The main purpose of the job * A detailed list of the main tasks required in the job * Pay and other benefits * Promotion aspects Sainsbury's expect employees to more flexible and to do a wider range of work. The presentation of a job description is important and Sainsbury's job description is always neatly presented. A person specification sets out the qualities of an ideal candidate whereas a job description defines the duties and responsibilities of the job. It describes the characteristics and attributes which a person needs to be able to do the job to the required standards. A person specification is normally set out under these headings: * Physical make up- what should the job holder look and sound like * Achievements- what education, qualifications and experience does the applicant need * Specific skills- what special skills and talents are needed by the applicant * Interests- hobbies * Personality- what motivation and temperament and attitude should the applicant have * Personal circumstances- what personal and domestic arrangements might the ideal person have? The selection documents used at Sainsbury's have many advantages and

What is terrorism

There is really no specified and on point definition because It could mean deferent things to different people and different countries. Because of that being, terrorism could be absolutely anything. Every good thing for one person has a bad side for another person and what is considered doing the right thing to one country, how It affects another country could be taken as terrorism. All In all terrorism Is all about perspective.The famous quote, â€Å"One mans terrorist Is another mans freedom fighter. † (http://BBC. Co. UK) 9/1 1 and the ASK are two examples of terrorism In the history of the united States. 9/1 1 was one of the most tragic events In the history of the united States and possibly the largest form of terrorism we have ever experienced. For most people when they hear the word terrorism they Instantly think of 911 1 when the twin towers of the world trade center were destroyed by planes flew by Iranians who organized and high jacked the planes.The ASK, or the Crue l Klutz Klan, was a group of white men who were organized against black people across the country. Terrorism has been about since 1789 and it has always been about the same thing. The purpose is to get attention to gain power, economic wealth, or political wealth. This could be an act of pretty much anything at all but most people usually use the highest form of danger or chaos. In my opinion, terrorism is when someone threatens or endangers someone or their life in order to gain power, ranking, or wealth.

Mutual Defense Alliance Essay

* Russia and Serbia (Russia joined in first after war started between Austria-hungary and serbi, Russia was Serbias alliance, we can say Serbia triggererd the chain reaction) * Germany and Austria-Hungary * France and Russia * Britain and France and Belgium * Japan and Britain Imperialism – Imperialism is when a country increases their power and wealth by bringing additional territories under their control. Before World War 1, Africa and parts of Asia were points of contention amongst the European countries for their resources. Tension caused by this because France and Britain had colonies-Germany was trying to get in on the action-wanted more land Nationalism- Serbian black hand/Gavrilo princip Militarism-Germany and Britain were both increasing their navy power=more tension and in german and russa particularly, militarism was having an influence on public policy Immediate Causes- Theres only one immediate cause, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand :P. This one event made all the aforementioned items come into play. This was in protest to Austria-Hungary having control of this region. Serbia wanted to take over Bosnia and Herzegovina. This assassination led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. Once that was declared Russia declared war on Austria-hungary due to their alliance which led to Germany declaring war etc etc. If we look at the causes, it seems Serbia was the main cause. Sure imperialism and militarism were part of the reason, but they didn’t start the war. Serbian nationalism and its alliance system along with the assassination from a serban nationalist are what triggered the start of World War 1. It was the significance of this particular crime for Austro-Serbian relations that mattered. Guys Important thing to know, when your talking about nationalism don’t say that the black hand was acting on behalf of the government, we’ll get slapped. â€Å"There is no evidence to suggest that Pasic planned the crime. It is unlikely that the Black Hand officers were acting on behalf of the government, because the military and the Radical Party in fact were engaged in a bitter competition to control the state.† BUT if someone does say this quote we can respond with â€Å"Pasic’s responsibility revolves around reports that he was warned of the intended crime, and took inadequate steps to warn Austrian authorities. Despite Pasic’s denials, there is substantial testimony that someone alerted him to the plot, and that Pasic ordered the Serbian ambassador in Vienna to tell the Austrians that an attempt would be made on the life of the heir during his visit to Bosnia† Instead of Pasic saying that he knew of an actual plot, he spoke in terms of a hypothetical assassination attempt, and suggested that a state visit by Franz Ferdinand on the day of Kosovo (June 28) was too provocative. Austrian diplomats failed to read between the lines of this vague comment. By the time the warning reached the Habsburg joint finance minister (the man in charge of Bosnian affairs) any sense of urgency had been lost, and he did nothing to increase security or cancel the heir’s planned visit. After the murders, the Serbian government was even more reluctant to compromise itself by admitting any prior knowledge, hence Pasic’s later denials. This is like the ultimate historiography When Serbia first received the ultimatum, Pasic indicated that he could accept its terms, with a few reservations and requests for clarification. As time passed, however, it became clear that Russia would support Serbia regardless of the situation. After that, Pasic gave up seeking peace. While a long reply was written and sent, Serbia rejected the key points about Austrian interference in domestic judicial and police work. Pasic knew that this meant war, and the Serbian army began to mobilize even before the reply was complete. ^– The Balkans in the Age of Nationalism Steven W. Sowards