Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Strategic Human Resource Development Framework - 1614 Words

INRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to review academic literature of the different frameworks/models proposed by different researchers and eventually propose a framework of choice which will help leaders to better manage their Human Capital (HC) and understand how to incorporate HR policies into everyday decision making and long term planning. First we start by defining Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). We then look into what purpose it serves in an organisation. Then we look into the different models of SHRM how these models compare with each other. Literature review intends to develop a new framework which is a combination of two frameworks, The Harvard Model and the Warwick model of SHRM. STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE†¦show more content†¦Many find this model to be attractive given both its analytical and prescriptive nature (Pettigrew Hendry 1990; Boxall, 1992). However Armstrong (1987) argues that the human (soft) aspect in this model may conflict with the business focus. The Michigan model proposed by Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna (1984), consist of five factors namely, selection, performance, appraisal, rewards and human resource development. It emphasises the interrelatedness of the HRM activities. Contrary to the Harvard model it treats people as any other resource which can be used to achieve business goals (Truss, Gratton, Hailey, McGovern Stiles, 1997). Hence it has a ‘hard’ focus that is, a focus on organizational growth and performance (Bratton Gold, 2001). Another major drawback is that it views organization and employee goals to be mutual (Walton, 1985) thus ignoring the concept of conflict or diversity (Bagshaw, 2004) or the influence of the external environment (Walton, 1985; Bratton Gold, 2001) which ultimately can lead to market failure (Chuang, Church, Zikic, 2004). The Warwick model proposed by Hendry Pettigrew (1990) draws on the Harvard model and further extends the analytical aspects. The authors argue that â€Å"better descriptions of structures and strategy-making in complex organizations,Show MoreRelatedEffective Human Resource Planning.1310 Words   |  6 PagesThe key to effective human resource management is human resource planning 1.0 Introduction Human Resources (HR) Management is a multifaceted function. This entity has an important place within companies in helping key personnel decide on the best staff for their needs, among other things. Sometimes, the employees chosen are full-time employees already working for the company or they could be contractors. Regardless, the goal of HR Management is to choose the most qualified person for the job. Read MoreStrategic Human Resource Management : Marks And Spencer1208 Words   |  5 Pagescan be developed by strategic human resource management. According to Armstrong (2006) employees are the valued assets for a company. The strategic human resource management is mainly developed in accordance to the fact that human resources need to be managed strategically for the company to enjoy sustainable competitive advantage. In this assignment I have looked at strategic human resource management perspective in Marks and Spencer. Before move on the strategic human resource management, let usRead MoreStrategic Thinking with Hrm1401 Words   |  6 PagesDiscuss why human resource management (HRM) is essential to strategic thinking, and identify several key aspects of strategic HRM. Introduction â€Å"Corporations began viewing employees as assets rather than as cogs in machine. ‘Human resources management’, consequently, became the dominant term for the function—the ASPA even changing its name to SHRM in 1998. (SHRM)† The realisation from organisations that their most prised and valuable asset is their employees. This lead to development and integrationRead MoreThe Relationship Between Human Resource Management and Human Resource Development976 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Relationship Between Human Resource Management and Human Resource Development Diana Williams National American University Understanding the Relationship Between Human Resource Management and Human Resource Development Human resource management (HRM) is the umbrella under which all other human resource activities are found. Some of the major activities under the umbrella are: benefits and compensation, health safety and security, human resource planning, staffing, equal employmentRead MoreHuman Resource Management : An Effective Management Of Individual1351 Words   |  6 PagesHuman resource management provides way through which people can be managed within the organization. It is being considered as one of the most important function for any company (Bernardin and et. al., 2011). This is because, it is with the help of the given concept only an effective management of individual can be carried out within enterprise. In addition to this, given department has the basic function of carrying out the recruitment, selection and training and development of the employees. ForRead MoreThe Relationship Between Hrm Practices And Employees Performance From An Islamic Perspective Essay1395 Words   |   6 PagesAbstract Accelerated developments and changes in organization’s environment, has led organizations to strive providing customers with products and services they need with best quality; In order to compete in such a competitive, dynamic and always changing environment, organizations has to invest more on their human resources and equip them with needed knowledge and skills. To invest on human resources and improve performance, organizations have considered religion and culture as major shapers forRead MoreHuman Resource Management ( Hrm )1562 Words   |  7 PagesHuman resource management (HRM) is an important strategic and systematic approach that provides each company with the opportunity to create policies and practices, as well as to establish administrative forms (Pfeffer, 2007). According to Armstrong (2009) HRM is an approach that deals with ‘employment, development, and well-being of the people working in organizations’. However HRM has evolved significantly through the years due to the rapid social, economic, political and environmental changes.Read MoreDeveloping A Human Resource Strategy For Effective Job Performance829 Words   |  4 PagesConceptual Framework According to Bono and Judge (2003) there is no single approach to developing a human resource strategy for effective job performance. As a matter of fact, the specific approach will vary from organization to organization. Even so, the literature reviewed so far and a consideration of the organizational culture that pertains in the National Commission for Civic Education makes the model presented below an excellent approach. This conceptual model identifies six specific stepsRead MoreBiodiversity, Or Biological Diversity1720 Words   |  7 Pagesservices, which enrich our lives (Defra, 2011; Cepel, 1996). In that perspective, biodiversity can be considered as a significant strategic resource of economic and political affairs (Demir, 2013). 1.2 Sustainability Challenges for Biodiversity Despite all the evidence that are uncovered about its importance, biodiversity is under serious threat (Defra, 2011), as human beings seem to be determined on destroying ecosystems and species at an ever-increasing rate (Cepel, 1996; Lawton, 2015; Topcu,Read MoreThe Valuation of Human Capital in an Organization691 Words   |  3 PagesHuman Capital Valuation in the Organization Introduction With the rise of the knowledge economy, traditional valuation in the enterprise that consisted solely of measurable assets including buildings, equipment and inventory is increasingly being questioned. Human capital is widely recognized as an important component to the enterprises total statement of its financial position. This brief study discusses whether human capital should be assessed and reported in the financial statement of the organization

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Use of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Frederick Douglass...

Aristotle came up with three appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos, all of which are found in all forms of writing, speeches, movies, television shows, and life within itself. Frederick Douglass used all three of these rhetoric devices in writing his narrative to tell about both his life as an American slave and his cause over ten decades ago. He uses these devices to identify himself to the readers, to bring emotion out of the readers, and to persuade the readers. In chapter ten, Douglass uses pathos with his imagery and figurative language that provokes an emotional response. Pathos is also seen in his powerful words, phrases and mental images that stir up emotion. Frederick Douglass went from being a slave into being a free man†¦show more content†¦It also shows the sense of ownership slaves master’s felt that they had over them. Back then it was common for one man to own another man and to them it was the norm. In today’s society, most would look at owning another human as irrational. Douglass used logos to get the readers on his side. He wanted them to look at the master as a bad person; he wanted the readers to think logically. Another literary technique that Douglass uses in his narrative is ethos. Ethos appeals to a writer’s character or credibility. Christianity is Douglass’s focus throughout his narration. He uses it to show the ethical irregularities essential to the practice of slavery. It’s particularly moving in chapter ten in the character of Edward Covey. Mr. Covey looks at himself as a very religious and spiritual Christian and attempts to swindle himself and God, however his evil actions expose him to be nothing more than a two-faced sinner. Douglass stated that Mr. Covey’s â€Å"†¦life was devoted to planning and perpetrating the grossest deceptions. Every thing he possessed in the shape of learning or religion, he made conform to his disposition to deceive.† This linked the readers by portraying an extremely clear sample of the ethical paradox of being a Christian and a slave owner. Without pathos, ethos, and logos, this narrative would be simply words on paper. Frederick Douglass did an amazing job in writing this autobiography of his life. It really showed his transformations from anShow MoreRelatedFrederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis885 Words   |  4 Pages In the â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass† it shows all 3 rhetorical appeals (Ethos, Pathos, Logos) which are found in all forms of writing, speeches, movies, television shows, and life within itself. Frederick Douglass used all three of these rhetoric in the narrative to tell about both his life as an American slave and his cause over ten decades ago. He uses these devices to identify himself to the readers, to bring emotion out of the readers, and to persuade the readers. Read MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis1050 Words   |  5 Pageshere. Slaves lived lives of pain and hardship. But some, like the slave and later abolitionist Frederick Douglass, rose up from the tribulations of slavery and led the way for progress and change in America. In his autobiography â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass†, Douglass tells his inspiring yet harrowing story of his life as a slave in Maryland and his escape to freedom in New York and later Massachusetts, where he eventually became an abolitionist. Douglass masterfully uses ethos, pathosRead MoreNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Logically Emotional Appeal942 Words   |  4 PagesNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Logically Emotional Appeal Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, is a moving written account of Frederick Douglass’ harrowing experiences as a slave, and his journey into freedom. In his critical essay â€Å"Douglass and Sentimental Rhetoric,† Jefferey Steele argues, that despite being objective, Douglass’ account is mixed with Pathos, complicating the straightforward chronicle. While pathos is evident in the text, it does not complicate the memoir’sRead MoreNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay1226 Words   |  5 PagesFrederick Douglass was born in Maryland in 1818 as a slave to a maritime captain, Captain Anthony. After decades of enslavement, Frederick Douglass escaped to the North and became one of the prominent members and drivers of the abolitionist movement. In an effort to provide an eye-opening account of the harsh treatment of slaves, Douglass wrote Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In his autobiography, Frederick Douglass detailed his l ife beginning from his meager early years through hisRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave Essay1096 Words   |  5 PagesChristie Chaplin Words Words words Learning to Lead: Rhetorical Strategies in Frederick Douglass’s â€Å"Learning to Read† Published in 1845, Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave†, is a historical account of his life that told of the challenges and obstacles that plagued the lives of slaves in pursuing freedom from injustice and persecution from white wealthy slaveowners. In particular, an excerpt titled â€Å"Learning to Read† shines a light onRead MoreSlavery : Beyond The Truth And Reality906 Words   |  4 Pagesthe black man s misery† (Frederick Douglass). Throughout the years, the guiding question was to determine whether or not slavery should be abolished. This is essential to better understand what humans are capable of doing. By deciding whether or not slavery should be abolished, the sense of right and wrong becomes more apparent. Frederick Douglass was a slave born and raised in Maryland. Although he lived a atrocious childhood, through self perseverance, he improved his life, and latter became an in fluentialRead MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1393 Words   |  6 Pages In his book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass gives detail on his life as a slave and the things that he has experienced. After being a slave for a good portion of his life, until he escaped in 1838 to New York, Douglass was able to witness the cruel slavery that many people were not able to experience or see. By writing this narrative Douglass is able to tell the truth about slavery on what the slaves have experienced and reveal that the truths people believed aboutRead MoreThe Great Challenge For Marginalized Writers Essay1681 Words   |  7 Pagesdiscuss  the narrative strategies these writers use to challenge the status quo.   For example, how do they address their audience and get readers from dominant culture on their side? What stories do they tell about themselves or the experiences of those in their marginalized group, and how and why are these stori es effective in challenging dominant culture?    The greatest challenge for marginalized writers is to evoke sympathy and support from white readers in their narratives. Writers hadRead MoreIndividual Rhetorical Analysis Of The Selected Readings2297 Words   |  10 Pagesof the selected readings by Olaudah Equiano, Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Beecher Stowe are necessary to arrive at a collective analysis of the most effective strategies. Olaudah Equiano’s â€Å"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavas Vassa, the African† was first published in 1789 in London, England (687). Equiano’s narrative is informative; however, it is critical of the treatment of slaves and persuasive in its appeals to end the brutal treatment of AfricanRead MoreRhetoric Essay1230 Words   |  5 PagesAkinyemi Adebayo Mrs. Crocco AP: English 13 December 2012 Does Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass appeal to pathos, logos, or ethos? The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography in which Mr. Douglass tells his life story. He was born into slavery and experienced many harsh realities that shaped his life. Frederick Douglass was a free black man at the time in which he told this story. He is writing to his audience to inform them about slavery. His claim is that

Monday, December 9, 2019

Hurricane Devastation Of Hurricane Katrina examples Essay Example For Students

Hurricane Devastation Of Hurricane Katrina examples Essay When America was faced with the news report of Hurricane Katrina, it was no secrecy that the storms movement was an American dilemma. However, the actions panned out to unveil only a fraction of the lack of affection still engrained in America’s governmental officials perspectives of Non-White citizens. August 25, 2005, Hurricane Katrina was considered a natural disaster and initially landed in Florida, according to Calvin Mackie Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering of Tulane University and resident of Algiers, as the â€Å"hurricane traveled the Gulf Coast by August 26th, it reached Category 5. Katrina left six people dead in Florida, with heavily populated areas flooded and no power.† Meteorologist Bryan Norcross reported new information that the storm was, â€Å"shifting further west perhaps, involving New Orleans metropolitan area,† he reported, â€Å"New Orleans is one of the most vulnerable hurricane places, if not the most vulnerable places in t he country. † The natural aspect of the Hurricane took place yet with the landing of Katrina missing New Orleans going east causing many structural damages to homes, displacement of cars, trees, and other objects. The aftermath of Katrina is what misplaced the life of what was left behind in New Orleans, about an hour and a half away from where Katrina went ashore, resulting to deadly uncompromising positions for the citizens remaining in New Orleans. Once the Hurricane left, the after effects of Katrina became more and more man-made, with a fragmentary and poor plan, with the lack of response to be as diligent as Michael Brown professed FEMA would subsist resulted to highlighting the discrimination within American government. Spike Lee’s documentary reported, Max Mayfield the head of t. .es placed on Black bodies has and continues to be a deciding factor amid to create laws, denote separation, while upholding a superior stance before White and subordinate stand among Non-White p eople. After the storm damage did take place; however, Katrina missed New Orleans, it was the man-made aspect that tallied the death toll treating people as an animal, body and soul perpetuated against the people of New Orleans. Afterwards the response was blamed as natural; yet, it was masked within the media. The fact still remains people died because they did not have a way to get out. The fact remains the elderly, the infants/children, the disable people that died relied on the aid of the government failed them and no repercussions were mandated highlighting the lack of significance the elderly, the infants/children, and the disable people of New Orleans are to America.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Tabloid. Yellow journalism textbook Review Essay Example

Tabloid. Yellow journalism textbook Review Paper Essay on Tabloid. Yellow journalism textbook I immediately wrote a great post about this book, but you can see the very fate, in the form of a network glitch, it destroyed So basically:. 1. 200+ pages are read in 30 minutes Why? Because This collection of articles Stogova that should not miss and miss. Between themselves, they are broken vvodkami that type made of books textbook. The subtitle of the book: yellow journalism textbook 2.. This is not a textbook. This collection of articles Stogova stupid. Article fig, but are two indisputable advantages: literate language and competent structuring material We will write a custom essay sample on Tabloid. Yellow journalism textbook Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Tabloid. Yellow journalism textbook Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Tabloid. Yellow journalism textbook Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer 3.. Tips, willing to engage in craft two: a) whether cabinet rat, and tear off the ass from the chair if you want to do good stuff (this is a very important point, which young journalists in the age of Google have tattooed on your forehead, and it is already tired of reading smehuechki reprinted from the Internet, without verifying the truth).; b) gold, old as the world generally interveyuera not prepared for the interview do not be surprised that at the output shit 4.. The book, like most non-fiction works Stogova a simple compilation of old texts. In this case his own. Very often shamelessly Stogov tyrit others texts. 5. Lyrical digression, which have Stogova always out of place, its absurdity reaches its climax in the finale, when the author of the article says, is justified decade occupation garbage. And lead article bombastic text about Christ and Jerusalem, for the publication of Oracle. (However, this can be seen as black sarcasm. Editor tabloids knows the true price of that product, they are treated to their readers.)

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

How To Do Facebook Video Marketing The Right Way - CoSchedule Blog

How To Do Facebook Video Marketing The Right Way Blog Facebook is doubling down on video. In fact, 32 billion  views  per day on Facebook.   That’s a mind-blowing statistic, right? The implications for content marketers and social media managers is clear. We need to be investing in video content. But, if youre not a professional videographer, then how do you get started? That’s what we’ll cover in this post. Why Should You Care About Facebook Video? The amount of video watched on Facebook is hard to ignore. That isn’t the only reason why video is important on Facebook, though. There’s also the issue of declining organic reach on the platform. The newsfeed algorithm now makes it harder to earn high organic reach. If video content is particularly popular, however, then there may be an opportunity for content creators to capitalize. If you weren’t feeling the urgency to get started before, you should be now.How To Do Facebook Video Marketing The Right WayStill not convinced? Here are some more fast facts about Facebook video: Get More Mileage Out Of Your Videos With Features From Video content takes effort to create. So, why not make the most of your hard work? With 's robust social sharing features, getting maximum mileage from your video posts is easy. Social Video allows you to upload your videos straight to your calendar and publish them all in one spot: After you've created your post, schedule it to send at the best time automatically with  Best Time Scheduling: Finally, stop manually re-scheduling your videos and let ReQueue take care of it for you: Best of all, you can try all this stuff out free for 14 days! Start your trial below (and put the advice in this post into practice). Facebook Video Marketing Mechanics And Best Practices Before we run full steam ahead, let’s get our footing first. Which Video File Types Are Supported? Facebook recommends .MP4 and .MOV files. However, those aren’t your only options. Find every supported format here or use this cheat sheet: Is Native Facebook Video Better Than Posting YouTube Links? Facebook prefers video directly uploaded onto its platform. This may be because it sees itself in competition with YouTube. Directly uploading your video makes it easier for its algorithm to put your video in front of an interested audience. This means your video uploaded directly might get more views, shares, and comments. In fact, a study done  by quintly  found that native Facebook videos received 186% higher interaction rates than YouTube videos as of December 2016. On #Facebook, native video appears to outperform YouTube links.However, native Facebook video tends to have a shorter shelf life. According to Videomaker, However, by the same token, Facebook posts have a shorter lifespan. In the stream-like flow of the news feed, once a video stops getting likes and shares it quickly sinks to the bottom, rarely to be heard from again. It’s hard to search for old Facebook videos and linking to them directly is problematic. These are huge hurdles. There may be times where either Facebook or YouTube may be best for your video. Figure out which one is best in your case by asking a few questions: Will people care about this video a month from now? If not, the advantage goes to Facebook. Is this video evergreen (meaning it has long-term appeal)? If so, the advantage goes to YouTube. Is this video more than a couple minutes long? This could go either way, but you many want to default to YouTube in this case, for reasons we’ll touch on next. TIP: Remember, you can always upload videos to both Facebook and YouTube, too. What Are Facebook's Video Length Requirements? The maximum length for video on Facebook is 45 minutes. However,  according to Tubular Insights, the best length for engagement is around 1:30. Facebook recommends focusing on storytelling, rather than video length. According to Facebook Business, Video length is less important than telling a cohesive and concise story. Your video ad shouldn’t be longer or shorter than it takes to tell your story well, so create a storytelling arc from the first frame to the last that keeps your audience interested along the way. So, how long should your video be? The answer varies, but here are some general suggestions: In general, keep your videos short and to the point. If you have a longer video, consider breaking it up into short, easily digestible episodes. Pay attention to your Facebook video analytics (more on this later on). See what works best. Then, repeat. Facebook videos under two minutes perform best.What Kinds Of Videos Should I Shoot? There are all kinds of different video categories you could create. How do you know which types of videos your audience will like best? The answer will depend on your audience. Here are some ideas to get you thinking: How-to videos. Consider creating quick videos demonstrating how to perform a task. Entertaining videos. These could include videos based on memes, animals doing something goofy, or whatever your imagination can dream up. Behind-the-scenes videos. What’s it like to work at your company? Could you offer a behind-the-scenes look at how you created something (like a cool piece of content or an event)? Product demonstrations. Show off how your product or service works. Customer testimonials.  Anyone can talk themselves up. Someone else singing your praises is better. Live video. Live video is Facebook's latest video content type that allows users to broadcast video updates straight to your profile page. Your only limit is your creativity. When it comes to Facebook video, you're limited only by your creativity.What Equipment Do I Need? This depends on your budget. Facebook recommends investing in quality production. If you can afford it, it’s best not to go cheap. A great video idea, combined with polish and effort, can generate incredible results. What if you don’t have access to a production team, though? You’re not out of luck. Select Your Camera Type If you’re shooting video on your own, your first step is gathering equipment. Smartphone. Most smartphones can shoot hi-res video. They may not produce professional-quality results. However, this option can work well enough in a pinch. This guide from MakeUseOf has tons of information on shooting quality smartphone video. Digital SLR. Many professional-quality still cameras can shoot awesome video too. Expect to spend at least $500 for a decent entry-level digital SLR. Handicam. If you’re able to spend a few hundred dollars, an amateur digital camcorder may be enough to get started with. Professional video camera. If you have an in-house videographer, they will probably ask (nay, demand) you invest in professional equipment. Don’t argue with them. Just give them what they need. Getting gear to do #Facebook #video #marketing doesn't have to be expensive.Select Your Mic Audio quality shouldn’t be overlooked here. Smartphone microphone. Smartphone condenser mics can improve your audio quality for not too much money. There appear to be more options available for iOS, which may be something to keep in mind if you’re an Android user. Camera microphone. Like most things, you get what you pay for here. Start at $50 and go up from there. Select Your Tripod A tripod can make a major difference in keeping video stable. Smartphone tripod. A small smartphone tripod can go a long way toward shooting better video. Alternately, consider using a smartphone adapter for a full-size tripod. Monopod. These one-legged tripod alternatives are affordable and lightweight. Actual tripod. The most expensive option. Not coincidentally, this is also the best option. TIP: Don't underestimate the value of a quality tripod. It can make an enormous difference between having a stable shot, or a rocky video.] How Should I Shoot My Video? Never shot video before? No problem! You don’t need to be the next Spielberg to shoot decent videos (although it does help to have experience). Shoot Mobile Video Vertically This goes against old-school best practice of shooting in landscape view. However, vertical videos look better on mobile devices. When shooting video on your phone, go vertical. This will produce the best results for people on their phones. Shoot mobile video vertically, rather than horizontally, for easier mobile viewing.Remember The Rule Of Thirds The idea behind the Rule Of Thirds  is to split your frame into thirds along a 9x9 grid. This helps produce balanced shots that look visually appealing. Fit Your Subject In The Frame This is pretty basic. Show people above the waist. Don’t cut off heads or arms in the frame. Make sure people can see what’s happening clearly. Here's a quick example I just shot on my phone: The subject is positioned off-center (following the Rule of Thirds), with everything in the frame, and nothing cut out of the shot. Make The First Few Seconds Attention-Grabbing People scrolling through their news feed have short attention spans. Make your first few seconds count. According to Facebook, you've got about three seconds to hook your viewer into your video. Even then, only 65% will continue into the next ten seconds.   In other words, leave out dramatic build-ups or introductions, and get right to the point. Creating #Facebook video? Skip dramatic build-ups and get right to the point.How Should I Promote My Facebook Videos? You’ve shot your video. Now, how do you get people to watch it? Start with these tips. Write Strong Post Copy Include videos in your posts, and write copy that entices views. Here are a few ways to do this: Write a post that asks a question, while implying the video has the answer. This can get people interested in watching the video. Hype up your video. Get people excited to watch. Write in a way that inspires curiosity. If you want to make sure that you're nailing your messages and encouraging fans to watch your video, try our Social Message Optimizer. To start, type in a draft of your post, hit the video button, and select  Score My Message: Select Facebook and scroll down for an overview of what your message does well, and what could use some improvement: As you continue down the page, you'll see suggestions on how you can improve your message and boost your score: Scroll back up to the top of your page to edit and re-score your message: Recommended Reading: How to Write For Social Media to Create the Best Posts Embed Video From Facebook Elsewhere Did you know you can embed Facebook videos on web pages? It works similar to embedding video from YouTube. That means you can easily embed your Facebook videos in blog posts or static web pages. Simply click the arrow in the upper right corner of any video. Then, click Embed: Next, you’ll see an embed code: If you’d like to include the entire post (and not just the video), click the box. It's worth noting this method will embed your video in an iframe. These can potentially break RSS feeds. If you'd like to avoid this potential issue, click Embed Video. Then, click Advanced Settings to bring up the Embed Video Player Configurator. Next, click Get Code: Finally, follow the on-screen directions to copy and paste the Javascript code into the right places. If you're using WordPress, switch to  Text view and paste the top code at the top of your page: The end result looks like this: Sound FX: Packers vs. ChiefsThe #Packers look pretty amped up for the preseason finale! #GBvsKC Posted by Green Bay Packers on Thursday, September 1, 2016 Done! TIP: Know someone who might be interested in your video? Send them the embed code too. They just might put it somewhere on their own site. Add A Featured Video To Your Facebook Page Have a video you really want people to see? Feature it on your page. Visit your Facebook page. Then, click Videos: Next, click Add Featured Video: You’ll then be able to choose from any of your uploaded videos: Your video will then display under the About section on your profile’s main page. Here’s an example of what this looks like: Use Facebook Featured Videos to enhance your brand page.Upload A Video As Your Cover Photo To Make Your Profile Pack A Punch Did you know you can make your cover image a video? Social Fire Media  found that cover videos should include: A video that is 820x462 pixels wide. Video should be between 20 to 90 seconds in length. To upload a video as your cover photo go to your Facebook business page: Select  Change Cover  and Choose From Videos  or  Upload Video: Select the video you want to use as your cover photo: Click confirm, and your video should replace your cover photo. Consider Video Advertising Or Paying For Promotion Paying to promote your video, or turning your video into an ad, can help drive more reach and views. Just be sure to follow Facebook’s design guidelines for video ads. We also recommended reading Wordstream’s guide on using Facebook ads  too. Recommended Reading: Facebook Marketing Strategy: Why You Need One ( How to Build It) How Can I Drive More Traffic From Facebook Video? Facebook recently removed call-to-action links from native videos. However, there are still ways to drive traffic back to your site with your video content. Let’s walk through a couple simple tips. Include Links In Your Post Copy You can still include a link in your post copy accompanying your video. This simple detail is easy to overlook. Tag Other Accounts Mentioned In Your Video If your video references other companies, personalities, or anyone with a Facebook page, consider tagging them. This will help your video get distribution in their fan’s news feeds too. How Can I Measure My Success? Facebook video marketing is a lot of work. It’s important to know if your efforts are paying off. Data and analytics can show if you’re meeting your goals. They can also inform your strategy, showing what’s working, and what needs improvement. Fortunately, Facebook offers robust analytics functionality with Facebook Insights. Visit your page, and click Insights: Then click Videos on the left: Here, you can see: Total minutes of video viewed. Number of video views. Change over time. You can also see detailed analytics for individual videos: Select the video that you want to see stats around, and you'll see a full breakdown of all of the analytics for your video: If you're looking for even more social media analysis check out 's Social Engagement Report: How Should I Set Facebook Video Marketing Goals? Follow the SMART goals framework: So, that’s how you set goals. Now, which metrics should you track? Here are some possible options: Engagement. Are people liking and sharing your videos? Are they leaving comments too? Views. How many people are watching your videos, and for how long? Traffic. Are your videos linking back to your blog or website? If so, how much traffic are they driving? Follower growth. If you’re paying for video ads, are those ads helping you reach a new audience and expanding your Facebook following? Revenue. If you’re running video ads that direct to an ecommerce page or signup form, how much money are you earning from those conversions? TIP: Don't skip measurement. If you want budget to shoot more video, you'll probably need to show your boss why it's worthwhile. Data can do that for you. How Can I Schedule And Publish My Facebook Videos? Great question. recently launched our new social video functionality. It’s now possible to schedule social media video posts for Facebook within our app. (You can also schedule videos on Twitter too, but that’s another topic for another time.)

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Profile of Serial Killer Debra Brown

Profile of Serial Killer Debra Brown In 1984, at age 21, Debra Brown became involved in a master-slave relationship with the serial rapist and killer  Alton Coleman. For two months, during the summer of 1984, the couple left victims across several Midwestern states, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana,  Kentucky, and Ohio. Alton Coleman and Debra Brown Meet Prior to meeting Alton Coleman, Brown showed no violent tendencies  and had no history of being in trouble with the law. Described as being intellectually disabled, possibly due to a head trauma suffered as a child, Brown quickly came under Colemans spell and a master-slave relationship began. Brown ended a marriage engagement, left her family and moved in with 28-year-old Alton Coleman. At the time, Coleman was facing trial on sexual assault charges of a 14-year-old girl. Fearing that he would likely go to prison, he and Brown decided to take their chances and hit the road. Blended Into Local Communities Coleman was a good con man and a smooth talker. Rather than target victims outside of their race, where their chances of being noticed were greater, Coleman and Brown stayed close to predominately African-American neighborhoods. There, they found it easier to befriend strangers, then assault and sometimes rape and murder their victims, including children and the elderly. Vernita Wheat was the 9-year-old daughter of Juanita Wheat from Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the first known victim of Coleman and Brown. On May 29,  1984, Coleman abducted Juanita in Kenosha and took her 20 miles away to  Waukegan, Illinois. Her body was discovered three weeks later in an abandoned building located close to where Coleman was living with his elderly grandmother. Juanita had been raped and strangled to death. After conning their way through Illinois, they headed to Gary, Indiana, where on June 17, 1984, they approached 9-year-old Annie Turks and her 7-year-old niece  Tamika Turks. The girls were headed home after visiting a candy store. Coleman asked the girls if they wanted free clothing, to which they answered yes. He told them to follow Brown, who led them to a secluded, wooded area. The couple removed the younger childs shirt and Brown ripped it into strips and used it to tie up the girls. When Tamika began to cry, Brown held the childs mouth and nose. Coleman stomped on her stomach and chest, then threw her lifeless body into a weeded area. Next, both Coleman and Brown sexually assaulted Annie, threatening to kill her if she did not do as they instructed. Afterward, they choked Annie until she lost consciousness. When she awoke, she discovered her attackers were gone. She managed to walk back to a road, where she found help. Tamikas body was recovered the following day. She had not survived the attack. As the authorities were uncovering Tamikas body, Coleman and Brown struck again. Donna Williams, 25, of Gary, Indiana, was reported as missing. Almost a month later, on July 11, Williams decomposing body was found in Detroit, along with her car parked a half a mile away. She had been raped and the cause of death was ligature strangulation. The couples next known stop was  on June 28, in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, where they walked into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Palmer Jones. Mr. Palmer was handcuffed and severely beaten and Mrs. Palmer was also attacked. The couple was fortunate to survive. After robbing them, Coleman and Brown took off in the Palmers car. The couples next attack happened after their arrival in Toledo, Ohio on the holiday weekend of July 5. Coleman managed to worm his way into the home of Virginia Temple, who was the mother of a household of small children. Her oldest was her 9-year-old daughter Rachelle. The police were called to Virginias home to do a welfare check after her relatives became concerned after they did not see her and she did not answer her phone calls. Inside the home, the police found Virginia and Rachelles bodies, who had both been strangled to death. The other younger children were unharmed but frightened from being left alone. It was also determined that a bracelet was missing. Following the Temple murders, Coleman and Brown did another home invasion  in Toledo, Ohio.  Frank and Dorothy Duvendack were tied up and robbed of their money, watches, and their car. Unlike others, the couple was fortunately left alive. On July 12, after being dropped off in Cincinnati by the  Reverend and Mrs. Millard Gay of Dayton, Ohio, Coleman and Brown raped and murdered Tonnie Storey of  Over-the-Rhine (a working-class neighborhood of Cincinnati). Storeys body was discovered eight days later. Underneath it was the bracelet that was missing from the Temple home. Storey had been raped and strangled to death. FBI Ten Most Wanted On July 12, 1984, Alton Coleman was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted list as a special addition. A major national manhunt was launched to capture Coleman and Brown. More Attacks Being on the most wanted FBI list did not seem  to slow down the couples murder spree.  On July 13, Coleman and Brown went from Dayton to Norwood, Ohio on a bicycle. Not long after arriving, they managed to get inside the home of Harry and Marlene Walters on the ruse that they were interested in buying a trailer that Harry Walters was selling. Once inside the home, Coleman struck Harry Walters over the head with a candlestick, rendering him unconscious. The couple then viscously raped and beat Marlene Walters to death. It was later determined that Marlene Walters had been beaten on the head at least 25 times and Vise-Grips had been used to lacerate her face and scalp. After the attack, the couple robbed the home of money and jewelry  and stole the family car. Kidnapping in Kentucky The couple then fled to Kentucky in the Walters car and kidnapped a Williamsburg college professor, Oline Carmical, Jr. They placed him in the trunk of the car and drove to Dayton. There, they left the stolen car with Carmical  inside the trunk. He was later rescued. Next, the couple returned to the home of  Reverend and Mrs. Millard Gay. They threatened the couple with guns, but left them unharmed. Coleman and Brown stole their car and headed back close to where they started their killing spree in Evanston, Illinois. Before their arrival, they carjacked and murdered  75-year-old Eugene Scott in Indianapolis. Capture On July 20, Coleman and Brown were arrested without incident in Evanston. A  multi-state coalition of police formed to strategize on how to best prosecute the couple. Wanting the pair to face the death penalty, authorities selected Ohio as the first state to begin prosecuting them both. No Remorse In Ohio, Coleman and Brown were sentenced to death in each case of the aggravated murders of Marlene Walters and Tonnie Storey. During the sentencing phase of the trial, Brown sent the judge a note which read, in part, I killed the bitch and I dont give a damn. I had fun out of it. In separate trials in Indiana, both were found guilty of murder, rape, and attempted murder. Both received the death penalty. Coleman also received 100 additional years and Brown received an additional 40 years on charges of kidnapping and child molesting. Alton Coleman was executed on April 26, 2002, by lethal injection at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio. Browns death sentence in Ohio was later commuted to life because of her low IQ scores, her non-violent history prior to meeting Coleman, and her dependent personality that made her susceptible to Colemans control. Currently in the Ohio Reformatory for Women, Brown still faces the death penalty in Indiana.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Answer some questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answer some questions - Essay Example Paul said he found Anna cute and feminine, and when he started talking to her he found out she was smart and funny as well. Anna said she found Paul interesting, down-to earth and comfortable to be with. As they got to know each other better (and Anna found out that Paul was not gay after all), they fell deeply in love and became sweethearts for a long time even way after college. They went steady for a decade before deciding to get married. They knew that they were meant for each other and accepted each other for all their strengths and weaknesses. They decided to marry because they wanted to spend the rest of their lives and grow old together. Paul admitted that he had a string of girlfriends before he met Anna and even played around when they were going steady. However, he promised her that once they got married, he would remain faithful to her only. He became more responsible because he knew he had another person to take care of and not just himself. With Anna, he became more independent and learned to be a good homemaker. Since she did the chores, she became better at cooking, cleaning and making their home cosy and comfortable for both of them. When they had a son, they became even closer as they relied on each other in raising him as well. Paul and Anna had their own share of difficulties in their marriage. Money was often tight since they were not earning enough, but they found ways to survive so as not to get hungry and still pay the bills. They were fortunate enough to have the supportive people around them who showered their son with gifts and nice things that they themselves could not afford. They made sure their son would have a good and comfortable life as they promised to do their best to give it to him. After being together for 28 years, Paul and Anna (10 years as steady boyfriend-girlfriend and 18 years married) are still deeply in love with each other. It is not only a romantic relationship, but a true friendship and partnership. They

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Assessment Assignment

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Assessment - Assignment Example This will be determined by people who will make purchases from the online program The first product is an online shopping service utilised by online shoppers. Consumers are able to analyse prices of different products and make a purchase. This product will save the customer time; buying many goods at once and money because customers can compare prices from different retailers and pick one that best suits them. The second activity is a juice bar (Crumpton, 2012). The bar will offer a variety of mixtures of fruit juices that are best described as tantalising. The juice bar targets consumers that are health conscious and are ‘going organic’. With the introduction of internet use in the present day, the mode of shopping is fast changing to e-shopping. Many people prefer to do shopping in the comfort of their homes. This online shopping service will allow the general public, who are the target buyers a chance to not only shop in the comforts of their homes without having to walk to the shopping centres. Many people are now aware that eating healthy will result in better health and they are going organic. The target buyers include all age groups and the entire population who are health conscious. Juice drinking has often logged strong sales in established and evolving markets in even in the face of economic recession; this goes to show that the demand for natural juice is high. For online shopping service, customers will be charged a registration fee. All advertisements that will be received from different products will also be charged a fee to advertise their product. The online shopping service will be promoted by advertising online, in newspapers and televisions. Pricing of the juice will be done according to demand and its availability. Promotion of the wide variety of juice being sold at the juice bar will be done online, using billboards, through newspapers and the

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Cost Theory Essay Example for Free

Cost Theory Essay Once a plant owner spends money to manufacture goods, that money is no longer available for something else. Production facilities, machinery used in the production process and plant workers are all examples of costs. Cost theory offers an approach to understanding the costs of production that allows firms to determine the level of output that reaps the greatest level of profit at the least cost. 2. Features * Cost theory contains various measures of costs. These include a firms fixed costs and variable costs. The former do not vary with the quantity of goods produced. Rent on a facility is an example of a fixed cost. Variable costs change with the quantity produced. If increased production requires more workers, for example, those workers wages are variable costs. The sum of fixed and variable costs is a firms total costs. * Additional Measures * Cost theory derives two additional cost measures. Average total cost is the total cost divided by the number of goods produced. Marginal cost is the increase in total cost that results from increasing production by one unit of output. Marginalsincluding marginal costs and marginal revenueare key concepts in mainstream economic thought. Falling and Rising Costs * Economists often use graphs, similar to supply-and-demand charts, to illustrate cost theory and firms decisions about production. An average total cost curve is a U-shaped curve on an economic diagram. This shape illustrates how average total costs decline as output rises and then rise as marginal costs increase. Average total costs decline at first because as production rises, average costs are distributed over a larger number of units of output. Eventually, marginal costs of increasing output rise, which increases average total costs. Maximizing Profits * Economic theory holds that the goal of a firm is to maximize profit, which equals total revenue minus total cost. Determining a level of production that generates the greatest level of profit is an important consideration, one that means paying attention to marginal costs, as well as marginal revenue (the increase in revenue arising from an increase in output). Under cost theory, as long as marginal revenue exceeds marginal cost, increasing production will raise profit. Types of Cost Economics Economists factor costs in many different ways. Though you may read the cost of a soup can at $1 as it’s listed on the grocery store shelf, economists view the cost of the soup can in very different ways. For example, an economist asks what you are giving up to buy that can of soup over another item. They measure the firm’s cost of producing that soup can as it relates to their output and factors of production. Thus, the different types of economic costs are varied. 1. Sunk Cost * A sunk cost is an expense that cannot be recouped. Mark Hirschy, author of the book, â€Å"Fundamentals of Managerial Economics,† explains that sunk costs should not factor into a decision when deciding between alternatives. For example, say a person spent $50,000 on a degree in education and earns $60,000 as a teacher. She is later offered a job in marketing that pays her $80,000. Though she may be tempted to factor in her education degree as reason to stay in her current teaching job, her $50,000 degree is regarded as a sunk cost. She already spent this money, and it cannot be recouped. In this case, she should only compare the respective salaries of the positions. If all else is held equal, she should pursue the marketing job. Opportunity Cost * An opportunity cost is the value of an alternative choice. Though the word â€Å"cost† usually equates to a numerical value, like a dollar figure, this is not always the case. William Baumol and Alan Blinder, authors of the book, Economics: Principles and Policy, state that an opportunity cost calculates intangible things like time, location and job satisfaction. They explain opportunity costs are what you give up to follow one course of action. For example, a college graduate is deciding between a job as a tech consultant in Seattle or an investment broker in New York City. If the grad pursues the investment broker position, the opportunity costs of foregoing the job in Seattle could be a slower pace of life, $10,000 higher salary and lower costs of living like rent and food. * Marginal Cost * A marginal cost is the amount it takes to produce one more item. Under this view of costs, they vary along the production line and in most cases the cost to produce a good reduces over time. Intuitively, this makes sense: the more proficient you become at producing a good, the faster you can do it and less waste is produced. The savings in labor and material as you achieve â€Å"economies of scale† means the cost of production usually decreases. The way economists find the marginal cost is by taking the derivative of the total costs as it relates to the total output. How to Find Marginal Cost in Economics Deciding whether to produce more units is often based on marginal cost. The economic concept of marginal cost is the cost associated with producing one additional unit. This information is important to businesses because it allows the company to decide if the additional unit is worth producing from a financial standpoint. When a company produces a small amount of product, the cost of additional units often decrease. However, marginal costs increase when additional units are added once the production level reaches a minimum. This is based on the law of diminishing marginal returns. Instructions 1. * 1 Calculate the change in total variable cost. This is the amount that the costs increased by after additional units are produced. For example, if youd like to produce more T-shirts and the increase in output would change the costs by $100, then the total variable cost is $100. * 2 Find the change in quantity produced. This represents how many additional units you would like to produce in the given scenario. For example, the change in quantity would be 50 if youd like to produce 300 T-shirts instead of 250. * 3 Divide the change in total variable costs from Step 1 by the change in quantity from Step 2. This will give you the marginal cost (marginal cost = the change in total variable cost/the change in quantity). For this example, $100 (the change in total variable cost) / 50 (the change in quantity) = $2 in marginal costs, which is the cost of producing each additional T-shirt. What Is the Relationship Between Production ;amp; Cost? Production costs are linked to t he cost of materials and labor. The relationship between production and cost in any manufacturing process varies based on volume produced and whether any part of the manufacturing process is outsourced or performed by subcontractors. Additionally, production and cost ratios vary based on the amount of automation involved in production and the amount of human oversight and involvement required. 1. Factors of Production * The main factors of production are labor, capital and supply costs. Capital is defined as equipment, cash reserves, and physical location or production facility. Labor is defined as the amount of and cost of manpower required to bring a product to market. This includes not only the physical labor and oversight related to product production, but also the associated costs of salaries of positions such as managers, delivery drivers, warehouse supervisors, marketing directors and even administrative assistance. Supply costs are any fee associated with securing necessary materials for production. Subcontractor or outsourced work is considered a supply cost as well, as the manufacturer is essentially purchasing a product or service for use in the production process. In this example, work such as offsite creation of product packaging or assembly of minor components of a finished product are considered supply costs in the same way the purchase of raw materials are considered supply costs. Volume of Production * Volume of production figures signify the amount of products being produced. Typically, the greater the volume the lower the cost per unit as raw material suppliers often offer discounts on mass or bulk orders. Volume of production is based on a company’s anticipated product needs, past sales records and placed orders. * Volume of Business * The relationship between production and cost is frequently determined by the volume of business a company is doing. An example that illustrates this point is a multinational vitamin supplement company that produces vitamins in bulk compared to a small health food chain that produces its own vitamin line in small quantities. The cost of the product produced by the small company will typically be greater than the cost of the product offered by the bulk manufacturer because the smaller company produces its product in smaller volumes. Price Points The more it costs a company to produce a product, the greater price the company will have to charge consumers. A company’s production costs include the price of materials, the cost of manpower, the production and packaging process, advertising, and distribution. Mass producers may be able to offer more competitive pricing to end users because they have the luxury of working on a thin margin due to the large volume of production. In microeconomics, the long run is the conceptual time period in which there are no fixed factors of production as to changing the output level by changing the capital stock or by entering or leaving an industry. The long run contrasts with the short run, in which some factors are variable and others are fixed, constraining entry or exit from an industry. In macroeconomics, the long run is the period when the general price level, contractual wage rates, and expectations adjust fully to the state of the economy, in contrast to the short run when these variables may not fully adjust. [1] In the long run, firms change production levels in response to (expected) economic profits or losses, and the land, labor, capital goods and entrepreneurship vary to reach associated long-run average cost. In the simplified case of plant capacity as the only fixed factor, a generic firm can make these changes in the long run: * enter an industry in response to (expected) profits * leave an industry in response to losses * increase its plant in response to profits * decrease its plant in response to losses. Long-run average-cost curve with economies of scale to Q2 and diseconomies of scale thereafter. The long run is associated with the long-run average cost (LRAC) curve in microeconomic models along which a firm would minimize its average cost (cost per unit) for each respective long-run quantity of output. Long-run marginal cost (LRMC) is the added cost of providing an additional unit of service or commodity from changing capacity level to reach the lowest cost associated with that extra output. LRMC equalling price is efficient as to resource allocation in the long run. The concept of long-run cost is also used in determining whether the long-run expected to induce the firm to remain in the industry or shut down production there. In long-run equilibrium of an industry in which perfect competition prevails, the LRMC = Long run average LRAC at the minimum LRAC and associated output. The shape of the long-run marginal and average costs curves is determined by economies of scale. The long run is a planning and implementation stage. [2][3] Here a firm may decide that it needs to produce on a larger scale by building a new plant or adding a production line. The firm may decide that new technology should be incorporated into its production process. The firm thus considers all its long-run production options and selects the optimal combination of inputs and technology for its long-run urposes. [4] The optimal combination of inputs is the least-cost combination of inputs for desired level of output when all inputs are variable. [3] Once the decisions are made and implemented and production begins, the firm is operating in the short run with fixed and variable inputs. [3][5] Short run All production in real time occurs in the short run. The short run is the conceptual time period in which at least one factor of production is fixed in amount and others are variable in am ount. Costs that are fixed, say from existing plant size, have no impact on a firms short-run decisions, since only variable costs and revenues affect short-run profits. Such fixed costs raise the associated short-run average cost of an output long-run average cost if the amount of the fixed factor is better suited for a different output level. In the short run, a firm can raise output by increasing the amount of the variable factor(s), say labor through overtime. A generic firm already producing in an industry can make three changes in the short run as a response to reach a posited equilibrium: * increase production decrease production * shut down. In the short run, a profit-maximizing firm will: * increase production if marginal cost is less than marginal revenue (added revenue per additional unit of output); * decrease production if marginal cost is greater than marginal revenue; * continue producing if average variable cost is less than price per unit, even if average total cost is gre ater than price; * shut down if average variable cost is greater than price at each level of output. Transition from short run to long run The transition from the short run to the long run may be done by considering some short-run equilibrium that is also a long-run equilibrium as to supply and demand, then comparing that state against a new short-run and long-run equilibrium state from a change that disturbs equilibrium, say in the sales-tax rate, tracing out the short-run adjustment first, then the long-run adjustment. Each is an example of comparative statics. Alfred Marshall (1890) pioneered in comparative-static period analysis. [6] He istinguished between the temporary or market period (with output fixed), the short period, and the long period. Classic contemporary graphical and formal treatments include those of Jacob Viner (1931),[7] John Hicks (1939),[8] and Paul Samuelson (1947). [9] The law of diminishing marginal returns The law of diminishing marginal returns to a variable factor applies to the short run. [10] It posits an effect of decreased added or marginal product of from variable factors, which increas es the supply price of added output. [11] The law is related to a positive slope of the short-run marginal-cost curve. 12] Macroeconomic usages The usage of long run and short run in macroeconomics differs somewhat from the above microeconomic usage. J. M. Keynes (1936) emphasized fundamental factors of a market economy that might result in prolonged periods away from full-employment. [13] In later macro usage, the long run is the period in which the price level for the economy is completely flexible as to shifts in aggregate demand and aggregate supply. In addition there is full mobility of labor and capital between sectors of the economy and full capital mobility between nations. In the short run none of these conditions need fully hold. The price is sticky or fixed as to changes in aggregate demand or supply, capital is not fully mobile between sectors, and capital is not fully mobile to interest rate differences among countries amp; fixed exchange rates. [14] A famous critique of neglecting short-run analysis was by John Maynard Keynes, who wrote that In the long run, we are all dead, referring to the long-run proposition of the quantity theory of, for example, a doubling of the money supply doubling the price level. 15] Marginal  Analysis Thinking at the  Margin From Mike Moffatt, former About. com Guide From an economists perspective, making choices involves making decisions at the margin that is, making decisions based on small changes in resources: * How should I spend the next hour? * How should I spend the next dollar? On the surface, this seems like a strange way of considering the choices made by people and firms. It is rare that someone would consciously ask themselves How will I spend dollar number 24,387? , How will I spend dollar number 24,388? . Treating the problem in this matter does have some distinct advantages: * Doing so leads to the optimal decisions being made, subject to preferences, resources and informational constraints. * It makes the problem less messy from an analytic point of view, as we are not trying to analyze a million decisions at once. * While this does not exactly mimic conscious decision making processes, it does provide results similar to the decisions people actually make. That is, people may not think using this method, but the decisions they make are as if they do. Marginal Analysis An Example Consider the decision on how many hours to work, as given by the following chart: Hour Hourly Wage Value of Time Hour 1 $10 $2 Hour 2 $10 $2 Hour 3 $10 $3 Hour 4 $10 $3 Hour 5 $10 $4 Hour 6 $10 $5 Hour 7 $10 $6 Hour 8 $10 $8 Hour 9 $15 $9 Hour 10 $15 $12 Hour 11 $15 $18 Hour 12 $15 $20 The hourly wage represents what I earn for working an extra hour it is the marginal gain or the marginal benefit. The value of time is essentially an opportunity cost it is how much I value having that hour off. In this example it represents a marginal cost what it costs me by working an additional hour. The increase in marginal costs is a common phenomenon; I do not mind working a few hours since there are 24 hours in a day. I still have plenty of time to do other things. However, as I start to work more hours it reduces the number of hours I have for other activities. I have to start giving up more and more valuable opportunities to work those extra hours. It is clear that I should work the first hour, as I gain $10 in marginal benefits and lose only $2 in marginal costs, for a net gain of $8. By the same logic I should work the second and third hours as well. I will want to work until which time the marginal cost exceeds the marginal benefit. I will want to work the 10th hour as I receive a net benefit of #3 (marginal benefit of $15, marginal cost of $12). However, I will not want to work the 11th hour, as the marginal cost ($18) exceeds the marginal benefit ($15) by three dollars. Thus marginal analysis suggests that rational maximizing behavior is to work for 10 hours. Next Lesson: Market Distortions: Altering the Supply and Demand Equilibrium. Marginal Analysis * Marginal Revenue Glossary Dictionary Definition of Marginal Revenue * Marginal Significance Value Glossary Dictionary Definition of Marginal Si * Marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost Practice Question Related Articles * Running a Private Practice Working with Animals * Work Stress Long Work Hours Are Not the Culprit * Open for Business: Scheduling Your Week Being a Personal Trainer * Three Union Work Rules That Increase the Cost of Operating Transit * Hold On to Your Sanity Start Your Own Business AN INTRODUCTION TO COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS| * Background * Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) estimates and totals up the equivalent money value of the benefits and costs to the community of projects to establish whether they are worthwhile. These projects may be dams and highways or can be training programs and health care systems. * The idea of this economic accounting originated with Jules Dupuit, a French engineer whose 1848 article is still worth reading. The British economist, Alfred Marshall, formulated some of the formal concepts that are at the foundation of CBA. But the practical development of CBA came as a result of the impetus provided by the Federal Navigation Act of 1936. This act required that the U. S. Corps of Engineers carry out projects for the improvement of the waterway system when the total benefits of a project to whomsoever they accrue exceed the costs of that project. Thus, the Corps of Engineers had created systematic methods for measuring such benefits and costs. The engineers of the Corps did this without much, if any, assistance from the economics profession. It wasnt until about twenty years later in the 1950s that economists tried to provide a rigorous, consistent set of methods for measuring benefits and costs and deciding whether a project is worthwhile. Some technical issues of CBA have not been wholly resolved even now but the fundamental presented in the following are well established. * Principles of Cost Benefit Analysis * One of the problems of CBA is that the computation of many components of benefits and costs is intuitively obvious but that there are others for which intuition fails to suggest methods of measurement. Therefore some basic principles are needed as a guide. There Must Be a Common Unit of Measurement * In order to reach a conclusion as to the desirability of a project all aspects of the project, positive and negative, must be expressed in terms of a common unit; i. e. , there must be a bottom line. The most convenient common unit is money. This means that all benefits and costs of a project should be measured in terms of their equivalent money value. A program may provide benefits which are not directly expressed in terms of dollars but there is some amount of money the recipients of the benefits would consider just as good as the projects benefits. For example, a project may provide for the elderly in an area a free monthly visit to a doctor. The value of that benefit to an elderly recipient is the minimum amount of money that that recipient would take instead of the medical care. This could be less than the market value of the medical care provided. It is assumed that more esoteric benefits such as from preserving open space or historic sites have a finite equivalent money value to the public. * Not only do the benefits and costs of a project have to be expressed in terms of equivalent money value, but they have to be expressed in terms of dollars of a particular time. This is not just due to the differences in the value of dollars at different times because of inflation. A dollar available five years from now is not as good as a dollar available now. This is because a dollar available now can be invested and earn interest for five years and would be worth more than a dollar in five years. If the interest rate is r then a dollar invested for t years will grow to be (1+r)t. Therefore the amount of money that would have to be deposited now so that it would grow to be one dollar t years in the future is (1+r)-t. This called the discounted value or present value of a dollar available t years in the future. * When the dollar value of benefits at some time in the future is multiplied by the discounted value of one dollar at that time in the future the result is discounted present value of that benefit of the project. The same thing applies to costs. The net benefit of the projects is just the sum of the present value of the benefits less the present value of the costs. * The choice of the appropriate interest rate to use for the discounting is a separate issue that will be treated later in this paper. CBA Valuations Should Represent Consumers or Producers Valuations As Revealed by Their Actual Behavior * The valuation of benefits and costs should reflect preferences revealed by choices which have been made. For example, improvements in transportation frequently involve saving time. The question is how to measure the money value of that time saved. The value should not be merely what transportat ion planners think time should be worth or even what people say their time is worth. The value of time should be that which the public reveals their time is worth through choices involving tradeoffs between time and money. If people have a choice of parking close to their destination for a fee of 50 cents or parking farther away and spending 5 minutes more walking and they always choose to spend the money and save the time and effort then they have revealed that their time is more valuable to them than 10 cents per minute. If they were indifferent between the two choices they would have revealed that the value of their time to them was exactly 10 cents per minute. * The most challenging part of CBA is finding past choices which reveal the tradeoffs and equivalencies in preferences. For example, the valuation of the benefit of cleaner air could be established by finding how much less people paid for housing in more polluted areas which otherwise was identical in characteristics and location to housing in less polluted areas. Generally the value of cleaner air to people as revealed by the hard market choices seems to be less than their rhetorical valuation of clean air. * Benefits Are Usually Measured by Market Choices * When consumers make purchases at market prices they reveal that the things they buy are at least as beneficial to them as the money they relinquish. Consumers will increase their consumption of any commodity up to the point where the benefit of an additional unit (marginal benefit) is equal to the marginal cost to them of that unit, the market price. Therefore for any consumer buying some of a commodity, the marginal benefit is equal to the market price. The marginal benefit will decline with the amount consumed just as the market price has to decline to get consumers to consume a greater quantity of the commodity. The relationship between the market price and the quantity consumed is called the demand schedule. Thus the demand schedule provides the information about marginal benefit that is needed to place a money value on an increase in consumption. * Gross Benefits of an Increase in Consumption is an Area Under the Demand Curve * The increase in benefits resulting from an increase in consumption is the sum of the marginal benefit times each incremental increase in consumption. As the incremental increases considered are taken as smaller and smaller the sum goes to the area under the marginal benefit curve. But the marginal benefit curve is the same as the demand curve so the increase in benefits is the area under the demand curve. As shown in Figure 1 the area is over the range from the lower limit of consumption before the increase to consumption after the increase. * Figure 1 * When the increase in consumption is small compared to the total consumption the gross benefit is adequately approximated, as is shown in a welfare analysis, by the market value of the increased consumption; i. e. , market price times the increase in consumption. * Some Measurements of Benefits Require the Valuation of Human Life * It is sometimes necessary in CBA to evaluate the benefit of saving human lives. There is considerable antipathy in the general public to the idea of placing a dollar value on human life. Economists recognize that it is impossible to fund every project which promises to save a human life and that some rational basis is needed to select which projects are approved and which are turned down. The controversy is defused when it is recognized that the benefit of such projects is in reducing the risk of death. There are many cases in which people voluntarily accept increased risks in return for higher pay, such as in the oil fields or mining, or for time savings in higher speed in automobile travel. These choices can be used to estimate the personal cost people place on increased risk and thus the value to them of reduced risk. This computation is equivalent to placing an economic value on the expected number of lives saved. * The Analysis of a Project Should Involve a With Versus Without Comparison * The impact of a project is the difference between what the situation in the study area would be with and without the project. This that when a project is being evaluated the analysis must estimate not only what the situation would be with the project but also what it would be without the project. For example, in determining the impact of a fixed guideway rapid transit system such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in the San Francisco Bay Area the number of rides that would have been taken on an expansion of the bus system should be deducted from the rides provided by BART and likewise the additional costs of such an expanded bus system would be deducted from the costs of BART. In other words, the alternative to the project must be explicitly specified and considered in the evaluation of the project. Note that the with-and-without comparison is not the same as a before-and-after comparison. Another example shows the importance of considering the impacts of a project and a with-and-without comparison. Suppose an irrigation project proposes to increase cotton production in Arizona. If the United States Department of Agriculture limits the cotton production in the U. S. by a system of quotas then expanded cotton production in Arizona might be offset by a reduction in the cotto n production quota for Mississippi. Thus the impact of the project on cotton production in the U. S. might be zero rather than being the amount of cotton produced by the project. * Cost Benefit Analysis Involves a Particular Study Area The impacts of a project are defined for a particular study area, be it a city, region, state, nation or the world. In the above example concerning cotton the impact of the project might be zero for the nation but still be a positive amount for Arizona. * The nature of the study area is usually specified by the organization sponsoring the analysis. Many effects of a project may net out over one study area but not over a smaller one. The specification of the study area may be arbitrary but it may significantly affect the conclusions of the analysis. * Double Counting of Benefits or Costs Must be Avoided Sometimes an impact of a project can be measured in two or more ways. For example, when an improved highway reduces travel time and the risk of injury the value of property in areas served by the highway will be enhanced. The increase in property values due to the project is a very good way, at least in principle, to measure the benefits of a project. But if the increased property values are included then it is unnecessary to include the value of the time and lives saved by the improvement in the highway. The property value went up because of the benefits of the time saving and the reduced risks. To include both the increase in property values and the time saving and risk reduction would involve double counting. * Decision Criteria for Projects * If the discounted present value of the benefits exceeds the discounted present value of the costs then the project is worthwhile. This is equivalent to the condition that the net benefit must be positive. Another equivalent condition is that the ratio of the present value of the benefits to the present value of the costs must be greater than one. * If there are more than one mutually exclusive project that have positive net present value then there has to be further analysis. From the set of mutually exclusive projects the one that should be selected is the one with the highest net present value. * If the funds required for carrying out all of the projects with positive net present value are less than the funds available this means the discount rate used in computing the present values is too low and does not reflect the true cost of capital. The present values must be recomputed using a higher discount rate. It may take some trial and error to find a discount rate such that the funds required for the projects with a positive net present value is no more than the funds available. Sometimes as an alternative to this procedure people try to select the best projects on the basis of some measure of goodness such as the internal rate of return or the benefit/cost ratio. This is not valid for several reasons. * The magnitude of the ratio of benefits to costs is to a degree arbitrary because some costs such as operating costs may be deducted from benefits and thus not be included in the cost figure. This is called netting out of operating costs. This netting out may be done for some projects and not for others. This manipulation of the benefits and costs will not affect the net benefits but it may change the benefit/cost ratio. However it will not raise the benefit cost ratio which is less than one to above one. For more on this topic see Benefit/ cost Ratio Magnitude. * An Example * To illustrate how CBA might be applied to a project, let us consider a highway improvement such as the extension of Highway 101 into San Jose. The local four-lane highway which carried the freeway and commuter traffic into San Jose did not have a median divider and its inordinate number of fatal head-on collisions led to the name Blood Alley. The improvement of the highway would lead to more capacity which produces time saving and lowers the risk. But inevitably there will be more traffic than was carried by the old highway. * The following is a highly abbreviated analysis using hypothetical data. TRIP DATA| No Extension, Blood Alley Only| 101 Extension and Blood Alley| Rush Hours|   |   | Passenger Trips ( per hour)| 3,000| 4,000| Trip Time (minutes)| 50| 30| Value of Time ($/minute)| $0. 10| $0. 10| Nonrush Hours|   |   | Passenger Trips (per hour)| 500| 555. 55| Trip Time (minutes)| 35| 25| Value of Time ($/minute)| $0. 08| $0. 08| Traffic Fatalities per year)| 12| 6| * The data indicates that for rush-hour trips the time cost of a trip is $5 without the project and $3 with it. It is assumed that the operating cost for a vehicle is unaffected by the project and is $4. * The project lowers the cost of a trip and the public responds by increasing the number of trips taken. There is an increase in consumer surplus both for the trips which would have been taken without the project and for the trips which are stimulated by the project. * For trips which would have been taken anyway the benefit of the project equals the value of the time saved times the number of trips. For the rush-hour trip the project saves $2 and for the nonrush-hour trip it saves $0. 80. For the trips generated by the project the benefit is equal to one half of the value of the time saved times the increase in the number of trips. * The benefits per hour are: TYPE| Trips Which Would Be Taken Anyway| Trips Generated By the Project| Total| Rush Hour| 6,000. 00| 1,000. 00| 7,000. 00| Nonrush Hour| 400. 00| 22. 22| 422. 22| * To convert the benefits to an annual basis one multiplies the hourly benefits of each type of trip times the number of hours per year for that type of trip. There are 260 week days per year and at six rush hours per weekday there are 1560 rush hours per year. This leaves 7200 nonrush hours per year. With these figures the annual benefits are: TYPE| Trips Which Would Be Taken Anyway| Trips Generated By the Project| Total| Rush Hour| $9,360,000| $1,560,000| $10,020,000| Nonrush Hour| $2,880,000| $160,000| $3,040,000| Total| $12,240,000| $1,720,000| $13,960,000| * The value of the reduced fatalities may be computed in terms of the equivalent economic value people place upon their lives when making choices concerning risk and money. If the labor market has wages for occupations of different risks such that people accept an increase in the risk of death of 1/1,000 per year in return for an increase in income of $400 per year then a project that reduces the risk of death in a year by 1/1000 gives a benefit to each person affected by it of $400 per year. The implicit valuation of a life in this case is $400,000. Thus benefit of the reduced risk project is the expected number of lives saved times the implicit value of a life. For the highway project this is 6x$400,000= $2,400,000 annually. * The annual benefits of the project are thus: TYPE OF BENEFIT| VALUE OF BENEFITS PER YEAR| Time Saving| $13,960,000| Reduced Risk| $2,400,000| * Let us assume that this level of benefits continues at a constant rate over a thirty-year lifetime of the project. * The cost of the highway consists of the costs for its right-of-way, its construction and its maintenance. The cost of the right-of-way is the cost of the land and any structures upon it which must be purchased before the construction of the highway can begin. For purposes of this example the cost of right-of-way is taken to be $100 million and it must be paid before any construction can begin. At least part of the right-of- way cost for a highway can be recovered at the end of the lifetime of the highway if it is not rebuilt. For the example it is assumed that all of the right-of-way cost is recoverable at the end of the thirty-year lifetime of the project. The construction cost is $200 million spread evenly over a four-year period. Maintenance cost is $1 million per year once the highway is completed. * The schedule of benefits and costs for the project are as follows: TIME (year)| BENEFITS ($millions)| RIGHT-OF -WAY ($millions)| CONSTRUCTION COSTS $millions)| MAINTENANCE ($millions)| 0| 0| 100| 0| 0| 1-4| 0| 0| 50| 0| 5-29| 16. 36| 0| 0| 1| 30| 16. 36| -100| 0| 1| * The benefits and costs are in constant value dollars; i. e. , there was no price increase included in the analysis. Therefore the discount rate used must be the real interest rate. If the interest rate on long term bonds is 8 percent and the rate of inflation is 6 percent then the real rate of interest is 2 p ercent. Present value of the streams of benefits and costs discounted at a 2 percent back to time zero are as follows:   | PRESENT VALUE $ millions)| Benefits| 304. 11| Costs|   | Right-of-Way| 44. 79| Construction| 190. 39| Maintenance| 18. 59| Total Costs| 253. 77| |   | | Net Benefits| 50. 35| | *independent rounding| * The positive net present value of $50. 35 million and benefit/cost ratio of 1. 2 indicate that the project is worthwhile if the cost of capital is 2 percent. When a discount rate of 3 percent is the benefit/cost ratio is slightly under 1. 0. This means that the internal rate of return is just under 3 percent. When the cost of capital is 3 percent the project is not worthwhile. It should be noted that the market value of the right-of-way understates the opportunity cost of having the land devoted to the highway. The land has a value of $100 million because of its income after property taxes. The economy is paying more for its alternate use but some of the pay ment is diverted for taxes. The discounted presented value of the payments for the alternate use might be more like $150 million instead of $100 million. Another way of making this point is that one of the costs of the highway is that the local governments lose the property tax on the land used. * Summary By reducing the positive and negative impacts of a project to their equivalent money value Cost-Benefit Analysis determines whether on balance the project is worthwhile. The equivalent money value are based upon information derived from consumer and producer market choices; i. e. , the demand and supply schedules for the goods and services affected by the project. Care must be taken to properly allow for such things as inflation. When all this has been considered a worthwhile project is one for which the discounted value of the benefits exceeds the discounted value of the costs; i. . , the net benefits are positive. This is equivalent to the benefit/cost ratio being greater than on e and the internal rate of return being greater than the cost of capital. * History of Cost-Benefit Analysis * CBA has its origins in the water development projects of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers had its origins in the French engineers hired by George Washington in the American Revolution. For years the only school of engineering in the United States was the Military Academy at West Point, New York. In 1879, Congress created the Mississippi River Commission to prevent destructive floods. The Commission included civilians but the president had to be an Army engineer and the Corps of Engineers always had veto power over any decision by the Commission. * In 1936 Congress passed the Flood Control Act which contained the wording, the Federal Government should improve or participate in the improvement of navigable waters or their tributaries, including watersheds thereof, for flood-control purposes if the benefits to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs. The phrase if the benefits to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs established cost-benefit analysis. Initially the Corps of Engineers developed ad hoc methods for estimating benefits and costs. It wasnt until the 1950s that academic economists discovered that the Corps had developed a system for the economic analysis of public investments. Economists have influenced and improved the Corps methods since then and cost-benefit analysis has been adapted to most areas of public decision-making.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

English Commentary :: English Literature

English Commentary The following is a commentary on paragraph in P.G 211 a 212 in the Sorrow of War.. The paragraph from page 211 to 212 has a very important significance to the story as a whole. It has a lot of metaphors and similes that add to the sorrowful mood of the story. In the beginning, the paragraph is very poetic, juxtaposing past images of life to future and present images of death and destruction. In specific it juxtaposes the "eternal" beauty of his girlfriend Phuong to the tragic finality of war. The paragraph is written in the simple past tense, the perfect past tense which means the past before the past and the hypothetical "would" in order to emphasize Kien's deep longings to relive the past. It also shows us how Kien lost his spirit of fighting, and gave up hope. This is spiritual loss, and it is what most soldiers were experiencing. There is basically no more hope, no more life, just death. Overall, the paragraph reflects images of the sorrows of war. The sorrows and effects of war are clearly shown when the narrator reverses traditional symbols. The first very evident example of reversing traditional symbols is the narrator's use of the concept of "miracle" and "dream" not to talk about a future goal but about the past. Thus returning to the past and finding it "unchanged" becomes a "miracle" and a "dream". We usually dream of the future and hope for a miracle that would "change" our lives. However the miracle that Kien awaits is to find that the past still exists "untouched" and "untainted". Of course that miracle is impossible and consequently the paragraph has a deep nostalgic sadness. Like Kien, we can feel the painful irony of the impossibility of this miracle to happen. Other images function in the same way to show Kien's despair and loss of hope. He saw "a river stretching before him. He saw himself floating towards his death". Here the narrator compares the river to a path that ends life. However, we usually associate rivers with freedom and ongoing life. The narrator also says "fate waited to take him from the terrible present to the happy days of the past". The narrator is showing us how much he longs to relive the past and how he dreads the present, and views his future as a horrible period of time. In the beginning of the paragraph, the narrator creates a beautiful world untouched by war through many poetic images. The narrator says "she would have been untainted by war". This shows us how war has

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Drug Addiction Short Paper Essay

There are many myths about addiction whether it be alcohol addiction or drug addiction. One of these myths is that drug addiction is voluntary. Once someone becomes addicted to drugs it can change the person’s brain chemistry and drug use then becomes compulsive and uncontrollable. Another myth is that addiction is a flaw in a person. Once addicted to drugs the person can’t control their want/need for the drug. Another myth is that a person has to want to get help for their addiction in order to stop using drugs. I do believe this myth is only partially correct because I do think that someone needs to at least own up to the fact that they have an addiction problem. A court can order someone to get drug treatment which can help them to kick their habit but they must be willing to make an effort. Another myth is that people who are addicts can stop on their own without any treatment if they make an effort to stop. Most people suffering from addiction can’t stop on their own without getting treatment and if they do it isn’t long lasting. Another myth is that someone can’t be forced into treatment. People can also be coerced and remanded by a court into getting the help they need for their addiction. Many people also believe the myth that people only get treatment once they have hit rock bottom. This is simply untrue as many people get treatment before they have lost complete control over themselves and their actions. Or if they have been made to seek treatment by a court order or been coerced by friends and or family members. Some people realize they have an addiction and chose on their own to seek help before hitting rock bottom. While a lot of people think that there is one certain treatment for all addicts this is not the case. Addictions are different on a case by case basis and have to be tailored to each individual person. It simply would not work to treat every addiction in the same manner. A lot of people with addiction also suffer from some sort of psychiatric illness as well that needs to be treated. If a psychiatric illness is not addressed the person could slip back into addiction. Most drugs and alcohol (including marijuana) can become addictive if used to often. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse over time marijuana can cause changes in the brain which can lead to addiction. Marijuana can also cause withdraw symptoms when the user stops using the drug. Which can lead to the person becoming irritable; interfere with sleep, and restlessness just to name a few. References: Marijuana. (n.d.). Retrieved May 25, 2015, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/marijuana-addictive http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/marijuana-addictive

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Degree Appraisals Essay

General Electrics’ Durham, North Carolina assembly employees have a unique work environment in which they build the GE90 jet engine for Boeing. The 9 engine build teams consist of approximately 18 employees who own the entire process of assembling some 10,000 parts perfectly to create one complete engine assembly. The teams are self managed, doing everything from ordering parts and tools to scheduling vacation and overtime. The success of the teams comes from their founding method of agreement by consensus decisions making. In fact, the consensus decision making process has become a way of life to many of these employees, and management decisions are only needed about 12 decisions per year. Although employees don’t always have unanimous agreement, there is seldom any blame when things go wrong because of their strong trusting relationships. This type of consensus management has instilled a high level of trust relationships among the team members and their superiors. These self-managed teams operate in a culture of continuous feedback and rely on management to make them aware of problems and report solutions. Beyond the day-to-day decisions making, any major issues, such as safety and cost, are decided by a task force. The plant manager informs and educates the task force and employees about the problem and why it is important, and the task force decides how to address problems. The task force takes the responsibility to find solutions and decisions are reporting back to plant management on what the future solutions will be. These solutions and decisions made by the task force are communicate to the plant manager and then on to the higher-ups for their buy in. The Plant Manager Paula Sims, who has been on the job 4 years, has proposed to HR that she would like initiate a 360-degree review to supplement existing performance  measures. Ms. Sims’ proposal is met with some concerns from HR, it is assumed that HR has concerns that implementing a new system without a consensus decision will breakdown trust with the employees and limit the willing participation if the 360 review were to be implemented. Root Problem The root problem with Ms. Sims proposal is that the implementation goes directly against the culture of consensus agreement on making decisions for the teams and the plant. Since this would be considered a major change, it should be brought to a task force for review and solution, or at minimum be brought to the attention of all employees. In the past, Ms. Sims has experienced issues of missed trust with the assembly teams and this direct approach with HR for the implementation a new performance measure stands to have an equally negative effect. Alternative Ideas In order to address the root problem, HR would like to propose some alternative ideas to Ms. Sims proposals that could include awareness of GE corporate use general of 360 degree performance measures in other locations. Investigations on the benefits from other GE plants should be presented to employees to gain a better understanding and buy-in of the proposal. Knowing the culture of feedback that exist within the plant, Ms. Sims could call for a task force to investigate the benefits of 360 degree feedback and make a direction decision on the use of 360 degree appraisals. In consideration of alternative ideas, Ms. Sims should consider approaching the employees and HR by providing factual information about the value of peer reviews. For example, â€Å"research shows that appraisals by peers are useful predictors of training success and future performance† (Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S., & Werner, S., 2012). Additionally, since the GE employees are team-based units, it is also been shown that anonymous peer appraisals in teams increase interpersonal effectiveness, group cohesion, communication openness and group satisfaction (Jackson, et al, 2012). Furthermore, she could gain more leverage by stating the success of the peer reviews in other GE facilities, as real life inter-company example. The last alternative is simply do nothing and keep the current system as it is without a 360 degree review. Considering Ms. Sims determination to implement the new appraisal, she should consider a trial basis with a one the nine teams as a test bed  from training implementation and use of the 360 review. As multiple alternatives have been presented, a closer evaluation of each proposal is the necessary to derive the what is believed to the best alternative. 1. Awareness and Buy-in – this alternative looks at bringing awareness to the 360-degree appraisal as a supplemental appraisal by providi ng factual information on the benefits of the program at GE’s jet engine plant. Awareness makes buy-in easier when at the end of the day, you allow the teams to make a decision by consensus on the implementation of the new peer review. 2. Empowered team decision – this alternative simply turns the information and decision back to the team and task force. This alternative is the most cohesive alternative and aligns well with the culture of the company. 3. Trial basis – this alternative assume Ms. Sims pushes her idea forward and assumes she will be met with some resistance during the implementation phase. In this case focusing on a smaller beta test group proves to be easier to manage and create buy-in with when the results show positive improvements. 4. Status Quo – this alternative assumes that nothing is done, no implementation is agreed upon and the current performance measures stay in place without a 360-degree appraisal. Choose an Alternative & Implementation In an effort to maintain the strong trusting relationships that exist at the various levels of team members and management, it is recommended that the alternative proposal of â€Å"awareness and buy-in† be selected and acted upon. Implementation of this plan will begin with Ms. Sims collecting and presenting data from both internal GE resources and external resources to show the benefits of supplementing the current performance appraisals with a 360-degree peer review. Next Ms. Sims must work directly with HR to plan an appropriate training period and plan in conjunction with the roll out of information to the 9 assembly teams. This portion of the preparation should include the consideration of one group to be the test bed or beta group for evaluation purposes. Once the information is presented to all the employees, an internal task force should be commissioned to evaluate the information provided by Ms. Sims for the purpose my allowing the continuance of the consensus culture . There are a multitude of options this management team has in considering the addition of the new peer review. However,  allowing the teams and/or special task force to make the decision on their own and continue to feel the sense of ownership is paramount in the implementation phase of the proposal. Therefore it is recommended that after the beta group is selected and effectively trained, HR and Ms. Sims must monitor the effectiveness of the raters over an initially shorter period of time for the appraisals to take place. This step will be for the purpose of training and evaluation. Based the results from the six months data collection and feedback from the Beta group, Ms. Sims and HR will determine if further training is needed, if the employees are seeing value in the productivity and performance improvements as a result of using the 360 degree appraisals. If the results are positive the information will be shared with the task force and all employees for further implementation and training, beyond the beta group. Reference Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S., & Werner, S (2012). Managing Human Resources (11th edition)., Mason, OH: South-Western